RoamingRobertsons

As the above poster mentioned, unfortunately, some folks would go to every cache page and claim they had discovered, or worse moved, every bug in the cache. It's slightly cumbersome but a necessary process to have you input the numbers on the tag. I've not experienced any difference in speed between a cache log and a TB log. Theoretically, there would be a little more computer interaction behind the scenes so that could cause some of it.

OWE $1221 I was actually thinking about saying you nailed it and don't owe anything and aren't getting anything back, but I don't think that's possible with our goofy tax laws. You'd have to be a tax genius and you wouldn't have any time to make nifty walking sticks!

Seems odd to me to have this story of these horrors and not have any photo evidence. Wouldn't it be much more meaningful to see some photos, both close up and from far away for size reference. Who would see this and decide to report about it but not take any photos to get the point across? The idea makes sense, but I am skeptical by nature. A picture would be worth much more than 1000 words in this case.

Very cool. I think you've done about as much as you can to keep it from becoming someone's toy. There are some small red letters and numbers in the bottom right of the mission tag. If those are the actual tag number, edit your post to black them out or your bug will start poppoing up everywhere as people claim it just because they have the numbers.

Thanks for the tip. I've only had two people express interest thus far. I was planning on launching several while I was there but maybe I'll scale that back based on what you said. I'm also researching all of the caches (less than 100 I think). Some have a high muggle/disappearance rate, others seem to do pretty well.

I have yet to have any photos taken of my bugs, but I try to take photos of others. This one is the first TB I was able to make it reach its goal. And another... Jeep on Safari I'm looking forward to having some pics taken of the bugs we've released.

We're headed to Maui in 3-4 weeks. I'm not sure if it is a faux pas to use the forum to move bugs or not. If so, please disregard, maybe this is an unfair advantage. If you have a bug you want me to drop in Hawaii, either to complete part of a goal or maybe start its life, I'd be happy to take it with me if you mail it to me. I plan on dropping a couple over there to see where they go. I don't want to take bugs, log them in caches and bring them back though. I would be willing to try to rescue a bug if its been stuck over there a while and you'd like it brought back to California. Send me the details and I'll do my best.

Yes, they are someone's signature item, but I'm not sure whose. I usually find them pinned to the log. Next time you find one, read the past (written) logs and there should be a mention somewhere.

Definitely a unanimous answer. I'm not sure how anyone would know how long a travel bug would have been there anyway. Obviously if it had been there a while, they might have seen it when they looked up the cache on the internet but if it had only been there for a couple of hours, I'm not sure they'd even know about it since it probably hasn't been logged online yet.

Uh, I think you're mad that a travel bug has gone missing. Yes, that happens, more often than we'd like. There are many, many threads about it in this forum. But your post is pretty hard to understand. I suspect there are some typos that just happen to work out to be real words but not what you intended. If this post doesn't answer your question, please ask again and make sure it makes sense before you post it.

Actually, I'd say the probability of it going lost in Texas may have been even higher, given that it was a piece of Texas memorbilia.

Yes and no. I was already thinking of doing a morphing one where it changes completely. Now I think I'll try to get people to simply modify it slightly somehow before moving it on. I need to figure out what object would be easily modifiable.

Yeah, you'd think so. It's basically taking something with a specific intent and changing it to suit you own game. I'd argue the intent of their game is marketing so I think they are still accomplishing that. If they are still involved in their game, I suppose it would be polite to wait until the game is over and they become "regular" travelbugs. I've sent out several travel bugs, including a couple of vehicles. It'd be fun if they were modified along the way but were stilll recognizeable to a certain degree. Hey, I just thought of another travelbug goal idea!

Not sure how you're searching but Joshua Tree is now a National Park, so if you were using the term "Monument" it may have limited your search.

I actually like the Jeeps after they've been modified. There are so many of them I don't see the real harm in it. I think it adds a little extra "flavor" to the game.

Is the problem that they are mis-labeled as traditional size but are actually micros? If they are labeled as micros, just set up your PQ to screen those out. I've done that because my kids have too much trouble with micros still, especially urban micros with muggles.

This one nearly made me spit my morning coffee all over my computer. Thanks for the laugh, you get my vote!

If you have the numbers and letters all right, it could be that someone swapped the hitch-hiker. Check the logs and photos and see if you can verify what it is supposed to look like. Maybe someone liked the toy or whatever was attached so much they couldn't live without it and replaced it with something else.

Thus far the whole experience with the kids, watching them find caches, seeing the excitement on their faces, holding them back from rummaging through all of the swag. We're newbies but having a lot of fun as a family. We've released several travel bugs so far and the best moment has been "seeing" one move, even if it is only 1.5 miles. We're really looking forward to the geography lessons as the bugs move through out the world.