Anyone going Geocaching this weekend? **NEW CACHERS...POP IN!**

[Pin Wizard]

Mike...Happy 4 month birthday to Erin! And Happy Father's Day to you! Hope you're having a wonderful time on your mini trip! Will be fun to read what you've done there. Nice of you to help out a new cacher. It's tough in the beginning when you don't really know what you're looking for.

lilallybean...Glad you're back to 100%! And congrats on school ending shortly. So sorry to hear about your sis-in-law. My oldest sister had MS. She wasn't anywhere near what your s-i-l is experiencing. I'm so sorry! Will keep your family in prayers.

Congrats on placing a cache! Fun, isn't it? Just wait...I used to check on mine from time to time. Now I check when someone posts that a log is full or it's damp. That reminds me...I do need to check on one and probably change that log. I seem to remember someone posting about it. Today hopefully!

Yesterday we were back in Richmond and picked up 14 along a main road. Fun, easy, and fast for the most part. The multis...I found one easy one within the same shopping center. Another one, I'm at a loss. Found the first part, went to the second set of coordinates. Thought I was looking for an ammo can, but the cache description doesn't say how many stages there are!! So I switched gears and thought maybe a micro in the second location. Didn't find a thing. While I was searching and poking with a stick, a guy that works at the Harley Davidson shop within view came over and asked if I lost something. LOLOL! He suggested a metal detector. So I've e-mailed the owner and am waiting to hear something. Another cacher from my area found it recently. He called it "aggravation." And he has over 2,000 finds!! LOL!

Not sure where we're headed today. It's already 10:00. I can see this will be a lazy day and we'll be lucky to get out by early afternoon.

Happy caching!!

 

[MiJo]

Hi Fellow Cachers!
Well, we spent a couple days in the Reading, PA, area last weekend. We had hoped to do a bunch of caching but we ended up totalling only 4. The first was a 2-parter that showed part 2 1.15 miles from part 1. The way the trail wound around the lake, it was more like 2 miles each way, and it was hot and humid! The 2nd took us two tries. It was a dog themed cache and for some reason, we couldn't find the first part on day 1. We went back and found it the second day and fought our way through jungle-like fauna to get to the ammo can. Part one was a micro disquised as dog poop! I had thought about something like this a while back but never did it. It was cleverly done using foam. We also visited a cache that was made so handicapped persons could enjoy the woods. This one had been done earlier by some of our local caching friends and a photo they had posted ended up on the homepage for gc.com. The area is a loooooong series of elevated boardwalks that wind through a section of woods. The boardwalks are designed to accomodate wheelchairs and the plaques describing the trees are printed in braille as well as regular print. It was incredible and the amount of time and effort that went into it must have been phenomenal. All-in-all we had a nice time and the B&B we stayed at was very nice.

lilallybean: So sorry to hear about your s-i-l. My DW's older sister just found out she has MS. She has had health problems for years and they couldn't seem to pin down the source.
Now that you have placed a cache, you get to sit back and watch the posts as people find it. We enjoy reading what people post about ours, especially our nailhead micro and our fake apple micro.

Sandy: 14 in one day! That beats our best of 12 in one day! Was there any type of unusual object or anything in the area of your DNF? Rocks? Wooden poles? There's one in our area that is actually a small tube inserted into a hole in the ground. It is attached to a washer that is painted to look like dirt and it's next to impossible to see.

It doesn't look like we'll be going out at all this weekend for any caches. We are getting heavy rains and there are flash flood warnings for our area. Next weekend, we have cousins arriving from Michigan for a few days. We may visit Amish country with them for a day and we have a family picnic planned for the 4th. I'm off on the 5th so we might get out and do some caching then. We also have a geo-picnic on the 8th that we would like to attend if we are able.
Good caching!

 

[lilallybean]

I love doing those that are "unique" I have yet to find one that looks like dog poop, but I have heard those. Too funny! I didn't know that you had an apple one. Is it by chance set up in pine tree (pineapple tree)? I had heard of one like that, maybe here. I have thought about trying to set up one like that here. I need some advice on another one I have thought about doing.

