rdaines

Since there does not appear to be any definitive news, I won't be picking up my OYR cache when I go there for dinner.

...and just what makes an OYR cache less desirable or worthy them some other caches? If you don't like then.............so on and so forth...

Not sure I'm reading your comment right but Cracker Barrel had a blanket "yes" policy for geocaches. Even so, informing the local manager was a polite thing to do and I went one step further and got an email that stated what their policy was. Permission must be gotten for private property, not asking (even if you think you'll be denied) is a violation of the rules. Your policy of asking for forgiveness is wrong. As soon as it is confirmed that CBOCS doesn't want caches any more, mine (sadly) will be removed.

You makin fun of my typing

Bummer, I won't archive mine just yet. More info needed.

The adoption (IMHO) needs to be official, there needs to be a point of contact, someone who will answer email and is responsible for the cache. A catch-as catch-can defacto adoption is not the way to go.

I use it as a big database of caches in the areas I hunt in. Internally it is broken down into smaller databases but essentially it stores all of the info generated from my pocket queries. My PQs are updated weekly. I keep all cache info and changes, those that I have not found, those that I have found, disabled and archived. More like an offline version of GC.com. I will then make gpx files and send then to my PDA for paperless caching for field reference. I never delete anything.

I have cut back on driving. I will be more efficienct and rcache route planning once tick and chigger season ends here in MO. Less of a bug problem in AZ but where I cache there the caches are most clustered together.

I agree with the above two posts and as I have stated elsewhere above, I have replaced logs too. But, at some point (1 year) if the owner doesn't indicate maintenance a cache is abandoned and can take on a life of its own because of the generous actions of others. So even if the cache appers to be OK, it should be archived because there is no one responsible for it.

Saw a news item on NBC-12 in Phoenix that persons unknown have been vandalizing roadside memorials and the local government/police will be investigating. They appear to have a policy of tolerance and will even protect these memorials (using taxpayers dollars). Surely some here will disagree with this policy.

Regarding wet logs and "some cache owners have better things to do": The log is an integral part of the cache, no log = no cache. Most people can't write on a wet, soggy log book and if it is mush then it is of no use which is trash. Whining about people's lifestyle and how busy they are means that they shouldn't be placing cache or should have fewer that are closer to home. If you checked the boxes then you should abide by the rules.

When out hiking/searching: no music only the sounds of the area. When in the vehicle: Country, Yahooo!

Maintaining your own database (GSAK) is the way to go and keep it updated with PQ. Now it's availble to you 24/7, with and without an Internet connection. Put a copy on the Ol' laptop and take it caching on the road.

Agreed and I have done so on several occassions. However, no relpies and no log ins to GC.com require different actions.

Abandoned caches can live for years through the good intentions of finders. When someone finally does a Maintenance request subsequent finds may report that the cache seems OK. This is great IF the cache owner is still active on GC.com but is having trouble getting to the cache (away at college, injured, ...). If the owner has moved on and is inactive (1 year+?) then it is abandoned and should be archived, freeing up the spot to someone else.

Is it getting to the point that we need a Soggy Attribute icon?

Some fees that I have paid: - parking - red Rock Pass in Sedona - State Parks - AZ Trust Land use permit

In some ways we are a self policing organization. I have removed inappropriate items from caches (lighters for example) and have given need maintenance notes. On the other hand, I have also replaced log books, pencils, etc in other peoples caches and not made a big deal of it. Finding rusty Altoid tins with mush log books is just not the image of caching that I want people to come to expect. Since in many cases approval must be gotten to place caches, I think they should resemble a thoughtful container and hide rather than trash. Not attending to a cache for 1.5 years tells me that the owner should not have placed it.

Sometimes the physical cache has a hard time disappearing too.

