[Trekkin and Birdin]

We stayed at the White Lace Inn in Sturgeon Bay Christmas of 07. They had resisted getting internet for a long time, but customers were asking for it. I highly recommend this place, too.

http://www.whitelaceinn.com

My work with the Humanities Council would pay some overnight lodging expenses if my gig took me more than 75 miles from home for an evening show. I took advantage of that and tried out B & Bs in the area.
Sadly, that benefit has been removed from the program, but I’ll probably continue that practice. When we’re overnight for caching trips, we usually opt for the usual motel because we want to get out right away, but once or twice, we’ve taken a slower pace and enjoyed the B & B route. One time, the innkeepers knew all about our game, because their niece was wisgooftroop!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Thanks for posting this. Hmmmmmm, since it looks as if long distance travel is out of the question for our spring break now, maybe this could make for a fun splurge.

Hopefully this will work….I looked at the general area for caching potential. Nothing right near the lodge, but plenty along the western edge. We didn’t catch a view of any of the elk when we were last in the area, maybe we could get lucky this time!

Map of caches near the lodge
http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?lat=46.08275685027116&lng=-91.31629943847656&zm=11&mt=m

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Cheeto,

How about moving your idea to a new topic? It might be that some interested people have been avoiding this thread and would miss out.

Just a thought.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Cheeto,

I think such a workshop would be a great idea, and if it fit my schedule to travel, would love to attend. I guess I missed some “excitement” yesterday because we were gone…caching! Glad that storm has passed and the skies look brighter now.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

I couldn’t name just one. The kinds of caches we most enjoy….remote locations with interesting terrain…seem to be most plentiful north of highway 8 and in our own southwestern corner, as Seth mentioned.

For those interested in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, here’s a link…
http://kvr.state.wi.us/
Really an amazing location, with some long standing history, both recent and ancient. That area has more Native American artifact discoveries and sites than anywhere else in North America per square mile!

Honestly, we’ve found things to like about all the different parts of the state. The area we’ve most shorted would be the far southeast, so we hope to spend some time over there this next summer.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Congratulations…hey, this means you got almost 1/3 of your finds just today! Great to have friends to help you reach the mark!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Yes indeed, we ran into them today and we needed Katrina to find that one!

Congratulations!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Hey, way to go!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Ralph, if revitalizing the committees has the potential to allow more Wisconsin folks to become involved and feel a part of the organization, it should be a high priority. In the other organization I serve, when we took steps to encourage more membership involvement, it served to strengthen the organization as a whole. It certainly gave the members greater insight into the issues and problems we faced.

Member involvement provides fresh viewpoints, a feeling of ownership and perhaps allows the board to let go of some of the burden, too.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

As you know, both Trekkin’ and I have a keen interest in EarthCaches as well. Though we haven’t put them out in great numbers, that’s by design. We look for those features that have a bit of “wow” factor and then spend our time doing the research needed to combine the “wow” factor with the educational factor. Maybe we overdo that, as some have commented they felt like it was a test. Hey, we’re both teachers!

I’m not saying all EarthCaches require a wow factor. One can learn a lot from those modest locations, too. It has just my preference to seek those unique features and develop a lesson around them. Our first EC, “The Real Old Man River,” is our weakest, although if one chooses to canoe or kayak between waypoints, the wow is still there.

Currently we’re in the process of hopefully creating one for Cave of the Mounds. That’s one of the Unique Natural Features in the DeLorme atlas, and one that has yet to have an EarthCache. zuma’s recent challenge cache will encourage the development of more such EarthCaches, I hope.

A couple folks new to the EarthCache process have already figured out I’m more than willing to look over their ideas and share what I’ve learned. That offer is open to anyone. I don’t claim to be expert or even the most experienced person out there, but I am always happy to help others discover the fun of placing and finding this special kind of cache.

Now…..if only I could convince Thomas Meyer to change his mind about Pewits Nest, the only location I’ve been denied. That place is awesome! Unfortunately, cliff divers from the top of the slot canyon there have caused concern. One died a year or so ago. 😥

[Trekkin and Birdin]

You all sound like a day caching together would be a lot of fun. If I haven’t already cached with you, I hope one day we can get together on the trails.

