balloonatic

Do the squirrels have a tour schedule? Where could I see the squirells in action? Is there a website for these robust rodents? Just curious... I'd like to see their cache!

I noticed that picture too! The web page has a lot of pictures of another balloon (looks like a Cameron C) with a similar color scheme. It was fun going through the pictures trying to find your balloon. Kinda like Find Waldo... The most we ever get to a normal balloon event up here is 20 balloons (unless your in St Jean or Gatineau). I particularly like the Gopher Twins! Who owns these balloons?

Found this site with some great pictures from this year... http://www.kissesoffire.com/Gallup2005.html

test Ignore this message ...I thought I could delete it but I guess I can't???

It must be nice to be able to fly in December without the various layers of clothing and all the other things that come with -20C flying. The event looked like a lot of fun. I'm going to look around on the web to see if the event has a website... This is the first cache planted via HAB that I know of! Still working on finding my first!

Just an update to the original First Cache in Alberta story. The cache event, 5 year anniversary of Alberta geocaching , celebrating five years of caching in Alberta took place this last Saturday with an incredible turnout of cachers from all over Alberta and even one from New Hampshire. It was a fun event and we all got a chance to find the First Cache in Alberta. The cache now has a spanking new camo-ammo box and it has been stocked with a bunch of new stuff! If you get a chance to visit this cache you'll be treated to a spectacular little forest in the middle of the Alberta prairies. The area is well signed and has over 10 km of nicely groomed trails. Some at the event even saw a female moose in the area that morning. I must say that this was/is an excellent spot for the First Cache in Alberta!

Wow! You've got some fantastic pictures in your Gallery on your Profile page! I'm at work now so I don't have a lot of time to have a look but I'll view them later tonight. I've often wondered how the camera works for the pictures of the basket while airborne. Obviously the camera is on a rope hanging from the top of the balloon but... How is the camera kept pointed in the right direction? How is the camera triggered? Remote? Is the camera stowed for a fast landing? What kind of camera are you using? Steve

I emailed Gary...maybe he'll pop in?

Ahhh, makes perfect sense now!

Excuse me? You probably cache with a Magellan, though! Nope...I have and old beat-up eTrex Vista. It's scratched, dented, has the right upper button torn off and the screen has a LCD horizontal line missing. I don't have a problem strapping it onto the upright when I go flying! In fact, I'm kinda hoping it falls to it's death so I have an excuse to get one of those niffty 60CS's..

Hey ropingthewind, It's odd that your not taking advantage of the triangular basket. I see you have the pointy end facing the rock? Real balloon baskets have four corners by the way... Heeeeeeer we go!

Sorry, no I didn't... That wasn't me flying the striped balloon. I don't fly in the city. I like to take the balloon out in the flatlands east of Calgary. Usually Langdon. The striped balloon was probably Keiths (Rainbow Balloons).

Maybe you've found a new use for balloons that are too "used up" to free fly! Very cool!

This hopper is sitting in a balloon shop here in Calgary. It's owned by Keith and Jeff Laurie. I've been invited to fly it when I can get a day off work and a good weather day. I've never flown a hopper before but I've tried the harness on for fit. Looks a little spooky!...Can't wait! Keith has two tanks rigged for the hopper so one pilot can fly the balloon then another pilot can fly a second flight. Notice the Aussie registration...Jeff works in Austrailia and got the balloon as payment for some flying he was doing down under. Checkout Steve Griffins' hopper...it's silver mylar with an inner liner of clear mylar. This is the one he set the AX-2 world record in! Here's David HA's AX-5, not quite a hopper but an amazing little balloon all the same. This ones sitting in the same shop as the first hopper. Think he would mind if I took it for a spin? This one got close to 30k feet last winter. I think he's coming back this winter to try the altitude, distance and duration records again. Steve