Congratulations. These are two of the most callous posts I've seen a while. Nothing callous about it. Deaths from collisions (note: not accidents) like this are nearly always preventable and invaribably are the result of someone's stupidity. If instead you would care to refer to the cause more politically correctly as inattention, alcohol related, recklessness, driver inexperience, over-correction or excessive speed, that's fine, because it's really the same thing. A moment of stupidity on someone's part results in someone's death, a death that never would have happened otherwise. You'll note that I twice described it as sad. It is. It's not a coincidence that two cops in two different parts of the country independently describe roadside memorials the same. In 17 years I've been to my share of traffic fatalities and grieved for people I don't even know. After seeing these violent deaths in all their intimate detail, you tend to look at it all a bit differently than most folks. When I see a roadside memorial, I know the violence that happened there, the time and energy that a whole lot of cops and EMS people gave and the toll it took on them, and that someone died who shouldn't have. Each one reminds me of all the unneccesary deaths I've seen. Nothing callous about it. I feel your views of accidents is rather simplistic and a gross generalization. If you are indeed a LEO you know that plenty of innocent people die in accidents that in no way are caused by them. I agree with the above poster in saying that your comments are callous and were probably made just to provoke people. This has nothing to do with PC related issues, just how you relate to your fellow humans.

NO, let's call it disrespect. In less it is your family or friend you do not know them, placing a cache is not honoring them. We all know we do not have to look at it or look for it. What are you getting out of the cache except a number. I think the owner of the cache should find the family and let them know that they are placing the cache at their family members memorial. If the family approves then go for it. Because if it was not for a roadside memorial and a lost of live there would be no cache. If the family wants to honor their family member good for them. Let's not play a game around their loss. NO LOSS OF LIVE, NO ROADSIDE MEMORIAL, NO CACHE! Perhaps some of us should take a nice cleansing breath. Back to the cache in question. It is not at the memorial. I fail to see how it is any less respectful than any other cache that points out any other memorial. (Please see my previous post regarding this.) This weekend, there was a jazz festival around the square in my town. In the center of that square is a memorial to lost confederate soldiers. While my wife and I were there, we were shocked to see a family walk up and read the memorial. Clearly, the jazz festival people should have consulted with the families of the soldiers before they enticed people to approach the memorial. They should not be playing around these families' losses. It's shameful. [/sarcasm] If it was not for the memorial then there would be not cache at those sites. There are 10 of those caches and for all of them a requirement is to post a picture with your GPS at the memorial site, no matter if you off set the physical cache to get the log for the number you still have to include the memorial site and a picture. Your comparsion to that memorial is different. Your memorial is history and you can learn from that history. No one lost their life at that site and it is not on the side of the road. Your site in question was a drive to honor those of the past that made this country what it is. Take at look at the cache pages they are all the same except a different with pictures cache locations. Except the same information on all of the pages, tell me where you have learned about that memorial in question. In some of the pictures you find a name, date of death, flowers. Where is the history lesson? So History is only things that you find in books? My life and your life are not of any historical value. I'd have to disagree with that, it's all history and the event was obviously tragic and important to some one else. Important enough to place a memorial, a token of remembrance so that the fact that that person(s) did exist and met their end at that spot. Finding a cache in a tree stump in some park has no more or less historical value than a roadside memorial. The value of the history comes from the person making the observation.

Let's call this whining what it really is - whining. Some don't like the roadside memorials and that's fine but to make lame excuses like they distract drivers in pathetic. So the cell phones, DVD players, GPSr, MP3 players, coffee, music, CDs, makeup, etc wasn't enough of a distraction that an occasional roadside cross is going to bother these drivers? If people want to memorialize a lost loved-one let 'em, if a cache can be tastefully placed at the memorial then fine. Those who object don't have to look at it or look for it

You guys are worried about a road side cross impaling a crash victim? You obviously don't remember the good old days when road signs were at the right height to decapitate you if you hit them straight on. Yeah, and before seat belts and air bags, hard metal dash boards and radio knobs that looked like spikes... And you're worried about a silly piece of wood with a billion to one chance of killing you?

I don't have a problem with roadside memorials (they aren't always crosses), in fact, it is interesting to see the different types and designs as you travel the country. I especially liked the ones in New Mexico. Would I stop for a cache at one, maybe. There'd have to be nearby parking and in a public space.

Caches in ones yard are easy but at my house there'd be a definite lack of "Wow Factor". For the most part I don't do them in people's yards.