geocaches placed in neighborhood/city parks

April 11, 2007

right next to the playground and/or bench

i dont see a problem with iT!!!

HOW ABOUT YOU!!!

Edited April 11, 2007 by tanbev94

April 11, 2007

i fail to see the point of this thread. am i missing something?

April 11, 2007

i fail to see the point of this thread. am i missing something?

ME TO I JUST PUT IT UP BECAUSE I DONT SEE A PROBLEM WITH IT

April 11, 2007

i fail to see the point of this thread. am i missing something?

ME TO I JUST PUT IT UP BECAUSE I DONT SEE A PROBLEM WITH IT

hahaha. hey whatever floats your boat.

1.2k · April 11, 2007

Someone complained about this sort of thing in another thread. Is that what this is about?

April 11, 2007

Someone complained about this sort of thing in another thread. Is that what this is about?

yea i just dont see eny thing rong about it!!!

1.2k · April 11, 2007

Me neither. It's kind of hard to have a wild ranting argument like this. Say something bull-headed so I can mock you.

3.1k · April 11, 2007

Judging from the OP's profile, I can see why he doesn't have a problem with it.

In certain instances, an adult lingering around a playground without his own kid in tow may be construed as creepy and attract unwanted attention. It happens I passed on one today because there were a lot of kids playing there at the time. Had that not been the case, I'd have done it.

1.2k · April 11, 2007

Looks like we have a taker.

Just get the cache and let them think you're a freak. You'll find it very liberating.

3.1k · April 11, 2007

Looks like we have a taker.

Just get the cache and let them think you're a freak. You'll find it very liberating.

I doubt it. I have no interest in creeping out little kids.

Besides, this one wasn't a park and grab. It involved some puzzle work.

The hides are fine. Just expect them to be frequently passed up and/or muggled.

Edited April 11, 2007 by Dinoprophet

14.3k · April 11, 2007

yea i just dont see eny thing rong about it!!!

It sounds like you spent too much time in the playground.... :anitongue:

Anyhow, if a strange adult is snooping around small children in a play area designed for small children, it will understandably raise concerns from their parents. So you are better off doing those caches (that should have been put somewhere else in the park) at night when the children are gone.

1.2k · April 11, 2007

yea i just dont see eny thing rong about it!!!
It sounds like you spent too much time in the playground....

Anyhow, if a strange adult is snooping around small children in a play area designed for small children, it will understandably raise concerns from their parents. So you are better off doing those caches (that should have been put somewhere else in the park) at night when the children are gone.

Nonsense! Just offer them some candy! There's no better way to make kids comfortable around a stranger.

14.3k · April 11, 2007

yea i just dont see eny thing rong about it!!!
It sounds like you spent too much time in the playground....

Anyhow, if a strange adult is snooping around small children in a play area designed for small children, it will understandably raise concerns from their parents. So you are better off doing those caches (that should have been put somewhere else in the park) at night when the children are gone.

Nonsense! Just offer them some candy! There's no better way to make kids comfortable around a stranger.

It's the parents you need to make comfortable. I guess you could tell all the parents about geocaching and then have them all join to to find the cache. That might work.

1.2k · April 11, 2007

It's the parents you need to make comfortable. I guess you could tell all the parents about geocaching and then have them all join to to find the cache. That might work.

Seriously? That doesn't work. The next time the kids are there they'll look at it, and the time after that, and the time after that... then people will be logging that they found it out in plain sight...with the lid off...and the swag strewn around and played with. I've seen it happen. Kids love geocaches.

14.3k · April 11, 2007

It's the parents you need to make comfortable. I guess you could tell all the parents about geocaching and then have them all join to to find the cache. That might work.

Seriously? That doesn't work. The next time the kids are there they'll look at it, and the time after that, and the time after that... then people will be logging that they found it out in plain sight...with the lid off...and the swag strewn around and played with. I've seen it happen. Kids love geocaches.

I was joking. :anitongue:

It's a poor place for a cache for a lot of reasons. It is very likely that small kid play area wasn't the only spot the cache could have been hidden within that 20 acre circle of possibilities..... :laughing:

1.2k · April 11, 2007

But think of where it brought you! Now you can play on the jungle gym and look for a cache at the same time!

Assuming that the cache isn't actually ON the jungle gym, how bad could it be, really? It's probably just a magnetic altoids on a park bench. Just go have a break on the seat, take five surreptitious seconds to grab the thing, log it and put it back.

