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Moses Lake Cache Machine

travisl

By travisl
in Northwest

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travisl

+travisl

Posted
Posted (edited)

(Note: circumstances may change after this initial posting. Look for my posts (with the icon13.gif icon) in this thread for all the important details and changes.) (Link to dinner event cache.)

 

Moses Lake: Named after Chief Sulktalthscosum, whom Presbyterian missionaries called "Moses", it's an area of sand and snakes, boating and birding, geology and geocaches. Jump in -- it's Washington's great escape.

 

Fill up the tank, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and meet a mob of fellow cachers at sunrise on Saturday, September 25, at 6:30 a.m.

 

Follow all traffic laws, and drive safely. This is not a race; there are no winners. The only loser will be someone who gets hurt.

 

If you're still out on the road at dinner time (7:00 p.m.), skip the rest of the route and come on in. Socializing at dinner is one of the best parts of machine events (and that's coming from me -- someone who usually hates socializing). There will be travel bugs to discover, a buffet to gorge yourself, and more geocachers to commiserate with than you can shake a walking stick at. The most important rule:

 

As with all cache machines, if you find the cache, you'll be the one who has to re-hide it. Hide it as well as you found it.

 

For any micro cache with a tiny logbook that we find on the event, one "MLCM" log entry should suffice for the group. We tend to fill up log books too quickly, and our stickers tend to make micro log books hard to re-stash. For normal-sized caches, or even large micros (like key holders), everyone should sign in.

 

If you’ve already found a couple of these caches, that’s fine - give us a chance to find the cache, and then we may turn to you for a hint. Suggestions and ''Count me ins'' are welcome on the event page.

 

----

 

The Moses Lake Cache Machine FAQ:

 

When is it?

6:30 a.m., Saturday, September 25, 2010. Latecomers can track us down en route.

 

Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or what?

We start the day as one giant group. Then it's on to the next one as a group, which means we'll hopefully find each cache quickly. The group tends to fragment after the first few caches, though. The longer we can keep the big group together, the more fun it is!

 

Is anything going on before, during, or after?

- Friday, September 24, 7:00 p.m., there may be a pre-event dinner. Check the thread below for details. Last minute route changes will be announced here.

- Saturday, September 25, at 7:00 p.m., dinner will be at the Golden Corral at 930 N. Stratford Rd. (N 47.14122, W 119.27877). I've created an event page for this dinner event.

- Sunday, you're on your own. Go get the ones you missed.

 

A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park.

Let me know, and I'll incorporate it into the route.

 

It sounds fun, but I've already found some of them.

Then come laugh at us, or guess when we'll be at the caches you haven't hit yet.

 

You don't have X cache on the route. Why aren't we getting that one?

I'm skipping a lot. I'll be avoiding most multicaches, most puzzle caches, caches that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner has asked us to avoid.

 

You have X cache on the route, but it's disabled/archived/a two mile hike.

Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or will check with the owner (if disabled).

 

X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area.

By all means, let me know. I'll work with the cache owner to minimize our impact, or skip the cache altogether.

 

I disagree with the whole idea of cache machines. I don't want you finding my cache.

Sorry to hear that. It's too bad you've got a neat place to show us that we won't be able to see. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route.

 

What's this gonna cost me?

Nothing for the caching. Or, at least, nothing more than it would cost than if you did the trip solo (e.g., paying for your own gas, hotel, and dinner). I'm not collecting any money for this.

 

Lunch? Breaks? Bathrooms?

Lunch: You should probably bring a sack lunch to eat on the road.

Breaks and Bathrooms: There's no breaks in cache machines! Just hold it. :-P Or find something on the way.

Edited by travisl
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Sunshine Geo

+Sunshine Geo

Posted
Posted (edited)

Cache # 27 is down a single lane sand road to a fishing area / pothole. The turn around is very soft sand. We have taken a regular car down there and had to be careful about how we turned around so we didn't get stuck (we know the sand.) I don't think this would be a good area for that many vehicles, let alone regular (not 4-wheel drive) vehicles.

