Team LaLonde

Team LaLonde- Glad you enjoyed your caching experience in South Dakota and got to see the Black Hills. You must have experienced that nasty weather at Bear Butte on Sunday night 6/17. I know that it got pretty bad out that way Saturday morning and on Sunday night. That tornado knocked a semi right off the road. We were in the middle of that storm. The ranger came around and told us to sleep with our shoes on and stay out of the tornado's way!

You mean like this one?

I always use the opportunity as a chance to recruit cachers. It's especially rewarding when a family is nearby and the kids see all the McToys.

I've been browsing the forums this evening and getting a little peeved at all the recent angst. There must be a full moon on the rise. I can't let this one go. . .the OP has 9 finds, seven hides (and one of those hides is an archived puzzle). It might appear there is bigger problem here. What's the real issue, Silver Bells? There are plenty of people here who can help you with a specific problem or situation.

Photo ops and signs of predatory animals so we don't get surprised.

We just added 3015 miles for a total of about 192K on the '93 Cherokee. Drove it from Upper Michigan to Wyoming and back with a full load of camping gear. Go JEEP!

Hey everyone! We made it back to Michigan and enjoyed every minute of our time in South Dakota. We also made it into Montana and Wyoming as long as we were out there. Caching in the area was great! We camped in the path of a tornado at Bear Butte State Park. It never reached us, but the wind was threatening to blow our tent into the lake. We made an unsuccessful attempt on Heck Table II and a successful attempt on WhiteRocks. With the exception of one cache, all of them were in good shape and dry. Caching in South Dakota gave us the opportunity to see a whole new range of wildlife that we don't get to see in Michigan (bison, pronghorns, prairie dogs, black widows, rattlesnakes and more). Walking through cactus fields was a totally new experience also. Thanks to all those who have caches placed in the Great Plains area!

If you do get bit, bite back. That way they learn that it's wrong to bite cachers. Funny, that's how I trained my dogs! Thanks everyone for the advice. See you in two days.

We are making the trip to SD from Upper Michigan next week so it's nice to read about such a positive experience. Hopefully the storms will stay away since we are tent camping. Unlike the OP, everyone on the trip is looking forward to caching. We have our sights set on some special caches, too. One question - what about rattlesnakes? I really don't care about them but my wife and daughter are another story. I take the 'live and let live' approach - my daughter is the 'KILL IT!' type - wife says, "let's go somewhere else". Any words of advice on what to do when you stumble across them? Thom L

The best hiking boots I ever owned were made by Salomon. I had them for years. They retailed for $180 but I got them on trade for photographic services to Moosejaw Mountaineering. Man, I loved those boots. Now I go with whatever is on sale and try to stay with a quality boot in the $60-$80 range.

We'll do this, too. By watching a cache we can see the last people who saw the TB before it went missing.

CRAP! I knew we should have taken a grandkid with us. That will be a very memorable birthday for your daughter. She's adorable with her stuffed Signal frog. We found the whole experience to be very positive. The host of the show made sure we taped every step including signing the logbook and rehiding the cache so people don't get the wrong idea. We even touched on CITO and included dialogue like "don't step on that little tree". We used a fake cache and made sure there was no money or anything too valuable in it. When I checked on the programs website I saw the word geo-cashing! A quick email got that fixed right away.

Admittedly, LOE has a unique style with excellent intentions. He may even be considered a geo-puritan. All that aside, LOE assisted us in the adoption of a cache that was muggled then abandoned by a cacher that moved away. The cache was a local favorite and without the help of the accused, would have been archived.

We just got home from taping the segment for the show. It's a local program so 99% of you will never get to see it. Maybe we can get permission to post the video?

We've been at this for well over a year and we had a similar situation just this past weekend! Don't feel bad. There are MANY places to hide a film canister in a fifty foot circle in the woods. Incidentally, just before giving up we found the pesky thing - in the same spot we already checked about five times!

Welcome to geocaching! Here's what you are looking for - Travel Bugs and Geocoins. They are hitchhikers that travel from cache to cache on specific (or not-so-specific) missions.

Our German Shorthaired Pointer, Geoffrey, has found several caches that we coud not locate. I think it has to do with whatever the last finder had on their hands when they handled the container.

I'm not sure the Z22 can handle the .html files without another program on it. Although I might be misunderstanding your question. Try out Cachemate. It costs $8.00 to register, but it is very easy-to-use and it has a page where you can log all the details of the cache hunt. You can try it out for free . . . but you'll like it, so go ahead an spring for the restritration fee/ OWWW! Stop twisting my arm! Yeah, Cachemate made the most sense. Thanks for the encouragement!

I tried it and it works great on the laptop. When I sync it to the z22 I get an expansion card error. The z22 doesn't have an expansion card so this might be the problem. All of the files that are a 'problem' are .htm extensions. Anybody have a clue what's going on? We're going on vacation next week and I would like to use this format. Thom

I agree almost entirely with this statement, except for one thing. Nearly every time time I put it in my front pocket while signing a logbook I actually maintain good reception. Strange, I know. Insert "Is that a Legend in your pocket. . ." joke here.

Interestingly enough it never entered my mind to take a find home when we first started geocaching. It just made sense that if other people signed the logbook and left it there then we should follow suit. It's not like you visit a bed and breakfast and take the guest book home.

I've had about all I can take of these micro-banning topics. Why would people take part in a hobby they hate so much? If you don't like it, go find something else to do. Micros are a part of geocaching - GET OVER IT. Just a suggestion: Let's pin a topic for all the micro haters so multiple topics don't waste server space.

We were hunting a micro in a pile of rocks. The rocks are on a four foot slope from a park to a beach. I, being the graceful creature that I am, stepped on a loose rock and went head over heels into the sand. I must have looked like a complete moron. Here's the log. . . DNF T-a 'spill', L-humiliated. Thom

Just got home from work and checked this thread. WOW. I didn't realize so many people were in the same boat. I was just having a bad morning and needed to vent. Usually it doesn't bug me so much but someone this morning pushed the right button. Glad I'm not alone, though!

Why is it that some people insist on pronouncing it 'cashay' instead of 'cash'? I've introduced a few people to geocaching and some of them want to correct me on the pronunciation of the word cache. Has anyone else ran into this? Why is it that people insist on saying it the wrong way? How do you delicately tell them they are full of crap? (Ya think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed? )