Geo-Tats

Went and got tat#2 last night.

I had the first one done in August.  This is it:

This is what I took to go from last night...

...and this is what I got:

I think he did a pretty good job.

Evil ideas...

Inspired by GCZZQN: GOLFNUTZ, A cache by ALOFT23


Today's little caching trip was definitely an adventure. Even though it wasn't a high-powered trip...didn't have a lot of finds, a couple of them were memorable to say the least.

I had originally planned on going to Atlanta to tackle the new little series that Ashleyhikes has out. I had originally planned on going after them Tuesday, but the rain put it on hold.

How I wound up in Naples & Mt. Pleasant today is a long (& most likely boring) story, but needless to say, I didn't make it to Atlanta/QC again. It's okay, I have it on the slate again for tomorrow.

After playing with MapSource & thenaturenurd's new GPS (which is really neat-O by the way) for a while, we went out to do some caching. We checked on & replaced a couple of schmelmo's caches & the first few after that weren't anything out of the ordinary. Of course, not being out of the ordinary is not a bad thing...it makes the cache-trip fairly quick & easy...which is great for my find count. But then things started to get interesting.



What did I learn today?

I learned that even with a bad knee, I can still climb trees.




You see that little red circle up there?
Well, that's the cache!

You see that big tall tree?
Well, that's what was between us & the cache!


Every now & then I manage to find a brave soul that isn't completely terrified to ride while I’m driving. (In my defense, neither of the collisions that I've been a part of were my fault. And even though I've had 3 vehicles that wound up totaled, none of them resulted in any injury.) Today thenaturenurd was that brave soul...we don't get to cache together much anymore since he moved to Naples.

After having surgery on my knee back in August, I expected it to be better. And it is...that pre-surgery condition is now gone. However, new problems have surfaced since then. I have graduated to a hinged knee brace now rather than the full leg brace & crutches, but it's definitely not 100%.

Spotting the cache was easy. From the description & the past few logs I had a pretty good idea about what (or rather where) I was going to find. And yup, you guessed it...Sparkle Dirt made her way up the tree.





But I am glad thenaturenurd was with me because when I dropped the lid, he was kind enough to hand it to me & that sure as heck beat climbing back down to get the lid & climbing back up there to put everything back together. And without him with me today, who would have documented this little achievement?

All the way up the tree I was wondering how ALOFT23 got this cache way up here & if he was really the one who put this way up here.. I’ve never really pictured him as the tree-climbing kind. Okay, so I don’t know what the tree-climbing kind is, but before this cache I definitely wouldn’t have put him in that group. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit to myself as I imagined him climbing this tree. I would have loved to have been there to see that. After chit-chatting with normasgirl & ALOFT23 this evening, I now know that he did climb this tree & has done so 3 times now…and to think I missed it every time!



But this little adventure got those little gears in my noggin a churnin’. Oh the things I could do to make this even more evil!

Idea #1:
Hide a little cache way up in a tree…way up as in as far as I can climb & then a little bit more. Use that as the 1st part of a surprise-multi. The coordinates retrieved after climbing the tree would then send the tree-climbing-cacher to the “real” cache that would of course be located on the ground & be extremely easy to find.

But then I thought some more…

Idea #2:
Same thing about hiding the cache way up in the tree…but instead of it being a little cache, make it a big cache so that it’s so easy to spot that it seems too easy…maybe even paint it a fluorescent color to really make it stand out. That way the un-suspecting cacher is pretty much certain that once they manage to climb the tree that they’ve got it under control. But, have the container taped or glued shut & just have the coordinates to the easy to access ground level micro cache written on the top of the container.

But then I thought some more…

Idea #3:
Same thing about hiding the cache way up in the tree…let it be a little one. Inside of course there’ll be new coordinates…but this time instead of the new coordinates taking the cacher to the “real” cache they just go to another tree cache. This next tree cache could be a big easy to spot, possibly brightly colored container, of course to give the impression of the “real” cache. After climbing up this 2nd tree, I’m sure they’ll be impressed to find yet another set of coordinates. Won’t they be glad to find the “real” cache at ground level right back around the tree they climbed to begin with?

But then I thought some more…

Idea #4:
Little different spin on the idea…make the cache easy to find & on the ground with new coordinates pointing to the tree-cache? Wouldn’t really matter if it was a container with the new coordinates inside of it or if it was a decoy container that wouldn’t even open…could work both ways.