I want to set one up called "Hang Tin", have the story line surf themed..."Hey dude". Anyway...my plan is to set it up on my Dad's land. He is happy to let me place it there. It is way off the beaten path so hardly any threat of it getting muggled. I want to suspend a 5 gallon bucket (inverted), with a small hole in the top. Then I want to run a rope through the hole and attach it to a small tin bucket that will fit into the suspended 5 gallon bucket. I want to run the rope to a near by point where I can set it up for the finder to lower the tin bucket. I will make sure that the rope is long enough that it will not run up too far. Does this sound too weird?

Thanks for the keeping us in your thoughts with s-i-l. I hate to even see anything else is going on, but now my DH is in the hosp with pancreatitis. We see the specialist tomorrow to see what we will do now, and how bad it is. They don't know yet why he got it, but it could be stress related...hmmm we have a lil of that right now.

I finally figured out two puzzle caches that I have been trying to solve for a 3-4 months now. We have also really enjoyed having folks find ours. I can't wait to hide another one! So as I sit here at the nursing home all night I am trying to think about where and what type of caches I can hide. I have another relative who wants to help me set one up with hieroglyphics.

 

[MiJo]

lilallybean: That doesn't sound weird at all. I picture it to look like a bell and clapper. Is that right? Instead of the rope making the clapper ring, it lowers it. Have fun making it! Yes, our foam apple is in a pine tree and is called the Pineapple Cache. I mentioned it a while back on this thread so that's probably where you heard about it. Everyone who has found it has gotten a good laugh. I think you can see a photo of it here in my personal DIS photo album.
Sorry to hear about your DH. Your family is certainly having its share of problems!
Well, I start my new job today so I have to get ready to head out. It's with the same company but in a different department doing something entirely different than I have for the past 19 years. Fortunately, I know some of the people I'll be working with so that will make it easier.
Good caching!

 

[lilallybean]

I should have figured that it was you that had done the pineapple cache. Would you mind me borrowing the idea? I totally understand if you would rather I not use it. Your understanding of the cache I want to do is right on. It would look like a bell in a way. Maybe we can work on that when DH is out of the hosp.

DH is feeling much better. We are just waiting on the specialist to tell us what to do next. He really wants to get out of here. There has been so much going on with us over the last few months that it seems like all we do is sit in nursing homes or hospitals. It has to settle down soon.

Hope that your first day at your new job goes well, and that all the rst to follow are even better.

I went into a store the other day to try and order some custom made window clings to place in caches. I want them to say..."I'd rather be GEOCACHING." and then in small print :from JonesCrew (or something close to that). If you found an item like that would you like it? It was funny when I was trying to order them the guy I was working with asked "What in the world is that?" The woman working with him jumped up and said..."Oh my gosh, you geocache? I have never met anybody else who does it!." Ends up she works with a local vol. fire dept. and they have started going out as a group. She took my name and number and asked if they could call me since they have just started and are having lots of trouble with some that we have already done. She was actually impressed that we have done 'so many'! LOL...we have only done 151!

Happy caching all!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Mike...Sounds like you had a great trip! But I don't think I would have tried the dog poop. LOL! They used foam? Wouldn't that break down in any rain? LOL! Too funny. I'll have to keep that in mind when I'm out caching.

The cache along the boardwalk that includes handicap accessability sounds GREAT!! I know we have someone in our area temporarily out of it. She's addicted to this like the rest of us and posted a note on our Yahoo site asking which caches are urbans that are "crutches friendly."

The DNF I have on the multi...Nothing unusual in that area. I did e-mail the owner, and he said I'm right to check the guardrail. Must be a micro stuck on it with the next set of coordinates. Will have to recheck that area. Don't know how we missed that. Let's hope it's not a bolt like one near here! At least I'll think of that and check them all.