 

I am not sure about the roads going out to 58-61. It should be a gravel road (I think) going down to a fishing area. I have not been down it in years. I do know there is a vault toilet at the bottom. If I had to guess I would say it was fine.

 

Cache # 23 is fine. It is down a gravel road with ample parking at the spillway. It is about 1/4 mile walk out in the sand and sage brush.

Edited by Sunshine Geo
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travisl

+travisl

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Draft 2 is up.

 

Changes include adding GC2EQ48 and GC2EQ76. I also added multicache GC2EQ61, which, for navigation purposes, shows as two stops (13 and 15).

 

I swapped the placement on the route of GC25VC2 and GC1AW3C (now stops 73 and 74). I added a navigation note at stop 61. I moved GCVMGN two spots earlier in the route (I'd been going at it from the wrong side of I-90).

 

I've also added a sand/swamp caution at GC11A36 (now stop 31).

 

As always, I encourage your feedback.

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Sagefox

+Sagefox

Posted
Posted

For those who have not driven the road between Othello and Potholes Reservoir you are in for a real geological treat.

 

Between stops 60 and 67 the route crosses the Drumheller Channels that were formed by the Ice Age floods. These are amazing structures and it would be worth altering your CM route to incorporate this road if you don't think you will get up into the 60s. Or perhaps pick this area up on Sunday.

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travisl

+travisl

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Draft 3 is up.

 

I've added GC2EXTA (Doolittle), GC2EXXB (Vista), and GC2EXXD (Basin Homes), as jholly suggested, and also GC2F11P (Academy) and GC2F17W (Cassidy's).

 

I've swapped the order of former stops 7 and 8 (now 9 and 10), placing GCXBXP (Ticket to Fly) before GC1QN5C (Crazy Tree).

 

I've moved some parking locations (thanks, Mr. Gadget #2), and added a snake warning to the navigation note and the CM Dinner attributes. I don't expect to see snakes at dinner, but I'm wearing pants anyway.

 

The next -- final -- version of the route will be posted next Monday. the pre-event dinner is still up in the air, as I still don't know yet if I'll be driving in early from Tacoma or flying in late from a business trip.

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travisl

+travisl

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The pre-event dinner on September 24 will be at 6:30 PM at Chico's Pizza Parlor, 530 W Valley Rd, N 47.1396 W 119.2854. I've got a 50-person room held in my name.

 

After I post the final route on Monday, September 20, I'll announce any last minute changes at the pre-event dinner. If you can't make it on Friday night, watch the Moses Lake Cache Machine Dinner event cache, and I'll post the changes as a note there after the pre-event dinner.

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travisl

+travisl

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Wow -- 79 "will attend" logs already, and the event is still more than a week away. For comparison, only Yakima II (83 "will attends") and Quad Cities (80 "will attends") had more, but I'm guessing we'll break past those records in the next few days.

 

Speaking of Quad...

Travis HATES the environment! He wants litter to stay in Spokane and here is proof NO CITO
Well, duh! Not only am I stomping on the Spokane CITO date, but I'm inviting scores of folks to burn fossil fuels, consume massive quantities of buffet food, and tromp all over the vegetation and rattlesnakes of Moses Lake (please! someone! think of the snakes!). Environment = trees and plants. Trees = GPS signals interference. Plants = well hidden caches. Down with the environment!

 

Seriously, though, I'm sorry for the overlap, and hope the Inland Empire Chapter will be able to reschedule quickly. And I expect that many (most?) cachers on the MLCM will perform their traditional CITO functions when running to and from each stop on the route.

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quadsinthemudd

+quadsinthemudd

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Posted

LOL Travis that was the best response. The truth is your Cache Machines are a very big deal for those of us who go to alot of events. My wifes birthday weekend is that weekend but hunny I'm sorry I dont get to pick the dates. I will tell you this if your cache machine ever falls on September 23 I will......... Yup you guessed it in a lot of trouble with the wife!

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travisl

+travisl

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The official final route is up. Any changes past this point will be announced at the pre-event dinner on Friday night and as a note on the event page later Friday night.

