Shadowraven

I have a Magellan Meridian Platinum GPS that I got about 10 years ago or so. I still like it, have no desire to get a new device as it works perfectly for what I need it for. It came with a CD program called MapSend and I've been keeping track of all our finds + ones we want to find + random points of interest during traveling (freeway exits with lots of fastfood to choose from, Starbucks, hiking trails, camping, etc). But I'm looking at changing laptops and thought that I log all my books online (Shelfari), can keep files online for teaching (Evernote)... why not an online GPS file? Is there one that you use? It would need to upload the files to my GPS too just like MapSend does.

I'm an English teacher and I didn't READ your post I read "insulating on your cache." Totally changed that word and left out the word page I LOVE the key finder idea... I'm going to look into that further and think of ideas of how to word it on the cache page too.... mind churning

Before I set out my first two (and still only two) travelers years ago I noticed that not many cachers "engage" in the missions. So I vowed that I would try my hardest to participate when I picked up a bug that had a real mission. I'm NEVER the quickest when it comes to moving along TBs... but when I can, I take as many pics as possible and log about how I helped them in their mission. My favorite one so far: We took this one to 2 major places as well as stopped for a bite to eat for it's mission. All I can do is abide by the same mantra as other parts of caching. I trade up or not at all, or sometimes don't trade but put in good swag. I replace caches the same or better as when I found them. And I try to do well by TBs on a mission.

- double post -

Yah, the better caches out here are out in the middle of nowhere. So, while a random muggle walking nearby wouldn't really happen out here in the desert, the chances of somebody calling the bomb squad are not totally eliminated, so I appreciate the post. I wonder if I can find something that doesn't just beep but emits some kind of word or something. Like announcing the time? And the trouble of insulating whatever device AND still being able to hear it? I think so far that might be our biggest challenge. I thought about a waterproof watch "padlocked" somehow to the outside of the cache container so it's easier to hear. But since it's the high desert, I do worry about the elements, no matter how "waterproofed" the device is.

So my husband came home all excited last night, saying something on the radio gave him an idea for a cache hide... he says to me "what if we hide a cache that contains some kind of sound emitter? So the coordinates listed would be nearby, but not spot on, and the alarm would go off every hour and the cache page would say you need to be there near the hour mark." But I got to wondering if this would even be allowed per hide rules and general good sense. And even if it was allowed... now we're looking to see what kind of device would be good for this so suggestions welcome.

Wow, to me that seems absolutely extreme and ridiculous. Okay, I get that it's his right... but what a stodgy curmudgeon that sounds like to me. Does that mean if I went on a trip w/ just me and my kid who is too young to use the camera, a pic of just my kid would not be good enough to log a find? Must I do one of those lame "Thelma & Louise" shots that always put my forehead front and center?

That's us, we don't always have the confidence to log a DNF. When we were first caching we thought owners would get mad. We figured they'd check on the cache, see that it was still there, and be like "hey dummy, it's there!" Of course we figured the "dummy" part would be all in fun, but we worried that COs would find us a nuissance. There were a few DNFs we didn't log. Since then we are still hesitant to DNF. Most of the time we do (only because we want it for our records). There have been a couple times where we've posted a note instead (usually if we think our search was problematic because of US for whatever reason or if we plan to return within a short time and try again).

We just came across this one of a cow that wants its picture taken around hamburgers . It's still in our hands cuz we haven't been out in the field since the picture... but we just thought this goal was absolutely hilarious and unique!!!

When I read "government authorities" I think of FBI, police, etc So here's my experience... there was a cache right outside Northrup Grommen (or whatever it's called)... Our log from April 2004: The log was VERY interesting as well... it had been signed by a special investigations agent from the Air Force. The agent even left their card with their name cut out. It felt a little bit cool to think we were being watched. Somebody else's from a couple days later: As Shadowraven said, the security people have been watching the previous GeoCachers come and go from this location and were very suspicious. They then found the cache and made an entry that said something like: “You people look very suspicious from our cameras at the government facility to your South. ” BTW, The camer that is watching you is located on the NorthWest corner of the large hanger directly SOUTH of this cache. You can just see it on the hanger corner. The Cache

We've "matured" kinda-sorta. Basically it took us a while to really find what we liked since we had challenges of first not having a car when we got our GPS, then a year or so later having our first kid, and then a few more years later having our second kid. So if you look at my profile, we go caching A LOT, then A LOT, then A LOT... then you won't see us out for a good long while. So at some points we took whatever, just enjoying this new hobby. After a while we realized we hate the "micro in the middle of nowhere" as previous posters have talked about. Then a couple years ago we got our 4x4... now we REALLY like going off-roading with that thing. Throw in some camping paired with a bit of hiking, we try to hit at least one cache every family trip we go. Recently I've gotten the itch to try the puzzle ones... in our area we have the notorious Kit Fox And while I've looked and looked and looked at his puzzles, I'm pretty much clueless about all of them. One of these days... So in the meantime, I'm kinda a radius-slave, but kinda a whatever there is person.

