It's Not About the Numbers

I think a lot of cachers set goals for themselves if they actively cache.  For years we have played with how many cumulative caches we have found on each of the calendar days of the year.  Before the challenge cache rules changed we placed a challenge we called the Ironcacher Challenge.  It requires ten finds per day for each of the calendar days.  It was fun for us as it forced us to cache on days we might not have chosen.  We decided to continue pushing the days up.  At the end of 2018 we were at 30 finds on each calendar day.  We set a modest goal of 32 by the end of 2019.  We made it to 10 December.  I was in Mexico on business and Ali Skyped to say Phin was having issues moving and a lot of pain.  She asked about the two finds needed.  It was a quick decision that Phin's health mattered so much more than any geocaching goal.  We'll end the year three calendar days short of our goal.

As for Phineas, the pain meds weren't a very effective remedy.  For a week after I returned he spent most of his time shaking in pain under a desk or hiding under a table in the bedroom.  I was fortunate to only twice hear the horrific screams of pain if something triggered the nerve.  It will forever remain one of the worst, prolonged sounds of agony I have ever heard.

Our vet also is a certified animal accupuncture practitioner.  She mentioned that most dogs were able to benefit by the third treatment.  Phin's in great shape other than what happened recently.  We both agreed to move forward with a weekly treatment.  It was amazing how calm he was with thirteen needles stuck in him and responded well to light electrical pulses.  There was a gradual improvement over the first week after the treatment.  When at the doctor's office waiting for his second treatment, he was busy greeting customers and other dogs.  This treatment also went very well.  Phin is walking at a quick pace and resting in comfortable positions again.  His tail wags often when he is with us and outdoors.  He still remains very quiet with little to no baying something for which he has been well known to everyone who meets him.  He has at least one more accupuncture treatment, and we need to wean him off the meds.  He has the okay to walk on flat paved trails.  If luck stays on our side, he will be able to join us on short caching runs in the near future.  Our next step is to determine a way to get him safely in and out of the geomobile.  We have hope...

Woolly Webster

Geocachers see weird and unique things when playing the game.  That's part of the fun.  Other cachers bring you to odd and different things through caches placed nearby.  Woolly Webster was the first full-sized, painted buffalo I have seen in a library.

Pill Bottle Pumpkin Container

We've found many caches which use pill bottles for the container.  This one was really well done.

Pennsylvania Hunting Law Changes

Here's another news post for Pennsylvania cachers.  The govenor signed into law a new bill allowing SUNDAY hunting for three Sundays of the year.  The new law permits hunting on one designated Sunday during each of gun season and bow season for deer and a third Sunday to be determined by the game commission.  These changes are effective for 2020 and join the 2019 change opening gun season for deer on the Saturday after Thanksgiving instead of the longstanding Monday after Thanksgiving.  Be aware of hunting schedules and wear your orange!

Pennsylvania No Trespassing Law Changes

For those of us who cache in Pennsylvania, the state has made a significant change to required notification of no trespassing.  As of 27 November 2019, no trespassing signs are no longer required on private property to indicate restrictions to entry.  The law now requires only a purple paint marking.  Be aware if you are seeking geocaches in rural Pennsylvania.

To Cache A Mockingbird

We stopped for yet another well done library hide in Central Ohio.  We arrived at the library about 15 minutes before a Friday afternoon close.  The first stage was perfect, and the library staff was very easygoing about our near closing arrival.  We spotted the hide and signed the log.  We were able to make our way out of the library before closing.  😃

The cover was really well done and well deserving of our favorite vote.

You Placed It There?

Columbus Metroparks has some wonderful parks and fun a fun geocaching series placed at the parks.  We were surprised to hunt an ammo can behind a restroom on a grassy trail.  It felt weird being back there.  It felt much weirder when a man stopped by so his young daughter could visit the restroom.  Would you be concerned while searching for an ammo can behind a park restroom?

More Information When Out Caching

There's been more interest in challenges lately near our home base with a few different ones being published.  When your out caching, the ones for which you qualify may be hard to spot.  This is an easy way to make certain they are visible in the field.  If  you do this already, great.  If not, I hope this helps.

Let's take the Ohio County Century Challenge - Lake as an example.  The challenge requires 100 finds in the county and has been spreading quickly through the state in counties where there are sufficient active caches to make it doable by a someone just starting the challenge.

Here's the Cachely map at the start.

The Cachly map shows the Challenge as just another unfound puzzle.  At the wesbite on the computer, the open page shows,

If I click on the pencil next to the posted coordinates, I get the box to correct puzzle coordinates.

Copy the original coordinates.

Paste into the change field.

Submit and accept.

Your on-line page will now show the challenge as having corrected coordinates.

Cachely will now tell you with a quick map glance that this puzzle/mystery icon is waiting to be found.  The red diamond says you have reviewed this challenge and are ready for the find.

If you are only using an iPhone for caching, the process is even easier.  For the Medina County Century Challenge.  The cache shows on Cachely as another unsolved puzzle.

