TB taken but not moved along- advice?

[+cllecr]

I'm pretty much a newbie- my first find was 2/15/07.... decided to start a travel bug a few weeks ago. I selected a perfect cache for my "Sunset Seeker" bug's send off and was so excited when it was picked up the very next day- by a person who "owns" several local caches, as well. I was startled, however to see that this cache and another the same evening were his first finds- intrigued, but convinced that the bug was in good hands. He mentioned picking it up in his log, but didn't log it as taken- so a few days later I emailed to remind him to do this. After a couple retries, I got a reply saying he didn't really know HOW to do what I was asking, but would be glad to if I explained how. So I did.... and the TB was logged as "retreived" and his note said he was going to AZ soon and would drop it off there. It has been over a month now, so I wrote to him again - asked conversationally if he had enjoyed his trip, or whether he was there now.... said I was watching to see where he ended up dropping the TB off. He didn't reply, so a few days later I tried a more direct approach- directing him to PLEASE move the bug along- encouraged him to put it in one of his own caches, if nothing else!

 

I am at a loss as to what to do next, if anything. I am tempted to post a note on one of his caches (or go find one of the ones I haven't yet, and post a find) along with a comment regarding the travel bug he retrieved so many weeks ago and has not moved along... perhaps other visitors to his log reading such comments could help encourage him to do this??

 

I don't really know the acceptable etiquette of this sport, was hoping someone here would have some appropriate advice before I say or do something that I would regret. I am thoroughly enjoying my new-found diversion- this is the ONLY frustration I have encountered that is gnawing at me.

 

I hate to try to start another while my first TB try is in limbo. Is there anything I can do to help prevent such frustration in the future?

[nonaeroterraqueous]

The first thing I should say is that you need to stay calm. Your travel bug is in the hands of complete strangers, and you must be willing to accept whatever happens. My first travel bug made exactly one move before it disappeared No kidding. If you get too obsessed with one, then release a few so you won't be hounding everyone who makes the mistake of grabbing your one bug.

 

You've sent your emails. That's all you can do. Some people, especially newbies, are really bad at handling TBs, so it may be over for this bug already, or it might not. For all you know it might already be in a cache somewhere, unrecorded.

[+BurbankKarl]

I realized I have been holding on to three TBs for two months....I will try to move them along tomorrow...

[+BlueDeuce]

I'm pretty much a newbie- my first find was 2/15/07.... decided to start a travel bug a few weeks ago. I selected a perfect cache for my "Sunset Seeker" bug's send off and was so excited when it was picked up the very next day- by a person who "owns" several local caches, as well. I was startled, however to see that this cache and another the same evening were his first finds- intrigued, but convinced that the bug was in good hands. He mentioned picking it up in his log, but didn't log it as taken- so a few days later I emailed to remind him to do this. After a couple retries, I got a reply saying he didn't really know HOW to do what I was asking, but would be glad to if I explained how. So I did.... and the TB was logged as "retreived" and his note said he was going to AZ soon and would drop it off there. It has been over a month now, so I wrote to him again - asked conversationally if he had enjoyed his trip, or whether he was there now.... said I was watching to see where he ended up dropping the TB off. He didn't reply, so a few days later I tried a more direct approach- directing him to PLEASE move the bug along- encouraged him to put it in one of his own caches, if nothing else!

 

I am at a loss as to what to do next, if anything. I am tempted to post a note on one of his caches (or go find one of the ones I haven't yet, and post a find) along with a comment regarding the travel bug he retrieved so many weeks ago and has not moved along... perhaps other visitors to his log reading such comments could help encourage him to do this??

 

I don't really know the acceptable etiquette of this sport, was hoping someone here would have some appropriate advice before I say or do something that I would regret. I am thoroughly enjoying my new-found diversion- this is the ONLY frustration I have encountered that is gnawing at me.

 

I hate to try to start another while my first TB try is in limbo. Is there anything I can do to help prevent such frustration in the future?

 

That situation would be frustrating! You are handling it very well, nice friendly instructional emails prodding him forward is the best approach. I don’t think posting anything on the caches about the bug is going to help much although you might want to go find his caches to see if it got placed in one.

 

Unless you can find somebody he caches with I’m not sure what else you can do. At this point I would recommend waiting about 3-4 weeks and then send another email asking for your bug to be dropped into a cache and once again provide instructions on how to do the drop. Then again in two months, then…forget about it. Yes it is too soon to re-release your bug using the copy tag; you would only do so this soon if you know for a fact the bug is destroyed/lost not just mia.

