+The-4-Gs Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 We live in England uk, and we're due to go to California in August and we will be travelling around taking in the wonderful sites like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon etc, but we also want to go geocaching and we're not sure what is the cheapest option to access the internet to load up our Garmin. Hopefully the Garmin will work in America, another thing we're not sure about. Can anyone give us some advice on what we will need or the cheapest options available to us. Quote Link to comment
+luvvinbird Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 We live in England uk, and we're due to go to California in August and we will be travelling around taking in the wonderful sites like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon etc, but we also want to go geocaching and we're not sure what is the cheapest option to access the internet to load up our Garmin. Hopefully the Garmin will work in America, another thing we're not sure about. Can anyone give us some advice on what we will need or the cheapest options available to us. My wife and I live in Ontario, Canada and we'll be in San Francisco, CA next week. I'm not sure which Garmin device I'll be taking, but I have no concerns about whether it'll work once I arrive there. I've received satelite signals in the Caribbean and also in the Canadian Rockies, no problem. I would suggest ordering up a Pocket Query (or queries) of the areas you'll be visiting and tailor it to cache type, terrain, difficulty, etc. Review the PQ and load it from your home. Quote Link to comment
+Postholedigger Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 The "G" in GPS would indicate that your GPS receiver (Garmin or otherwise) would function in any country so no worries there. As far as internet connectivity, if you have your own laptop, netbook, or tablet, you'll at the very least be able to take advantage of the many common places that offer free WiFi such as Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. Quote Link to comment
+Cacheoholic Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I’d recommend finding some maps for your GPS. Since you have a Garmin there are hundreds of maps available online for free. Quote Link to comment
thwarte Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Many free Garmin-compatible maps for Calif and parts herein: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/state/ca -- but features and usability vary greatly, so pre-installing and inspecting are recommended. And of course Garmin sells maps, most reliable. BTW, as large as Calif is, it holds neither of the sites mentioned: Grand Canyon is in Arizona, Bryce Canyon in Utah. And if your travels find you in Ben Lomond, you may be about an hour south of San Francisco... Quote Link to comment
+Cacheoholic Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) I was just through Ben Lomond today working in Watsonville. Don't forget that windshield mounts are illegal in California. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc26708.htm Edited June 20, 2012 by Cacheoholic Quote Link to comment
+Hynr Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We live in England uk, and we're due to go to California in August and we will be travelling around taking in the wonderful sites like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon etc, but we also want to go geocaching and we're not sure what is the cheapest option to access the internet to load up our Garmin. Hopefully the Garmin will work in America, another thing we're not sure about. Can anyone give us some advice on what we will need or the cheapest options available to us. Those places you mention are not near California (which is where I live). If that is news, then by all means study the maps and note the huge distances. Note also that California is like two different worlds: north and south - you might need to identify which you are planning to visit. You asked for advice, and economics seems to be the core of your request. So here are a few pointers: Your Garmin GPSr will certainly work here in the US. When you first get here it will need about 15 minutes to adjust to the new satellite constellation, but after that it will be fine. If you see a Fastrack lane where you seemingly can avoid tolls, do NOT use those - this is America: carry cash, lots of it; no pounds or euros; just dollars Smile at anyone who complains about the high price of gas (petrol). It will make you smile when you fill up the tank. Americans love the way you talk. Trust me on this. You will be able to talk your way out of trouble in ways that at home would simply not work. Except law enforcement, and Homeland Security at the airport - do not count on any sense of humor there. Visit geocaching events. Lot's of friendly folks. Some give recognitions for geocachers from furthest away; you stand a good chance of winning that one. The simplest way to deal with internet is to use hotels that advertize free Wi-Fi. The expensive hotels charge you for it; some low-end establishments also charge, but the mid-range hotels generally have it at no cost. When you make a reservation, check on this, even if they say they have it, add a comment in the reservation that you need a room where the wireless internet does indeed work. There are quite a few hotels where they have it, but not all rooms have good reception. It may be a shock for you that the pricing of anything you need to pay for always seems to require more money than the state price. You never get to pay the price on the price tag; tax is always added on when you pay. For hotels that can be 11% or higher. On the other hand, the hotel rate is negotiable. In fact, in my travel experience, it is the only price that is negotiable. Food in restaurants is going seem cheap and is generally pretty good (depends on your standards); it seems cheap because tax and gratuity are not in the price. Once you add that in (~22% total) it will seem more like home, but it will generally still seem like a good deal. Your rental car: rent it and prepay it in the UK if you can get it with insurance included. If you rent it here, the insurance will cost you much more. Remember: you are geocachers and the rental agent won't know what that means. When you return that car with a new set of "pinstripes" you will want the insurance to cover that. If you drive from the Grand Canyon to California, you will be driving through some of the finest deserts in the world. DO NOT TAKE THE RENTAL CAR OFF-ROAD to go caching no matter how tempting, unless you specifically rented a vehicle that is designed for that. Even if your rental is an AWD, that's generally just designed for snow on pavement, not Mojave desert sand. And if you drive through Death Valley as part of that: respect the place or it will kill you. August in the places you mention can be seriously "hot", but in all the places you indicate it will be a "dry heat". You will see numbers on a thermometer that you have never seen before. Carry bottled drinking water and drink much more than you would in the UK - the dry heat will take it out of you. Over here it is actually cheaper than beer It sounds like you will be visiting the National Parks. That is an excellent choice, but will generally limit your geocaching because only Virtual caches are accommodated there. But you will not have any geocache shortage in other places. And do drive on the right side of the road! Quote Link to comment
