[thepharmgirl]

Yup, I always give my puzzles to a certain fellow geocacher to try to solve first to make sure it works and get his opinion on Difficulty rating.

[thepharmgirl]

Congrats!! Nice to see you back in the swing of things. 😀

[thepharmgirl]

The West Bend Police Department said they are okay with people parking overnight at WalMart as long as WalMart is okay with it, and WalMart’s manager said he was okay with it. So that’s one option for now.

[thepharmgirl]

I called Wal-Mart. The manager told me that they don’t personally care if people park overnight and he sees people doing it “all the time”; however, they do not own the lot and the lot has signs posted that read “no overnight parking.” The lot is owned by the city. He thinks that it might be a city ordinance and suggested I call the courthouse to check on it. I will call tomorrow (Monday) when the courthouse is open and let you all know what I find out.

[thepharmgirl]

I’m not sure if there are any locations in West Bend that legally allow free overnight parking. I wonder if some of the state trails or parks do (since backpacking is sometimes allowed). I’ll look into it. The Wal-Mart doesn’t allow night parking (and they’re not open 24 hours). The Walgreens in town is open 24 hours and the restrooms are open to the public, but I wouldn’t advise sleeping in that lot. I work the night shift, so I know the police patrol the area at night.

[thepharmgirl]

What type of accommodations are you looking for?

Campgrounds: (With approximate driving time to Regner Park)

Lake Lenwood Campground (West Bend,~5 min): http://www.lakelenwood.com
Timber Trail Campground (West Bend,~5-10 min): http://www.timbertrailcampground.com
Lazy Days Campground (West Bend,~15 min): http://www.wisvacations.com/LazyDays/
Pike Lake State Park (Hartford, ~25 min) http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/specific/pikelake/camp.html
Mauthe Lake Campground (Northern Kettle Moraine,~35-40 min) http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/specific/kmn/camping.html#mlcampground
Hoeft’s Resort&Campground (Cascade, ~40 min) http://www.wisvacations.com/hoeftsresort/

Some Hotels, Motels, and B&Bs: (Distance to Regner Park)

Isadora’s B&B (West Bend, 0.3 miles)
Super8 (West Bend, 1.7 miles) – NOT recommended; bad reviews
AmericInn (West Bend, 1.9 miles)
Country Inn & Suites (West Bend, 2.9 miles)
Hampton Inn & Suites (West Bend, 3.3 miles)
Bonne Belle Motel (Kewaskum, 5.7 miles)
Comfort Inn & Suites (Jackson, 8 miles)
Welcome HOME B&B (Newburg, 8.2 miles)
Westphal Mansion Inn B&B (Hartford, 18 miles)
Country Inn & Suites (Germantown, 18 miles)
AmericInn (Germantown, 18 miles)
Holiday Inn Express (Germantown, 20 miles)

[thepharmgirl]

I agree that this topic could easily (and unfortunately) become a gripe thread and mere preaching to the choir, but I also think it could be a very worthwhile discussion in the general forum if members were willing to offer specific actionable solutions to the issues raised rather than just complain or write lofty manifestos (No insult intended since I’ve occasionally felt inclined to write my own). In the words of Elvis: A little less conversation, a lot more action please!!

There was a lot of “aftermath” (as you call it) and plundering of cache swag at last year’s Cache Ba$h (as well as the disappointing destruction of a flower garden), so I sympathize with your frustrations. But if I may play devil’s advocate for a moment, here are a couple points to consider:

A) Large events like the WGA Campout and the Cache Ba$h draw a LOT of newer cachers. Some are aware of proper caching etiquette; some are not. And some just don’t care (we can’t control that). But the sheer number of people to one area in a short amount of time magnifies the problems you addressed. Not only that, but the “trade even” concept may not be as obvious or common sense as you may think, especially at at an event, because “brand new” toys in caches might be assumed to be bonus prizes for finding the cache as part of the event festivities. Some temporary WGA caches have been known to have candy to take, so why not toys? And how many kids hike with brand new toys to swap? Your faith in a fair trade was sweetly hopeful but realistically doomed. (Remember, I’m playing devil’s advocate here.)

B) Regarding trackable items, new cachers may be only recently introduced to this side hobby within geocaching. They would like to start moving and tracking these items, but have nothing to start with. So perhaps they initially take a trackable without leaving one so that they have something to trade next time. I freely admit (and without shame) to have done this when I first started. You have to start with something. Once again, one single cacher wouldn’t be noticed, but a large number of new cachers taking trackables without leaving any would stand out (and yes, it’s frustrating for the experienced cachers).

Anyway, getting to the point…

I think we can probably agree on one simple fact which is the root of the majority of issues: new cachers need to be better educated from the start. I see this as a community outreach/education issue. Perhaps the WGA Community Education Committee (with help from the general membership) could really grip their teeth into this topic and perhaps make an impact for future events and general caching.

