Paul and Shona Royle-Grimes

Hello all, I am the person who placed the infamous cache that caused this forum. First let me explain, The cache was not really "next to the bank". It was accross the parking lot in the easement next to the sidewalk. The cache was right next to an intersection that is highly traveled so lots o muggles. I know that the news article makes this one look sinister, however it had been there for over 10 months and had been found 38 times with nobody mentioning a problem about location or any other problem. I called first thing today to talk to the local police and the bank manager. I apologized for the stress I had caused them and straightened out the confusion. No laws were broken and the cache was on a greenway easement (not on bank property). The bank personnel were understanding and actually kind of interested in the sport- which they learned about yesterday. I did not intend to cause problems as most cachers don't, however I did make something positive out of this. [/b]According to the police sgt. that I spoke with, this has happened before. The concern would be that if caches are uncovered and nobody knows what they are the location may not be the only problem. The police said that to keep the game from prompting legislation a little help would be appreciated. I volunteered to keep an updated cache list for the police in Sterling who expressed concern over caches anywhere inside the city.(all urban caches) Please know that they thought that most police stations have no idea where caches are hidden and suggested that I encourage cachers to inform their local authorities with a written reference so that this can be avoided in the future. Still love the sport and still love all of the cachers who helped me get started!! Hope this post is useful and informative. paul

I would spend more money on the camo and less on what is in it. I have two sons one is six and the other is 2 years old. We have completed every one of our finds together and my 6 year old is often more inclined to just sign the log and leave the swag. I have maybe traded items 5 times since starting this game. My 2 year old is another story of course but he would want the marble. Bottom line the fun for us is the adventure of the find. A well camoflaged cache in a cool place is what it is all about. Sure we have seen neat stuff, but we often leave it be. When a cache is well done and has survived a while folks are more likely to return to place coins or bugs inside (an added benifit) I love discovering a bug in one of my caches close to home! I have discovered also that in high saturation areas that an ammo can or even a small cache may be out of the question. Consider a nano or a micro and match the paint, embed it in an overturned rock, or make it look like a bolt. If you are an urban cacher this is part of your fun! There is a cache we visited on the top of a parking garage made to look like a battery pack for an emergency light! Genius... Simply genius.... wish I'd thought of it first. I guarantee most veteran cachers will dig this type of cache more than the fanciest swag. If you are still excited about swag - one more idea. Look for door busters, surplus supplies, 80% off sales and the like and start a cache swag bag. This way you can put cool stuff in a cache without spending a mint. One cache we placed we were able to fill with new flashights (large ones with batteries), a brand new digital kitchen timer, stuffed animals, and some polished agate stones all for under ten bucks. People loved the cache and expressed suprise at the quality of the swag. If you would like I could make you one of my moonstone style caches and send it to you for hiding - Maybe it would inpire you to invent your own custom containers? good luck, and email if you want me to make you a "moonstone" paul

I know of two that I would add/ great idea. paul

I like your idea and would have much fun getting coffee Waymarking at the same time. paul

I am glad that this was moved here, I would like to respond to a few of the statements that appear above. because all of the examples here are only unique because of their reference points to earth - celestial objects such as the north star are relevant only in reverence to the earth. i.e. the north star is just another star anywhere else in the universe except on earth. So with a username like "starbrand" I would think that you would have a more open mind. But oh well on to the next statement. Once again. The north star is only unique because of the rotation of earth. This argument fails - checkmate. No, many virtual caches that I have downloaded have questions about the location. i.e. a war memorial virtual might have questions about WWII that can be found on signs that you read at the memorial. You do not have to go back in time and take pictures at the battle of the bulge with other GPSrs. All of this being said I tried to stay positive and seek wisdom, not cynical remarks from the uninformed. I did call Groundspeak and they did find the idea interesting and exciting. I was instructed to come to the forums for help... I receive the same kind of can't do, literal, obtuse thinking in many of the other activities that I participate in. Fly fishing, Hunting, music, art, work, business, all have traditionalists- purists. These are the people who hold back progress and get their power trip by trivializing a newbie (which I am). I thought that geocaching was a sport for the future and in being would have visionaries, and forward thinkers in it's ranks. If my idea has a better future at Waymarking fine, I simply would like to have my idea moved with expediency and not trifled with by those who are unable to see a fun idea that might require an open mind. I call upon you brave waymarkers to join me in having a little fun looking up instead of down upon this sport!!

Astrocaches! love it how do I make this happen? refinement could be done easily - i think. would there be interest in such a thing? just a little different. even though this is out of the box (about 27 light years out) I still think that celestial caching could give us all a link to our past as far as navigation is concerned. GPS satellites are artificial stars - nothing more. paul

could somebody kick this topic on over to the Waymarking site then? I want to see if this could be done. could it count as an earthcache maybe? paul

After contacting Groundspeak I am convinced that I have a unique idea for a virtual cache. According to the staff at Groundspeak this could qualify as a waypoint or a virtual cache (either one - cool huh?) They suggested comming to all of you and asking for your wisdom and expertise. The North Star. My only problem is finding a way to enter it so that it easily come up on inqueries. The best reasons for me to post this chache are- * a unique cache that everyone in the Northern Hemisphere could find and log. * celestial navigation is the origin of GPS. * Great for kids! * the first truly international cache where I could impact geocachers everywhere * there are no rules prohibiting it and it would be within the spirit of the sport. I have already designed a northstar geocoin to go with! I have not worked out details on how I would create uniqueness with this but one idea is to make it avalable for purchase only to those who log the find? I would also like to do the southern cross, aurora borealis, orion, cassiopia, etc. Not to an extreem but to point out major celestial navigational or otherwise important features (like the moon, or mars) My idea for posting is to place a post on every state and nation in the northern hemisphere using true north as the coordinates. please tell me if you know a way to do this so that it can be accessed by all. thanks all for your input. paul