Cloak_N_Dagger

Maybe someone can help me with a little problem I'm having with the "login" at this site. I login using my name and password, but the little message in the upper left corner of the screen still says .... "» You are not logged in. Login or register" Well I'm obviously logged in, or I couldn't be making this post. Plus the little ONLINE NOW feature at the bottom of the screen lists me as being online. However, I don't have an icon in my post(s) to edit them. I know I only have 24 hours to edit, but I've tried it within minutes of making a post ... no edit icon to click on! So if I spell something wrong or just need to correct something I can't do it. I've tried logging out ... cleared my cookies ... and logging back in but I still have the same problem. Any help would be appreciated.

quote:Originally posted by Mr. Snazz:Why are guns a different topic? Why not put guns in caches? The answer is simple. Minors are forbidden by law in most states, to own a handgun. I'm not aware of any law(at least in MY STATE)that forbids minors from owning a knife.

C'mon down and visit! You'll love the music, food and most of all, the Blue Ridge Mountains. We're kinda simple and laid back, but that's the way we like it! You might even try entering the ramp eating contest! There is a fellow from Maine that comes down here every year to compete in the ramp eating contest. He held the title for a couple of years but has since been dethroned. C'mon down and visit

yes, after I tried to post the image I realized that it wouldn't work with the trial membership at that webpage. quote:The staff you depic is one with a wood spirit carved on it....about 30 minutes of work went into that staff. They are massed produced and are as common as the wood they are carved on. So in my humble opinion...it's not a custom made staff. As for the staff being mass produced ... If you'd like, the same gentleman will be carving them in person, for the public to view, at this year's Whitetop Mountain Ramp Festival. Stop by for some fun and bluegrass music and watch him "Mass Produce" a few. 3rd Saturday in May, in Whitetop VA. He will even let you pick out the wood you prefer. Dogwood, Curly Maple, Mountain Ash, Hickory, Cedar, etc. You are right, you get what you pay for.

I put out a fairly expensive cache for my first one. I doubt it's the most valuable but it might get an honorable metion. (tooting own horn) The Original contents of The Treasure Chest Contained: Smith & Wesson Binoculars Brand New fishing lures(not just hooks ...lures) Original Victorinox Swiss Army Knife (Official Boy Scout model) A stone heart Japenese candle A Turkey Call and a bunch of stuff I can't even remember!! I remember figuring the original value of the cache to be somewhere in the $100.00 range. Now I didn't just run out and buy this stuff for the cache. It was just extra stuff that I had laying around. The only thing that wasn't new, were the binoculars, I had gotton some for Christmas to replace them. BTW, I don't plan on making a habit of doing up my caches this way. I just wanted to make the first one special. Most of the goodies are still there also, so grab the GPSr and go have fun!

I'll try something else in a bit. Wish there was a way to edit posts.

Hiking Sticks close up

I hardly ever go hicking without my hiking stick or staff. Old age and bad knees. Customized sticks seem to be quite reasonable in my area as compared to the Geo sticks. I picked up the carved Dogwood stick on the left in this picture from a local fellow for $20.00. The Twisted Spicewood on the right, I picked up in the woods. Close-up of the carving: (a bit blurry)

they just become a virtual,

I think that geocaching for a non-profit organization or charity would be an excellent idea. I've talked the same thing over with some fellow geocachers. When I think of the phrase "commercial cache", I think of a cache that someone has put out to promote business and/or profit. I am currently participating with the "Relay for Life" to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. During the event we will be walking from 6pm til 7am to help raise money to combat cancer. I have been planning to email Jeremy and ask about placing a cache similar to the one you described above. I was going to call it "Geocaching for Life". The one difference was that I had not planned on putting any advertisements from sponsers in the cache. I had intended to put a note in the cache thanking the cachers for their time, and listing the sponsers (both business AND Private Individuals) that had agreed to contribute to the American Cancer Society. Of course the purpose of this cache would also plainly be stated on it's cache page. That way no one would go there with the intention of trading goodies and find an informational letter only. The cache could be placed a month or two. After the period of collecting logs was over ... the cache would be removed and archived until the next year. A copy of the logbook would then be shown to the sponser so that they could make the proper donation to the fund. The donations could be whatever the sponser had initially agreed on. Be it .10 per log ... or $1.00 per log etc... or just a single amount pledge, no matter how many logs there were. Not only would this be a great service for charities, but it would also be an excellent way to let more people know about Geocaching. Well I guess I don't have to type that email now ... just cut and paste this, and send it to Jeremy! [] Whatever the outcome or decision, the bottom line is that this is Jeremy's site, so as his guests, we should respectfully abide by his rules.

