New Cache Idea

[+TeamDadcubed]

Hey there gc folks and friends who love us. I came up with an idea for a set of caches but I'm not up to speed on the how if it all. so i am really excited to learn

 

COMPUTER EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.... PLEASE STAND BY FOR REST OF THIS POST... THANKS

 

OK back up now... Mr. Dumbbox decided I needed to recofigure my system for some reason... oh and a new back up drive. So here goes again...

 

Hey there GCers and friends who put up with {cough cough} love us. I came up with an idea for a set of caches but I'm not up to speed on the how of it all, so I am really excited to learn.

 

My Grandfather served in the Army Air Corps as a Sergeant Pilot during WWII. Three years ago he died November of '07 after a long, and I believe, enjoyable life. I recently had the opportunity of going thru some of his keepsakes and began to really learn how exceptional he and his peers were and how important their contribution was.

 

For those of you who don't know about them, here is a link to the Air Force National Museum's fact-sheet:

 

USAAA Sergeant Pilots

 

What I had in mind to do is to make multiple hides in places that were significant to this elite group and teach another generation what their contributions meant. I have begun some of the research I'll need to flesh out this story but I have a long way to go.

I envisioned a multi-cache that even spanned the world. I mean, if there's one in Antarctica there really may be no limits to this great hobby, at least terrestrially. LOL I read about the Colorado social experiment and thought I'd at least see if any of you have ideas or suggestions.

I have come up with a few initial questions already so please, I appreciate a good reply.

Questions:

Can someone co own a cache? Like if I could find someone in another state or even country to place one at one of the hump air strips my grandfather landed at, could I send a cache to them and have them hide it, then help me maintain it remotely?

Would TB's be able to guide folks to websites to tell a story as well?

Anyone serving in the military GC?

I better stop before my brain goes into overdrive... (just a bit of smoke puffs out of my ear) --- Do a series on the ship I served on during a Western Pacific (WestPac for my squid buddies) deployment... hmmm

Thanks and GH

dadcubed1

Edited March 20, 2011 by dadcubed1

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Hey there gc folks and friends who love us. I came up with an idea for a set of caches but I'm not up to speed on the how if it all. so i am really excited to learn

 

COMPUTER EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.... PLEASE STAND BY FOR REST OF THIS POST... THANKS

 

OK back up now... Mr. Dumbbox decided I needed to recofigure my system for some reason... oh and a new back up drive. So here goes again...

 

Hey there GCers and friends who put up with {cough cough} love us. I came up with an idea for a set of caches but I'm not up to speed on the how of it all, so I am really excited to learn.

 

My Grandfather served in the Army Air Corps as a Sergeant Pilot during WWII. Three years ago he died November of '07 after a long, and I believe, enjoyable life. I recently had the opportunity of going thru some of his keepsakes and began to really learn how exceptional he and his peers were and how important their contribution was.

 

For those of you who don't know about them, here is a link to the Air Force National Museum's fact-sheet:

 

USAAA Sergeant Pilots

 

What I had in mind to do is to make multiple hides in places that were significant to this elite group and teach another generation what their contributions meant. I have begun some of the research I'll need to flesh out this story but I have a long way to go.

I envisioned a multi-cache that even spanned the world. I mean, if there's one in Antarctica there really may be no limits to this great hobby, at least terrestrially. LOL I read about the Colorado social experiment and thought I'd at least see if any of you have ideas or suggestions.

I have come up with a few initial questions already so please, I appreciate a good reply.

Questions:

Can someone co own a cache? Like if I could find someone in another state or even country to place one at one of the hump air strips my grandfather landed at, could I send a cache to them and have them hide it, then help me maintain it remotely?

Would TB's be able to guide folks to websites to tell a story as well?

Anyone serving in the military GC?

I better stop before my brain goes into overdrive... (just a bit of smoke puffs out of my ear) --- Do a series on the ship I served on during a Western Pacific (WestPac for my squid buddies) deployment... hmmm

Thanks and GH

dadcubed1

 

Sounds like an interesting idea. A few things to keep in mind.