Open the cache page and access the waypoints.  Select the posted waypoint, slide the corrected coordinates lever, and save.

Your Cachely map now tells you this cache is ready to find and log.

If you knew this already, great.  If not, I hope this makes your caching a little easier.  We have thirty counties with over 100 finds so we may be busy finding challenges if this type spreads.

Golden Ammo Can

Golden ammo cans have long been a tradition to celebrate a cacher's 1000th find.  Sometimes they end up in the wild as active caches.  This well done hide shrank a bit.  The container was a perfect rendition of a full sized ammo can.  Yes, that is a keychain ring for the attachment.  It gives a great idea of scale.

Natural Hide

Don't look at the bottom image until you have tried to spot the hide in the top image.

I walked away from this so many times.  If I didn't have a flight to catch and nothing else to do, I would have left with a dnf.  It is a super hide.

First Snow Caching

If you live where there is snow or visit the areas, there is always that first cache outing of the season in snow.  Lately, we've enjoyed late fall caching at The Wilderness Center and Mosquito State Park.  Today we were in the Erie area and had our first taste of cold caching in the snow.  No matter what the temperature or how deep the snow, there is still that happiness that comes when the ammo can is spotted. 😀

Caches at Interesting Places

I expect every cacher has found multiple caches hidden at locations where the attraction related to the hide is closed when you get there.  I found a cache this week outside the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum.  There are many topics that will get me interested, but mixing two favorites like Route 66 and interesting, old autos is really enticing.  The museum for the most part will always be close and yet far.  It is only about twenty minutes from my office in the Tulsa area, but closes at 4pm well before the time I am  usually leaving the office.  I will need to find a way to visit.  If you are in the area, it is a fun find creatively hidden.

The nose of front clips from old cars are on display in front of the museum.

The museum is hard to miss from the four lane.

Swag?

The world has changed a lot in the nearly 20 years since geocaching began.  Somehow, I can't imagine ever thinking 'I want to drop poop emojis in the caches I find.'  I have seen these in a few local caches.  My thoughts were and remain ewwww and why. I guess there will be a point where the game and probably life passes me by...

Two Anniversaries....

It is hard to believe, but we have been geocaching for fifteen years or half the time we have been married.  It has been an amazing time with so many new places explored and so many friends met while geocaching.  It is also the twelfth anniversary of reviewing for me. 

Our first find was a traditional in Cleveland Metropark's North Chagrin Reservation at a long ago archived cache called North Chagrin Giant's Bench Cache.

Ali making the find under a fake rock that reappeared at other CMP hides for years until it was finally muggled in Brecksville.

Our first virtual was at Smith Cemetery.  It was a familiar place which we visit every year to see the summer wildflowers.  It also happens to be our first find which is still active.

We enjoyed so many places and so many wonderful caches.  We've been stuck on finds in 37 states for a while now, but still hope to reach all 50.

We didn't know GeoWoodstock existed in it's early years.  We never dreamed we would be part of the core team hosting a Geowoodstock in Pennsylvania.

The game has changed much in fifteen years.  Locationless caches went away.  Virtuals went away and came back.  Lab caches now seem to be a future growth area although I still prefer a cache with a container.

We will be on a trail for as long as we can.  I will have a camera with me and whether we are still using our trusted gps units or our convenient phones, I hope we are still looking for geocaches.

Another Well Done Library Cache

I was visiting Indiana for business and was happy for some after work caching.  One of my finds was a multi that ended in a library.  I reached the library about ten minutes before close.  The staff was super friendly and I was able to locate to container and be done before closing.  It was a fun way to end a short evening hunting caches.

Luke

We made a find on this nice cache when we were in a PA gamelands recently. While I was looking at the images on line, I thought it was a tribute cache to someone's passed geodog.  It was only later that I read the FTF log and realized this couple's beautiful dog had passed during the FTF hunt.  It may be the saddest FTF ever.  Give your geodog or geodogs a hug....  RIP Luke, you looked like an amazing companion.

Happiness is...

a cold stream on the way to the cache....  Lizzie

Why Are You Deleting This Image?

I was surprised to see this stupid pop-up window when logging caches and thinking about deleting an image.

It seemed an inappropriate question for Geocaching.com to be asking.  Even more interesting was the image could not be deleted without a response.  It's another annoying little piece of the site.  😠

What Will Cachers Do For Swag?

Burger King removes free toys in the UK.

Paths to Pollinators

The Medina County Park District has been hosting a geotrail for the 2019 season.  It is called Paths to Pollinators and contains eight caches.  Seven caches are lead to a bonus cache as the completion.  The parks are attractive with very  nice parks and wildlife sightings.  Medina County Park District has been a super supporter of geocaching since very early in the game.  They have provided us many hours of fun on the trails in pursuit of their caches.  Hurry soon as the program closes at the end of October.  It is worth the drive.

The park system is providing a really nicely designed path tag to those completing the trail.  This may be the nicest path tag I have seen.  Hurry now, as the end of October will arrive soon.