[amita17]

Big thanks to the reviewers! I haven’t had to contact you, but if it were not for your efforts, caching would dwindle away. Thank you for the time you put into the review process.

[amita17]

Congratulations! It was nice caching with you in West Bend. We will have to get together again before your next milestone. Unless that will be this weekend… 😉 Onward to 400!

[amita17]

I enjoy a good puzzle now and then. Field solves are fine too. I choose caches in the same random way I always have–pick a general area, see what’s there. Read the cache pages and eliminate some, based on so many factors like D/T, how much time I have, conditions lately (wet, mosquitoey), recent finds/DNFs…etc. If there are puzzles, I give them a good look. If I can do the solve within a reasonable amount of time, I attempt it. Puzzle caches with a story or where you learn something, for me, are best done one at a time, if I expect to retain anything. Something like a code or sudoku is good if I want to flex my brain cells a little. It wasn’t until recently that I even gave attributes a look. The new one isn’t any more or less likely to make me seek out a cache that uses it.

[amita17]

Yay for Sherry! Sorry I couldn’t go along, but it looks like you had a good crew. And the GPSr-less master included…keep practicing, you will get better with no signal. Me, I can barely find it with technology. 😳 Congrats on another milestone so soon after the last!

[amita17]

Yes, what CJ said. Also, since you are coming from a distance, the preserve is open Monday through Saturday, and several cachers have done them all in one day. I got a workout doing just two 😳 , so it took me a while to finish (benefit of living close by). And that is in summer…I can’t imagine snowshoeing them all in one day. I did three that way and that was insane. Good luck in whatever season you find them!

[amita17]

Chris, thanks for letting me come along for the milestone. (I had logged the find previously but no hints were necessary, he got this one fair and square.)

[amita17]

I was the other cacher along, and initially thought it was some kind of jack-in-the-box prank. That thought quickly left my mind and concern took its place. I agree it was not likely placed with malice. Thankfully there were no serious injuries. It did sound like a gunshot. I will never open an ammo box (or any other cache, for that matter) the same way again! I think wipes or pump sprays would be fine in a cache, though maybe wipes would be better since they wouldn’t leak? I also removed the aerosol can of OFF from my car, just in case. Scary, but a good lesson for all. Thanks for posting the experience.

[amita17]

Adding my “I can’t help you, but welcome!” message… I am sure someone will chime in with technical help. Folks here are quite responsive to requests for help. You can join in the forums anytime for advice, jokes, banter, or general information. Happy caching!

[amita17]

I am still logging my finds, but timely feedback is important too.

I’ve attended all three years, and will add my agreement that the event gets better every year. I arrived around 1:30 on Friday, so there was no wait for the download. I appreciated having a choice on how the caches would be listed in my GPSr (and I appreciated a re-download when after a couple hours I realized I had made the wrong choice).

I did play geo-golf, actually leaving my cachemates to turn in my form so I could make the deadline. I didn’t see the box on Friday or I would have done it then. Maybe it can be next to the green ticket box? The first two years I was in the right area, just not close enough to win. This year I didn’t hear them say the winning coordinates, just that it was “by the river”, so maybe they could be posted or announced next year?

I did try the turkey shoot at the breakfast. I am still not sure I understand the whole averaging thing… Several tried explaining it to me, maybe if I had seen a written explanation I might have better understood it?

My group went to new caches and old ones. All but one were in good shape. The one that wasn’t was a new one, and I think with the masses descending upon it, some replacing it better than others, the log disintegrated.

This year I played Bingo and hadn’t before. It was interesting to hear some of the stories that went with the signatures.

I heard there was going to be a Wherigo but never saw any information on it. Was it a one-time group thing, or could it be done on your own if you have the right kind of equipment?

I saw the night caches posted on the pavilion. We opted to do regular caching at night. Note to self: don’t leave the flashlight in the other vehicle. Respray the insect repellant. So was the specific night caching on your own, or a group venture?

I really like the two days. No chance I will ever get them all, but it is nice to get more each year than the previous year. I did find some caches without standing in line, but was grateful sometimes for the help. I like to get a good bunch of numbers, but having time for socializing is nice too.

Plenty of parking and bathrooms…no complaints there I hope.

I also hurried to get my WGA shirt, since some expressed concern about sizes. They had my color and size available.

I liked the variety of toppings for the pancakes…yum!

Any volunteer I came in contact with was helpful and friendly. The townspeople were tolerant, accepting, and even extra helpful. The lady at the duck blind boat cache even offered to row us out, though we didn’t take her up on it. One of the business owners found us cachers amusing. No one was rude.

That sums up my experience, I guess.

[amita17]

Hi. Just to clarify… the message wouldn’t send to wbachamber.org It said it was an illegal address. I tried [email protected] and that went ok. Is there a better name to address it to than “info”?

I didn’t get to personally thank the committee, although I did see a few members very busily keeping things running! Thanks for a well-organized event! I look forward to it every year.

[amita17]

I voted all of the above. While that may seem like a cop-out, it seems logical that in order for an organization to survive, you have to do continually get new members with new ideas (and if money is involved, a new source of revenue). But who wants to be a part of an organization that only cares about getting bigger and not serving the members it already has, right? So of course you have to do what you can to listen to your current members and do what you can to keep them. And in the interest of continual improvement, you have to seek to bring back the lost members. Or at the very least, find out why they left and see if it is something that needs to be addressed by the organization. We have all had bad experiences in service in retail or workplaces or entertainment. Maybe we didn’t go back to those places, or maybe we just told others not to go there. Or maybe we still go, because we don’t have much else for options.

The WGA should focus on all areas of improvement in member service. Chances are there will be fewer of those who leave if the other areas are continuously improved.

That said, I am very happy with my WGA membership and glad that those who serve are doing an excellent job, in my opinion.

[amita17]

Glad you could join us! It is nice when the whole family can enjoy the activity and you will find that you can make geocaching what will work for your family. Hopefully as your child grows older, the interest in it will increase. Have a good time!

[amita17]

Congratulations! Good to see you at the event. What will 800 be…?

[amita17]

Way to go Sherry! You sure made quick work of 1000…are you getting on a roll or slowing down now? Congrats!

[amita17]

Glad you could join us, and your fellow geocacher families, for all the fun!

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