Poidawg

I guess the bottom line is: What do you cache for? Do you cache for the trade? For the numbers? When a cache is out along a path in the woods and it is a micro, does being outside in the woods enjoying nature count or is it just the cache (no matter the size) that counts? I count my lucky stars I am able to cache when I can. To be able to get out and enjoy myself where ever I am is my goal. I guess because I can not always do it, there are so many restricitions I have to overcome in order to go out and cache, that when I get the green light, it does not matter to me what type of cache it is or where it is or who placed it or even if I DNF it or not. My dog and I enjoy the road trip, even if it just takes us downtown, and the cache, well that is a bonus.

I am always afraid I am holding onto a TB too long, so I put them in whatever cache is appropriate to the TB's wants. I just put one into my cache. I dont own any TB's myself, but I have one cache.

I like this thread alot, when my friend asked about geocaching, I pulled up this thread and came back an hour later....still sitting in front of the computer with that 'deer trapped in the headlights look" I knew I had corrupted my friend forever.

My friend and I often find ourselves looking for at least one micro when we go out together. We do try and get in a regular just because of the goodie value (not a given because the cache is bigger). Last time we went out caching together we had a great time finding two of the caches we had on our list, and the third cache was just plain devious and I could not have retrieved it without someone else there - my knees dont bend that way anymore. When I am caching by myself, I dont just go for a particular sized cache. Even tho my numbers are low and I am pretty new to this game, I have found a half a dozen micros which were very cleverly hidden and I enjoyed each of them. I find myself marvelling over the creativeness of the cachers hiding caches in my area. There was one micro I did not like one aspect of and that was because the log was too small and fragile and disintegrated in my hands, but the micro container itself was wonderful as was the hide. I think if you dont like micros, dont do them.

I personally do not care about my numbers or anyone else's. Im interested in geocaching for the fun of it. Some cachers are more interested in the numbers, and there are alot who are very, very, very competitive. As far as being amiss - I was born that way...

Thank you rjosprey, just the info I am looking for. There is a good sized ammo can hidden in this rock, so it is pretty big. The foam turned out great. I used a couple of cans to make the blob and then used a knife to cut in some sharp angles to make it look like the rocks I will be placing it nearIm sure glad I got busy and left this out and learned about the cracking so I could deal with it before placing it.

I have used that foam spray on my cache to make it look like a rock. It came out really nice. I used spray paint on it that is designed to look like a rock...problem is - the paint is cracking, revealing the foam color underneath. What can I use to coat the paint to minimize or completely stop the cracking from occuring. Thanks

Diatomaceous Earth will also kill any hard bodies critters. Dont bu the stuff from your pool supply guy, it has extra chemicals in it that wont do you any good. D.E. can be bought from your local nursery. We use it to get rid of ants and fleas in the back yard. Just dont breathe the stuff and dont let your pets breathe it in either.

I sure could use some of that miracle energy. I have a heck of a time just trying to get to the caches on a nearby ridge...I think the elevation gain was 860 some odd feet. Difficulty of 1, Terrain of 3 (since it is a wide fire road) HEAVY SIGH.

There is one near me, the contents do not have dog food or bones, but leashes, collars, collar tags, frisbees, tennis balls etc...

I am a Premim Member. I own one cache - if figure that even though the cache is under a Premium Members only invitation to find, that someone without a Premium Membership might very well stumble onto it. They might even steal it...The reason I placed it on Premium membership was to try and limit the impact on the environment to being with. I may take it off PM in the future (if that is a legal thing to do). The posibility of someone caching in a group with premium Members and logging their find does not bother me in the least. There is only so much a person can control anyway. My 2 cents.

Interesting in the story of recovery, Sir Hillary stated he would never leave a man...(paraphrase) I am glad to know the man on Everest came back to life. I hope he treats life more preciously in the future. I too hate that almost anyone is allowed up on Everest. I have lost experienced climbing friends due to high altitude accidents, and shake my head when I hear of any story involving extreme sports. (Since I can hardly make it up a flight of stairs, my idea of extreme sports is more than 2 flights of stairs) I would like to know more about the story involving the two cachers in the southwest and what happened. I would hate to think of depending on someone in a hostile environment and end up being left - for whatever reason - FTF or not. It makes me think of that new series "I shouldn't be Alive" - which seems to have a recurring theme of "my buddy left me" - sometimes working out positively, sometimes not.

I carry both. I recycle my Duracell batteries at my local library. I carry the rechargeable ones for my camera and gps units. I learned the hard way about topping off the rechargeable batteries on a hike not long ago - a great tip. Of course I always carry spares.

My friend and I were out this past Easter weekend, and while seeking a cache in a residential neighborhood, the minute we walked up to the cache, we heard a womans voice call out and ask if we were on an Easter egg hunt. She said she had been seeing people all day go up to the area we were looking in and pick something up, write something open backpacks and trade items, then leave. While my caching friend kept looking I told her about geocaching. She had us all dead to rights, and I figured that someone with her enthusiasm and curiosity, she would probably be interested in becoming a cacher. So I told her all about it, and showed her the GPSr and when we found the cache, we showed her the container and the contents. She said she was going to get on line and look everything up since they already had a GPSr. She had such a great personality, genuine and she even told us how long each person had taken to find the cache, how many never did find it, and how long it was since the last person was there. It was obvious she had just been watching the area (across the street from her home) all day long. I thought it was a good sign that she did not try and get into the cache herself, but preferred to wait and see what the day had in store for her.

