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Man oh man, how we wish we’d had the laptop along on this trip! Might have changed our caching plans for yesterday if we had. We even had the required equipment along.
Congratulations to the master. I guess Trekkin’ will always have to follow in zuma’s footsteps here. We look forward to doing this series ourselves before the snow is gone.
For me, it’s a matter of wanting to give back to a sport that has provided us with a lot of enjoyment. We’ve come to count many who are part of the WGA as friends, and friends like to help friends. I think I may have something to offer the organization as well. My time serving on the storytelling board has given me insight into a variety of issues, some of which are very similar to those facing the WGA.
I’ve worked with several different land managers for the DNR, including state park superintendents and forest managers. I’ve also worked with Thomas Meyer, Conservation Biologist for the DNR managing the state natural areas for EarthCache placements; including having to accept “no” for an answer on one I really wanted to put out there. (Pewit’s Nest near Baraboo).
I worked with the National Park Service to place an EarthCache at Effigy Mounds, and that was a great process of working together to make that happen. In addition, some of the placements, like those in the Kickapoo Reserve, required working with those land managers, which include the HoChunk Nation as well as the Reserve manager.
I’ve worked on a smaller scale with local parks. Although we don’t always get the answer we want, in all our dealings, it has been a great way to help increase understanding of geocaching, as well as helping us to understand the issues and concerns of the land managers. Great question, Dave. It’s interesting to hear others’ experiences.
Aw c’mon Ralph, you have a cute smile! Maybe not as cute as Anne’s, though!
I agree with Renee. This might be considered political suicide, but I do think that any of those currently running will do their very best to give to this organization, and listen to the membership. So as a voter, you have to decide which will take you where you’d like to see us go.
Unlike some elections in which we must participate, I see this one as win-win…..even if I lose!
1) I’d love to see us develop a great curriculum using geocaching and GPSr technology for educators’ use. I know there are some things out there, but I think we could develop really nice units that incorporate aspects of Wisconsin history (4th grade), natural and environmental history (infused throughout) and team building/problem solving skills.
2) I’d love to see us create a “package,” including lots of GPS units, to assist groups that want to host an event on getting started in geocaching. At the LaCrosse event, it would have been great for all the newbies to have units with which people were familiar, so they could quickly learn to input coords, then go out and have fun. We could market such a package, which would include all the great presentation materials many, such and Renee and Bec, have already created. Target groups could be convention and visitor bureaus, alternative educational settings, Scouts and whatever else we can imagine. Pete already is doing something like this with his group, and there are surely more groups that wouldn’t immediately come to mind.
3) Host a big event up north. I know, I know, logistics and man power and all that. Think about it, though. Many tourists come from out of state and head right up there, winter and summer, and we could take the lessons learned from dream #2 above and build an event that could draw those same folks into our fold. We’ve done great caches all over, but honestly…..if we had to pick some of the best, they’d be up there in the Outlands! We could see that cache density map TBC posted glow even brighter over more of the state by doing this.
Big dreams. But my experience has taught me that throwing out the big dreams helps us think beyond the obvious and trim back to create something new and exciting, even if it isn’t that big.
Winter itself is fine. It’s this nasty cold that sucks big time!
We’re hoping to be there a day early (today), what with school closed and all. If that’s the case, we also hope to make a pre-event assault on that “other” S4. Taking advantage of the good to come out of a week of extended sub-zero temps!
Really looking forward to the event and the caching that goes with it. I think we’re all a bit crazed with cabin fever by now!
First of all, if there is an additional logging requirement, we do it. We have found a small handful of caches that allowed a “bonus” log if we did some additional task. I think we actually took the bonus two times this way, have left the others.
As a cache owner, I can appreciate the intent someone has when they ask us to do these things. I would show the same respect for another’s intent that I’d expect from them.
That said, you’re asking about a hypothetical situation in which I *do* choose to cheat the owners’ intent. If I get caught and my log’s deleted, the most I’d do is hide in a corner in embarrassment!
It really depends on the setting as to how I approach problem solving. Like Nancy said, as a teacher I make decisions on my feet numerous times a day, and those decisions are made quickly, based on way too many years of teaching service and experience. Most times, I solve things correctly, sometimes not. When the latter happens, I am not afraid to own my mistakes.
In other settings, such as group processes, I tend to sit back and observe the way the group works for a time. I used to be quick to jump in, but have learned in my life that it really helps to understand the group dynamics before trying to offer my opinions.
I like to be in situations where folks can *respectfully* disagree. This disagreement, though uncomfortable, seems to foster the best decisions overall, as it allows many points of view to be aired prior to reaching consensus.
