OuttaHand

I think another big difference between the CB craze and geocaching is the physical activity. CB caught on big & fast because all you had to do was buy & set up a radio. From that point you just had to sit, listen, and talk. It was EASY. And because it was so easy, it got just as boring. Geocaching is not easy. It takes som brains, some commitment, and some physical exertion. Once you get into it, you are far less likely to get bored as with CB. I think Geocaching will level off and maintain a pretty healthy following.

Gallant writes how much he liked the cache, adds a few comments about what he saw while searching for it and what he took & left. He writes these things in both the physical logbook AND in the online log. He makes the cache-hider happy that he placed the cache. Goofus writes just the date & his name in the physical logbook. He MIGHT log it online and, if he does, it's usually just "FCTNLN"

quote:Originally posted by Team GPSaxophone: quote:Originally posted by OuttaHand: So that's what happened to my missing travel bug! http://www.texasgeocaching.com Took sun from sky, left world in eternal darkness http://mywebpages.comcast.net/ihazeltine/bandbass.gif Uhhh -- No. Those are travel bug tags from my OWN bugs!

I keep and display all of my trades. This is a nice oak display case that my dad (Tuck-A-Way) made for me. This pic is from July and the case is nearly full now. My dad is now making a 2nd case for me. Here's the pic:

I bought a bunch of the compass/carabiner/keychains from Oriental Trading Co. to use as trades. They are neat little items but I certainly would not count on the compass in any way, shape, or form. Not unless you believe that north is whatever way you happen to point! Because when I turn, North seems to turn with me! I like the ones in the post directly above this one. I am in the process of making two hiking staffs for the wife and myself. I'm going to order a few of those to put in the top of each staff and an extra one or two.

Most considered Mary to be not just CONCERNED about sunburn, but actually PARANOID about it!

This one is from Hyde's Old Mill virt and this one is the same picture after playing with PhotoStudio:

I voted for 'Routing'. To be more precise, it would be 'back-tracking'. I bought my first one (a Garmin45) because it had a removeable antenna which I planned to mount above the wing on an ultralight aircraft. My intention was to have a way to find my way back to whatever little field I took off from after buzzing around for a while. Sadly, never did get that ultralight finished (money and eyesight issues stopped it). Tried that Garmin45 in the woods for caching, found it was useless under tree cover, and moved up to a Garmin76, then a Rino120.

My first one was a Garmin 45 back around 1995 or so. Bought that one because of its removable antenna. At the time, I was planning to buy/build an ultralight airplane and I wanted to mount the antenna above the wing. I also made a mount to mount the antenna on the outside mirror of my truck for off-roading. Ended up not using it very much and it sat for a few years. Dug it out little over a year ago to try my first cache and found out that it stunk under tree cover. Bought a Garmin 76 and then a Rino120 for caching. Caching keeps me using them.

OK -- "This is my 5th FTF this year alone!" actually means: "I'm unemployed and bored. Anybody got a job for me?"

Here's Maxx the wonder-puppy with OuttaHand at "Learning your ABC's" He's young in this pic and didn't realize he was supposed to pose and look at the camera!

Push and hold the click-stick. That will bring up a screen to create a waypoint called "001" with your current coordinates. You can scroll down and edit the name. If you are trying to enter a waypoint for some other place, then you can scroll down and edit the coordinates, too. Click 'Save' and/or 'Goto' and you're set.

I won't take credit for making this up. When I started geocaching, my mentors (Team CacheCows) tought me the term "BumbleBee Dance". That's when you get close to the cache and you walk back and forth watching the GPSr for the point where you're closest. Resembles the back-and-forth dance a a bumblebee uses to tell other bees where a flower patch is.

I have ordered a LOT from Oriental Trading Company. Just got another order last week, in fact. A couple of my favorites are the compass/carabiner and the hacky sacks They are good, quality items (although the little compass on the carabiner is right next to useless), and they are inexpensive. On occasion I'll look back on caches that I've visited and I see that these items are usually taken out by one of the very next finders. Must be fairly popular.