Hey, a thread on ballooning in the geocaching forum!!! Who would have ever thought it? Hi to all on this thread. I was sent this link by a local cacher who knew I fly balloons when I’m not scouring the landscape for caches. It’s great to see that I’m not the only one out there with both hobbies. I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada and I fly a Cameron O-77 with a Garmin eTrex Vista attached to the upright. I’ve had my pilot’s license since Dec 2002. I fly the Calgary Balloon Clubs balloon for recreational fun. I have about 80hrs under my belt but I’ve been involved in the sport since 1987. I don’t know of any other balloon pilots who also geocache on a regular basis. I put on a small cache event a few years back at one of our balloon events in Drumheller, Alberta. A few other pilots/crew participated but none have taken up the sport. Some of the pilots around here fly with GPSr’s onboard. I never fly without it. I think I have a track log from every one of my flights. Like ropingthewind I’ve been trying my hand at some long distance and duration flights. I hold the Canadian record for duration (8hrs, 10min) and distance (278km – 172miles) in the AX-7 category. My distance flight was cut considerably short due to poor planning and a Canadian military base with an active artillery range. Other Canadian pilots have flown further than me but they’ve never gone though the process of documenting their flight. I don’t think anyone has flown longer than 8hrs in an AX-7 though. I’m thinking of attempting the distance again this winter. We have a great area up here for record type flights. Steve Griffin (also a cacher), David Hempleman-Adams and Bill Arras are a few of the pilots that have attempted/completed record flights up here. I started caching in March of 2002 as practice for using the GPSr while flying the balloon. I’ve flown over a few caches during my balloon flights but I’ve never bothered to try and find the cache. I’d feel bad punting a passenger out the basket to snag a cache for me. I have a few cachers that come out and crew for me from time to time. Great to hear that there’s some caching going on at the Albuquerque Fiesta. Who knows I may get back down there some day? Caching is a great way to spend your ballooning down time. For info on what goes on up here have a look at Calgary Balloon Club. I’m a co-webmaster for this site. Nothing special but it gets our club on the internet. The website has some info on the record flights and some pictures from our club events. I also run a Canadian Ballooning Forum. Check it out! Here’s the balloon I fly… Steve aka balloonatic

Thanks for all the great comments! I don't mind moving the topic to the Canadian thread. I debated where I should post it but I guess it fits both places. I've contacted El Diablo regarding submitting the information, I hesitate to call it an article, to Today's Cacher. I have to confess I'm not exactly sure what Today's Cacher is but I think I may have read it once or twice. I'll check it out when I'm done writing this. I guess the cache owner has left a wallet from the original contents in the new container to show what 5 years in a cache will do to a wallet. I wonder if there are any other objects out there that have been in a cache for that long? The short history of geocaching is quite interesting and if you have a look at the thread mentioned in the original post regarding Mount10bike and follow some of the links it will take you on an interesting journey through the genesis of geocaching (thanks j2d2 for the link). Anyone know what the longest period is between a when a cache was hidden and when it was found? This cache (GCA6) was found 1752 days after it was hidden! Maybe I shouldn't go there?

What a great story this has turned out to be... This is the story of the First Cache In Alberta, Canada. It's an amazing series of events that took place over the course of five years. Here is the timeline of events that took place in Alberta, Canada starting in November of 2000. An amazing FTF story indeed! Nov 4, 2000 Michael Houle (aka. scummy-boots) hides Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6) the second cache in all of Canada and the first cache hide in Alberta. Jan 13, 2001 After over two months the first seeker of the cache, Scratch, logs a DNF. Scratch was single handily responsible for starting the sport of Geocaching in Alberta with his public appearances on television to promote the sport and with his early cache hides such as the Building42 series. Scratch also planted the first cache (Building42 - Hawrelak One) in Alberta that was actually found! Jan 16, 2001 Cache owner, scummy-boots, looks for the cache and cannot find it. He subsequently archives the cache. Jul 18, 2005 Page ahead four years...out of curiosity I decide to see if I can uncover the First Cache In Alberta. Can't be that hard right? Probably still active right? :roll: I do a little research and determine that GC16C called Building42 - Hawrelak One (Jan 14, 2001) by Scratch is the first cache in Alberta. This information is confirmed using the data generated by Mount10bike according to this post. I post the topic on the Calgary Area Geocachers forum and Scratch confirms my research but also indicates that there may have been an earlier cache that was never found. Jul 19, 2005 Scratch posts a message to the forum indicating that the first cache was Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6). He was checking back in his records and found a reference to this cache. Jul 20, 2005 I confirm with Mount10bike that the first cache in Alberta was indeed Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6) and he agrees to set the official records straight. July 21, 2005 I make a successful attempt to contact the owner of Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6), Michael Houle (aka. scummy-boots) and he agrees that his cache was the first but it was never actually found and when he went to confirm the location he himself could not locate the cache. He subsequently archives the cache. July 25, 2005 scummy-boots agrees to unarchive and reactivate the cache in the same location to keep the First Cache In Alberta alive. He offers to organize a 5 year anniversary event cache to honour the cache. July 28, 2005 Strathcona Wilderness 1 (GCA6) is unarchived by cache-tech. Cache is still not active. Aug 20, 2005 Cache owner goes to the location to plant a new container.....here is his log from the cache page. I had fully intended to replace the cache today. I was 99% sure that the cache was geotrashed almost 5 years ago. Some users had requested that this cache be unarchived. I spent 20min refamiliarizing myself with the area and to make one final check for the missing cache. This was the 3rd time I have looked for it. I gave up and went to look for a place to hide the replacement. I found a decent spot and it looked familiar. I was flabbergasted as I discovered the original ice cream pail untouched. Amazing. I replaced the container and half the contents. The pail was broken and everything was soaked, even inside the ziploc bags. I left what I could and replaced the rest. I decided to leave the wallet behind as an example of what almost 5 years does to a package. I updated the coords as my original stash was recorded with a Magellan 300 with only 2 digits of accuracy instead of the standard 3. The cache is reactivated! Aug 22, 2005 Almost five years after it was planted Geo-Explorer finds the First Cache In Alberta! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Stay tuned for THE REST OF THE STORY! The event cache 5 year anniversary of Alberta geocaching is coming up on Nov 5, 2005. It's sure to be a lot of fun! Visit the First Cache In Alberta and get your historical smiley!