Jeremy has gone above and beyond the call of duty on this site. I can't imagine the hours that he and many others put into making it what it is. It is truely appreciated. On a side note ... A special thanks to American Eagle and Lady Liberty for getting me started into this great pastime.

I knew if I lurked around here long enough, there would be some old MI or ASA folks pop up!

Jeff, I snatched a Marbles Compass up for you today, and it's on it's way!

Yes, the crystal on my Marbles compass is glass. But mine is an old one. I can check one of the new ones out tomorrow and let you know for sure. My bet is that it is just like my old one. Marbles likes traditional type products. I'll let you know.

If you don't need a compass that has all the degrees marked on it ... and you like a bit of nostalgia ... Check out the Brass Pocket Compass from Marbles. They have been making them for over 100 years! I have one and love it! The luminesant spot on the arrow works great at night. Easy to carry in the pocket, and not too hard on the pocketbook! [] Marble’s Compasses were used by Admiral Byrd, Admiral Perry, Charles Lindberg, and Teddy Roosevelt. Byrd and Perry both used Marble’s compasses on their North and South Pole expeditions. Mine is 53 years old and still going. [] Here's the link --> http://www.marblearms.com/compasses.html

Just right click on the picture in question, then left click on "Properties". A little pop up window should come up that shows you the size of the file, and also the correct address to enter for your picture to link.

My old 4x4 pickup gets a whopping 10 mpg, so I've been stealing the wife's Geo Prizm for a little cache hunting. Gas prices in our area are still a bit lower than the folks up north or out in Kalifornia. Filled up today and "regular" was $1.51 per gallon. I've got a couple of caches I'd like to find in some pretty rough, mountain terrain. So I guesss I'll just have to walk further (with her car) or spend more(with the truck). Of course it is kinda cool geocaching in a Geo.

I agree that the parents, or other responsible adults, should inspect the cache first. Sometimes cache containers become cracked, making them great homes for spiders, etc. So It's always a good idea to look the contents over carefully, and just good common sense not to let a child shove his/her hand down into the unknown. With that being said, I see nothing wrong with putting a (read--->closed)pocket knife in a cache. If the utility knife mentioned above had an exposed blade/razor, that's another story. If you stop and think about it, lots of items in a cache could be considered dangerous to a small, UNSUPERVISED child. Here are a few that I've heard of, found, and/or placed myself: Golf Balls - Choking Hazard Spare Batteries - Acid leakage Flash lights - Broken lenses (sharp) Geo Coins - another choking hazard Nail Polish - That stuff is flammable Bungee cords - might hang themselves Insect repellent - poisonous ink pens & pencils - you might put an eye out Rubber balls - yet another choking hazard Fish Hooks - sharp, barbed edges Fishing lures - see above Butane Lighters - 'nuff said And let's not forget the McToys! - Heck the package on many of them even has a "choking warning" I guess what I'm trying to say is that almost any item can be called a hazard, under the right circumstances. It's up to us to make sure our children stay safe. Even if someone is not a geocacher, common sense should tell them to teach your children not to even pick up strange packages, much less open them. Of course we could all just start packing our cache with cotton balls for safety. Nope ... wait a minute ... someone might choke on them too.

I've just recently completed 4 different size fake rocks. I used expandable foam insulation to do it. One method I used, was to just shoot a big blob of it out on a piece of cardboard, then carve it to look like a rock (after it had hardened and finished expanding)... then hollowed out the cavity for the cache container. I later found that I could easily make forms out of heavy cardboard. (Don't just make a box either, make them odd shaped) Just before the foam completely dries and hardens, you can easily add texture to it by adding cracks, etc. A little nonstick spray on the inside of the box helps keep the foam from sticking too. Do a little trimming, shaping and painting, and glue a little moss or lichen to them for a good effect. I'll try to post some pics when I can. I don't have a digital camera, but I'll take some 35mm and get it developed. Now that the snow has started melting , I'm going to try and put a couple of these caches out in the next week and see what kind of response I get.