I can not get this visual out of my head....thank you, you made my day

My first thought was a wolf spider as well. Especiallly not finding a web, since they are ambush hunters. No Lemon, your spider is an Arigope (spelling?) - a garden spider - most beautiful.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhh I love this last one. SOOOO nice. Is that a real tree trunk? How did you get the root system to come out so nice? Do tell how this was made? What a great cache. Thanks for sharing...Im inspired...totally cool

I bought mine, and got my friends all on Craigslist. All work great, were in great condition and came with all the extras.

Calphoto.com offers on line up to date information on where to located wildflowers, wildlife, and other goodies related to outdoor photography in California and parts of the northwest. The owner has on line photo classes and puts out a newsletter as well. These are great services for the outdoor photographer, the on line wildflower hotsheet is free, anyone can contribute or get information from it. I thought a CD for the FTF prize on the first cache I just placed, highlighting places in California to see and photograph wildlife would be just the ticket. I got the CD with the California wildflower places on it for the FTF on my next cache placement. I thought they were unique and were a quality FTF.

Check the end caps of Wal-Mart, Target, K Mart, Walgreens, Michaels - all of these stores have swag for a dollar, sometimes they are things on sale, some are always priced around a buck. Keep your eye out for sales of anything...flashlights, carabiners, compasses etc. Even Orhcard hardware store and Ace hardware sales have great things for swag.

I would like to thank all geocachers. Especially those of you who are into spending extra time, energy and money on a more creative camo'ed cache. I just placed my first cache (sorry I dont have any pics, I spent my digital camera money on that last tank of gasoline). Inspired by all of your wonderful ideas, I camo'ed my first cache (an ammo can), placed it in plain view and had two really good cachers not find it right away. So thank you to all of you creative, and evil geniuses out there. I had a great time thinking up the cache, and have bitten every fingernail to the quick worrying if the camo was good enough. My next cache will be a creative camo'ed one as well. Since I can not hike that far, I will spend more time making my caches a bit harder to find, especially if they are in plain sight. Kudos to you all. I have learned alot.

There was an incident in our local strip mall, where there is a Target and other family oriented shops. The day this happened, the place was packed with families. The parking lot is often frequented by seagulls, who are attracted to the food left in the parking lot. One person decided it would be fun to run over one of the seagulls, leaving it mortally wounded. Of course the people nearest the bird were horrified, not only because the guy had run over the bird, but also because so many little kids were around and he sped up to hit the bird. He picked the wrong day and the wrong place to pull his little stunt. The paper reported that the local animal control office was flooded with calls - he was contacted, cited and had to appear in court. I remember the fine being over one thousand dollars. I hope some sort of justice prevails in the story you told.

I used a couple cans of that foam in a spray can, I made a huge blob and then spent about an hour cutting some sharp angles into it, making it more rock like. I used multicolored spray paint on it. The spray is thick enough to actually fill some of the "foam holes" in the foam, which make it look very unrock like. I opted for the foam because it is a lighter in weight than some of the other materials. I have yet to place it out in the outside to see how well it will stand up to the elements.

Good scary story....I would not worry too much about the tick you found, I hope your venus Fly Trap liked it. You will need to be cautious this year especially, with all of the extra rain we have gotten, the grasses are higher, and ticks love grasses. Anything could have dropped the tick you found, a dog, a deer, jackrabbit, you have them all in Sacramento (I live down in Marin). Ticks often do not feed right away, sometimes they are stunned by going through a bath or a shower, sometimes they are on your clothing and must re-find you after being tossed in a heap on the floor. I deal with ticks almost everyday, both for myself and for my dog, we are often out in the field, and grassland is the easiest way to pick up a tick, although they do hang out on other plants (the ceanothus plant *smells like lilacs is blue or white flowered, the flowers look like little fuzzy balls* is a favorite place of ticks). To avoid bringing ticks home, check your clothing carefull, wearing lighter colored cloths make them easier to spot. Check the seams well, they like to hang out here where it is easier to grab ahold of the clothing for those long rides. Roll up your pants a bit and check your socks, wear long sleeves in tall grasses. If you have been in the field, when you get home, dont just toss your clothes on the floor, put them in the wash right away, check yourself for ticks when getting redressed. Dont panic if you have a tick attached to you. Get some tweezers, and place the tweezer head as close to your skin as possible, squeeze firmly and the tick should come out. If you have been bit and the tick is already feeding, dont panic, unless you see a BULLSEYE type rash. Although this is an indicator, there have been times when the rash has not been present. If you feel like you have a mild cold, or see a rash, or have been bitten and are concerned about LYMES, dont hesitate to get some anti-biotics from your doctor. The sooner the better.

You all summed it up perfectly. I wonder where the NoDoz is....(you never knkow how likes to cache at night, right?