WindChill
-
Posts
295 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by WindChill
-
-
Registration information is finally available for this event. See the cache page (linked in OP) or the event information page: here
edit: put the wrong url in the link
-
Have fun in Iowa! Looks like fun.
Thanks. It isnt as big as the GeoBash, but it should be fun. And we have another one just a month later. That one we will take over the whole Boy Scout camp for 2 days.
-
Thanks for the plug k0bkl. The Iowa Geocachers Org has lots of events planned for this year. This page shows listed events in Iowa and the surrounding states.
There are two large events coming up that folks from outside the state might be interested in:
Cache Bash 2006 - Dare To Go...
April 22, 2006 - Jester Park (in central Iowa, near Saylorville Reservior)
This event is being held in cooperation with Great Plains Geocaching and the Polk County Conservation Board to mark the CCB's 50th anniversary.
Memorial Day weekend (May 27-28, 2006) - (north of Waterloo, IA)
This event is two full days of activities held at the Boy Scout's Camp Ingawanis (north of Waterloo, IA). In addition to two days of geocaching stuff, there will be other "camp" activities like archery and horse back riding. See the link off of the cache page for the full schedule of activities. Tent camping is included in the $5/adult registration cost! Where else can you camp for three nights over Memorial Day weekend for only $5?
I hope to see some of you at an IGO event this summer!
-
The event page has been posted for the Ingawanis Geocache Outing
This event is two full days of activities held at the Boy Scout's Camp Ingawanis (north of Waterloo, IA). In addition to two days of geocaching stuff, there will be other "camp" activities like archery and horse back riding. See the link off of the cache page for the full schedule of activities.
AND.....tent camping is included in the $5/adult registration cost! Where else can you camp for three nights over Memorial Day weekend for only $5?
-
Not the one the OP was looking for, but....The fourth (almost) annual Great Plains Geocaching - Cache Bash has been posted: Cache Bash 2006
This years event is held at Jester Park (near Saylorville Reservior in central Iowa) on April 22, 2006 to help celebrate the Polk County Conservation Board's 50th anniversary.
-
Ive had my Legend apart a couple of times to fix the "lines on the screen" problem. The last time I tore the rubber band at the top, right at the edge of the connector flap. I emailed Garmin to see if I could get a replacement band and the goo to repair it. They said those parts affect the waterproofing of the unit so they could not provide just the parts.
I had already tried hot glue and silicon caulk without much success, so this time I tried some stuff called BadgeMagic (www.badgemagic.com) that I had. It is essentially a very thin two-sided tape/goo that is used for attaching patches to uniforms.
Before cutting a piece the size of the band, I put a few small scraps at 3-4 points around the unit. To my surprise, the small pieces have held as well as the original goo. Even the piece I put "across" the tear is holding. Time will tell how well it works, but after a couple of outings it is holding up better than the other things I tried.
-
Thanks for looking into it. I see the problem with Opera 8.5 (build 7700). I just tried in FireFox 1.0.6 and it works as expected.
The tour thing is pretty cool, now if Google would get the maps of my area updated
-
I just checked out the TB and the Network KML. Pretty neat, but....In both cases, the file that I download is named with a .xml extension. GE doesnt recognize that extension, but if I rename them to .kml then it is happy. Shouldnt the site name them as .kml to begin with?
Could the TB .kml use the cache name as the waypoint instead of "Stop 1", "Stop 2" etc?
-
Thanks for the link Team ATMS 88. That is going to be a fun one to follow....I feel for you guys.
-
Sounds like a challenging cache, how about a link for those of us who have no idea where you guys are from
-
Just a little heads up about a couple of large Iowa events scheduled for next spring:
Cache Bash (April 2006)
Since 2002, Great Plains Geocaching has held an annual event called the Cache Bash. Each year the event has gotten bigger and better and 2006 promises to be the best yet. This time around, Great Plains Geocaching and the Iowa Geocachers Org help Story County Conservation board celebrate their 50th birthday with Cache Bash 2006: Dare To Go....
Ingawanis Geocache Outing (May 2006)
Scouting and Geocaching go together pretty well, so when the Iowa Geocachers Org was offered full use of the Winnebago Council's Camp Ingawanis for an event, we jumped in with both feet. The Ingawanis Geocache Outing promises two full days of geocaching and summer camp activities with something for everyone.
Preliminary information for both events is available at www.IowaGeocachers.org/events
-
You could also do a regular zipcode search for each and bookmark the results pages.
-
I am planning an orienteering event this June (hopefully 5th).
I was wondering if I plot the controls/checkpoints with my GPS would people be interested in doing the course by waypoint with or without a map instead of the traditional style of orienteering?
I attended an event in early April that did this. I read a bit about orienteering competitions afterwards, and it seems this is exactly what they did. Team starts were staggered by a few minutes, there was a time limit, we found orienteering punches and used them on orienteering cards. The only thing I could see taht was different was that they hid the punches cache-style instead of using the checkpoint flags to mark them. Oh, and the maps wernt as detailed. We got a photocopy of a map with waypoints marked. The back of the sheet had the list of coordinates and encrypted hints.
I really enjoyed this style of competition. In fact, Im planning to do the same thing for an event that I am planning.
-
If you wanted to spend some extra time, there are several very nice caches around the Coralville reservoir (few miles north of I80 at Iowa City).