14.3k · April 11, 2007

But think of where it brought you! Now you can play on the jungle gym and look for a cache at the same time!

Assuming that the cache isn't actually ON the jungle gym, how bad could it be, really? It's probably just a magnetic altoids on a park bench. Just go have a break on the seat, take five surreptitious seconds to grab the thing, log it and put it back.

I like doing the monkey bars. I had a tough time doing them when I was a kid, but now my feet reach the ground so it's a breeze! :anitongue:

1.2k · April 11, 2007

There you go! Just do the monkey bars for a while, then the parents will take their kids and go. Problem solved!

April 11, 2007

If you splash some water on the front of your pants, and drool like a St Bernard while doing the monkey bars, I'm sure that you will have the place all to yourself in no time!!! Then you can cache all you want! :lol: :laughing: :anitongue: :lol:

24.7k · April 11, 2007

geocaches placed in neighborhood/city parks

right next to the playground and/or bench

i dont see a problem with iT!!!

HOW ABOUT YOU!!!

Yup I do. The cache will go MIA in a very short time. If that floats your boat then it's a wonderful spot. The rest of the park is the better spot.

20.7k · April 11, 2007

As others have mentioned, a cache near the play area will require more maintenance by the cache owner because it is more likely than some other caches to be muggled. As long as the cache owner is willing to do the extra maintenance, I see no problem with the cache being listed.

From a finder's perspective, I skip these caches if there are kids around. I don't skip it because I'm worried about people thinking I'm going to 'hurt the children'. I do it because I don't want to give away the cache location and cause it to be muggled. I'll come back and look for it at another time when the coast is clear.

April 11, 2007

I don't see "eny thing rong" about it either... <_< (if I were your age, that is.)

However, I'd prefer it if the cache was located at Chuy's next to the margarita machine. Of course, then you might not like that location very much. To each his own.

Good Luck! - and happy caching!

18.9k · April 11, 2007

Such caches have a high muggle factor. I will go do them when I have my kids with me or the area is empty. Sad reality is that a lone 40ish male with a ziploc bag full of trade items does look suspicious around the playground equipment. Just a fact.

6.5k · April 11, 2007

Personally I don't care for them much, but I'll find them if the timing is right. I'm sure there are some caches out there that you won't enjoy looking for as well. That's one of the great things about geocaching-so many choices!

20.7k · April 11, 2007

Such caches have a high muggle factor. I will go do them when I have my kids with me or the area is empty. Sad reality is that a lone 40ish male with a ziploc bag full of trade items does look suspicious around the playground equipment. Just a fact.

If you think that makes you look suspicious, try going there with pockets full of kittens.

Edited April 11, 2007 by sbell111

2.5k · April 11, 2007

That reminds me, there is a local park that has probably finished it's latest revision by now. In the many years I've live in this town it's had at least 8 names that I knew about. No kids ever go play there alone; very few go with parents. I took my two oldest children there once when they were young (they are 22 and 23 now).

The city renames it after the most recent philanthropist who passes away and leaves money to the town. They grade some section of the park for a flower bed and put up a new plaque. It's the perfect place for an interesting cache because it's pretty, little known, and seldom visited by anyone except geocachers. I'd better swing by there and look to see if the spot I had picked out for a new cache is available yet. Thanks for the reminder!

1.2k · April 12, 2007

If you think that makes you look suspicious, try going there with pockets full of kittens.

You do that often, do you? Do you dress for the occasion, in bemuda shorts and a trench coat? Drape the coat over the bench so no one can see what you're doing when you crawl under it to fetch one of the kittens you loosed. Then, while you're under there, you look up at the underside of the bench for the cache. If it isn't under that bench, then it's under the one that the parents are sitting on. Simply go sit next to them and show them the kittens. Then engage them in inane banter about your hemmoroids. They'll leave soon enough and you'll have the place to yourself. :unsure:

2.7k · April 12, 2007

Just tell the parents you're from the local child abuse prevention office (CPS, HRS or whatever it is called in your area). Then look at them from head to toe, ask them which kid is theirs and write in your notebook. :unsure:

You'll be alone in the park lickety split!

:blink:

24.7k · April 12, 2007

Just tell the parents you're from the local child abuse prevention office (CPS, HRS or whatever it is called in your area). Then look at them from head to toe, ask them which kid is theirs and write in your notebook.

You'll be alone in the park lickety split!

Not bad.

April 12, 2007

Assuming that the cache isn't actually ON the jungle gym, how bad could it be, really?

