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my travel bug is being dipped..........


garynlyssa

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I have a travel bug out there and an experienced geocacher(caching since 2003) has it but all they are doing is holding onto it and just dipping it into cache after cache. I know I am getting mileage but it is not fun. I wish they would just leave it in a cache so I could watch it go naturally. I only have about a 100 caches under my belt but isn't the whole point of tbs is to move them to a cache and leave it. I emailed them but they haven't emailed me back. It is just so weird.

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If my TB was being dipped in just a handful of caches, I wouldn't mind. If being dipped in every cache, I might mind. However, I did see a bug recently where somebody had grabbed it, took it on a trip for a month and a half, and dipped it into everything. But, they went the extra mile beyond just saying "moving on". They told stories for many of them about where they were, what the bug did, etc. Here's the link:

 

Wolverine Pez

 

The person took it to some out of the way places, across a wide distance, and pretty much put their log entries into the bug as well, helping to provide a story for what the bug did. I might be more forgiving if this is done, but I definitely would like to be contacted first to ask for permission.

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I often dip travel bugs when I am going on a long road trip. I think it is more fun watching them travel with someone and seeing where they go. For instance, I went from Florida to North Carolina and then to Indiana awhile ago and I dipped several TBs along the way and then dropped them off in Indiana. Not only did the owners get to see my traveling path but their TBs got a lot more mileage. I also posted images as I went. I got several emails thanking me. I would have immediately dropped off the TB if I gotten a request from the owner. It is not as much fun if the person isn't traveling real far and they are just dipping the TB. I bet the geocacher thinks they are doing a good thing so I am at least happy to see you wrote a "polite" email. Everyone plays the game differently so you can never really expect it to go the way you want all the time.

 

Just my two cents. :D

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I often dip travel bugs when I am going on a long road trip. I think it is more fun watching them travel with someone and seeing where they go. For instance, I went from Florida to North Carolina and then to Indiana awhile ago and I dipped several TBs along the way and then dropped them off in Indiana. Not only did the owners get to see my traveling path but their TBs got a lot more mileage. I also posted images as I went. I got several emails thanking me. I would have immediately dropped off the TB if I gotten a request from the owner. It is not as much fun if the person isn't traveling real far and they are just dipping the TB. I bet the geocacher thinks they are doing a good thing so I am at least happy to see you wrote a "polite" email. Everyone plays the game differently so you can never really expect it to go the way you want all the time.

 

Just my two cents. :D

 

ayep.

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I have a travel bug out there and an experienced geocacher(caching since 2003) has it but all they are doing is holding onto it and just dipping it into cache after cache. I know I am getting mileage but it is not fun. I wish they would just leave it in a cache so I could watch it go naturally. I only have about a 100 caches under my belt but isn't the whole point of tbs is to move them to a cache and leave it. I emailed them but they haven't emailed me back. It is just so weird.

At least your TB is traveling and you are still able to track it. I would be thankful it hasn't disappeared yet.

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Ok, I am still very new to the whole Goacaching thing, but my family and I are enjoying it very much. On to the point now. I travel a lot for work and it takes me to some cool places, and I am making time to GC while I travel. I thought it would be nice to try and drop the travel bugs I get somewhere pretty far from where I find them so they can explore faraway places. I see where people get bothered if a travel bug does not move on very fast. So how long is reasonable to hold on to a Tbug? Also I see where people dip the bugs so the owner can see some results. How do you dip a bug in and out without leaving it? Since I travel so much I think that would be nice to do. Also any help I could get with general etiquette on Tbugs would be nice. I know it all has been posted in forums before and I have been reading as many as I can but there is so much for us newbie’s.

Thanks

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Ok, I am still very new to the whole Goacaching thing, but my family and I are enjoying it very much. On to the point now. I travel a lot for work and it takes me to some cool places, and I am making time to GC while I travel. I thought it would be nice to try and drop the travel bugs I get somewhere pretty far from where I find them so they can explore faraway places. I see where people get bothered if a travel bug does not move on very fast. So how long is reasonable to hold on to a Tbug? Also I see where people dip the bugs so the owner can see some results. How do you dip a bug in and out without leaving it? Since I travel so much I think that would be nice to do. Also any help I could get with general etiquette on Tbugs would be nice. I know it all has been posted in forums before and I have been reading as many as I can but there is so much for us newbie’s.

Thanks

 

Typically you shouldn't hold a TB longer than two-three weeks. If you want to hold on to it longer like to take it on a trip check with the owner first. Most are pretty cool about it as long as they know their bug hasn't been forgotten.

 

You dip by logging the bug in as you normally would and then Retrieve it right back out. Dipping isn't really a bad thing. If you can't leave it there like the cache is to small the bug still should get credit for being there. Just try to make it interesting. Posting photos is always a good idea. That way the owner actually enjoys seeing his bug moving around. Just don't hold it and dip it for weeks on end.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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As a bug owner (though my bug has gone missing), I wouldn't mind a long trip, especially if you were taking it to places that were very far off the beaten path and weren't being visited very often and then you brought my bug back somewhere more frequently-visited. So that it could visit all of those out-of-the-way places and still end up somewhere where there's a high likelihood of someone coming along and picking it up next. Especially if you took photos. I'd be very happy if you did that.