Thanks Cat&Bobby and Max&99 for giving me info! We now think taking our little girl in a front pack carrier will be fine (since her head is even lower than our head in that thing) and that our nearly 5 year old will be fine. We're looking forward to our trip and the sites to see!

I'm torn between posting this either here or in the hiking/backpacking section... So last year we traveled to Yosemite for the first time. November 2007 and April 2008 hooked us. We plan to return this upcoming November, but this June we're gonna also hit up Sequoia National Park/King's Canyon. I'm already planning the trip (cuz that's how I am!) and at Sam's Club they had a GREAT travel book that includes everything to do/know about BOTH Yosemite AND Sequoia! Anyway, so we're looking into visiting the Crystal Caves during our trip. However, the website says: PLEASE NOTE: The cave is not wheelchair accessible. No tripods, walking sticks, strollers, or baby backpacks are allowed in the cave. Single canes, used for mobility, are allowed. The tour includes a strenuous 1 ½ mile hike with a 320’ vertical gain. At the time of our trip our kids will be 11 months and 4.10 years. We have a baby backpack... but what if we put the little girl in one of those snugli carriers. For those who have been, do you know if that would be allowed? And since the tour is described as "strenuous" do you think our 5-ish year old would be able to do it? He has a passion for geocaching, hiking, exploring... but he's also a kid sometimes. He made it 1/2 way up the hike to Vernal Falls from our campground in Yosemite last Nov '07 (he had turned 3 that summer), then got put in the baby backpack, and didn't fall asleep until we were part of the way DOWN on the return trip. I know you don't know anything about my kids, but based on what I wrote here, your help and responses are much appreciated!

Yup, far from water, it's at Mormon Rocks in the high desert of California (Antelope Valley is where I'm from, this was about a 40 minute drive away). CRAZY!

I didn't want to start a new thread, so I hope this post is related... my crew doesn't have the means to remove this trash, but we did take a picture after we both commented that THIS would make for a unique CITO project.

...nevermind... my question got answered a few pages later.

Wow, that Waymarking is really cool! I'll have to really browse through that website. Is there a "map it" feature similar to the one on geocaching? This way we can set up stops for trips along certain freeways and stuff. I looked around but didn't see anything at first sight. The POI Factory is cool too, I like how it's all laid out. But is it more designed for people with navigation systems in their vehicle? We have a Magellen GPS and most of the packets I saw were for TomToms or Garmins.

So everytime we come across a Starbucks we log it in our GPS. We are frap addicts and they keep us awake on longer drives after visiting family in San Diego or coming home from Yosemite. Is there a place on these forums somewhere where people have logged food stop and other point of interest coordinates? Or maybe another website on the net? I tried searching this forum but it kept timing out. I'd be happy to share mine if anybody's interested. We travel immensely using the 15/215 between Antelope Valley and San Diego and have logged a couple places on our two trips from AV to Yosemite.