We've had a lot of rain here also this week. I was just reading posts on the Yahoo board for Richmond. A creek or river there hasn't crested yet. Someone headed out there today to remove a cache they placed until things are back to normal. Guess I won't be going to Richmond THIS weekend! I do need to have things done on the car first any way. Rats...forgot to call the dealership for an appointment AGAIN. Will have to set an alarm for tomorrow to call.

lilallybean...I'm sorry to hear that your husband has pancreatitis! I'm glad he's getting better. Hoping he's out of the hospital soon!!

Your cache sounds great! You're putting so much thought into it, it will be fantastic!

Mike...I hope you're enjoying your NEW job!!

 

[lilallybean]

DH is doing pretty good now. He is out of the hospital and will start back to work on Saturday. They think that his pancreatitis is caused by his gallbladder so he might be getting that out. Lets hope that is the end of our medical problems for a long time. I can't wait to hear all about the hunts you all go on over the next couple weeks. I will have to get my fix from hearing about your fun. I can't wait to be done with school. I graduate a month from today and then the following day we go on vacation and I am going to spend the first few days HUNTING!!! I can't wait! I just wish it was sooner!
I wondered how you all were doing with all the rain.How bad is it where you live?
Sandy, I was reading about your DNF and wondered about a bolt. GLad you thought of it too. I actually like those weord sneaky hides.You have to feel very proud when you find one!
Hope you all have some great hunts this weekend!

 

[MiJo]

We happen to live in Easton, PA, and our area is flooded again. This is probably the 4th time in 3 years that downtown Easton has been flooded as well as other areas here in the Lehigh Valley. It's really getting old. I believe this is now the 3rd worst flood in our history with the other two being 1902 and 1955. I don't remember 1902 but I was 4 y/o for the '55 flood and I do remember that one. This time, the crest reached close to 39 feet and flood stage is 22 so we got hammered pretty good. It makes travel tough because some main roads and intersections get flooded. Easton is situated right at the Forks of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers and both flooded seriously. Two of our caches are now archived, again, due to this. We might check on them later today but it's doubtful they will be available anytime soon! We ended up with 9 inches of rain in less than a week. Places north of us had more, well over 10 inches.
We have relatives coming in from Michigan tomorrow so we probably won't be doing any caching until at least Wednesday. They are not woodsy people from what we know of them.
Sandy: My new job is going well. I am mixing solutions containing sugars and running tests on a UV machine. The pace is a little slower than my old job but I'm still learning the ropes and getting used to my new routine.
I guess that's it. Time for breakfast!
Good caching, everyone!

 

[Pin Wizard]

lilallybean...Glad to hear your hubby is doing much better. Hope his first day back at work goes well! Hang in there!! Just one more month until graduation...wooo hoooo!!! Then enjoy the vacation. I'm sure you're more than ready for it.

Vacations...lately I have been thinking of them in terms of whether or not it's a good area for caching! We really should go somewhere. They're getting sparse around here. Maybe Richmond again tomorrow. Darling son is still sleeping so today will have to be local. Next weekend is a geocaching event on Saturday. Not much caching that day since the park only has three caches, and we've already gotten them. But as the people putting this on said, this is more for fellowship and getting to know other cachers! I can go for that also. It will be fun! Hoping for GREAT weather!

Mike...So sorry to hear about the flooding! Wow! Two rivers intersecting there. We seem to be doing okay here. But I'm not near the river so not sure how it is. It runs past on the other side of town. That would be the James River. I've heard a lot about the water flooding in Richmond...another reason I'm subconsciously putting off the trip there. I know the highway into Richmond goes right over a river. Hmmmmmm...not sure I want to do that just yet!

Enjoy your visitors! And glad to hear that the new job is going well. It sounds interesting!

Happy caching!

Oh, yeah!!! Tuesday is a holiday!! How did I almost forget that? Another day for caching!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Oh, again! There was a news report on the radio yesterday that an alligator was found in VA...in my development! I had to laugh at the newscasters being amazed that it's three feet long. Obviously, they haven't been to FL too often. They figure this is someone's "pet." Oh, great! I got a kick out of it though since I'm VirginiaGator. Now there's one in my community.

