pssweeney

Not only did I log caches but travel bugs as well. Just creating new entries in my premium account will screw up all the statistics, distances, and handoffs. The two accounts are psweeney('guest') and pssweeney(premium). How does one contact the great geocaching computer wizzards to have them fix this for me? -Skye

Somehow over time I have created two accounts. One of them is a guest account the other is a premium account. Is there anyway I can move the records from the guest account to the premium account? -Skye

While at an undisclosed location in Maine, I went to find the 'BM' that was listed on the topo map of the area. Silly me. I thought I was looking for a standard disk. After a short time, of looking around the intersection of two rural roads, an elderly lady came out to see what I and my family was up to. When told about the benchmark, she asked if perhaps I was looking for the carved stone. What we found was an amazing stone something like a gravestone. It was a census marker. Every 10 years, some guy came through the area, took down the number of residents in the area, and carved the year into the stone to let other cencus taker know the are had already been done. The 1/2 hour talking to this lady was wonderful. She recounted the time when some one "from away" tried to steal the stone. That is why the location must be left as undisclosed

After a little research, I found several web pages that are devoted to cleaning and preserving gravestones. The jist was: 1) Never to use any kind of brush that is harder that the stone. Plastic scrub brush and tooth brush are best tools. 2) Use plain water for cleaning. 3) If needed a SMALL amount of household ammonia. 4) Consult a restoration expert for anything else. I wonder what the fee would be to drag some expert to the top of some remote back woods mountain in Maine to clean the top of the mountain! :eek

I was up in central Maine and have found a few benchmarks. These are not the traditional metal disk type. These where set in the 1800s and are simply carved into rock. After 200 years in the rain, they are in remarkable shape. The original carving is present followed by each update. The trouble is that they are covered in lichen and overgrown by foliage. How best to clean these up so they will be around for somebody else to discover in 2200? To start, I see no harm in a soft brush cleaning. But how does one remove the stuborn lichen what will break down the rock over time? Can anything be 'painted' over the rock to prevent its regrowth and perhaps to seal it from acid rain....? I will try to also approach people who restore old gravestones. The same methods should be appropriate for benchmarks. Any knowledgable ideas? Skye Sweeney