Sparrowhawk

According to Kyle, tempting people to walk into a flood makes for a liability issue because folks can't see what sharp objects could be hiding in that water. THPRD can't really have anything that makes folks even slightly tempted about playing in such waters, considering our lawyer-happy culture. Amusingly enough, my email conversation with Kyle about all this started when I asked his permission to build and leave behind a small raft (no I am NOT kidding) at the site. Hey, it WOULD have been fun to make it that much more creative... -Elana (a.k.a. "Sparrowhawk")

Next time, I should simply cut to the chase and ask Kyle where the best THPRD swimming pools would be for hiding my next cache... -Elana (a.k.a. "Sparrowhawk")

------------------------------------------------ "Is it still there so I can run by & log a find before you move it?" ------------------------------------------------- The White Eagle page itself is temporarily suspended, but the physical second stage itself is not going to be modified until Sunday. If you are THAT into splash-and-cache, your deadline is about Sunday at 9am. Then log the find after the web page is alive again. As per Kyle: if the place is in total pond mode, please avoid it at that high water level so that THPRD officially does not have to fear any liability problems. -Elana (a.k.a. "Sparrowhawk")

Kyle is going to find me a good, DRY place to relocate my flooded second stage. No more unintended swimming lessons for geocachers at White Eagle. -Elana (a.k.a. "Sparrowhawk")

I've got the "something's wrong with my first cache" blues!! I found out the hard way today (so did Sasquatch... sorry dude!) that after a very hard rainstorm, my final cache-site turns into a foot deep POND!! It does sufficently drain after awhile, and becomes normal again, but I feel like I need to apologize to everyone. At least the cache itself is guaranteed to stay dry, due to it's interesting placement. Anyway, I decided to compensate by: (a) adding sufficient warning to the White Eagle page ( adding an added funny hint to the site itself which should make people laugh when they find it. It's a cute touch. Might make up for the occasional high tide. (I WAS going to make finding the cache slightly harder, but today's experience definitely changed my mind on THAT idea.) Meanwhile... ah well... live and learn, eh? -Elana (a.k.a. "Sparrowhawk")

There is some guy on these forums who is writing a book on geocaching... boy, THIS should make a heck of a chapter!! -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

I am having a lot of fun with my first cache... adding little bits of creativity to it each week and increasing it's coolness ratio along the way. The cache container itself is rather small and cramped. I have LARGE items I'd like to give to fellow cachers on the hunt - which I know they would like a lot. I am thinking of finding a nice hiding place nearby for the occasional "geogift"... i.e., put a card in the cache describing the gift, and a note that says "If you want that item as my gift to you, please take this card away with you and follow directions to get it. That way I can give out items too physically big for this cache." I guess I'd have to specify that they NOT replace it with some other big thing at the same temporary satellite location! Then I'd end up with an accidental "permanently-triple" multi instead of the double that I'd originally designed. ;-) What do others think? -Elana -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

Hey all... I have placed my first cache! People seem to like it a lot so far, which ain't bad for a first cache. I've been messing with how I can improve it or add additional twists... and so I added a typical-looking little cache container to the site... it has a note inside that says "THIS AIN"T IT! Keep trying!" with smileys all over it. I was trying for a bit of humor... but I want to know if that actually works... would that be both amusing and annoying - or just annoying? What if I added a really nice hint to it as to where the real cache is as an award for finding the decoy... would that help or even be necessary, you think? -Elana -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

OK, so I am bending the rules, but THIS is too much fun not to share! -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

White Eagle is now alive and well. It's a two-stage multicache, with a cool, virtual "Wow, look at that!" first stage. The last is I hope at least SOMEWHAT creative or devious enough for you guys. I was amused to find the Jihad has wasted no time scooting to stage one within what seemed to be minutes of when my cache was posted by the admins. What... some of you actually sit with baited breath waiting for a new cache to show up in email and then zoom THAT fast? How often does THAT happen? I HAD hoped to leave a tape of the White Eagle album by Tangerine Dream (for which the cache was named) as a sort of first-finder token. My caches will be all named after my fave, old TD albums. Unfortunately, my T.D. CD collection is buried under a bunch of moving boxes right now. Arrrgggh... Figures! In future caches, I intend that a tape of whatever early T.D. album the cache is named after should be the official first-finder token. Wish me luck... and I wish YOU guys luck as well! -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

You know you're a Cachin'-Geek if... __________________________________________ ...you think "markwell" as a verb. -Elana (who thinks it's handy and wonderful to have the word "elanic" as her own personal adjective! -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

Hey folks... I have a bunch of pottery/ceramics experience. I have been thinking about putting those old skills to use again to make realistic fake, hollow rocks for geocaching. I could do nearly any color or shape or texture. I can make one big enough to hide a decent-size ammo can, if I wish. If I could make these to order, would anyone else want 'em? They'd have to cost a bit, like $20-40 for one large enough to hide a largish ammo can, but it IS possible... -Elana -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

