caching on the interstate - listings?

[+bigdogsrule]

Can anyone please tell me if there is somewhere i can find a listing of caches located at rest stops on Interstates 70, 76, 80/90?

Thanks for any info!

Bigdogsrule

[+bnpkidz]

Since you are a premium member, you have access to the "Find Caches Along a Route" function. Follow Link

 

You can search for routes that others have uploadedl or you can create your own route using Google Earth and a simple pocket query. The nice thing about creating your own is you can specify your start and stop addresses. The instructions are pretty helpful, but you will want to make sure you are very specific when running your PQ.

 

Another thing you can do is actually locate a cache on your route that meets your criteria (at rest stops, just off the interstate) and see if anyone has created a public bookmark that lists the caches on your route. For example, I know in Ohio there is a bookmark for caches along 71.

 

Hope this helps. Contact me through my profile if you need assistance with the "Find Caches Along a Route" function.

[+StarBrand]

Might also check out the geotruckers.com website as they have some lists of interstate/trucker friendly caches.

[+Markwell]

I just answered the question (well, not this precise set of insterstates, but a solution, nonetheless) on May 1 in this thread

Yes, I read the instructions about using google earth to create a route...and then importing that route file etc. I don't want to be driving off the highway into small town parks along the way...Just wanted to stop at highway stops. My guess would be to limit the distance from the route to like .1 miles??? Or is there another 'trick' to finding caches hidden at rest area, scenic, and other stops along a highway?

I did some searching a while ago and found waypoints of various rest-stops. Of course the files are completely out-of-date (since I received them almost a year ago). But I did create a GPX file of the points.

 

If you created a Pocket Query of your Route on Google Earth, received the GPX file for the route query and laid it into Google Earth (over-laying the route you created) and then also overlayed the waypoints for known Rest Stops giving them some separate icon, that might help you visually determine waypoints on the way that are near the rest stops. However, it should be fairly easy to spot rest-stops in Google Earth with caches nearby having gotten the results from your Route PQ.

 

Here's a zone along interstate 80 that has a couple of caches near a rest stop - pretty easy to spot.

 

I also decided to see how long it would take to really figure something like this out. So I set up a route I take to see my in-laws - Chicago to Chattanooga. Pull down a pocket query and load the results (0.2 miles from route) and overlay my data on Rest Stops. Here's the caches I found: GCGNXB, GCVCZ7, GCTD79, GC101Z3, GCVKJD, GCGCXB, GC14MR1, GCMKZE , GCMKYE, and GCJB2T.

 

However - that's just the ones that were at rest stops. I started going backward on the route and looked at ones that were at interchanges, not rest stops and got as far as Murfreesboro before I quit. Here's a sample of those: GC17PH7, GCZPQB, GC17XRH, GC11D5E, GC1EG02, GC1BZB3, GC1C8B2, GC12DW4, GC1EZWG.

 

So I guess it's going to depend on how picky you want to get.

 

But the big thing to keep in mind is that I found these caches with a pocket query of the route in less than 30 minutes (and had a full listing of the caches).