TeamVilla5

But doesn't it look kind of bad that 15 geocaches were placed without permission granted? If we are going to brag about our following rules (i.e. "little to no impact"), shouldn't we be following the first one, getting permission? Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

When I was planning my first placement of geocaches, I did the proper thing and emailed the Parks & Recreation Dept. of both cities I planned to hide in. I explained geocaching, told them I was planning to place some in the parks & please let me know if they are opposed, etc. etc. After waiting to hear from them with no word, I placed the caches, thinking that since one of the cities had 15+ other hides, that permission had been obtained somewhere along the lines. Recently, my kids & I were part of a story in the local paper about geocaching. Shortly after, I received an email from P&R from one of the cities & asked me to meet with them to "set up geocaching in ___." Today I had lunch with P&R guy, who was amazed that there are 18 caches already hidden in their parks & they didn't know anything about it... seems no one else had bothered to ask permission before me... I'm just glad he was a very easygoing guy! Anyway, he's asked me to come to the next City Commission meeting & talk about geocaching & different rules/regs/aspects of the game that would affect the city & then hopefully they will provide a link to gc.com from their city website in a Geocaching Friendly section of the site. So, how would you feel if a city official called & wanted to "set up" geocaching in their city & you had to tell them, "No problem... local geocachers have already set it up... with or without you!" Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Steve, nope, I would not be that diabolical... ... I would prefer to place it somewhere where it doesn't "belong," such as in the woods, where there are other distractions to be found, to see just how observant others are! I love the "hiding in plain sight" approach for our hides! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Okay, while out caching the other day, I came across this cow patty that was perfectly sized & shaped to cut a container hole in the underside. It was already extremely hard-shelled & dried out, except the underside needed a little more drying... Anyway, is there a way to spray the whole thing with Krylon matte finishing spray or a matte varnish or some other ingenious way to make sure that the thing doesn't just disintegrate back into grass? Surely, SOMEONE has done this before... ...right? ... maybe? Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

There are several in active volcanoes, in extreme weather conditions, one on the ocean floor next to a thermal vent, and some that require scuba equipment! If you are just considering "difficult," and not "extreme," I would check out Don't Do This Cache! GCNCBD by FrioGeo, Burlhunter, & LameDuck. I *ALMOST* wish they were anywhere close to my caching area! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Wow, that was fast! Thanks so much! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Additionally, will boiling cause the teeth to fall out? They are all still intact in their skulls, and quite striking. Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Yes, I *KNOW* this has been asked at least once since I've been a member, and yes, I already looked over pages & pages of posts & couldn't find it... SIGH! My kiddos & I found a most unusual thing caching today... a family of 5 opossums (or at least their bones) that had apparently starved to death in an old barn (in a cattle feeding container)... very sad! Anyway, one is the full skeleton (well, we broke off a leg extricating it from a lot of wire), and there are 4 other skulls, and various and sundry other bones that are not attached in any way. The skeleton is almost completely devoid of anything resembling "covering"... a few hairs & micro bits of skin at most... but prob. still contains the last vestiges of ligaments (thus it being "held together"). Any ideas on how to properly clean these? Is boiling the best option? Surely, I shouldn't attempt that in my kitchen? Any advice welcomed! TIA! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Yes, I *KNOW* this has been asked at least once since I've been a member, and yes, I already looked over pages & pages of posts & couldn't find it... SIGH! My kiddos & I found a most unusual thing caching today... a family of 5 opossums (or at least their bones) that had apparently starved to death in an old barn (in a cattle feeding container)... very sad! Anyway, one is the full skeleton (well, we broke off a leg extricating it from a lot of wire), and there are 4 other skulls, and various and sundry other bones that are not attached in any way. The skeleton is almost completely devoid of anything resembling "covering"... a few hairs & micro bits of skin at most... but prob. still contains the last vestiges of ligaments (thus it being "held together"). Any ideas on how to properly clean these? Is boiling the best option? Surely, I shouldn't attempt that in my kitchen? Any advice welcomed! TIA! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Poor puppy! hehehe Glad he got over it so soon! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

For what it's worth, I agree with you, OP... I think that the GPS is integrated into the cache as much as any other, and I don't think that the cache, as described, would negate or disregard any of the "guidelines." I hope it all works out. Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

They were the Autumn 2005 Texas Geocaching coins... which will be very significant as the first in our collection, as that is when we began geocaching! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Thanks for all the advice... went & snagged the other coin tonight before dinner... Cache Hound... go to eBay & search "Geocoin." They are coins (most are large, at least 1.5+ inches) minted by cachers to represent either their caching region, state, organization, personal coin, etc. HTH, even from another newbie! Happy Cachin'! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Sorry, snowfrog... can't beat mine... I grew up in Booger Hollow!!! And, yes, it is a real place... Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Why, thank you! Yes, 9Key placed both & I did, in fact, email him asking his advice. He hasn't had a chance to respond... he's a very busy man in these parts! So, I thought I'd ask the next best source... youse guys! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Unless I want to start collecting... then I could have this coin & trade one of them for a second, different coin...

Well, I have no collection. These would be my first ever coins.

Yep, and identical with the exception of tracking number!

Okay, so I was FTF on two caches by the same hider on the same day, 3 days ago... not knowing anything about the "etiquette" of Geocoins, I ended up leaving one of the 2 Geocoins for another finder... now that I know I could trade, I'm coin-sidering going back and taking the second one since there have been no other comers in 3 days... any advice? TIA! Happy Cachin'! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Diablo, that's a huge good deed that you do! Being sort of new, I missed seeing the last winner of your talents! Off to peruse avatars... unless I fall asleep first... yes, I *KNOW* it's only 9pm on a Friday night! Happy Cachin! Lori V. TeamVilla5

And, yes, it sat overnight in bleach water before I taped it up for use... all of my former food usage containers are bleached overnight first! Happy cachin'! Lori V. TeamVilla5

Absolutely... the reason for my being so eager to nab that FTF! I was looking closely at my stats for the very first time the other day... First find? A 9Key Cache... First DNF? A 9Key Cache (to my credit, it was really missing )... First (and only) 3 FTF's? All 9Key Caches... First found Geocoin? A 9Key Cache... IMHO... he da man! LOL! Happy Caching! Lori V. P.S. Now if someone doesn't get their hineys out there today, after 2 days, to find that other Geocoin, I'm rescinding my generosity & going back in after it!

So how come I feel so guilty when a searcher says, "I had problems with all your coords today?" *I* know there's a margin of error for the GPSr & I'm sure (with his experience) *HE* knows there's a margin of error for the GPSr, but when you pay $250-300 for "top of the line," it feels like the thing ought to cook your breakfast if you asked it to! Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

I have a cache (called Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) that is a beer bottle well wrapped in duct tape. To test this container, I actually dropped it several times on my Italian tile floors. Didn't break... hid the cache. Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5

I would edit my description to reflect the funny story of the name. Happy Caching! Lori V. TeamVilla5