+Lineman101 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We live in England uk, and we're due to go to California in August and we will be travelling around taking in the wonderful sites like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon etc, but we also want to go geocaching and we're not sure what is the cheapest option to access the internet to load up our Garmin. Hopefully the Garmin will work in America, another thing we're not sure about. Can anyone give us some advice on what we will need or the cheapest options available to us. If you get anywhere near Yosemite National Park then come visit Sonora. We have hundreds of caches in the area. Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We live in England uk, and we're due to go to California in August and we will be travelling around taking in the wonderful sites like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon etc, but we also want to go geocaching and we're not sure what is the cheapest option to access the internet to load up our Garmin. Hopefully the Garmin will work in America, another thing we're not sure about. Can anyone give us some advice on what we will need or the cheapest options available to us. Free WiFi is everywhere int he US. I'm surprised that we aren't all sprouting an extra head or at least arm over here. Your hotel will most likely have free WiFi, so will most restaurants (especially fast food), my barber shop even has free WiFi. Even the shuttle to/from the airport has free WiFi! I used it in a pinch one day while on my way to work. I had our van pool driver get ahead of the shuttle on the highway. I was then able use the WiFi in the shuttle van from our car pool van to download a document that I needed. Quote Link to comment
+Marky Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I was just through Ben Lomond today working in Watsonville. Don't forget that windshield mounts are illegal in California. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc26708.htm Actually, this is not entirely true. They allow GPS devices on the windshield now as long as they are not obstructing the drivers view. See 12) in the posted link which refers to the GPS exemption. I live in the SF Bay Area and even before this exemption, I never once heard of anyone being cited for this. I'm guessing that if anyone got cited for this they probably had pissed off the officer already and it was enforced it to bug them. --Marky Quote Link to comment
+Team CowboyPapa Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) I'm in CA, there is a 5" by 5" area in the lower left corner of the windshield where GPS mounts are allowed. Edited June 20, 2012 by Team CowboyPapa Quote Link to comment
+The-4-Gs Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 We live in England uk, and we're due to go to California in August and we will be travelling around taking in the wonderful sites like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon etc, but we also want to go geocaching and we're not sure what is the cheapest option to access the internet to load up our Garmin. Hopefully the Garmin will work in America, another thing we're not sure about. Can anyone give us some advice on what we will need or the cheapest options available to us. The states we're visiting is California, Arizona, Utah and Navada hence why I said we'll be travelling around! Quote Link to comment
+KBfamily Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) We live in England uk, and we're due to go to California in August and we will be travelling around taking in the wonderful sites like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon etc, but we also want to go geocaching and we're not sure what is the cheapest option to access the internet to load up our Garmin. Hopefully the Garmin will work in America, another thing we're not sure about. Can anyone give us some advice on what we will need or the cheapest options available to us. The states we're visiting is California, Arizona, Utah and Navada hence why I said we'll be travelling around! We just finished two weeks traveling in California and LOVED visiting all of the National Parks, winerys, etc. If you are in San Francisco, I loved some virtual caches called Laughing Sals and another one called Green Thumb. Both are worth the effort to go see and are not a long way from tourist areas. Another cache to get in San Francisco, that I loved, was called Parrot's Perch. It is so worth the effort to climb some 93 stairs. There are also a number of challenge caches in San Francisco that are worth doing....including riding a Cable Car. In Yosemite Park, I enjoyed paying a dollar for the Virtual Cache called Ranger's Fund. Another great virtual there is called Out of the Darkness, into Yosemite Valley. The views there will not be better anywhere in the park. It is a MUST virtual! If you want to see the Sequoia Trees, then of course go to the National Park. But if you want the BEST Sequoia experience EVER, go to The Trail of One Hundred Giants. I set a challenge up there. The National Park allows you to look at the trees, but the Trail is an interactive experience that allows you to touch, look at, climb in and on the trees. It is AMAZING. We were the only people there and had the entire place to ourselves. It is a drive through the mountains, but you will NOT be disappointed that you went there....I promise! We drove from Phoenix to Point Arena, went through San Francisco twice, through Napa, Yosemite, Sequoia Park and then back to Phoenix. Take a look at my profile to see the ones we did...it may help you. I hope this gives you an idea of things to do....dress warmly for San Fran....the fog is cold and wet but you will want to walk on the Golden Gate Bridge anyway... Have fun...we certainly did!! KBfamily (Sheri) PS - I live in Arizona. Where exactly will you be in AZ and maybe I can help you there, too? Edited July 20, 2012 by KBfamily Quote Link to comment
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