site timed out but posted my thread twice, I'm deleting all that extra text

I realize this is an old thread, but we just came back from another camping trip at Yosemite and are looking for more recipes. I thought geocaching might be a good place to look Figured I'd share mine as well. Ours can take a little bit of prep since we're not eating on the trail, but we like as less prep at camp as possible so these are still little prep. Potato Package Pre-cook some potato's in the microwave -they should be somewhat soft, but not so soft that they fall apart. Slice potato's and place on large sheet of heavy duty foil. Add some grated cheese, seasoning, polish sausage or anything you like - green onions, garlic, whatever. You also need to add some cut up butter or drizzle with olive oil. Close over the foil and then wrap the entire package again in HEAVY DUTY foil. You can, if you like, wrap a third time to be really sure nothing burns. Place on grill and cook long enough to make everything good and hot. Foiled Chicken 1 sm Green pepper; chopped 1/2 sm Red pepper; chopped 10 Mushrooms; chopped 4 lg Chicken breasts 1 cn Pineapple slices (8oz) Non-stick cooking spray *or* 1 tsp butter Garlic powder, salt and/or pepper to taste . 4 Squares heavy duty foil (16x16 inches) Divide the bell peppers and mushrooms into 4 equal parts. Coat a small area in the center of the foil with cooking spray or a small amount of butter. Place a portion of peppers and mushrooms on the greased area of the foil. Top with a chicken breast and a pineapple slice. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper to your taste. Fold the foil securely and check for leaks. Place on the coals for 10 to 15 minutes per side. Tex-Mex Dinner canned corn (drained) cooked rice Carving Board Chicken Strips canned black beans (not drained) tomato salsa (I prefer Herdez Hot) salsa verde, green salsa shredded cheddar cheese Mix all ingredients, spoon and seal into aluminum foil packets. Seal well and put into Ziploc bags to keep water out while stored in your cooler. At the campground, just place over the grill or campfire to heat. (This was so good and easy! We took pre-cooked chicken and dinner took less than 10 minutes to cook over the fire!) Sweet Potato Packet 1 sheet (18 x 24-inches) heavy duty aluminum foil 4 medium sweet potatoes (1 1/2 lbs.), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices 2 Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples, cored, thinly sliced into rings 1/2 C. dried cranberries or raisins 1/2 C. packed brown sugar 3 T. butter or margarine, melted 1/2 t. ground cinnamon Center sweet potatoes, apples and cranberries on sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Combine butter and cinnamon; drizzle over brown sugar. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal, making one large foil packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Grill 20 to 25 minutes in covered grill until sweet potatoes are tender. Makes 5 to 6 servings. (Hubby doesn't like too much sweet stuff, but he loves this desert and has pretty much started to expect that we have this for desert the first night of camping on every trip. The sweet potatoes can take a bit long though so I think we might try canned next time.) Banana Boats 1. Slice one side of an unpeeled banana end to end. (Like baked potato style) 2. Fill the slit with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. 3. Close the peel back over the banana, and wrap the whole thing in foil. 4. Place on the embers of your campfire, and cook for 5 minutes or until the chocolate chips and marshmallows have melted. 5. Allow the banana boat to cool; then open and eat with a fork. This is SO yummy and a good change from smores! Salmon Packet salmon piece some white wine some sundried tomatoes & chives We combine all this not paying too much attention to "measurements" and cook it the first night. SO yummy! Two recipes we want to try next time (we got in this month's Backpackers): Vanilla Pudding Parfait 1/2 packet vanilla pudding mix 3 T powdered skim milk 6-8 oz water 2 T granola or Grape Nuts (we'd prob opt for granola) At camp add vanilla, milk, water to bowl and mix well. Add the granola and let soak in, eat. Makes a heaping half-cup. This sounds really cool cuz it's like "fresh" pudding right at the campsite. Tuna Pizzazz 1/2 c dry instant brown rice (though I would probably bring it already cooked) 1 tuna pouch 1/2 c sundried tomatoes 1 T Knorr Garlic/Herb powdered sauce mix 1/4 c powdered skim milk 1 slice cheddar cheese At camp cook rice. Reconstitute tomatoes in water (we like sundried tomatoes so we'd probably skip this step too, just put the sundried tomatoes in the tuna mix). Into the rice stir the sauce mix, milk, and 1/2 c water. Then mix in tuna, tomatoes, cheese and pepper. Makes 2 cups.

Good to know. So far Upper and Lower Pines are the only ones available. What's the deal w/ bears there. Do I need a really expensive bear box? Can I store my cooler in my car?

We're on a camping fix right now... can anybody recommend a good spot in Yosemite? We've never been so are unfamiliar with the area. Time is not a problem. We'll go as late as October or November. Thanks in advance!

We thought that a few sig items might just stay there and become trash also, so we tried to think of things that people (or kids) might want to pick up. My husband leaves Flair comic-book hero cards in plastic holders. I leave big stickers, like those ones that you put .50 in a grocery store machine and pull out inbetween two pieces of cardboard.

Feminine hygeine products! EWW!! I wouldn't use one found in a cache even if desperately needed and double-wrapped. That just strikes me as icky. I have found that I personally view candles as a questionable object though. Maybe part of the reason is because we're in the high desert. But those things can get melty and when you open up an ammo box, ugh! Whiff of extra-perfume! NOT something you want to smell while caching.

Got any suggestions?... I'm gonna be in San Diego all next week, from Sunday to Friday. I grew up in East County so am VERY familiar with all that area (Lake Jennings, Blossom Valley, etc) but for the teacher conference I'm attending I'm gonna be near USD. I'm familiar with most places along the 8. Got any suggestions for good caches? I'm a premium member so can visit any, I prefer "regular" caches (no virtual). I also have a geocoin and jeep TB I'd like to drop off in a reliable cache after my 170 mile drive from the high desert. Muchly appreciated!