"You forgot to mention that the rivers are so flat and shallow that you could walk across them without getting your knees wet." ----------------------------- What, there, or here? Here we have both deep and shallow rivers of all types so I am confused here... I don't know how to insult where u guys are at because I don't live there. I can only make gentle fun of where I am. I did honestly wonder how caching could be as interesting in a flat land. But was afraid I might piss off a local who might think I was trying to insult your area or something. So I gently insulted my area first to show I wasn't trying to do be all too NW-proud while asking the question I was wondering to you guys about. -Elana -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

(silliness/tease mode ON) Hey you guys... How can ya folks POSSIBLY make geocaching at all adventurous out there when all ya have is a buncha flat geology? I mean... no huge ravines to accidently slip into, no mountains to fall off of, no Bigfoot legends, no grizzlies to scare ya, no constant rain all winter trying to become ice, no loggers/hunters to piss off with their rifles, no big forests to get lost in and then freeze your butt off in the snow or in the rain in the middle of the night... Sheesh, is it just one big easy tea party out there or what? -E. (This Post Has Been Closed Captioned For The Humor-Impaired) -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

"What I like to do is hide a micro hint cache 300 to 500 feet from the main cache. I write the hint out starting by telling the finder to go back to the coordinates on the web page and then I describe where the cache is without giving away any landmarks." _________________ Hmmmm... THAT would work! I can write a cute little poem chock full of hints, hide it in the micro, and send 'em off to the final cache. Makes me think I could print out a bunch of little micro-pages to put in the micro-cache, they can each take a copy with a poem in it and figure it out from there. I'll have to watch my page and see if the first version of the cache poem produces either too much frustration among the cachers or way-too-easy finds. Then re-write the poem accordingly. Get a nice balance there. THIS should be fun. -Elana -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

Hey all... I am planning on my first cache, and I plan on making it darned easy to walk to, yet equally frustrating to find even when you are 2 feet from it. I want folks to grin at my (attempt at) creativity there once they do find it. It will be within all the cache rules, plus I have the blessing and the active help of a local parks official. Without revealing any clues, the means to finding the cache is to realize the EXACT (within inches) unusual location and then approach it in a certain manner to reveal the cache itself. I was thinking of how to give hints to help folks figure it out. I don't want to make it too easy ("Go look at that over there and then open the .") Maybe scatter little words written on rocks all over the site, or something. How should I approach making hints to make it hard, but not TOO hard? What have other people done? :-) -Elana -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

... but I left him with a bunch of geocaching.com information. Won't be surprised to see him here eventually. -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

Hey! Nobody told me there were TWO caves!!! $#@$! red-herring bleepin' little cavern nearby... next time I should get brave and put a vacation cache with a few bucks in the second cave just to be a brat. -Elana -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

Greetings, all... I found myself with 4 unexpected days off in a row, so i took off for the central coast. I was in a parking lot near the beach near Bandon, Oregon when a friendly ranger guy came by. I told him about geocaching, and he said something like: "THAT explains it!" Turns out he saw some guy with a GPS and a walking stick wandering around... look at the GPS, poke the ground with a stick, walk in seeming-random direction, poke the ground with a stick, then eventually leave. The ranger guy could not figure it out. He was quite facinated when I told him! I told him about Kyle The THPRD Guy, and told him to go talk to Kyle about how geocaching can help parks. He was interested. Today, official THPRD support for geocaching. Tomorrow, official support from Oregon State Parks... Someday, NATIONAL parks! The beat goes on... -Elana -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

Yup... I am getting rid of my good stuff too. In Port Orford, Oregon, the Rabbit Hole cache currently holds my old, good tape recorder I don't need anymore. I am waiting for some cacher to snag it with delight... you never know what folks may need that you do not. I'm one of those who try to leave the cache better off than I found it, if possible. -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

On www.wilwheaton.net he puts himself down for finding only 6 caches. I can think of wors geocaching than that, like putting food or other rule-breaking things in caches... -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

You guys are a COOL bunch! Expected maybe 8 people, and 16 showed up. Smart, humorous bunch. I was extremely glad to met you all! Also Kyle The THPRD Guy (with a capital THE!) showed up, as well. In my opinion, the whole bleepin' geocaching community have a lot to gain from us working with him... we start small and local, show the integrity of geocachers as happening here... let it spread... and others in other places will learn and benifit. Especially people dealing with parks districts in other cities. I look forward to other gatherings with you guys... hey Trafcon, reserve a table for AT LEAST fifteen, next time! -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

I am planning my first cache. I hope it will be up within 3 weeks. It will be a 2-stager. The first will have an easy math clue that you find when you get there. The second stage, as I plan it, could drive people slightly nuts at first, and then when they find it, they will start laughing. That is what I hope. I am shooting for at least a 3-star difficulty on a one star terrain... wish me luck. This is a Kyle-approved cache. He's actually helping me put the thing together, and contributing a bunch of grunt work to help me make it happen. THAT is just insanely cool! I hope the parks district know they have someone that cool on staff. I'll let u guys know when it is in place. I hope you like it. -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

Might as well be there. Spike, thumbtack, or whatever, should be fun. -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)

No one expects the Spammish Inquisition!! -Elana (a.k.a. "sparrowhawk" and formerly a.k.a. "falcospav" here on this site.)