 

Regarding co-ownership of caches. Each cache listing is associated one, and only one user account. You *can* own a cache that is placed far from home *if* you have a specific maintenance plan which involves someone else that will look after the cache. However, if there are maintenance issues you would have to contact that person so they could go out and perform maintenance in a timely manner. Another alternative would be to seek out geocachers in the significant areas related to the story and ask them to place a cache using their account. When publishing a cache the "Cache Placed By" field can contain any string so it could include the handle of the person that actually placed cache and yours as well. It could even be something like "Sergeant Pilot Geocaching Team". Assuming a series of traditional caches rather than a multi cache, having the cache page owned by someone local would just make maintenance issues go a lot easier and getting each cache published wouldn't require "proof of a maintenance plan" sent to the local reviewer. You can still watch all of the cache listings so that you'll see all of the logs.

 

In regards to a multi-cache vs. a bunch of traditional caches. Although there are multi-caches which included states in multiple states or countries you're going to get a lot more visits if you make each cache a traditional.

 

Regarding placing a cache near the "hump air strips". If these locations are at active airports the caches themselves would need to placed somewhere outside the airport.

 

You'll want to be very careful with the language for each of the cache pages listings such that it's not perceived as an agenda. If it comes across as an educational series you shouldn't have any problems but if you start adding text like "please honor these men who ..." the reviewers may ask you to revise the text.

 

Regarding the use of TBs. Since you indicated that you could provide containers for each cache you could also purchase TB tags for each one and place a trackable item in each of them with a mission to visit all of the other caches and a final destination for cache where you live. Be prepared to have some of them go missing though. TBs are notorious for going missing.

 

Another thought might be to create an elaborate puzzle/unknown/mystery cache which required gathering information about each of the significant locations to derive the location for a final placed where your father is buried. Puzzle caches which tell a story are often highly regarded.

 

Good luck with your endeavor.

[+Walts Hunting]

NYPaddleCacher seems to have covered all the points. Nice job.

 

Be especially careful about the agenda part. There have been a number of ones that were supposed to be memorials to soldiers (usually family) that have been rejected because the description expressed a point of view (one way or the other) on his/her service.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

NYPaddleCacher seems to have covered all the points. Nice job.

 

 

Thanks. I thought I'd add one more thing after looking at the profile of the OP. It appears that you are just getting into the game so it would be a good idea to try and find several multi cache and unknown/mystery caches and perhaps hide a few basic traditional caches before going to far with this project.

 

I don't know why but it seems to be fairly common for new geocachers to try and come up with some elaborate, often confusing (not saying this is true in your case) idea for a new type of cache for their first hide. While I appreciated the initiative and welcome a bit of imagination when it comes to cache placements it's a good idea to "start simple" to get an idea of what cache ownership is all about and to gain some experience finding caches to understand what works and what doesn't.

 

Be sure to read guidelines carefully and if there is something unclear came back here and ask for clarification. Don't be afraid to contact your local reviewer for help. You can determine who that is by looking at a local cache page and looking at the first log.

Edited March 20, 2011 by NYPaddleCacher

[Keystone]

It is always a pleasant surprise to stop into a thread with the intention of helping and clarifying, only to find that non-reviewers have done a better job of explaining things than I would have done.

[+The VanDucks]

I like your idea of honoring your grandfather! We always enjoy finding caches with a unique story behind them, and appreciate learning a bit of history along with the fun of finding a new cache.

 

You received a lot of useful advice from the first few posters, above. As one mentioned, you might want to start with a simple cache close to home, which would allow you to add swag that might be meaningful to the story behind the cache. If you place a number of caches with the same basic theme, you can use the same title with numbers after it to show that it's a series. I do agree with the earlier poster that making them regular caches will bring more people to seek them; our multicaches are much less visited than our basic simple caches.

[+TeamDadcubed]

Mega Thanks Everyone,

 

Great info and insights.

 

I thought I'd add one more thing after looking at the profile of the OP. It appears that you are just getting into the game so it would be a good idea to try and find several multi cache and unknown/mystery caches and perhaps hide a few basic traditional caches before going to far with this project.

 

I intend to take it slow and do it right, this project deserves my best bestest effort. I already had in mind to see what's out there... Even going a travelling to see some of the most favorited ones. I'm an electronics tech and the vid on the reverse GC box really started the inventing juices flowing.