If there are any cachers in Saskatoon this weekend for the airshow look me up! I'll be staying at The Saskatoon Inn with the other balloonatics. If your so inclined we can put you to work on a balloon crew. If your interetsed contact Marvin Schultz [marvin.schultz@gmail.com]. He's the local balloon pilot oganizing the balloon event. Great guy BTW! Ask for Steve from Calgary, I'll be flying the Calgary Balloon Club balloon. From top to bottom...Dark Blue, Light Blue, White, Light Blue, Dark Blue. Looks like the weather is going to be great for flying balloons this weekend. Always great to meet cachers form other cities! I'll be trying to get some of the easy caches around town on Monday. If anyone has the day off and would like to tag along your more than welcome. We have a 3yr old so we won't be POWER CACHING just taking it easy and visiting some of the local parks. Caches on tap include... U. of S. Bowl Cam Geodetic survey Between 2 Bridges µ Raiders of the lost cache Rock the Cache-Bog S'toon Raider 1 Old Man Adilman's Cache Agpro Alley Cache Crush The Turtle's First Home etc...

Ditto... It really doesn't sit right with me. I'd rather see waymarks for positive or historical things that have some twinkle of significance. I say no, just "carefully" dispose of the problem and be done with it.

Too many to create a category for! Even if you where to break it down into geographic regions it would be unwieldy. How would you define a Trailhead? My local playground around the corner has three trailheads. We're talking about millions of waymarks for just this one category. If it was Trailheads in Provincial/State Parks I might give it a GO but even then the number would be huge!! As it's proposed I would say NO! Sorry...

Not a chance...

I agree, this is what the original poster was proposing, but I think it fits better as a sub-category of 'general outhouses'. I was under the perhaps mistaken impression that you could have sub-categories of sub-categories, or is that just not the case? Makes sense to me... Washrooms:Public:Highway Washrooms:Public Washrooms:Outhouses Washrooms:Outhouses:On Mountains Tell you the truth I can't think of a more deserving category for a Waymark than this one! WHEN YOU GOTTA GO, YOU GOTTA GO!

I say yes and as far as... Things>Oddities>Gargoyles Things>Art>Gargoyles Things>Structures>Gargoyles goes I vote Things>Oddities>Gargoyles as I consider art to be one of a kind works and Gargoyles are often manufactured with many produced out of one mould. Not really a Structure is it?

I think the proposer is thinking small, one person, hand built, custom one of a kind outhouses (pivies, biffies). Public washrooms would sure be handy but I don't think this is what they're proposing... Maybe a new category?

see... Categories How should I name my category? You want to name your category in a way that clearly describes the waymarks contained within it. Try to avoid puns and plays on words. If your category represents lighthouses, you wouldn’t want to call it “Light My Way”. The better choice would be simply “Lighthouses”. Waymarks, not categories, are better suited for creative titles. here FAQ