 

But it would be nice to let me know, via email, that that's your intention. : )

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I am an OTR driver, and will often hold a TB for a week or so, depending on the goal of the TB. If by holding it a few extra days I can further or accomplish it's goal, I will. As we travel, I will dip it to add it's miles as our destination changes and we go in a new direction, and to let the owner know that it is moving and not forgotten in the bottom of my cache bag.

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Guilty as Charged :blink:

I have been holding and dipping a few TB's for some time, I have been posting a few pics for the owners and everyone else to view also and getting miles and caches for the TB, which is what I would hope for as a bug owner, stories, pics, and then let the TB go. This is what this is about > right? We are taking 6 TB's to the 4 Corners soon, dip in some caches get some pics, and release, In fact I just grabbed one TB again that has been sitting for a month or more, will keep for a week or 3 and move on. :) But I would agree it would be boring with no pics and or stories, need to make it interesting for the OWNERS!

My 2 Cents :)

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Guilty as Charged :blink:

I have been holding and dipping a few TB's for some time, I have been posting a few pics for the owners and everyone else to view also and getting miles and caches for the TB, which is what I would hope for as a bug owner, stories, pics, and then let the TB go. This is what this is about > right? We are taking 6 TB's to the 4 Corners soon, dip in some caches get some pics, and release, In fact I just grabbed one TB again that has been sitting for a month or more, will keep for a week or 3 and move on. :) But I would agree it would be boring with no pics and or stories, need to make it interesting for the OWNERS!

My 2 Cents :)

 

I'm not seeing serious infractions. Happy Caching.

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Just for general interest, this geocoin "Here's hopping, Froggy" is the one I referred to in my post #2. I can't complain that he hasn't been hopping well :D and, as others have commented, at least I know he's still active.

 

So it's not a big deal to me...

 

I'd just like another geocacher to have the opportunity to find him now, as he's been with that same cacher for 4 months.

 

MrsB

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As a bug owner (though my bug has gone missing), I wouldn't mind a long trip, especially if you were taking it to places that were very far off the beaten path and weren't being visited very often and then you brought my bug back somewhere more frequently-visited. So that it could visit all of those out-of-the-way places and still end up somewhere where there's a high likelihood of someone coming along and picking it up next. Especially if you took photos. I'd be very happy if you did that.

 

Dunno. My California Micro Geocoin has been in the Netherlands for four months now. I don't think the Dutch let travel bugs/geocoins leave the country. <_< Some sort of immigration law? Ah. It's having fun there...

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I guilty. However, many TB & coins have gone missing with out being logged around my area. I do try to leave them in a cache that is visited a bit more often with the hope of them not getting stolen. I will leave them when I find a good one to leave them in. I also log any coins / TB's to try and prevent them being stolen.

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I'm another guilty one - we knew we were going to Arizona for a 12 day road trip and picked up 3 TBs in Canada to bring with us. Some of them sat with us for almost a month (with the owner's permission) prior to the trip. The TBs came with us for most of the trip and we certainly dipped them for most of the road trip. But we did take lots of photos and had a bit of a story for many of the logs. We figured since we were seeing out of the way places (how many TBs get to sleep where Howard Hughes slept?) that it was OK.

 

I had also contacted the owners prior to doing so and they had e-mailed that it was OK but I believe the only question we asked was whether it was OK to take them to AZ and not whether to take them on an extended trip in AZ.

 

I will sometimes hold onto a TB for more than a few weeks if the weather or my schedule is not cooperating. But I'll also send an e-mail to the owner. I'm fussy on where I drop the bugs. I like to leave them in a cache of good repute for TBs and sometimes that takes a bit longer to find. I will dip the bugs until they've found a good home.

 

I like to treat travel bugs well and try to take photos where possible. But as others have said, I would never knowingly violate an owner's wishes. I hope your tb is simply on a journey and is having a blast with many photos.

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I'm another guilty one - we knew we were going to Arizona for a 12 day road trip and picked up 3 TBs in Canada to bring with us. Some of them sat with us for almost a month (with the owner's permission) prior to the trip. The TBs came with us for most of the trip and we certainly dipped them for most of the road trip. But we did take lots of photos and had a bit of a story for many of the logs. We figured since we were seeing out of the way places (how many TBs get to sleep where Howard Hughes slept?) that it was OK.

 

I had also contacted the owners prior to doing so and they had e-mailed that it was OK but I believe the only question we asked was whether it was OK to take them to AZ and not whether to take them on an extended trip in AZ.

 

I will sometimes hold onto a TB for more than a few weeks if the weather or my schedule is not cooperating. But I'll also send an e-mail to the owner. I'm fussy on where I drop the bugs. I like to leave them in a cache of good repute for TBs and sometimes that takes a bit longer to find. I will dip the bugs until they've found a good home.

 

I like to treat travel bugs well and try to take photos where possible. But as others have said, I would never knowingly violate an owner's wishes. I hope your tb is simply on a journey and is having a blast with many photos.

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