 

[MiJo]

A gator in VA?! Other than yourself! WOW!
A few years back, we had a couple people catch some type of flesh eating fish in our area. I think they were some type of piranha that someone obviously dumped into our rivers for some reason. But, we've never had a gator to my knowledge. Interesting!
Our visit with our MI cousins went well and we had a nice family picnic on the 4th. There was no time for caching although I did get to check on our nailhead cache in one of our flooded parks. This flood had to be a bad one as the water actually covered the cache site! This cache is in an old utility pole and it has to be a good 15-18 feet above the creek/river. All the water made the wood of the pole swell up so I have to drill the hole out again and replace the wet log sheet. This park had just been cleaned up from the last flood and the picnic area was a good 15 feet under water. It's a mess again. The cache is on higher ground, near the parking area, which isn't in too bad shape, but the park will be unusable for a while again.
Our Pineapple Cache is also in a park along the river and we can't even check on that one yet because the park is gated. Maybe it will be open this weekend so we can survey the damage.
There's a caching picnic this Saturday and we're hoping to make it but it depends on our schedule. It's up near the Poconos and it's being held to welcome back some of our local cachers who have been in AZ for a while on family business.
Oh yeah.....Our MI cousins have a condo in Cape Canaveral and they want us to come down for a visit next February or March! We're already talking about spending a few days with them and a couple nights at WDW!!! Expedition Everest, here we come!
Good caching, everyone!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Florida in February or March? Perfect weather for it! If you head down in March, hope it's not during spring break!

So sorry to hear about the flooding in your parks. I know people in Richmond moved a few caches before the worst of the flooding. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom, one of me sisters, and me camped with family friends. This was along the Delaware River I think. A place called River Beach. Wow! I still remember that name! Any way, one summer there was a flood, and we ended up staying overnight at someone else's home in Port Jervis, NY I think it was. Sheesh! I was a little kid then.

Glad you had a good visit with relatives and a good time on the 4th!

I can't believe people actually release these "animals" into lakes nearby. Gators here, flesh eating fish in your area. ACK! One afternoon when my son took the dog out for a walk, he said there were about 8 people and a couple dogs near one of the lakes. He said the people were saying they spotted another gator. YIKES!!! I haven't heard anything since about it though. Lets hope there's not a second one.

Did you make it to the picnic this weekend, Mike? I'm sure it would have been a great time. We attended a geocaching picnic yesterday. Had lots of fun. Not many caches in the park, but there was one new one I went after. There were already a couple guys there hunting for it. And more people showed up. Have to hate the micros in the woods! LOL! One of the guys eventually spotted it. A black bison tube hanging high up on a skinny, bent tree. But they had to pull the tree lower to reach it. Sheesh! LOLOL!

There was also a GPS accuracy cache. Everyone was given a set of coords to enter and a golf tee to place in the ground when your GPS got to zero. I figured I'd take the more accurate GPS I have, the Explorist 300, to get close. Can you believe I was the farthest away? As they were talking, I glanced down at my GPS and it then said 15 feet to go towards the actual mark. I guess you really do need to place them down and let them settle. Hmmm...learned that one first hand now. After that we went for another cache in Virginia Beach, then back home. It was a really good day!

Everyone else doing okay?

Happy Caching!

 

[lilallybean]

Hi all...still sitting at the nursing home with sis-i-l. Taking a break from working on papers to check in here. Less than 3 weeks to go now for graduation!!! I am going to try and attend my first geocache picnic this coming weekend. It will depend on how things go here at the nursing home and if I can get my papers done. I am soooo excited about going! I am not sure what to expect, but I will give it a try. It sure motivates me to get those papers done!
What the heck is a Bison tube??? There are a couple caches here that talk about those but we have not done them yet.
Hope that the floods are receding...and without much damage being left behind. Happy caching all!