[joeythelemur]

While I'm not happy to hear of your situation, I am heartened a bit that I am not the only one to have this experience. I too am a relative newbie (first find in Nov 06) and I decided to do 2 TBs shortly thereafter. One in particular had a specific, time-sensitive goal that I was quite excited about. It was picked up by a cacher that has a couple hundred finds as well as several of his own caches. However, this was nearly 3 months ago now and no word. I had searched the forums at the time and did what seemed to be recommended: a friendly email reminder after two weeks, another after a month. I can see on their profile page that they have been to the geocaching website in the last week, but no cache finds or other apparent activity.

 

In my case, I noticed that the cacher had also picked up a couple other bugs at the same time and hadn't done anything with them either. So I contacted the owners of those to see if they had had any luck. One responded that they didn't hear anything either. I felt worse for them as my TB had 0 miles on it but theirs had over 12,000 miles already The worst part is that there has been NO communication. If he just can't get out, I'd rather be told that instead of ignoring me.

 

Anyway, it's good advice I think to not get too attached to any single bug. I feel a bit better that my other TB released at the same time is managing to get around a bit. And who knows, it could turn up at any time. Check out this thread and this thread for a bit of encouragement. And if it doesn't happen, there's always this one for a shoulder to cry on.

 

Good luck

[+cllecr]

The first thing I should say is that you need to stay calm. Your travel bug is in the hands of complete strangers, and you must be willing to accept whatever happens. My first travel bug made exactly one move before it disappeared No kidding. If you get too obsessed with one, then release a few so you won't be hounding everyone who makes the mistake of grabbing your one bug.

 

You've sent your emails. That's all you can do. Some people, especially newbies, are really bad at handling TBs, so it may be over for this bug already, or it might not. For all you know it might already be in a cache somewhere, unrecorded.

 

Ok, so let go and let be. I like the idea I found in another post about sending a generic letter after a few weeks. . . impersonal, I guess. It's just hard not to care about my first bug and it's first pick up - dumb. After perusing this topic, I find that I can start a new one with the "copy" bug tags later on, if it never shows up, as well.

[+cllecr]

I realized I have been holding on to three TBs for two months....I will try to move them along tomorrow...

 

Good point, may just be an unintentional oversight that will correct itself down the road. Glad my frustration reminded you, as well, but it's good to realize it just happens sometimes. . . .

[+cllecr]

While I'm not happy to hear of your situation, I am heartened a bit that I am not the only one to have this experience. I too am a relative newbie (first find in Nov 06) and I decided to do 2 TBs shortly thereafter. One in particular had a specific, time-sensitive goal that I was quite excited about. It was picked up by a cacher that has a couple hundred finds as well as several of his own caches. However, this was nearly 3 months ago now and no word. I had searched the forums at the time and did what seemed to be recommended: a friendly email reminder after two weeks, another after a month. I can see on their profile page that they have been to the geocaching website in the last week, but no cache finds or other apparent activity.

 

In my case, I noticed that the cacher had also picked up a couple other bugs at the same time and hadn't done anything with them either. So I contacted the owners of those to see if they had had any luck. One responded that they didn't hear anything either. I felt worse for them as my TB had 0 miles on it but theirs had over 12,000 miles already The worst part is that there has been NO communication. If he just can't get out, I'd rather be told that instead of ignoring me.

 

Anyway, it's good advice I think to not get too attached to any single bug. I feel a bit better that my other TB released at the same time is managing to get around a bit. And who knows, it could turn up at any time. Check out this thread and this thread for a bit of encouragement. And if it doesn't happen, there's always this one for a shoulder to cry on.

 

Good luck

 

Ok fine, puts it all in perspective . . . if I'm going to release any more into the wild world, I'll have to be ready to have others disappear, as well. Would like to hope that most cachers are honest and responsible for following through on expectations.

 

I shared a geocoin that I picked up recently with my 7th grade class- telling them what the coins "goal" was and explaining how the "game" rules work. A few kids asked the obvious question- can't you just keep it?? To which I replied, sure, I have that choice, just as everyone does- but that would be theft and it would spoil the fun- and I choose to be more responsible than that!

[Neos2]

I wouldn't panic just yet, although that is very very hard to do with your first TB (Oh, how I remember watchig for logs on my first one!). The cacher only picked up the TB on March 4th, and doesn't seem to have gone caching anywhere else since then. They haven't repsonded to your emails, which may mean they are on vacation now (It is spring break in many parts of the country, many families plan their vacations around that).

 

They may not be going on their trip for a week or two yet, and may have misunderstood your wishes about moving the TB along sooner. They may not have received your email--there have been recent problems with some servers not forwarding along emails in a timely manner. Or they may have been in an accident, have family problems, etc. They may even have gone on the trip, but forgotten to take along the TBs, it happens. Now they may be embarassed and hoping for a spare moment to drop it off in a local cache.