Caching with me, well, count on Trekkin’ being along. Although I have been known to get up really early to cache, I’d rather sleep till at least 5:30 before hitting the road, that is unless somwhere along the way I have the chance to also see some kind of cool birds, like maybe Saw Whet Owls or such.

Often, I’ll have some sort of crazy destination cache in mind, one that has us hiking in remote country, climbing up steep hills or trees, or maybe canoeing or some kind of water crossing. Having learned my lesson, if it’s also a puzzle, I’ll ask that you have tried to solve it, too. 😉 I won’t discriminate on cache type, because I enjoy looking for all kinds. On the way to our destination, we can grab whatever comes along, but count on a little travel out of the way if there’s a letterbox or EarthCache near by. If we do cemetery caches, I like to study the stones along the way to finding the cache. I’ll be distracted by such things as ripe thimbleberries to eat, birds or animals to spot and photograph and whatever else is out there to catch my fancy. Fungi seem made to be photographed, too. I like the woods and waters more than town, but we can get some of those, too, especially if it includes a little local history or lore.

You might learn a few birding skills along the way. We’ll have a lot of fun laughing, telling stories and pausing for something to drink eventually. At day’s end, like most of the rest of you, we’ll finally realize we’re hungry and find some fun place to eat. If it’s a little local restaurant, all the better. So, when do we leave?

P.S. Dave, when we get around to serious caching down your way, Bong has long been on my list. Good birding and good caching, sounds like a dream locale! If only the Riddler hadn’t been archived…..

[Trekkin and Birdin]

I’ve watched this thread with obvious interest, as I think it’s clear I was the instigator for the recent “Carol” tour. I don’t want to debate the merits of solve versus find, as I think folks have done an excellent job in that regard already, and acknowledge that everyone has different reasons for playing.

I do want to thank Michael and Alex for pointing out their perspective as solvers of these hard puzzles. I was remiss in not even considering that aspect of sharing a solve. I bow to the first solvers of “Carol” and “Sinister,” as they had no clues to guide them. That said, I spent plenty of time on both, seeking a nudge at times on both, but ultimately enjoying the slap on the head accompanied by “why didn’t I see that before” response. That’s why I do these things; I enjoy that aha moment, and sure wish it were forthcoming on the “Puzzling” one also found that day. Ack! To those who feel cheated because a number of the people in the group didn’t spend the time solving it, I apologize for facilitating that. In the end, we each get what we want from playing this game, and I think it would help all of us to consider that in the end. Know that if a group has gone out to get something, chances are at least one person in that group enjoyed that response you intended. Others enjoyed the scenery, the hide or the camaraderie.

Knowing Alex’s feelings on this topic, I haven’t facilitated such finds for others on his, but I also know others may play the game their own way. In fact, this *may* be the only time I’ve instigated anything of this sort. I am willing to be corrected if it’s not.

I do wish to state here that for the record, I enjoy puzzling over these things. I may ask for help or a nudge, but I don’t want an outright solution, or even a really direct hint. I want to ask for guidance along the lines of “here’s what I’ve done, am I on the right track?” There are a couple times when we’ve been led right to a puzzle solve, but I think it’s only a couple and it wasn’t solicited. Neither of those were anyone from the Fox Valley, and they happened as part of event caching in a big group.
It happens. I’ve seen others get by with shortcutting some we took the time to do “the right way” and honestly, it’s just a chuckle. I have so many other causes that deserve my moral outrage, and whether someone cheats a cache isn’t one of them. That said, I respect the wishes of various folks who’ve made clear their feelings about this practice and appreciate that they felt compelled to point out how the actions of some of us can leave others feeling “stung.” Other than our couple unsolicited finds, if we log a puzzle find…..we worked the puzzle.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Guess I’d better not tick off Trekkin’, or I might not even be able to vote for myself! 🙄

[Trekkin and Birdin]

BTW, I actually *do* know how to spell “publicly.” Ack!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

He he, yeah, we can say with authority that would be about right! LOL Thanks for playing.

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