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Choosing "adult -oriented" Finds Too!


howlingwind

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My husband, "sunsetbay4me", and I love Geocaching! We are a middle aged couple, and we love the climbing, and the "thrill of the hunt", and the healthy, getting outdoors thing.

 

We would like to encourage our fellow cachers to become a little more "adult oriented" when choosing their cache find "prizes"! Now which one of us does not LOVE getting into those ammo boxes and searching for that "special" find!!

I think we are all "kids" at heart :blink:

 

We have found that there is lots and lots for kids, but not too much thought put into adult finds. Keychains is a good thought, or something "fun", "little flashlights", compasses, etc, to dangle off of our backpacks!! :)

 

Just a suggestion for all us!!

 

Howlingwind & Sunsetbay4me :blink::D

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You will find most caches that require a larger effort than a short walk in the park will usually be oriented towards adult friendly items that are normally within the guidelines. Anything else will end up being for the kids.

 

I for one put these keytags in as my signature item along with a like business card. The picture is of version 1 and has since been retired. I'm working on version 2.

NewSig2004.jpg

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My husband, "sunsetbay4me", and I love Geocaching! We are a middle aged couple, and we love the climbing, and the "thrill of the hunt", and the healthy, getting outdoors thing.

 

Excellent! That's what I enjoy about geocaching too.

 

I'm just not clear on how a 2 dollar trinket you can buy for yourself fits into that mindset.

 

Enjoy caching and start leaving swag for kids. It is far more likely that a cache doesn't have anything to trade for anyone. Not for kids, not for adults.

 

So if I have to pick between you and a kid for the type of swag I leave? Sorry to say, it ain't you.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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What I learned from grad school- be cynical! Don't expect to find anything good, then you will be pleasantly surprised when you find something that really rings your bell.

 

Can I also suggest: start leaving in caches the kinds of things that you like to find youself. If you can afford the time to make something nice, or buy something special, save it for those special caches. The farther from the parking area, the nicer the cache contents will be, and the richer a reward you will want to leave for future finders.

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Excellent! That's what I enjoy about geocaching too.

 

I'm just not clear on how a 2 dollar trinket you can buy for yourself fits into that mindset.

 

Enjoy caching and start leaving swag for kids. It is far more likely that a cache doesn't have anything to trade for anyone. Not for kids, not for adults.

 

So if I have to pick between you and a kid for the type of swag I leave? Sorry to say, it ain't you.

 

Oh come on, give him a break. When we first started caching we all got that rush when you came across something special. Unfortunately this tends to fade after hundreds of finds. That doesn't mean we should deny the lure, the hook, the downword spiral into addiction :huh:

Edited by MarcusArelius
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What I learned from grad school- be cynical! Don't expect to find anything good, then you will be pleasantly surprised when you find something that really rings your bell.

 

Can I also suggest: start leaving in caches the kinds of things that you like to find youself. If you can afford the time to make something nice, or buy something special, save it for those special caches. The farther from the parking area, the nicer the cache contents will be, and the richer a reward you will want to leave for future finders.

 

Thank you for understanding exactly how I felt and what I :blink: was trying to say!!

 

Howlingwind

Edited by Team Misguided
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I can tell we are SO NEW at this!! Thank you Marcus, and Chubby Forest Monkey for your suggestions! We are going caching again this weekend, and hitting the 1 to 3 mile to the caches bit.

 

We love the outdoors, and we are so glad that we started this. I feel like we are ALREADY addicted to it..I can't imagine what it must be like after hundreds of finds!! :blink:

 

Ever get a chance..head down to the Madras..Bend area!!

 

 

 

Howlingwind :o

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Howlingwind,

 

You are in an area with many good quality caches. Bend was one of the last areas to succumb to the micro-craze, and they are still a pretty low percentage. Just wait till you get over to "the valley of crappy little caches"! You'll run away screaming.

 

I haven't done much caching over there, but I love it when I do! A sure bet is any cache by Zoooey/Illdrive, Logscaler, Navdog/Moondog3 or Chief Paulina.

 

My favorite: The Hole of Inaccesability by Sparklehorse.

 

Enjoy the caching the high desert! Wish I was there.

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I was wondering Totempole if you made those keychains yourself..

 

or bought them> I think they are really neat..and would be nice to find in a cache!

 

My husband is Australian, and has been thinking of trading some of his Australian coins in the harder to find caches.

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I was wondering Totempole if you made those keychains yourself..

 

or bought them> I think they are really neat..and would be nice to find in a cache!

 

My husband is Australian, and has been thinking of trading some of his Australian coins in the harder to find caches.

Howdy and thanks!

 

For the record, I'm TotemLake. Totempole is an unregistered user. B)

 

I make those keytags out of ink jet shrinky dink acetate. That series has since been retired. I have only one left for show and tell. I am in the process of coming up with a new design to replace that one, and a new signature item to add to my aresenal of things to leave in caches.

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I was wondering Totempole if you made those keychains yourself..

 

or bought them> I think they are really neat..and would be nice to find in a cache!

 

My husband is Australian, and has been thinking of trading some of his Australian coins in the harder to find caches.

Howdy and thanks!

