parker313

I am more of a finder. I am afraid that I lack the creativity and smarts to match many of the hiders that are active in my area. I'm still just a newbie to this whole thing and I hope to hide more as I find good spots, not just dump things somewhere b/c I wanted to hide something. Finding caches - I actually like driveby micros. I cache with my kids in the car and they often fall asleep. I am not going to wake them just to go caching (though if the baby wakes up when I put him in the stroller, you can't count that against me!) so if they're both asleep in the car and I want to go caching, the drive by caches are GREAT. I get such a thrill out of zeroing in on the target with my GPSr and then just FINDING the cache! It's a thrill every time. I think I could be a numbers ho if I had more time to cache DNFs - I log ALL my DNFs...even the repeat DNFs. It will just make logging the smiley that much more of a sweet reward. Travel bugs - Travel bugs are fun! I can't get out caching as often as I'd like to move them along as quickly as I'd like, but I'm workin' on it! I haven't bought any yet to get into circulation, but will in the future! Swag - Eh. Fun, but not why I cache. The 3 yr old LOVES the golf balls and matchbox cars so I'll often take that and trade up. I've got a pretty nice stock of swag so I hope I can always be in a position to trade up. Favorite aspect - Something to DO. I feel embarassed that my hobbies are so MOMish. Quilting, scrapbooking, reading, computer, etc.... This is something fun, family oriented and is not run of the mill. It's great b/c we can go at our own pace and hunt whatever we feel like on any particular day. Any activity that's basically free and gets us out of the house as a family and into the out of doors, is great! I love caching. I've wanted to get into it for a few years now and am so excited to finally be doing it! --Kristin PS - Fun idea for a thread!!!

Never mind, I found a like new iFinder Pro Plus for $135 on Amazon. I knew I wasn't going to beat that with anything else and I already know that I like the GPSr very much.

OK, follow up question... What Garmin units have at least a base map or are compatible with MapSource? I can't tell from their website if their "basic handhelds" have any kind of a basemap or are compatible with MapSource or if I need to get a "Mapping Handheld" for that. I don't need autorouting, just maps. Thanks! --Kristin PS - Right now, the leading contender is the Lowrance iFinder Pro Plus at Salesource for $163.

Not to mention, there are some that are letterbox/geocache hybrids, listed on both site. That way, you could do some letterboxing and get geocaching finds at the same time

Thank you ArtMan I know most models come with basemaps - I'm interested in the most bang for my buck to include the FULL mapping software, like MapSource, MapCreate, etc. I can find the Lowrance iFinder Pro Plus (Plus meaning including the card reader and MapCreate) for $200 at a couple of different online stores.

My only cache was approved in about 10mins. It was a Saturday night, so I was very pleasantly surprised. I was fully expecting not to hear anything til Monday or Tuesday!

Hi, I think I've finally decided that I'm going to get my mom a GPSr for Christmas. I know that I want to get her the full map software as well - I had a unit without maps before and now have one with maps and it makes such a big difference (for me). I can sort out the Magellan and Lowrance units but there are so many different Garmin units that it kinda makes my head spin. Any help would be most appreciated Right now, I'm leaning towards the Lowrance iFinder Pro or H20.

Here are some of my favorites...

Well, if you *do* put a hamster and a cat in the cache at the same time...problem solved!

Cache logs are not only for the cache owner, they are also for the cachers who will come along in the future and search for this cache. If you felt uncomfortable searching at an active memorial, or felt quite intimidated and visible b/c of snarling dogs, those are important things that future cachers could find quite important. As with all things, there is a way to be honest while still being tactful and there's being honest while being flat out rude. Your choice

If you can put a hamster in a cache, surely you can put a cat in a cache.

CACHE ON

For some reason, after I set the PQ (in addition to the weekly, I sometimes run just an update every once in a while) and think that I've set it to run, I have to go back in to the PQ and submit it again to get it to go.

GSAK's Support Forums

I've got an online business. I can only afford to be so cautious. I want to be available to my customers and not look like I'm trying to hide. I also post on quite a few message boards, and I always use the same username. I've known for quite a while that if someone googled my username, they'd get my message board posts. It's just one consequence of maintaining an online presence. If you Google my real name, you get info about some gymnast out at UCLA. Apparently she's quite good!

That's what I had to do also. It was an irritation, but relatively painless.

Good point. That's why there's the little check box on most adult (as in not kid oriented) sites where you have to check to certify that you're over 13.

According to coppa.org, ANY website that is collecting information from kids under 13 are required to comply with COPPA. There's very good info at www.coppa.org

Not a big deal, but I was a few minutes late getting my son from pre-school one day

Good idea, guess I can make accts for my mini cachers after all (3.5 and 1.5) No way would I let them online unsupervised and have unmonitored geocaching accts before they were 16. Even then, I couldn't imagine not going behind them and making sure everything was above board. I usually use Firefox and have the IE homepage set to nickjr.com so Brodie can hop online and play his little Dora games, but I'm always right here with him.

I'm sure you know irresponsible dog owners. As such, there are irresponsible geocachers as well. There are people who overreact to all kinds of different things, just b/c these people happened to be geocachers, doesn't mean all geocachers are that way. I'd LOVE to find a cache in a dog park (actually, I did in Memphis when visiting family). Savannah's a very dog unfriendly town so our dog-cachers don't get to come with us often at all. I'm sorry you had this experience, please don't think all geocachers are anti-dog or anti-sharing.

I'm glad to see this topic - my husband wants a ForeRunner for Christmas. He doesn't know anything about the ForeTrex, so I may take a look at it as well. He's running his first marathon in December!

I just got my first one this weekend - it was fun!

Sounds like a fun idea! :-P

I found one in Memphis that was dog-themed. The owner's dog had passed away and so she placed the cache in his honor at the local dog park. It was a really sweet tribute.