My favorites are:
- I Love a Pine Forest (okay, so I am bit biased on this one)
- End Of The Road (longer hike, but very nice)
- Back to the Devonian Earthcache (Iowas only earth cache, a very neat place)
- Linder Point Lookout (I havnt done this one yet, but given the location it should be nice)
Some quicker ones, very close to I-80:
- Play the slots
- Natural Roof Cache (this one has been a challenge for some folks, park at the mall and follow the bike path)
- U-Con-Du-It (park at Applebees and cross highway 6 at the light)
- Cache as Cache Can
The zip code for this area is 52242.
-
... so we'll keep watching the IGO page (as soon as I find out where that is)
At the moment, we are having a DNS problem with our host. When that is all straightened out, the IGO will be at www.IowaGeocachers.org.
You can also keep an eye out here. We'll make sure to post when we get something going.
-
I have signed up for the RAGBRAI this year. Are there going to be any caches for this route? I was thinking of holding some events along the way to swap TBs. Now all I have to do is get picked in the lottery!
This was just brought up on the Iowa Geocachers Org forums. But there hasnt been much discussion on it yet.
Last year our members placed one cache along the route, and one cache at the park for one of the overnight stops. As I recall, the cache along the route had one "find" and the one at the park didnt have any.
We also made a special page with .loc files the caches along each day of the route.
If anything comes of the discussions at the IGO site, we'll make sure someone posts a note here.
-
Heh... might be fun to see you guys organize a summertime caching/biking event in that area...
Ill mention that in the Iowa Geocachers Organization forums and see if we can get any of the DM area folks to do it.
Do you guys ever do biking-tour geocaching events?
None that I have heard of. Though, Eastern Iowa Geocachers Assoc (predecessor of the IGO) members did place a couple of caches specifically along the RAGBRAI route last year.
-
Sounds like the same numbers and ages as a Cub Scout Day Camp. You might contact a local Cub Scout leader to get some activity ideas. Also, if it is nearby, you could stop at the local "scout shop" and see what books they have on hand. I know that the Program Helps for one of the months this summer has some outdoor scavenger hunt and outdoor adventure trail ideas. The Program Helps book costs about $3 and has a years worth of activity/skit/song ideas. The scout shop will have it, or you can get it from: http://www.scoutstuff.org/cgi/peek?ww34304
I would agree with jwillis that you should consider having 5-6 per group instead of 11. Maybe have each older kid be a mentor/helper for a pair of younger ones. Definately use a buddy system (everyone has a buddy and no one goes _anywhere_ without their buddy).
As for specific activity ideas:
* have discussions of:
a ) what is good outdoors behavior (i.e. minimal impact, leave no trace) and why is it important
b ) outdoors safety (i.e. buddy system, what to do if lost, 10 essentials etc)
* make a contest out of picking up trash. see who can get the most, or the most interesting item.
* give them a sheet with outlines of leaves and have them find one of each kind.
* use descriptions or pictures of landmarks to guide them cross-country
* find a patch of wildflowers. have them identify the flower on a page with pictures of several flower.
* play "Kims Game". Gather several items and cover them with a towel. Uncover the items for a short time then cover again. Have players make a list of the items they remember seeing. Number of items and time they are uncovered can be varied according to age.
* have the group stop and spread out a bit. Have everyone kneel or sit down and count how many bugs/plants/whatever they can see in one square foot.
Good Luck, and remember to have fun
-
Sounds like a great time. I wouldn't be able to attend because we have our annual family reunion at Okoboji every Memorial Day weekend.
Oh Well, maybe on the way to or from.
The scouts really wanted to encourage people to camp for the event, so we went ahead with Memorial Day weekend. Should be a good time.
-
This is posted in the Great Plains group, but since we hope to draw some folks from MN and possibly SD, Ill ask you input too....
The Eastern Iowa Geocachers Assoc, and the local Boy Scout council are beginning to plan an event for the spring of 2006.
The event would be held at the scout camp. There will be plenty of space for tent camping, some space for campers and several group-sized cabins. In addition to geocaching, there will be other camp activities (that may include fishing, archery, bb-guns, horseback riding).
My questions to you are:
* Would it matter if it were held on Memorial Day weekend?
* Would you be more/less likely to attend if it were held on the weekend after Memorial Day?
Thanks
-
Hi all, I need some input...
The Eastern Iowa Geocachers Assoc, and the local Boy Scout council are beginning to plan an event for the spring of 2006.
The event would be held at the scout camp. There will be plenty of space for tent camping, some space for campers and several group-sized cabins. In addition to geocaching, there will be other camp activities (that may include fishing, archery, bb-guns, horseback riding).
My questions to you are:
* Would it matter if it were held on Memorial Day weekend?
* Would you be more/less likely to attend if it were held on the weekend after Memorial Day?
Thanks...
-
What kind of cache are you interested in?
If there are some that you would like to hit but dont want to waste your time, post a list here or in the EIGA forums. Maybe someone would run out and check them before you get here.
-
i've been using the standard plastic grocery bags that i get from shopping all the time
And these bags _will_ fit into a film can
-
On thing that no one has mentioned....Along the way, and especially if you do find the cache, make sure to leave lots of extra footprints. Walk around and disturb the snow in other areas and around other trees. Leave the trail several times along the way.
This not only makes sure the next cacher cant just follow your path, but also makes non-cachers less interested. If you are walking down a trail in new snow, and the set of footprints you are following suddenly leaves the trail, dont you wonder why? Would you follow them to see where they went?
Have fun.
Iowas Largest Geocaching Event
in Midwest
Posted
Registration information is now available for Iowas largest event, the Ingawansi Geocache Outing
For more information visit the event information page