I have found three that I can think of that are on or part of the play equipment!

1.2k · April 12, 2007

Well, then I guess you need to play on the equipment. Maybe you need to connect with your inner child. Don't tell me you never use playground equipment. I think we all do every now and then.

20.7k · April 12, 2007

If you think that makes you look suspicious, try going there with pockets full of kittens.

You do that often, do you? Do you dress for the occasion, in bemuda shorts and a trench coat? Drape the coat over the bench so no one can see what you're doing when you crawl under it to fetch one of the kittens you loosed. Then, while you're under there, you look up at the underside of the bench for the cache. If it isn't under that bench, then it's under the one that the parents are sitting on. Simply go sit next to them and show them the kittens. Then engage them in inane banter about your hemmoroids. They'll leave soon enough and you'll have the place to yourself.

I think that you may have put too much energy into this plan.

April 12, 2007

Sounds like another great opportunity to use that new safety vest “Mr. Playground Inspector”.

April 12, 2007

Such caches have a high muggle factor. I will go do them when I have my kids with me or the area is empty. Sad reality is that a lone 40ish male with a ziploc bag full of trade items does look suspicious around the playground equipment. Just a fact.

If you think that makes you look suspicious, try going there with pockets full of kittens.

I was thinking shorts, a v-neck t-shirt and a trench coat. Turn your back to the parents, face the kids and open the trench coat.

That should have the parents clear the kids out of the area and free you up to grab to the cache in peace... well, at least until the police arrive. :lol:

April 12, 2007

Such caches have a high muggle factor. I will go do them when I have my kids with me or the area is empty. Sad reality is that a lone 40ish male with a ziploc bag full of trade items does look suspicious around the playground equipment. Just a fact.

That would be me. Never married. No kids. Makes it tough to approach a cache without raising eyebrows! If it's still around in the winter I'll go back when the temps are in the teens! I figure I'd have the area to myself then? :lol: :laughing:

2.7k · April 13, 2007

Such caches have a high muggle factor. I will go do them when I have my kids with me or the area is empty. Sad reality is that a lone 40ish male with a ziploc bag full of trade items does look suspicious around the playground equipment. Just a fact.

That would be me. Never married. No kids. Makes it tough to approach a cache without raising eyebrows! If it's still around in the winter I'll go back when the temps are in the teens! I figure I'd have the area to myself then?

So join the scouts and bring along a van load of the neighbours' kids to "introduce them to caching." Then just wait for the inevitable archiving after the really excited ones show it to all their friends the next day. This will save everyone else the embarrassment of looking around the playground.

April 13, 2007

i'd hide them next to a bench in a park if thats what looks like a good hidy spot. whats the big deal? i think we're a little overboard with all this worrying about this and that nonsense. your running around with a gps in your hand looking like a nerded out hound dog on a scent trail and often times have no clue how funny you look starring at your little screen. you still feel like worrying someone might think your some kind of perve looking for kids in the park? yeah... suuuure....

cache on!

urbo

2.7k · April 13, 2007

i'd hide them next to a bench in a park if thats what looks like a good hidy spot. whats the big deal? i think we're a little overboard with all this worrying about this and that nonsense. your running around with a gps in your hand looking like a nerded out hound dog on a scent trail and often times have no clue how funny you look starring at your little screen. you still feel like worrying someone might think your some kind of perve looking for kids in the park? yeah... suuuure....

cache on!

urbo

"I know what THAT thing is... it's a lonely fatherless kid detector!" It's a machine made for perverts that run out of prospects at little league games."

Yeah, i think you're right. Some people do tend to go a little overboard with their suspicions, but then again some authorities blow up traffic counters because people go overboard with their suspicions.

Too, the child protective people aren't well known for common sense handling of cases, but rather for digging out child abuse evidence in everyone they encounter (and placing children in WORSE situations than they take them out of). They get their funding based on how many cases they handle.

It is not really a matter of whether what we do is legal, ethical, moral, and proper (it IS all of that), but a matter of how much time (and perhaps money) you wish to spend defending your rights, ethics, morality, and propriety.

The caches are OK, but if you don't think it is worth the potential hassle, DON'T POTENTIALLY HASSLE WITH IT- just move on.

14.3k · April 13, 2007

The problem with this question is that everyone pictures a different thing when they answer it.

1.2k · April 13, 2007

This reminds me of a cache we found at a dog park, where the dog owners were getting worried over all of the people who were showing up without any dogs. I remember the look on the face of one of the ladies at the park. I'm thinking, "Good grief, I'm not going to steal your dog, lady! I don't even like dogs!"