 

So, for the record, yall better sharpen the pencil nub you have left and the grey matter tweenxt yer ears, cuz I am already building my second cache and got mine eyes a straining for the perfect hiding spots... /evilgrin

 

GH

dc1

[+popokiiti]

I like your idea, and all the points raised are valid ones. Personally, I am thankful to all those who served (and those who still do) to ensure the freedoms we hold so dear.

[+wimseyguy]

Questions:

1. Can someone co own a cache? Like if I could find someone in another state or even country to place one at one of the hump air strips my grandfather landed at, could I send a cache to them and have them hide it, then help me maintain it remotely?

2. Would TB's be able to guide folks to websites to tell a story as well?

3. Anyone serving in the military GC?

 

I'm glad you are giving this deep thoughts and not just rushing out there to implement the plan.

As already answered, you can try to find someone who is an active cacher near your intended flight plan locations and send them a cache. It might work better to just let them own it, cite you as co-owner in the placed by field, and then add it to your watchlist.

2. TB's can have pretty much anything as their missions, but they do tend to wander off sometimes and are never heard from again.

3. Lots of current and former military cachers. Look for a thread called "how did you serve".

 

Regarding the agenda issue-the way our local reviewer explains it is: honoring an individual/family member/pet is OK. Honoring a group/troop/gang is not. Do not use imperative verbs telling people what to think/feel/do at the site. Merely bringing them to the location and letting them think/feel/do on their own is adequate.

 

Yesterday I visited a cache titles Salute. It was a simple shrub hide behind a large flagpole at the back of a decent sized cemetery. I noticed some historic markers on the way in, and after making the find spent another 20 minutes reading the markers and wandering around this site. The church is the fourth on the original site, and there has been one there since the 1870's. There were a number of WW II vets buried in the plots near the flagpole. If the cache wasn't there I would have driven right past on the way to the next cache, even though I enjoy historic sites and old cemeteries.

[+wenestvedt]

Building on the previous post, if you get local cachers to "own" each cache in this series, you could still pick a phrase to appear in all of the names (e.g., "Cactus Airfield - USAAF Sergeant Pilots Series No. X"). Writing up a bookmark List that included all of them, would let you tie together the series. (Note that some special characters -- lie ?#; -- in cache names will screw up .gpx transfers.)

 

Including information about the pilots is the thorny bit. My grandpa was an AAF officer, too, and I wanted to place a cache to honor his service. I had to settle for a more generic cache near the group of war memorials downtown: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=73ac769d-743f-49cd-ac9c-43f41796c4b4

 

If you could start out the series with a cache placed near a monument to the group, that might be useful. (Like the National Museum of the USAF near Wright-Patterson AFB?)

[+Michaelcycle]

snip>Anyone serving in the military GC?

<snip

dadcubed1

 

Try this:MAGC

 

Lots of active duty cachers and veterans, too. Good Luck!

[+Edsfind]

do you know what planes he flew, b-17 b-24, my father was a tail guner on the b-24. very good idea!

[+TeamDadcubed]

As I began this project and reading all the great advice I thought I'd record my thought process and build progress as well as get feedback and suggestions from you. So right now I am thinking of

 

Cache size small to regular

Must be able to hold a couple of TBs and an essay

try to use containers the SPs might have had during their service

FTF Rewards/Swag/TBs

Engraved Sargeant Pilot's Insignia (

Wings

)

A commemorative coin I found in my grandfathers effects

 

Essays - Include a page or two essay on the Sergeant Pilots and include cache location specific details pertainent

to them as well as some of the stories from the men who served at the site (a site nearby if private property eg active airport, government facility...)

 

Include some hint, or additional optional puzzle to direct finders on to an ultimate mystery cache

finders have to find a few of the hints in the series before they realize that it is guiding them to it

be sure that they don't need every hint to decypher the clues

This may be the hardest part of the project

Locate a "best" place for the final cache

I have also begun searching for active cache owners who might be interested in hosting a cache in the series. Some of the medium and smaller MAT Services locations are pretty remote so this is going to be a slow but I think meaningful step.

[+TeamDadcubed]

Edsfind, He flew both for MATS delivering them all over till he got his commision and staarted flying the "Hump" (can you say 2nd series idea hehe tho exceptionally harder)