I had e-mailed Garmin asking if they sell just the screw-in tip for a cigarette lighter adapter (the part that touches the center contact in the socket and holds the fuse). Mine must have come unscrewed and is lost. They replied that they do not sell just that part, but that they had packaged and mailed me a complete brand new adapter assembly with cord. Much more than I asked for. I think that qualifies as EXCELLENT service!

When I first started, I went blind. Put in the coords and follow the arrow. But I prefer using maps and planning my attack now. I'm a planner. I enjoy laying out my route and thinking aout the best plan of attack. I use Mapsource for the roads and driving, and I use satellite images of the actual coords to see what the area will be like once I get there. I enjoy the preparation. Given that -- I completely understand the 'thrill' of going in blind. I just prefer the preparation.

I voted to keep them but regulate them a bit more. What I mean here is that if a person can put a REAL cache there, then the virt gets archived immediately with no debate. But if there's no way to put a real one there, why not have the virt? I have 4 caches hidden, this one is a virt and there are several comments by finders that they appreciated it. I think there is definitely a place for virts -- do NOT do away with them.

I completely agree with the above replies. I have a Garmin 76 and a Garmin Rino 120. Both have neoprene covers. Both are designed with the top exposed (f course, the Rino has an external antenna anyway) and both work beautifully --- no problems from the cover. I really like the protection it gives the screen and the extra padding on the unit itself. I strongly recommend a neoprene cover. Cheap insurance.

As far as I'm concerned, no geocache hunt is complete without a digital camera. Gotta have it!!!

Follow-up. I e-mailed LostOutdoors. Got a very fast response that the virus software had kicked in and they're working on it.

I didn't have any trouble when the site was down (didn't use it at that time) but I am having trouble right now (8/5 @ 10:45am). After I input coords to get a satellite image and click the "Create Map" button, I get a network logon screen. Does your site now require membership? Or what?

Rino 120 Backup is my Garmin 76. Both excellent. I like the maps of the Rino120 and the radio. Still waiting for that magical day when I actually see another cacher on my screen using the peer-to-peer positioning!

I'm not sure if the store is local, regional, or national, but here in Southeastern Wisconsin you can get blank wooden nickels at Michael's which is a craft store.

I'm looking at my case of cache items taken from the 60+ caches I've found. There are items ranging from a toy that came free in a box of Cheerios (I know because I got one just like it out of a new box of Cheerios just two days after the cache) up to what is probably the most expensive item -- a Beanie Baby. Each one is representative of the cache it came from. I don't intend to sell any of these items to make my house payment. They are there only as remembrances. I value each as much as the next. Now sure -- when I find a cache, I try to find something nice in it. I also try to trade even or up. And yes, I'm a bit disappointed when there are only three things in there and they're all McToys. But still -- it doesn't bother me long enough to take note of. When I placed my caches, I put in a selection of things ranging in value from a few cents up to a buck or so. In each of the caches, one of the first things taken was basically free. It was a plain plastic poker chip with the name of the cache written on it in magic marker. Obviously, a very cheap item -- but valued by someone. Basically, if you are hunting for caches because you're looking for valuable trades, then maybe you need to re-think why you're doing this. As more and more caches are put out, and more people get into this, it's probably only going to get 'worse'. Try to enjoy the activity -- not the physical "payoff" of the trade. Try to think of each trade as a postcard from that cache. A postcard only costs a few cents, but it reminds us of the fun we had there. Treat the trades the same. Remember the fun you had finding that cache -- or the challenge -- or whatever. Just my 2 cents worth!

One important point that I didn't see in the replies above is that this sport/hobby/activity is very "family-friendly". It is something that the kids can enjoy as well as the adults and it gets the little boogers away from the Nintendo ("what's that big orange ball up in the sky???") and gets them some exercise. They might actually pick up a little respect for the land while out there, too!