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...