[Trekkin and Birdin]

We go out with our snowshoes and hunt nanos, plastic or ammo cans in the snow!

If it’s *really* nasty, well, we do have other interests and we just enjoy those. We kind of planned that we’d back off a bit this winter from the insanity we pursued last winter and get back to some of our older interests a bit. We’ve been somewhat successful. Kind of. Sort of.

I do NOT use those down days for housework. Housework (if it gets done at all) is for after work. Weekends are for fun!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

We also had a great time at this great event. Our nephew was home from college and decided to tag along and enjoyed seeing what it’s all about, too. Like others, there were many more folks there than time to visit, and we appreciate Jim and Linda taking up the story cause in the forums.

A HUGE thanks to Alex for organizing this, and sharing so freely for prizes. Next event you see me, I’ll be trackable! 😉

[Trekkin and Birdin]

I am another who found this to be a somewhat surprising set of questions, but here goes.

1) Give me one reason to that I should vote for you?

I have a great deal of passion for the possibilities this sport offers; cross generational connections, enjoyment of the outdoors and protecting the resources we all enjoy. It’s been my experience that no matter the cause, a person’s passion will infect others around them to take on that same passion.

2) You have 1 vote and can not vote for yourself, who is your one vote cast for and why?

Tough one here, each person brings something unique to the table and has much to offer. That said, I guess I’ll run with the crowd so far and say Dave has my vote. He’s already shown his commitment to ensuring great geocaching experiences in the state with his services as a volunteer reviewer and his huge part in setting up the Lonely Cache Game. When I’ve had to contact him for anything, he’s been quick to get back to me and address my concerns.

3) Please note this one is Dean’s opinion and may or may not represent the other half of my caching team. I have become very disgruntled and really feel the WGA has not lived up to its expectations (please note I dont lay this in the lap of one individual). What can you do to bring the disgrunted members back to the WGA?

I guess in this case, I’m going to turn the question on its end. What has the WGA done to leave folks feeling disgruntled? If we know, we can discuss what might be done to bring those folks back. Looking at the organization’s stated expectations:

Article II: Purposes
The purposes of the WGA are to:

Work as closely as possible with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and other property management officials to protect the rights of individuals to geocache in the state of Wisconsin.
Provide an opportunity for geocachers in the State of Wisconsin to gather and socialize with one another.
Promote the “Cache In Trash Out” and “Leave No Trace” programs to help in the maintenance of parks and trail systems.
Educate Wisconsin geocachers about the responsible use of natural resources and educate non-geocachers about the sport of geocaching.

..it would seem that the WGA has met these expectations to the best of their ability. I can think of two issues this past year that generated a lot of “heat:” the logging of temps at WGA events and the logo redesign. There was ample opportunity for discussion on these boards, and some did occur, but as often happens once things are put to a vote, the discussion heats up after things have been decided. I don’t know if either of these issues have anything to do with the disgruntlement, and judging by zuma’s response as a sitting member on the Board, he doesn’t, either.

The Board sends out the newsletters. We get email notifications. These forums offer a venue for conversation. Beyond that, I might suggest that an open forum be offered to air concerns publically in person at the sponsored events. I’m sure if there are folks who have serious concerns, they would forgo the caching part of the day to have that chance.

I guess the bottom line here is….communication. I’m pretty approachable and would welcome dialogue so that everyone feels they are heard. It’s hard for me to say what could be done beyond what’s already common practice and my own humble suggestions. I hope this is helpful to you and anyone else, and would suggest this might be a place to create a topic to open such communications.

Thanks for keeping us on our toes with all your questions, Dean. It’s a great way for folks to learn more about us and form their voting decisions wisely.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

There’s a nice little cluster of caches that sound really cool way up near Moose Junction, but Trekkin’ is balking. So have at ’em!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

We’re curious about that aspect too, Renee. We did get to see them and even hold one of them this weekend and they are pretty cool. Given that we’ve been known to spend hours snowshoeing to a cache in the winter, that would be kind of important.

However, since we’ve both just updated in recent months, it’ll probably be awhile before we get anything new.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Thanks for pointing that out, Bill never mentioned this aspect of his series. I was excited to see that the photo of the fire tower in the blog is one I posted to one of the logs, too.

Cool beans! We did another of his series last summer and came across a cut log with a smiley painted on it. They’re everywhere!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Okay, I finally had to ask the z-man to let me know where this is. Sheesh! We got FTFs on most of them, and I’m pretty sure the owner did not place them to obtain this map. I’ll have to let him know.

Now that I know where it is, I have to concur, that although these are just our kind of caches–obviously!—most will not be winter friendly right now. When the snow is gone, grab your best hikers and perhaps a walking stick and prepare to enjoy the wilderness and some great scenery from on high (once you get to that point). A cardio workout in the woods, what could be better?

An added hint; wait until the lupines bloom, because not only are they beautiful, you might have the chance to spot a rare Karner’s Blue Butterfly. Though we haven’t seen them in this particular location, one cache very nearby let us get a look a couple years back.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

I would have to give this concept more thought. I do want to see WGA events taking place up north, because we have our own connections up that way and enjoy the caching we do there as well. Maybe if you could tell us what your vision for this would be, we could all answer with more insight. I know there are some folks from those upper corners who have been nominated, but have declined because of the potential travel to attend the board meeting. If I’m understanding your post, the BOD member in each quadrant would take charge for the WGA events on a rotation, perhaps recruiting local help to make it happen? If so, the idea has merit, and maybe those in the areas who have typically taken charge would actually welcome taking a supporting role in such events. I do feel that for the organization to truly encompass “Wisconsin,” the BOD must look for ways to really include those “forgotten” regions.

I did sit in on a conversation with a WGA member and another candidate this past weekend. The other candidate had some good ideas for ways to reach out and be more inclusive of all areas of the state, but I’ll let him address that. I just wish I’d had that idea myself!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Nancy, that one cracked me up! I had the chance to enter marc’s Command Central this weekend and was in awe of what happens in Sellzup.

Seriously, excluding myself, of course, one could choose to vote this way and I think the results would yield a great BOD. Everyone has great ideas and energy and a commitment to the organization.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Whew! Thanks for posting this, I’ll keep it open “just in case.” When this was mentioned over the weekend, I panicked, as my last official meeting for the storytelling network is in February, too. It’s the following weekend though.

Double whew!

We’ve found on my other board it’s really helpful to have set meetings. Many of my fellow board members on that board are full time storytellers, and especially with the economy as it is, they don’t want to give up potential jobs, only to discover the meeting dates get changed.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

I think that’s a great idea. As to your “non-WGA” zone status, hopefully that can change soon. At the LC Event on Saturday, I heard another candidate share some great ideas regarding the ignored outstate areas. I will allow him to share those ideas himself, I wish I’d thought of them!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Congratulations Pete, what a great “gift” from another family member who “gets” the significance so “grandly.” Good to see you at the event and we await your next milestone!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Congrats, I guess we didn’t get to meet formally the other day, but we “met” you through a few caches on our way to the area on Friday.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Congratulations you guys!

So, how close to blackout now? 😉

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Darn! If this had been posted before the weekend, we could have helped you out. Went by it on Friday, then again yesterday.

We look forward to experiencing the final results of your work, though! 😉

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