 

They may even be having a hard time finding a safe place to leave the TB. I once ended up with a TB for well over a month before I found a safe spot--even my local stand-by spots that I always use to drop off TBs were having problems and every cache I found was too small or too risky for that TB.

 

More than a month is too long to hold onto a TB without at least contacting the owner to explain why you still have it, but it happens. If you keep contacting them using stronger language every time you may annoy them and make them feel like taking their sweet time placing your TB.

 

As difficult as it is to wait, I'd back off for a few months, if need be, before sending another email--and that one would be mild and sweet:

"Just wondering if you've had a chance to drop off my TB xxxxx at a cache yet? It's my first TB and I'm very excited about watching it move. Dropping it back in a local cache would be fine!"

[+cllecr]

I wouldn't panic just yet, although that is very very hard to do with your first TB (Oh, how I remember watchig for logs on my first one!). The cacher only picked up the TB on March 4th, and doesn't seem to have gone caching anywhere else since then. They haven't repsonded to your emails, which may mean they are on vacation now (It is spring break in many parts of the country, many families plan their vacations around that).

 

They may not be going on their trip for a week or two yet, and may have misunderstood your wishes about moving the TB along sooner. They may not have received your email--there have been recent problems with some servers not forwarding along emails in a timely manner. Or they may have been in an accident, have family problems, etc. They may even have gone on the trip, but forgotten to take along the TBs, it happens. Now they may be embarassed and hoping for a spare moment to drop it off in a local cache.

 

They may even be having a hard time finding a safe place to leave the TB. I once ended up with a TB for well over a month before I found a safe spot--even my local stand-by spots that I always use to drop off TBs were having problems and every cache I found was too small or too risky for that TB.

 

More than a month is too long to hold onto a TB without at least contacting the owner to explain why you still have it, but it happens. If you keep contacting them using stronger language every time you may annoy them and make them feel like taking their sweet time placing your TB.

 

As difficult as it is to wait, I'd back off for a few months, if need be, before sending another email--and that one would be mild and sweet:

"Just wondering if you've had a chance to drop off my TB xxxxx at a cache yet? It's my first TB and I'm very excited about watching it move. Dropping it back in a local cache would be fine!"

 

Lots of good points here, I'm glad I decided to try a post on the forum- you've all made me feel more at ease with the whole process and acceptance of situations involved. I'm just going to move on and revisit this, if necessary, later.

 

BTW- noticed you are a teacher, also- and introducing GPS technology in your classroom. I'm going to be participating in a research and professional development project at Yellowstone National Park this summer that includes GPS training and class supplies to use in lessons nest year. I'm excited to explore ways to integrate the technology into Life Science (I teach Middle School science).

 

Thanks again for the rational advice.

[Neos2]

BTW- noticed you are a teacher, also- and introducing GPS technology in your classroom. I'm going to be participating in a research and professional development project at Yellowstone National Park this summer that includes GPS training and class supplies to use in lessons nest year. I'm excited to explore ways to integrate the technology into Life Science (I teach Middle School science).

 

Thanks again for the rational advice.

Glad you appreciated the advice, hope it helps.

 

I had a great opportunity earlier this year. I participated in a test-study done by the GSA of a book they are creating for teachers to use Earthcaches in the curriculum. I ended up taking all the Earth & Space science kids (about 1/5 of the school) out of the classroom for a day of field work in a state park. The kids created two Earthcaches that day!

 

My collaborative teacher and I spent several hours of class time before the trip letting them read other EarthCache pages so they would understand what quality they needed to produce. We also let them lern how to use GPS units, how to use a compass, how to recognize various geologic features. They researched the park in advance, and previewed information on the waterfalls and tunnels they would be visiting. They learned how to read topo maps, google earth maps, terraserver maps etc.

 

At the park they measured distances and heights, recorded waypoints, photographed, videotaped, sketched, mapped, and otherwise recorded all the field data. They discussed the best places to make their EarthCaches with the interpretive ranger.

 

Back at school the next few days they collaborated to write up the cache pages and came up with the "educational lesson" and created a videotape to show to the school board as a "Thank you" for letting us go (the high school students rarely get to take field trips and never before have we been allowed to take all the kids for an entire day!).

 

The day was unusually cold, but we had rented the shelter for the day. The highlight of the day for my collab teacher and myself was realizing that most of the kiddos had never had a day outing in a state park, or roasted hot dogs over an open fire, or had smores. They were very appreciative of the whole experience, but they were thrilled the most by things that we take for granted--like knowing how to build a fire! I knew they would appreciate the technology to nature experience, I had no idea they would be so amazed by the nature experience itself!