For my own problem-solving, which affects only me, I will look at things analytically, weigh out all possibilities, and then I end up going with my gut anyway. Even though I use instinct, I feel like my choices are still better informed by that analytical turning over of all stones. I am also the daughter of a long line of engineers, basically the family black sheep in that respect. Even though I resisted that field of endeavor for myself, I picked up analytical thinking through some sort of weird osmosis!
This was a great question, Nancy. It gives us not only the chance to “get into” the minds of each other, it allows each of us the chance to get into our own heads. That can be important for those who go on to serve our great organization.
Why don’t we ask those in the know how long we can expect to hunt for marc’s and plan to head out accordingly? We’re hoping to also grab some numbers while we’re up there, since for the past month, most days have been 2-5 finds, with one day a whopping 10! We ran a PQ with the snowflake attribute, and I have to sift through now which of those are puzzles I want to save for another time. Enough with the hardcore caches for a time! When it gets like this, give us some easy runs through the cemeteries and the like!
We’re looking forward to seeing many old friends and meeting a bunch of new ones, too!
Dick even passed on two FTF opportunities locally last night. He says anyone who wants to get them, will earn them!
We may stay overnight if we can find affordable lodging. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Since it’s only a 1-1/2 hour drive for us we don’t want to spend more than $75. Otherwise we’ll head back and cache at home on Sunday.
Mister Greenthumb, I think we stayed at a Super 8 on College Avenue last summer that wasn’t too pricey. Look for that Visitors Bureau cache—it was across from there, just off 41. Hope you can make it!
Congratulations! I didn’t play this time around. The Modern Day Outlaws was stressful enough.
We signed up on gc.com on June 26, 2006, finding our first cache that same day.
I signed on to the WGA website the end of February 2007. Timberline Echoes had told us of this site, but not wanting to have another message board to visit, I resisted for a long time.
I shouldn’t have waited so long!
Although I have actually had the chance to connect with friends made on other message boards in the past, because the WGA is regional, those connections have been made far more often. I feel like some of those connectons have become “real world” friends, as opposed to virtual friends. (Read “Bowling Alone in America” if you don’t follow this comment). The opportunity to throw together impromptu events, like that organized by OPS for “Marsh to the Phillipines,” is part of what makes this place unique. We can plan for the official events, but we can connect in other ways as well.
This is also a wonderful place to get all those questions answered, whether they have to do with the latest headscratcher about GSAK or good Crock Pot recipes. (Thanks everyone!)
Those of us who play this game hard usually find our way here. The challenge is to help those who might be occasional players find that you don’t have to be a geocaching fanatic to find value in the WGA and its website.
We allow our Garmin to sit on the cache site (or held up, as mentioned) for at least 3-5 minutes to gain an average. Once that’s done, we’ll walk some distance….in different directions….set a “go to” and see how close we have it. We try to get within 6 feet, but the terrrain around here in some instances (down in the bottom of a coulee) might require us to live with 10 feet or so.
If we’re doing a maintenance visit, we’ll check our accuracy and make adjustments if needed. Personally, I like my challenges to come in the form of a puzzle, a clever hide or camo, or something like that, not from coordinates way off. Still, we’ll go out 30-50 feet if we don’t find it quickly, just because…..well, one of us in particular gets pretty stubborn about wanting to find it!
Jen, That sounds like a good plan to me. Glad to see lots of interested folks, we’re really looking forward to this!
What were their personal contributions to Wisconsin Geocaching in 2008? (such as: events held, caches hidden, presentations given)
We’ve placed 29 new caches this past year, some of which were EarthCaches and 5 of which were tribute caches (silver ammo cans).
Two of our new caches reflect our enjoyment of challenge caches, and we probably have “given” a few folks obsessions to pursue with those. 🙄We held two social events last winter, which spawned three more. Because of our borderline location, those three “clones” went to
Minnesota, but drew Wisconsin cachers out to play.I did a hands on presentation with a local Cub Scout troop, teaching them the basics about seeking a cache, as well as instruction in plant recognition. They know poison ivy now! Although not acting in any official capacity, we were pressed into service at the LaCrosse Fall Colors event to help newbies learn the ropes of inputting coordinates and searching for goodies. As an educator, I’d love to see the WGA develop some kind of curriculum that uses geocaching as a way to get kids out into nature and develops their passion for the natural world along the way.
I played the Lonely Cache game to varying degrees last year, and feel that anyone who did made contributions in helping to improve the caching experience in the state.
Guess that covers it. Great question, Renae!
This is one where answering quickly is a plus! 😉
Okay, dream big and be creative. If money, time and distance were not constraints, what are three things you’d like to see the WGA provide for the geocaching community?
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