It's hard to believe anyone would want to steal a dog, or a kid for that matter.

Then, I get to thinking about the underlying motivation and it doesn't seem like a funny subject anymore.

:huh:

20.7k · April 13, 2007

...Yeah, i think you're right. Some people do tend to go a little overboard with their suspicions, but then again some authorities blow up traffic counters because people go overboard with their suspicions.

Too, the child protective people aren't well known for common sense handling of cases, but rather for digging out child abuse evidence in everyone they encounter (and placing children in WORSE situations than they take them out of). They get their funding based on how many cases they handle.

It is not really a matter of whether what we do is legal, ethical, moral, and proper (it IS all of that), but a matter of how much time (and perhaps money) you wish to spend defending your rights, ethics, morality, and propriety.

The caches are OK, but if you don't think it is worth the potential hassle, DON'T POTENTIALLY HASSLE WITH IT- just move on.

I think that even this post tends to exaggerate the issue. The absolute worst things that will happen if you look for the hypothetical cache is that a parent or cop will ask you what you are doing. It's very likely that a cop wouldn't even bother since you haven't done anything wrong, but it could happen. If you answer the question, you will be able to quickly move on with your life. They will still think that you are a nut, but it will end there.

20.7k · April 13, 2007

My wife and I don't have any kids, so I talked to my sister about this thread. I asked her if she would get stressed out if some childless person was wandering around a playground while she was there with her grandkids. She told me that she wouldn't be bothered because she was there to step in if the guy was up to no good. She further explained that as long as he didn't approach her charges that he had as much right to enjoy the public playground as she and the kids did.

My sister is smart.

April 13, 2007

I've got kids, so they are frequently with me. Other times, I will look around for a while before telling the bench-sitting moms "My son said he left his bike helmet/flip-flops/whatever here in the park again after school. He's in trouble!" It usually disarms them.

April 15, 2007

My son placed kidz caches at local schools and they stood for a couple months until someone complained that they felt like a pedophile while locating the cache. Being a Kidz cache they should have had their kids with them when they did the caches and this would have made it acceptable. They were only interested in their stats though and didn't like that they would be mistaken as the above. Too bad, it kinda put a spoiling taste in my son's mouth for Geocaching.

5.3k · April 15, 2007

Huh?

If it was posted on this site, then it was available to all cachers not just those with kids with them. It's a far leap to say that they were only interested in their stats because they went after these caches.

April 15, 2007

I don't go after them. You know, if yer in an area where that's all you got left to go for, it's a sad state of affairs. I live in a mountainous area and have hundreds within 20 miles and would rather not raise eyebrows. Fine for you girls or guys with kids with you. But for a lecherous lookin old guy like me. No thanks. Don't want my GPS confiscated for no reason.

2.7k · April 15, 2007

It's hard to believe anyone would want to steal a dog, or a kid for that matter.

"The Ransom of Red Chief"

'nuff said

I think that even this post tends to exaggerate the issue. The absolute worst things that will happen if you look for the hypothetical cache is that a parent or cop will ask you what you are doing. It's very likely that a cop wouldn't even bother since you haven't done anything wrong, but it could happen. If you answer the question, you will be able to quickly move on with your life. They will still think that you are a nut, but it will end there.

My post was meant to be exaggeration (obviously I thought)

I have actually been approached and questioned by an alleged "helicopter mom" (my interpretation) whilst searching near a playground. I am not sure if she was suspecting me of perversion, or thinking I might be searching for something dangerous (like radioactivity perhaps) because of the outfitting of my vehicle with all kinds of strange antennas, lights and equipment.

She asked, "What is your job?" i answered (truthfully), "I search for radio interference on the state police radio system." (Which was not what I was DOING, but she didn't ask what I was DOING.)

I could tell she was not entirely satisfied but we parted company with no further discussion.

I agree that most encounters, whether with LEO, land owners, busy-bodies, or muggles in general end without serious incident. The truth ALWAYS works best, but using a ruse is kinda cool sometimes at the cacher's discretion.

I had another LEO encounter just yesterday. I think I was on HIS land, which was adjacent to the land the cache was on. I didn't recruit him as a cacher, but he concluded the game was harmless enough. I just wish cache SEEKERS would not have to be the ones to introduce nearby landowners to the sport.

No harm, no foul... typical muggle encounter

geocaches placed in neighborhood/city parks

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