NomadRaven

Ewww, canned meat. I just had the most delicious bruschetta! I will never understand why some people feel the need to make such a big deal out of spam. It's so much easier just to hit the delete key a few* times each morning than to write long rants in the forums in an attempt to make someone look bad. You will get "spam." I'm sorry, but it's going to happen. You will also get cut off by other drivers in traffic and people with 13 items will go in front of you at the 12 items or less stand at the grocery store. Puppies grow up, get old, and die. People will trade down at geocaches sometimes. Geocachers in this area used to be so friendly. What happened? I hate how people feel like it's ok to berate someone at the other end of a computer when they wouldn't do the same in person. I've been guilty of the same thing myself, but always regretted it later. It's been such nice weather and the days are getting so much longer. I can't wait until my workload calms down so I can go geocaching again! NR *Or a few hundred, for those of us with our own domains.

Having brought my kids (10 and 6 as of Sunday) to a few cache machines, I'd say the best way to ensure success is to be honest with them and warn them in advance. I tell them straight up that we're going to be getting up at 5 a.m., eating Cliff bars in the car for breakfast, and looking for ~50 geocaches without trading at any of them. In exchange, they get to play on the monkey bars at any of the parks where I can maintain visual contact from the cache site (or sometimes if I'm just around the corner, within earshot)... but they have to hop back in the car when I say it's time. Ethan (6) is usually the only member of the family that doesn't end up tired and sore. Liagra (10) usually likes to socialize with everybody. They've ended up having a pretty good time and always react positively when I mention another cache machine is coming up. Their physical stamina outlasts mine every time. Definitely limit their water consumption in the early part of the day, though. Bathroom breaks can be few and far between. Liagra downed a 20-ounce water bottle at 6 a.m. during one of the cache machines, and we ended up on the "Bathroom Machine" route instead...

Any idea whether there are any vegetarian options at El Abuelo? It appeared that there are chicken, beef, and seafood options... can't seem to Google the answer to this one.

Why? Because you can't please everybody. Plain and simple. (Although I definitely do agree, placing a cache on private property without permission is not a good thing.) I was at a cache event at some point last year where one of the people at a table near me was commenting about how selfish it is to be a geocacher if you're not going to hide some caches, too. At this point, ironically, I hadn't hidden any caches yet. Some of us just aren't very creative, don't have a lot of predictable time to create/maintain a cache, or don't know the area as well as people who have lived here longer. Having to choose between hiding a lame, cliche cache and getting criticized for it or being viewed as selfish for not hiding any caches at all makes for a very not-fun hobby. My one cache hide is totally lame, but you know what? A couple of new caching families found it after Christmas and enjoyed it. That made me smile. One thing I like about geocaching is that there's something for everybody. I try to appreciate every cache I find, regardless of how I feel about its hide. I have so much more fun that way. Not trying to lecture, just offering a different perspective.

Yay, the white flakey stuff has quit falling! (At least in "central" Federal Way). We've had our token snow, doesn't that mean it's spring now? Awesome picture Phil & Cathy. The big flakes are so pretty.

Hehe, I just don't understand it. I've never been lost in the Dash Point trails, and I've been there completely by myself. And yet I have a knack for getting hopelessly turned around in Kent or Tacoma. I guess we're all just differently-abled. I had a blast hanging out with you guys!

I've got a busy weekend ahead of me (2005 is shaping up to be busy already!), but I'd love to tag along for a couple of the caches I haven't done and to say happy b-day. Happy new year!

I usually stare at them until my eyes get tired, then I do something else while my brain churns on the text of the cache page for a while. Usually the answer comes to me when I'm doing something completely unrelated. Of course, it's always helpful to examine the graphics and the HTML source for oddities there, as well as examining the cache description for any themes or oddly worded phrases, etc. There was a puzzle cache I recently was trying to figure out, and I woke up one morning absolutely sure I had the answer... but I didn't. I had an answer that was so completely strange and out of the blue that I'm thinking about turning it into a puzzle cache of my own.

My name is NomadRaven and I'm a total DNFer. My first attempt at finding a cache was a DNF. That was over 2 years ago and the cache is amazingly still there... I really should go back and find it like I said I would in my log. I still remember it well. RomulusNR and I were the least prepared geocachers ever. We had the new GPS in the car and were driving through Renton for some reason and looked up that cache on his cell phone. Halfway through looking for it, it started pouring rain. Then it got dark and we had a heck of a time getting back to the car. Really though, life's too short not to laugh at these things.

Oh, wow. Just came from Fenwick park a little over an hour ago! What's a pickle park?

Oh no! Has it been found yet?

