[TS]

Well, if you need some help, we could attend (tentatively), just let us know.

TS & Lorie

[TS]

@K0rpl wrote:

I wonder if TS is going to bring some Homebrew Stuff?

Yes, I will, if you agree to pull it into the site as you did last year!

I’ve got some well aged barley wines available and I’m thinking about brewing a sparkling melomel in commemoration of the 5th getaway. It will feature a photo of Bec on the label, enjoying herself in inimitable style at RIG2.

And, of course, plenty of frozen Blatz.

[TS]

@Really I’m Not Lost wrote:

@DCexplorer wrote:

This is just a teaser for now, but mark your calendars for June 20-22, 2008.

It is conceivable the we will have close to a HUNDRED temps hidden for this event; Some easy, some hard, you can log them all…

Maybe we could put them on a 528ft grid in the large field by the boathouse, we could use Little flags like diggers hot line uses? 😯
reference

Yeah. I thought about this too. Hexagons. Expressing pi.

[TS]

I’ve never quite liked the way the required paragraph is structured, as it doesn’t transition from the cache description very smoothly. Although it makes perfect sense to an experienced cacher familiar with the lingo, it could misinterpreted by newcomers and those unfamiliar with the nuances of the English language to be part of instructions for seeking the cache.

Consider also that while the term “place” and it’s verb tenses have a specific meaning within the sport of geocaching, in the English language there are about thirty homonyms for these words. Perhaps “hiding” would be more clear.

I’ve modified the paragraph a bit for my caches: e.g. Black River Marsh

I know my code won’t work easily in various situations as the current paragraph does, and yes, I know that I’m nitpicking. I’m just bringing this up as a suggestion that we might consider clarifying the wording a bit.

TS

[TS]

While camping on Rock Island State Park last weekend, we submitted Cache Placement forms for the existing Water Tower Cache and a new cache that we placed there. When the park manager returned on Monday, he signed them, made a copy for us, and thanked us.

[TS]

Well, summer is over and I’m again taking time to look around the wi-geocaching web site.

My first stop was this thread; I knew that the DNR registration forms had been in the works. I found this to be a somewhat unusual discussion in that, despite diametrically opposed viewpoints being offered, I find that I agree with all sides of the arguments.

I was hoping though, to find more comments about how the cache notification form procedure has been received by local property managers. But I guess I shouldn’t complain about others not doing something that I haven’t done myself…

So I filled out two forms for my caches in Kohler/Andrae State Parks. I drove to the park and checked both of my caches, just in case the property managers wanted a tour; I wanted them to be ship-shape.

I then stopped at the park office where I found both the property manager and the property superintendent in the reception area. I told them my name and explained that in compliance with Wisconsin Administrative Code NR 45, I had stopped in to present them with two completed Forms 2500-118 (R 6/06). The property manager drew her sidearm, threw me against the wall and frisked me. Glancing at the forms, she said, “Oh, these are the new geocaching forms. Sorry, I thought a 2500-118 (R 6/06) was something else.” She gave me back my cell phone, PDA, GPSr, and Glock. “So you want to place geocaches in the park?”

“Well no, they’ve been there for two and a half years. I’m submitting these forms retroactively to comply with the new ruling.”

The property superintendent came over and looked at the forms. They had heard about them, but these were the first they had seen. Where were the caches? I guess that for some non-geocachers it’s not easy to visualize a location by glancing at Lats and Longs; it might be a good idea to attach/bring a topo map to show the location.

The property superintendent made some additional notes on the forms about the locations, signed them, and went off to make copies for my records. Meanwhile, I answered some questions about geocaching in general, and the other caches in the park; would the owners be stopping to file their forms? Were the other caches in the SNA? I explained that this was a rather new requirement, that it might take a while to get the word out to file the forms, and told them where the other caches are hidden. They seemed to be fine with that.

So folks, there’s really nothing to it. Just be prepared to answer a few questions about caching in a positive way. DNR property managers want to keep their attendance numbers up, and if caching is perceived as showcasing their parks without detrimental effects, they don’t have much cause to say no.

TS

[TS]

Two weeks from today is Columbus Day, which marks the season’s last scheduled passenger sailing of the Karfi. For several years now, we’ve journeyed there with Patriot1 and the Geopoo for the last weekend of island camping. The island is of course open year-round, but the all too common north-west winds make the island increasingly inaccessible. Even the venerable Karfi is often challenged by the crossing in early October.