 

For the record, I'm TotemLake. Totempole is an unregistered user. :)

 

I make those keytags out of ink jet shrinky dink acetate. That series has since been retired. I have only one left for show and tell. I am in the process of coming up with a new design to replace that one, and a new signature item to add to my aresenal of things to leave in caches.

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Sorry Totemlake..(I STILL wanted to say Totempole!!. :) ) I had to smile to myself at that one..

 

Anyway..I was curious on where you got your idea on your keychains..

 

I got this neatest bracelet that someone made out of one of our caches! It was beaded and said, "I love geocaching " on it. It was a really good idea, and we went out, and got a bunch of beads and tried some of them ourselves. It is kind of tedious with little beads! So we have not made many of them. We have thought about maybe trying it with bigger beads, and saying DIFFERENT things on them..like "I love my GPS", or "I love hiking" or something like that. We also thought it would be neat to make keychains that say something like that. Do you think it is worth the effort? Do you think people actually like stuff like that?

 

I know I would like one of YOUR keychains...hummmm..guess I will have to cache in Kirkland, Washington won't I? :)

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Sorry Totemlake..(I STILL wanted to say Totempole!!. :) ) I had to smile to myself at that one..

 

Anyway..I was curious on where you got your idea on your keychains..

 

I got this neatest bracelet that someone made out of one of our caches! It was beaded and said, "I love geocaching " on it. It was a really good idea, and we went out, and got a bunch of beads and tried some of them ourselves. It is kind of tedious with little beads! So we have not made many of them. We have thought about maybe trying it with bigger beads, and saying DIFFERENT things on them..like "I love my GPS", or "I love hiking" or something like that. We also thought it would be neat to make keychains that say something like that. Do you think it is worth the effort? Do you think people actually like stuff like that?

 

I know I would like one of YOUR keychains...hummmm..guess I will have to cache in Kirkland, Washington won't I? :)

Well you never know where I'll end up or what I'll drop off.

 

I got the idea of the keytag when I discovered there was such a thing as ink jet shrinky dink. I wanted to do something like my signature cards, but a little bit more lasting. I was a bit surprised to hear there were folks collecting things like this and even more suprised to find out mine was sought after. I just wanted to put in something that was a bit more from me other than the usual mctoy stuff. Anyway, the weather is favorable for me to try my new idea, so we'll see how that works out.

 

Anyway, do I think it's worth the effort? Absolutely! But keep it fun and easy to do. It's very easy to get too involved and burn out.

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I have to share with everybody the cutest, NEATEST, cache "prize" that I found this weekend!

 

We were up at VISTA VIEW cache near Sisters, Oregon..(the most gorgeous view you would EVER want to see by the way), and I got this stone painted with the "Caching Emblem" on it, and sprayed with glossy spray so that it was shiny!! :P SusyFishin made it! It gave me a good idea!!

 

If you all are like me, I am so proud to be a geocacher, and I now have this cute item displayed on my kitchen window sill...it will certainly make people ask the question that we get asked a lot..

 

"What is that for??" :P

 

So, I thought I would give "kudos" to Susyfishin, and tell her that her efforts have not gone unnoticed!!

 

Howlingwind

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I cache with 4 small children whose ages range from 2 to 8. (and yes it is frequently difficult to be discreet while searching with that crowd) They love the McToys in caches and we have a box into which we recycle the stuff they don't play with any more for our next outing. The kid stuff in the caches is how I entice my kids to come and if we hit too many micros my kids let me know. So please keep the toys in the caches!

 

I have adapted to what is available. I look for and collect signature items. I would prefer to find an item that says "howlingwind" on it or one of totemlake's key chains than a bracelet that says "I love geocaching." I have my own wooden nickel that I leave in exchange.

 

My oldest son is tired of the McToys and has started a collection of straight back pins. I think he is up to about 20 that he has pulled from caches. Those are his gems and they are available.

 

If we ever found a geocoin in a cache that wasn't on the move . . .

Edited by soilsqueezer
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SoilSqueezer (Love that name by the way)..

 

I can not imagine what it is like to geocache with your kids in tow..(even though I had 5 kids of my own..) I can only say..You are a brave woman! :huh: Thankfully, our "geocaching days" have come AFTER the kids! :laughing: Thank you for some of your suggestions. My husband and I do leave some of the cutest toys in our caches..(I can't resist buying them.!) but just like that little stone I mentioned in my last reply, where Susifishin had painted it, and put her name on the back..it made it special. I agree with you on that. What kind of "straightpins" does your son collect? My husband has taken to collecting the "hatpins" that he finds, and I love the keychains. He has several hatpins on his "caching" cap now, and hopes to find more..

 

another suggestion for us cachers...hatpins!! :)

 

 

Howlingwind

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What kind of "straightpins" does your son collect?

 

Hat pins, Lapel pins, whatever you want to call them that have the pin that sticks out straight from the back and a separate cover for the pointy part. He is not interested in the safety pin type (including buttons unless they are a signature item and we grab them) because they don't stick in the cork board where the collection is displayed. He has everything from a McD's employee of the month to a British Columbia PTA group to an Air Force set of wings. It would be great if they were geocaching related, but we don't let him be picky. The collection actually started as a requirement for cub scouts.

 

Have fun and remember the joy of caching is the adventure of exploring new places. BTW, I am the dad in the group, my wife is Da Mom.

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