 

[MiJo]

Sandy: Glad to hear you had a good time at the picnic! We didn't make the one up here. Our D-I-L called and asked if we would help her finish painting their bathroom as a surprise for our DS. She dangled a carrot: we would get to see our DGD! We couldn't refuse that offer so we painted and visited from 10:00 'til after 4:30. We did check on a couple of our flood area caches, though. The nailhead cache is back up after we re-drilled the hole and replaced the log. The Pineapple Cache seems to have been muggled. We need to replace that one as soon as I come up with another log container.
We always plan our trips to WDW for "slow times" so we won't be heading down for spring break or Easter. This is still in the early planning stages and may not happen but there's a good chance it will. After Thanksgiving, we're planning a trip to an area near Myrtle Beach to visit family. We'll be driving for that one and we plan to do some out of state caching along the way.
lilallybean: A bison tube is a small, metal, waterproof container that can be attached to a key ring. I guess it would be similar to the small dog ID containers that can be hung on dog collars. There are pill containers that are sort of similar that can be purchased in drug stores.
Well, I have to get ready for work. Good caching, everyone!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Lilallybean: You must be thrilled to death with the end of school soon arriving!


Mike gave a great description of a bison tube. Hopefully, this address will work and show one...

http://www.bisondesigns.com/aluminum/keycaddies/capsule.htm

Mike...Sorry you missed the picnic, but it's great you got to see Erin! And congrats on getting some painting done. That's always a project. I'm sure your kids are very appreciative of that!

Funny you mention out of state caching. I was just thinking about that this morning. I'd love to head out somewhere. Not too sure darling son would enjoy it though. We definitely need a few people to join us and make it a party. My son likes it much better when we're out caching with a group of people at these picnics. And good luck with the Disney plans! Hope they do work out for you.

Having fun at work working OT. Yea! Have to do that while it's available. Looking forward to the weekend for caching, too! Maybe I can talk darling son into going out now to get a new one that's not too far from work.

Happy caching!

 

[lilallybean]

Thanks so much for describing the bison tube and providing the picture. That sure helps. Here I was looking for soemthing big! OPh well this is how you learn!

Sis-in-law is STILL hanging on. I stayed the last two nights and I just don't see how she is doing it. We had her weighed today and she has lost almost 55 pounds since May. I know it sounds bad, but there is a point where the most humane thing is to just let her go. I pray night that she can have peace.

On to a much brighter note: We (DS, DD, and myself), attended our first event today! We had SOOOO much fun!!! Even got a FTF at the event. Saw my first snake while caching! Good thing I had my youngest two to protect me...I hate to admit that they have to take charge and help me then.

Hope that you all are having a great weekend and enjoying some good cache time!

 

[Pin Wizard]

More prayers for you and your family, lilallybean!

Glad you attended an event! Seems you have so much on your plate (and how long until school is over? ) you could sure use a fun break. I ran into a snake myself yesterday. Do I run from these things? Heck no! LOL! I looked at it just like I looked at the Coral in my garage in FL. This one was laying across the little dirt path up a hill in a park. It was pretty much on the gray side. It looked like a Diamond Back, but the coloring on the back looked turquiose. Could just be my eyes on that coloring. I turned around and forgot about that one until winter any way.

Congrats on the FTF at the event! Wooooooo hooooooo!!! I still don't have one. LOLOLOL!

Happy caching!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Has anyone been to eBay and typed in "geocaching"? I'm getting an education! LOLOL! Not only pinecones, birdhouses, golf balls, and nuts and bolts, but daffodils, peppers in the garden, sunflowers, and those metal things in a parking curb! More things to look for.

 

[MiJo]

Hi All,
I have a little catching up to do.
lilallybean: It seems I neglected to reply to one of your earlier posts. Of course, you can borrow our Pineapple Cache idea! I've been considering a couple others, like an orange with the title, "Orange You Glad You Cache?", or something like that. Also, how did your window clings work out? That sounds like a great idea! I took a geocaching sticker (the oval one that says "GEO") and stuck it on an oval I cut from a magnetic sheet. We keep that on our vehicle. Congrats on the FTF!!!
BTW: I can certainly understand your feeling about your dear S-I-L. My mother developed stomach/pancreatic/liver cancer back in '89 and we watched her slowly wither away for 5 months. It was horrible and all we could do was wish she would pass away comfortably. In the end, she was on morphine, which must have helped her pain, but it was sad to see. It is incredibly difficult to deal with and I doubt that I can even imagine how the person with the cancer must feel.
Sandy: I have seen 1 snake so far and it was a small garter snake. My DW hates them so it's a good thing she missed it! I have checked for items on Ebay but will have to do it again. My S-I-L got me a geocaching T-shirt from Ebay for my last B'day. It's the one about billion dollar satellites.