But then I thought some more…

Idea #5:
Why not have a series of tree caches? Why not have the tree-cache series include a combination of all of these ideas (except for the cache starting on the ground), along with some that are just 1 tree caches? Somewhere in the middle of the tree-cache series, why not throw a curve ball in there & have one hidden on the ground to start with – with no tree climbing necessary? After a handful of trees climbed, wouldn’t it be tough to “not” look up for the cache?

But then I thought some more…

Where am I going to find all these trees? What kind of containers should I use? I could always hide one of my acorn caches way up in a tree! (That’d be a leap of faith to go after that hide…can’t see it, but climb for it anyways!)

The gears are still churnin’ & you can pretty much bet on some of these to pop up somewhere sometime.

Vicksburg National Military Park

Vicksburg National Military Park, November 8, 2008

Cachin' with the Kiddos

I love to take my kids out caching with me. It's a great way to get them outside & doing something besides vegging out in front of the idiot box. (yeah, so I'm not a big fan of tv.) They learn about nature, taking care of our planet, see things that they normally wouldn't & a ton of other things that are surely good things that just don't pop in my head at this moment.

Kids love to feel like they're a part of everything. They aren't usually content with just watching or following, so when they feel like they're an important part of the team, they have more fun. When the kids have fun, it's easier for everybody to have fun.

Here are a few geo-jobs for kiddo cachers:

1. The Director
   The top & ultimate job for a geo-kid! They are the GPS Keeper & their job is to direct the team to the cache...which way & how far.
2. The Tourist
   They're like the film crew. Give them a camera & let them document the hunt & the find. A digital camera comes in handy here because kids love to take pictures & not all of them all of them really turn out. Later on when you take a look at what they've shot, just delete the pictures of feet & whatever & keep the good stuff.
3. The Author
   It's a lot easier to let one person do the writing. Let this one sign the cache log & write the notes to log online later. Carry a notebook with you & after making the find, they can jot down any notes they think are relavent while you're on the way to the next cache.
4. The Watch Dog
   Kids can be very good distractions when muggles are present. This job includes watching out for muggles as well as distracting them if necessary.
5. The Information Clerk
   Depending on how you carry cache information, this kid is the keeper of it. If you carry printed sheets, carry a laptop, or use a PDA organizer, this kid is the keeper of it. It is their job to give details about the cache & hints when needed.

If you don't have enough kids for jobs, combine them or pick the ones you want to use.

If you have more kids than jobs, make up additional jobs or double them up on some jobs (several tourists or watch dogs).

If they don't want a "set" job, rotate the jobs out with each cache so everybody gets to do everything.

Safe to Solo?

I usually wind up caching by myself. I'm not complaining - I'm hard-headed, stubborn & like doing things my way & when I want to. Solo caching allows me to be this way. About every other weekend I get to go out caching with the whole Sparkle Crew which is usually a blast as well, but during the week when they're all busy at work or school it's just me.

Most of the caches I would consider to be 'Safe to Solo' others wouldn't. I seem to think a little backwards on this. The BFE caches that are out in the middle of absolutely nowhere are my favorite - and these are the ones I usually see logs saying that they wouldn't want to be there alone. The caches that are hidden in town or close to lots of civilization are the ones that I usually wish I had company along with me. I guess it's a strange sort of safety in numbers thing???

So, if anybody has some free weekday time & wants to go out caching, there are a handful of nearby caches (most in the Marshall area) that I'd love to have a cache-partner to go with me.

Logs to make you laugh...

Here are a few logs from Marshall area caches that should at the least give you a chuckle or two...



Is this a compliment?

Oh, you're a sneaky, devious, twisted, cruel, wonderful lady.

Just plain funny:

Have you ever played the Fortune Cookie game at a Chinese restaurant? Try
playing it with geocaching phrases! Like this:

I had to look real hard, but I found it! (in bed)
I got a smiley! (in bed)
I took nothing, left nothing! (in bed)
He found it before I did! (in bed)

Now make up your own!

I wonder how ng would rate my dirt road caches using this scale??? I think I may need to make my own Shoe Compatibility Rating Scale (SCRS).

This cache is rated a ONE on the Non-Sensible Shoes Compatibility Scale! Not
familiar with the NSSCS? Here's the poop:

1 - These shoes son't go off the sidewalk, buster.
2 - I'm willing to wear these shoes off the sidewalk, but it better not be FAR off
and there better not be any rocks!
3 - What's a little mud? My office expects this of me.
4 - I carry tennis shoes in my car for this very purpose.
5 - High heels are for girly girls. These shoes go EVERYWHERE!

Feel free to adopt this scale for your own caches and watch for my Officewear
Compatibility Scale coming soon!