Here are some of my specific ideas:

1. Implement a “Big Buddy” system at events. Individual attention and communication is probably the best teacher. Cachers with less than 100 finds could be paired with willing cachers with higher numbers. Seldom|Seen wondered why veteran cachers weren’t witnessing the massive pillaging? It’s because most of us were caching with each other, not the newbies! I personally don’t care if I don’t find all 100% of the temp caches. I would be more than willing to join a group of new cachers and help them learn the ropes. In fact, that would be awesome. Wouldn’t it be a great way for new cachers to have a fulfilling caching experience, plus wouldn’t it be a great way for veterans to know they’ve passed on all their knowledge about best caching practices?! I’m sure some intelligent mind could come up with a smooth way to run this program. Perhaps on the registration page, there would be a box for “Want Big Buddy” yes/no or “Will be Big Buddy” yes/no. Or perhaps cachers could voice their willingness in a forum topic/poll. etc

2. Subtle Messages. The WGA could produce a bunch of cheap round buttons or stickers that read simply “I trade even” to give to cachers (especially kids) at registration. This subtly implies to those cachers that trading evenly is what you’re supposed to do. If they ask what it means, we educate them in a few short seconds. How easy! All day long, they can wear it proudly like a badge. Or it could have a big star on it which reads “Fair trading sheriff.” I bet kids would love that. Plus it gives them an active role in doing the right thing as far as swag goes.

3. Make large poster of “Best Caching Practices” that would be prominently displayed at each event (with the WGA logo, of course). For example:
BEST CACHING PRACTICES:
1) Leave no trace. Be sensitive to nature. Leave an area the same or better than you found it. CITO=Cache in, trash out!
2) Be stealthy. Rehide the cache the same or better than you found it.
3) Trade evenly. Only take an item if you can leave something of the same general value.
4) Trade safely. Do not put food or dangerous items in the cache.
5) Be proactive. Replace a full or wet log if you can, or inform the cache owner with a “needs maintenance” log.
6) There’s no shame in a DNF. It’s okay to not find a cache. Logging a “Did Not Find” helps the owner and other cachers know about potential problems.
etc etc etc…. (I’m sure people would have more to modify/add to this list)

4. Caching Etiquette Card for Caches. A smaller version of the Best Caching Practices could be available in a printable postcard-sized(?) square/rectangle that cache owners could attach to their regular-sized swag-filled caches to help minimize plundering and unfair trading.

5. A WGA Emergency Repair/Replacement Kit could be keep on hand specifically for various events. This Kit would be completely donated from voluntary contributions from the general WGA Membership. I’m sure there are many generous spirits who would donate a logsheet or baggies or matchstick containers or a camo-taped PB Jar or even an ammo box to this cause. Perhaps this could have been used to help the unfortunate “Fish Out of Water” disaster cache that S|S mentioned. After repairing the cache, the WGA could post a note on the cache page which would say something like, “Your cache has been repaired using donated supplies from the WGA Emergency Kit. For more information about the WGA, click here.” The cache owner would be grateful and it would get a positive message out about the WGA (good publicity!).. and perhaps it would get other cachers realizing the value of helping out their fellow cachers.

Anyway… I think I’ve given more than two cent’s worth. Thanks for listening (if you made it this far..hah).

“Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy that the thornbush has roses.”

[thepharmgirl]

Congrats!

[thepharmgirl]

I think I’ve found 5 letterboxes accidentally. No geocaches that I recall.

[thepharmgirl]

Have you done “Glow in the Dark” (GC9178) and Glow in the Dark 2 (GCH1QB) yet? Those are both excellent night caches.

Do you have premium membership to create pocket queries? You can search by attribute, like “recommended at night” or “flashlight required.”

P.S. Forum Post #100 woo hoo

[thepharmgirl]

Wisconsin=90%
Other States 10%

Kentucky – 34
Iowa – 29
Tennessee – 19
Illinois – 15
Indiana – 14
N Carolina – 5
Alabama – 4
Ohio – 4
Virginia – 2
Georgia – 1

[thepharmgirl]

Yes… somebody logged one of those on one of my caches… I assumed he felt it was just faster and easier to send it from his phone and he prefers not to write personal logs. Fine. I don’t care about that (although I do love reading logs on my caches).

HOWEVER…. This was a tricker hide with a few DNFs in a row. So I thought to myself, “Oh good. The cache is there. Now I don’t have to check on it.” Well then a group of cachers came to the area and I assured them the cache was just recently found. After they told me they couldn’t find it, I went out to check on it, and sure enough, it was missing. So I wonder how the Geocache Navigator person found the cache??

The minimum requirement for hiding a cache is a container and log. Therefore, the minimum requirement for FINDING a cache is ummm…. FINDING THE CACHE!

[thepharmgirl]

congrats!

[thepharmgirl]

thanks. 🙂

[thepharmgirl]

According to the WB Chamber, we are now at 700 attendees. There are just 19 spots left until we reach 250 teams for goodie bags.

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