I received an e-mail from DCexplorer this morning expressing interest in joining us this year. Perhaps a few more Rock Island Cachers might be interested in making the trip? There’s no need for camping reservations after Labor Day; less than a dozen sites are likely to be occupied.

We plan to arrive at the island on Friday, October 6th, and stay until Monday October 9th.

We hope to talk with the staff to work out the placement of an additional permanent cache on the island. I’d like to place one reasonably near the boathouse for day-visitors who may not have time to seek the two existing caches.

There’s not much point in making the Columbus Day outing an event cache as very few will be likely to attend. So if anyone thinks that they may make the trip, just post your message here; that way we’ll know how much beer and cheese to bring!

TS & Lorie

[TS]

Tragedy on Rock Island; from the Friends of Rock Island newsletter:

“Our prayers and sympathy go out to the family and friends of Eric McNew, 18, of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, who disappeared beneath the waters of Lake Michigan off the south-western tip of Rock Island on July 30, 2006. He and two companions had missed the Karfi late that afternoon and decided to walk across the spit between Washington and Rock Islands.

“According to Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel, “The group got caught in an undertow, and they were pulled under the water. McNew’s two companions were good swimmers and made their way out of it, but McNew didn’t and drowned.”

“Eric had planned to attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison this fall.

“Please heed this warning: waves, wind, and strong currents can make this seemingly safe crossing extremely dangerous.”

[TS]

@Really I’m Not Lost wrote:

so who all has pictures from the event and where are they posting? (there was mention of a picture of a canoe on the back of another boat)

For security reasons, some of the photos can not be released to the general public at this time…

[TS]

As we have reserved an individual site (TS, Lorie and Patriot1), we’ve also already planned our menus based on things that we know work out well on Rock Island, so we probably won’t be participating in a group meal arrangement. We are, however, planning to attend the group cookout/supper on Saturday evening followed by some beer and cheese tasting; we’ll just bring our own stuff, probably hot dogs or such. We will, of course, be bringing some beers and cheese to share with the group. Thanks to the Marvels though, for their generous offer to prepare the meals.

For those putting together a group meal, I offer a caveat; have a backup plan. For example, if the menu calls for burgers and the person bringing the meat has their transmission fail in Valmy, there won’t be any burgers. The last ferry on Friday comes in at 4:00 PM. Anyone missing it won’t arrive until 10:00 AM Saturday at the earliest. In general, I recommend that anyone camping on the island bring an extra day’s food supply just in case. You never know when an animal will get into your food supply or a container bursts spilling it’s contents into the cooler juice. When camping on the island, going to a restaurant instead is not an option.

That said, I plan to have a big pot of coffee going at our site both Saturday and Sunday mornings. The site, number 32, is just a couple minute’s walk from the group site. Anyone wanting a quick cup of coffee is welcome to stop by with their mug and we’ll fill it up.

I’ve been to the island more times than I can count, there’s not much left for me to see. So if provisions appear low on Saturday, I’ll volunteer to make a ferry run back to Washington Island to get more ice or forgotten items.

TS

[TS]

Newport State Park.

[TS]

I talked to the Karfi operator a few weeks ago. Friday is not considered a part of the weekend. The full weekend schedule may not be run if there isn’t enough demand. Rates have gone up for 2006 by $1.00 per person.

TS

[TS]

Here’s the link to the Rock Island Getaway II cache page (2006)

[This message has been edited by TS (edited 05-16-2006).]

[TS]

I see the geocaching numbers as like keeping score when playing golf alone. You constantly try to improve your game but it really doesn’t have much meaning to anyone but yourself. Unlike golf though, geocaching doesn’t really have a practical limit as to how much you can improve your score. Whereas in golf, people will become skeptical when you tell them you’ve whittled your score down to 17 strokes for 18 holes, and begin to question your honesty…

TS

[TS]

I had an experience where a cacher from a distant state sent me a nasty e-mail about a cache log that I had written. I had inadvertently used a incorrect homonym! I don’t remember exactly what, but it was a “their, there, they’re” or a “to, two, too” type of error. He went on to admonish me at length about the need to properly proofread my logs.

I checked his profile and, not only was he hundreds of miles away, we didn’t even have any cache finds or travel bug finds in common. His occupation was listed as, “between jobs.” Perhaps an English teacher?

No, I did not reply with an apology for my grievous error and, no, I did not give him satisfaction by correcting my error in the log. I just ignored it.

TS

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