 

We plan to do something like that every year now. I hope you find something equally worthwhile from your preofessional development apportunity. I've had some other ideas:

 

One thing my Bio kids will be doing is to track the size of the boundaries of a local wetland as the area continues to become more developed around it.

Another idea I've had is to ask the kids to mark the coordinates to specific plants or geologic features along a public trail system that is being developed along our riverfront, and produce a trail map for visitors.

[Whistler'sMama]

Maybe he went to Arizona but his luggage, with your TB inside, went to Hawaii never to be heard from again.

 

The first TB I found I placed in a cache and it was picked up by someone later that same day. They held onto it for 6 months before releasing it.

[+DoodleCat & MisterKrrk]

I tried and wait til its been in someones hands for more than 6 months before sending a friendly note. If it looks like they don't cache anymore I offer to send a self-addressed stamped envelope so that the can return it to me. Sometimes that gets the bug moving again.

[+cllecr]

"I had a great opportunity earlier this year. I participated in a test-study done by the GSA of a book they are creating for teachers to use Earthcaches in the curriculum. I ended up taking all the Earth & Space science kids (about 1/5 of the school) out of the classroom for a day of field work in a state park. The kids created two Earthcaches that day!"

 

This sounds like an amazing project that kids found educational on several levels! Where can I find out more about Earthcaches? I really don't know much about what sets them apart from other caches.

Edited April 8, 2007 by cllecr

[+cllecr]

I tried and wait til its been in someones hands for more than 6 months before sending a friendly note. If it looks like they don't cache anymore I offer to send a self-addressed stamped envelope so that the can return it to me. Sometimes that gets the bug moving again.

 

Wow, sounds like I really need to culture some patience.... time to ready some other travel bugs and coins to set off on adventures - this one is "an only child" - guess that inspires overprotectiveness I will prepare some SASEs for the inevitable. . . good idea

[+cllecr]

Maybe he went to Arizona but his luggage, with your TB inside, went to Hawaii never to be heard from again.

 

The first TB I found I placed in a cache and it was picked up by someone later that same day. They held onto it for 6 months before releasing it.

 

The first travel bug I moved along, I placed in a cache that hadn't been visited in 4 months- it was picked up the next day and traveled to 3 new states in the next week! I was overly encouraged by these results, I think!

[Neos2]

"I had a great opportunity earlier this year. I participated in a test-study done by the GSA of a book they are creating for teachers to use Earthcaches in the curriculum. I ended up taking all the Earth & Space science kids (about 1/5 of the school) out of the classroom for a day of field work in a state park. The kids created two Earthcaches that day!"

This sounds like an amazing project that kids found educational on several levels! Where can I find out more about Earthcaches? I really don't know much about what sets them apart from other caches.

EARTHCACHES Earthcaches are listed on gc, but are sponsored by the Geological Society of America.

 

They are "virtual" caches that highlight some physical feature of the Earth. Each one is supposed to have an educational experience associated with the cache. You read about the feature on the web page, go to the location, experience the feature in some educational way, and log the event as an earthcache on gc. There are earthcaches for waterfalls, earthquake features, slumps, creep areas, volcanos, artesian wells, erosion features such as arches and caves, and so on and so forth.

 

You can search for earthcaches near you in the usual geocaching lists, or once you are on the GSA site you can search for all Earthcaches by state, by name, or by feature type. I use that search feature in the classroom to have kids seek examples of certain kinds of features and go through the cache pages and pictures to learn more. (Of course, I preview a few to find a few outstanding examples I want to be sure they see!).

 

My husband and I love them. We've created several ourselves, have more planned, and love to find them while we are caching. Our spring break trip was planned around 5 Earthcaches we wanted to see.

 

You really ought to post over in the GPS in Education forum, too, for more ideas.

Edited April 8, 2007 by Neos2

[+cllecr]

You really ought to post over in the GPS in Education forum, too, for more ideas.

 

Thanks for the link to the education forum. This was my first forum post and I really hadn't explored much here.... my head is swimming with ideas now! See you there, as well!

[+q22q17]

Just a gentle reminder to not attach anything of serious sentimental value to a TB tag. With over 400 out in the world, we have had many, many "lost" or go MIA.

 

But don't be too worried about newbies. Sometimes what they do is unintentional, and they may very well have dropped it off in a cache and didn't know how to log the drop.

 

We've had a couple TB's come back into play that have been logged improperly or not logged at all. It IS possible for them to begin to travel again.