 

For those keeping score at home, there's only one substantive change to this route compared to draft 3: stop number 12 has been removed. This is "Grand Columbia- Columbia Basin- Cache to Eagle #2", GC2BQMK, which was found on August 23 and then confirmed missing by that finder on September 11.

 

I've also added icons for the two dinner locations, highlighted the alternate route in purple, and changed the focus/zoom level on a few pages. No caches have been added since draft 3.

 

(Edit: fixed broken link. Thanks, Chumpo.)

Edited by travisl
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Lookout Lisa

+Lookout Lisa

Posted
Posted

I've gotten a few requests for stuff from the Cave -I wasn't planning to set up at all this weekend, but I'll plan to bring a few things along. If you would like something in particular, please pre-order on my site and select 'will pickup' for shipping and I'll deliver to Moses Lake. Or you can email me your shopping list and we'll put it together for you and bring it along.

 

Yes, this is pre-approved with the CO. See you all this weekend!

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BearNWolf

+BearNWolf

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Posted

This will be our first event. We've only been geocaching for a few weeks and have only 6 caches under our belt :anicute: What do we do as a brief recap here? From my understanding, we all meet at 6:30am on Saturday at location 1 of somewhere (looks like several drafts of the map have been made) and then just follow the pack?

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Gan Dalf

+Gan Dalf

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Posted

This will be our first event. We've only been geocaching for a few weeks and have only 6 caches under our belt :anicute: What do we do as a brief recap here? From my understanding, we all meet at 6:30am on Saturday at location 1 of somewhere (looks like several drafts of the map have been made) and then just follow the pack?

 

My advice is to come to the pre-event dinner at 6:30 PM at Chico's Pizza Parlor, 530 W Valley Rd, N 47.1396 W 119.2854. You should be able to get all of the cache machine and logistical information there.

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jholly

jholly

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Posted

This will be our first event. We've only been geocaching for a few weeks and have only 6 caches under our belt :anicute: What do we do as a brief recap here? From my understanding, we all meet at 6:30am on Saturday at location 1 of somewhere (looks like several drafts of the map have been made) and then just follow the pack?

Folks will start at location 1. Some will be long gone before others show up. Some might not show up at location 1, but start at other places. About 10 in the morning the pack will be stretched out pretty well. You may cache with some for a while then others later, the pack that starts the morning likely will not finish together in the evening. You will likely have more than 6 to your credit before the day is over. Oh, and location 1 has been pretty constant through the iterations of the map. Make sure you have the final draft, there have been some significant changes along the way.

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Jennifer&Dean

+Jennifer&Dean

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Posted

This will be our first event. We've only been geocaching for a few weeks and have only 6 caches under our belt :) What do we do as a brief recap here? From my understanding, we all meet at 6:30am on Saturday at location 1 of somewhere (looks like several drafts of the map have been made) and then just follow the pack?

Folks will start at location 1. Some will be long gone before others show up. Some might not show up at location 1, but start at other places. About 10 in the morning the pack will be stretched out pretty well. You may cache with some for a while then others later, the pack that starts the morning likely will not finish together in the evening. You will likely have more than 6 to your credit before the day is over. Oh, and location 1 has been pretty constant through the iterations of the map. Make sure you have the final draft, there have been some significant changes along the way.

Since you are new to caching and CMs, it may also help to "team" up with someone, either to follow their vehicle or actually ride with them. We've been known to "borrow" a local cacher during cache machines to help us navigate and find caches. Usually folks end up in groups of 3 or 4 vehicles traveling mostly together. Just watch for all the folks making U-Turns, that will be us.

:anicute:

Jen

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Jennifer&Dean

+Jennifer&Dean

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Posted

I finally decided that I am coming. I'll have the four boys with me. So I'll be the one stopping for gum and candy at 7-11 or Walgreens.

 

Is anyone doing the two way radios?? What channel will you be on? I have two FRS Motorolas that I will be bringing.

Thanks for the reminder, we will be on FRS2. I'm charging our radios now.

See everyone soon!

 

Thanks also Ogeo, I hadn't read that about the red light cameras. Hope I remember to mention it to Dean before we get there. :D

JEn

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