I think I'll be there as well. I've been so busy lately that I doubted my dedication to geocaching and cache machines, but then I found out that someone I know is getting married on June 18, and the first thing I thought of was "Crap! That better not be the same day as one of the cache machines!" Of course, I'd much rather go to a cache machine than wear a lime green and blue dress. *dies*

Woo-hoo! My coins are here! (Errr... well, mine and RomulusNR's) they're so pretty and shiny! Now we just have to fight over which one of us gets #74! Thanks LucyandRickie! Amazing how fast UPS is from Redmond to Federal Way... the package was "origin scanned" at 8:37 last night and I got it in under 14 hours!

Oh no, that's not good -- glad you're ok! Hope your brake foot heals by the time the car does.

I can't think of the last time I heard a happy ending on the news, whether it dealt with guns or not. I'm a bit confused, though. Aren't handguns more likely to be used in self-defense or in committing a crime, while rifles are used for hunting? I'm not sure that an anti-hunting stance really has much to do with gun control groups who want assault weapons or concealed handguns banned or regulated. One seems motivated by concern for animal rights, the other seems motivated by concern for human safety. Sure, the two groups overlap to some degree, but it's a sweeping generalization to say that all liberals are interested in gun control and want to eliminate hunting. I know a lot of conservatives who actually are for gun control, don't own a rifle, and don't hunt. Can't say that I know any liberals who own a gun or hunt, but I don't talk politics with anybody I want to get along with. Life's just not black and white, at least not from here.

Haha, no. Anybody can put up a website, call it a newspaper, and have a public voice these days. Really, though, are the "liberal" jabs necessary? It really comes down to this: whether you like it or not, there's bad apples in any hobby or activity. There's even geocaching pirates. There's bound to be at least one moron with a gun out there. I'm sorry, but all it takes is one. The risk of getting accidentally shot might be negligible, but it's there.

Also done. Good luck!

Ironmaiden: I'm confused. I didn't see anybody say that, though I'm sure you run into people with that attitude from time to time. Heck, I got crap for being a female when I took calculus, and that was less than 10 years ago. Sexism sucks, but we're stuck with it for the time being. Really, I see this thread as mostly being pro-hunting, with very few dissenting opinions. I see no reason why the hunters feel picked on. There's idiots in every sport, and I doubt hunting is any exception except where state laws require more training and/or competency. Heck, Nolenator says he's been shot at, and that's enough to freak me out a bit. Ironman: thanks for the description of a muzzleloader, all these hunting terms have been going over my head. What's the range on those things? Or does it vary? Niskibum: most meat eaters I know eat only things that can't run away... I've never seen a package of ground beef fight back! If we weren't such a convenience-oriented society, you'd probably have a lot more competition.

In the interest of turning this back to geocaching, what's a muzzleloader? Should one wear orange during muzzleloader hunting periods as well, or would that be silly? I wouldn't want to get my forest fashion all wrong. I know several militant vegans and vegetarians who would have an absolute heyday with some of the things you guys have said in here.

Is there a dumbed down version of the hunting season calendar anywhere on the web for those of us who don't hunt? Like a wear-orange list? The only thing I can find is a convoluted summary of which animals, when, and where (somewhat). Not helpful if you don't know which animals are shot via guns versus trapped or what a muzzleloader is! Not really wanting to learn that stuff either, just wanting to avoid relevant dates.

Always amazes me how one ascii character can change something from helpful and informative to anti-this or anti-that. Not all of us have the same view about hunting, but "not looking like a deer" is probably a good idea for people on both sides of the fence. Accidents can happen, even if you're really careful and knowledgeable. Don't hunters prefer that people wear orange? I always thought so, but I don't personally know anybody who hunts. I'd find it more practical to wear orange when hunters are using guns than when they're using traps or large clubs or whatever else. It's easier to mistake somebody for a deer when they're 200 feet away and partially behind a tree or whatever. I think that's all RWW's getting at. I actually appreciate the warning, because I'd otherwise have forgotten that it was hunting season.

It sounds like fun! I wonder if I can convince my kids that we should go. They're so unadventurous.

Awww Nolenator, I thought you were joking about pulling all of your caches. I was hoping someday to find the time to do Something Evil in West Seattle. I hope you give it a bit more thought. There's stupid people who do irrational things in every hobby, but you can't just quit having fun and let the stupid people take it all. Ahh well, you'll do what's right for you. I just thought I'd let you know that your caches will be missed. Why is caching morale so low in the PNW lately?

Will you be jumping out and scaring night cachers?

Well, you could paint it black, cover it in metal studs and add a leather strap and wear it as a purse to a goth-industrial club! Not that I've ever seen such a thing, but I'd be surprised if it hadn't been done. I could see them being handy for camping, considering their waterproofness qualities. I'll have to remember that next year when our girl scout troop goes camping.