We had relatives in from MI a couple weeks back and we took them down to check on our nailhead micro. They couldn't believe it! They couldn't imagine that anyone could ever find it, and most people haven't been able to without a hint! In fact, one of my former Cub Scouts pulled into our driveway with his fiancee and their 7 month old DD last Sunday. They had found our Pineapple Cache but couldn't find the nailhead micro. They wanted a hint! We followed them back down to the park and helped them out a bit and had a nice geoversation and visit. We'll have to get Erin out to cache with Mackenzie, their DD!
Our younger DS (24) is currently in Harrisburg taking some tests for the Navy. He decided his life wasn't going anywhere and decided the military might be the way to go for some education and life experience. He wants to eventually become a cop. We'll find out how it went when he gets home this evening. Depending on that, we are planning a vacation trip to visit our DD's in-laws in Calabash, NC, not far from Myrtle Beach. If all goes well, we plan to leave Sunday, July 30, spend a night near Fredericksburg, VA, and then head down to their place Monday. We hope to do some caching along the way and hit some new states: MD, VA, NC and SC. Our plan is to spend about 4 or 5 days in/around Calabash and then head home. I'd like to try to squeeze in a DE cache, also.

I guess that's it. My new job is going well, which makes going to work almost enjoyable again! Good caching, everyone!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Mike...I'm sure your wife is glad she missed that garter snake! I love the one about the billion dollar satellites. Hope you wear your shirt! I have that button up at my office. I love the Bumble Buttons also. But I haven't had the heart to part with one yet! I really need to start putting some out there.

Glad you had a good visit with relatives. And your former Scout pulling up in your driveway is too funny! Not finding it really must have been bothering him. We know what that's like!

Erin and Mackenzie Geocaching...what an adorable thought!! And glad to hear that your job is going well. New jobs can be a breath of fresh air.

Congrats to your son on making that decision! Have you heard anything about his test yet? My nephew was in his first year of college and knew he didn't want to be there. Must have been during the summer following when he joined the Coast Guard. Seems to be a great place for him right now. And the Navy! Maybe your son would be coming down this way at some point.

Your trip sounds good! I'd be caching along the way also. Several weeks back we went and got a cache just over the VA/NC border here. I was amazed that NC is so CLOSE!! Much closer than Richmond is to us.

Last weekend at geocaching.com I had entered the ZIP Code where my grandparents lived in PA. There wasn't anything in their town, but there are in surrounding towns. I started reading about Centralia and remembered my Dad driving on 61 and passing Centralia on the way to Mt. Carmel. I remember seeing the gases coming up out of the ground. These were things I hadn't thought of in YEARS! I posted a note about what I remembered and told the owner thanks! He e-mailed me back and said if I could share a story or two about Centralia, I could log it as a find. Sheesh! I was a little kid back then and couldn't think of anything specifically. I told him that neither my Dad nor grandparents were here to ask about it, so I couldn't check them for stories, but thanks for the offer. Grandpa was a coal miner in the general area waaaaaaaay back when. Well, I was ecstatic when the person e-mailed me back again and said log it! Wooooooo hooooooo!!! So it's my first PA find. And it's an Earth cache (I think that's what it's called) so it's another icon on the screen. I think it's called Centralia, the Burning Town.

I guess we should get moving and get out there. It's overcast, so I wasn't too thrilled about the possibility of driving to Richmond today and caching in the rain. Amazingly, a Richmond radio station is still getting decent reception all the way here. So I have it set on there. But if I change the station, I know I'll lose it. Hmmmmmmmm...will have to set it on a button the next time I'm out there.

Lilallybean...School over yet?

Happy caching!