I'm not aware of any either, but I sure would like to hear of one. I live in VA (about 30 miles from Ashe Co. NC), and my Parents live near W. Jefferson. So I'm down that way from time to time. Groundspeak Forums have lumped us folks from VA in with the NorthEast group. But NC is a lot closer than NJ for me! I've been talking to some folks in this area also and trying to get an organized group together. I'd like to round up the folks from NW NC, East TN, and SW VA, and start an Appalachian Geocachers Group. Some of the most beautiful areas on the Appalachian Trail run right through these areas. I've got 216 acres of mountain land that we might try getting together on this summer. We could camp and cache. (Great trout fishing nearby)Might be a good way to meet some other folks. I'm relatively new at geocaching myself, but I'm hooked! Let me know if y'all might be interested.

quote:Originally posted by wimseyguy: quote: I think all states where they eat grits and biscuts with gravy should be grouped in their own forum Speaking as a NJ born NC resident who cooks for a living: That combination is just plain nasty. Let me see if I understand-you take flour, water, salt and fat, make it into dough, and bake it into something really yummy. Then you take those same four ingresients and cook them together into soupy paste on the stovetop; and pour it on the yummy biscuits???? My never been out of TN mother in law gets real upset with me when I make this observation at the breakfast table. No wonder she gets upset with you , I would too if you tried to make gravy like that! (never heard of "water gravy") We use milk to make sausage(or bacon) gravy with. Here's a basic recipe for Y'all to try: In a deep frying pan, (preferably cast iron) cook sausage until browned, stirring to crumble. Sprinkle sausage with 3 tablespoons of flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add 2 1/4 cups of milk, stirring until well blended. Add Salt & Pepper to taste Cook over midium heat 8 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over some home made "cat head" biscuits. (Those kind from a can are not allowed, and illegal in most parts of Virginia ) It may not be the most healthy food for breakfast, but it's not as nutritionally bad for you as some folks think. Nutrition Facts Amount Per Serving: Calories 441 - Calories from Fat 161 --- Now compare that to your local McD's Breakfast: McDonalds Breakfast Burrito: Calories-320 Calories from Fat - 180 You'll probably want a hash brown with that too: Calories - 130 , Calories from Fat - 70 --- Are Gravy & Biscuits a "Health food"? heck no !!! But I sure do love 'em!! I'm going to Maine to visit a friend this November, I'll probably go into "Gravy DT's" until I can return home.

I'm a newbie at Geocaching , but so far, all but 2 of my finds have been in the snow. I try to go out while it's snowing to look for them, or sometimes the day before an expected snowfall. That way, the new snow covers up my tracks. In my opinion snow is just another part of the game, and not something to stop me from going. If you're sitting at home watching TV when it snows ... you are missing some beautiful scenery.

I've only had time to log a few more finds, but I enjoy each of them even more! I even fixed up a cache of my own and put it out. I was delighted to see that the Treasure Chest Has been found twice this week. I was hoping that I had the coordinates right. It appears that it was OK. (Newbie Luck ) Thanks again for all the info!

I've lived in VA all of my life, (except for those lovely vacations Uncle Sam sent me on) and we've always considered ourselves a Southern state. What's to debate?...After all, Richmond was once the capitol of the Confederacy. I live 30 miles from NC and 50 miles from TN. So if I do any Geocaching out of state, it's most likely going to be in NC or TN, not some state 300+ miles away. Of course this is the "Forgotten End" of the State ... a lot of Virginians seem to forget that there are 150 miles of "The Old Dominion" Southwest of Roanoke. We're easy to spot in a crowd, just look for the folks with one gallus hanging off their bib overalls.(If you have to ask what a "gallus" is, VA is definitly in the wrong forum ) We'll I'll get off my soap box now, I've got to move the couch and the refrigerator out onto the porch, and put a couple of more junk cars up on blocks in the front yard. I just hope the porch doesn't fall in with the extra weight, and kill the 6 hound dawgs that are usually laying under it.