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I agree with Big Jim, and RRO is not needed in a small org like the WGA.
zuma
I carefully reviewed the proposed changes, and agree that these changes are reasonable at this point in time. Thank you for taking the time to consider updating the bylaws.
zuma
What goes into the management of an Adventure Lab series? Having completed a few, I’ve found them entertaining and worthwhile, but the long term maintenance seems very minimal from the outside. I’d be interested in lending a hand getting this rolling.
Hi, Good to hear from you after a long hiatus! Getting back into the game? Awesome!
Anyway, you are correct, if wpts are chosen well, Adventure Labs need very little maintenance. I have 2 Adventure Labs and neither has had any issues with the wpts. The one in Arcadia has very permanent markers, so I am sure it will stand the test of time. I have revisited both of the bonus caches twice, but that was just to refresh the swag, not because there was any problem.
I have seen some Adventure Labs have issues with wpts that the Adventure Lab builders had expected to stay in place. For example, when I did one of the RT 66 adventure Labs (Solsby’s Shell Station in Mount Olive, Il.) The gas pump from the front of the station had been removed, so we had to Google the answer. So problems cam come up with Adventure Lab wpts.
And some of the wpts on my original YST series have disappeared. For example, in Hammond I highlighted the historic hotel there, which they tore down, and but up a sports bar, with a mural on the exterior of the historic hotel. So even the best chosen wpts, can have issues over time.
Also, my proposal would call for 10 Bonus caches, and those can go missing at any time, which is one of the reasons that I was seeking a team of people to work on this project.
The feedback that I have gotten from the BOD is that they may support this proposal some time in the future, but they have other bigger irons in the fire, and asked me to postpone it for now. I am a team player, so have moved the idea to the back burner for now, and continue to research it. Good to know that there are lots of members that would help with this idea, and I appreciate your offer. I will keep you in the loop when the time comes to move forward.
z
I did get a response from Groundspeak this morning. Here is the cut and paste:
Hello Ralph,
I am very interested in talking more about this project once you have confirmed that the WGA would be interested in helping to manage and own the Adventure Labs.Please let me know if you have any questions.Regards,JeffHi all,
In case you are not aware of the Lincoln Highway series of Adventure Labs and the Rt 66 series of Adventure Labs, more info is here: https://forums.geocaching.com/GC/index.php?/topic/358415-3389-mile-adventure-lab/
z
Hi,I did several of the Lincoln Highway Adventure Labs while in Nevada and look forward to doing more of them in the future, as this is a great addition to geocaching. I am looking forward to doing the RT 66 Adventure Labs as well. I got your name as a contact from the people working on Rt 66.I am wondering if something like this can be done with the Yellowstone Trail?Here is some basic information on the Yellowstone Trail, since it is not as well known as the others, despite being the first transcontinental automobile highway through the upper tier of states in the United States, established in May 1912. There are still signs across for most of the trail through Wisconsin, though other states are no longer promoting the historical route. I have traveled the entire route in Wisconsin several times, and it remains promoted in most of Wisconsin, and with good signage. I have also traveled the route of the Yellowstone Trail in Minnesota, and relics of the past still exist, including old bridges and gas stations, but it would be harder to promote outside of Wisconsin, due to the lack of signage and promotion by tourism officials. In Wisconsin, the tourist officials in several areas promote the trail for tourist interest.In the past, I placed a series of physical caches all across the state of Wisconsin from Racine to Hudson on the route of the Yellowstone Trail. Over half of them are now archived, mostly because of the difficulty of maintaining physical caches over such a large area. About 25 to 30 of my YST caches are still present and I will give you a sample of the ones still out there. Many of the best locations have been archived, so I see a lot of benefit to bringing people to the Yellowstone Trail by Adventure Labs.https://coord.info/GC154BB Milwaukee Brews
https://coord.info/GCXVDQ Addison Speakeasy and Brothelhttps://coord.info/GCYNPX Oshkosh Bridgehttps://coord.info/GCR2EH Butte des Mortes’ Hardware
https://coord.info/GCQC8M Marshfield’s Round Barn
https://coord.info/GCY0JV Thorp Al Capone PitstopThe trail is promoted some in SD, and I saw this cache near the center of the trail, a now archived cache that I got in 2011.https://coord.info/GC1HQ3PThe Yellowstone Trail is 406 miles long in Wisconsin. From my experience in the Reno area, a 10 stage adventure lab is best done following the trail in 30 to 50 mile increments. So I would propose about 10 adventure labs with 10 waypoints each for a Yellowstone Trail Adventure Lab series in Wisconsin.I would not be able to do this alone like I did with the physical caches in 2006 – 2008. My plan would be do this as a team of people and the labs would be owned by the Wisconsin Geocaching Association. I will reach out to the WGA to see if there is interest in doing this, and will get back to you when I find out if the WGA is interested. The WGA does have active members all along the Yellowstone Trail and I am fairly certain that it would not be hard to find 6 – 10 people to help me with this project.Thank youRalph Edwards/zuma!Hi,
Sorry that I am a day late. If still possible.
zuma, Ralph, Zuma!
Great location for the event. I would like to make a suggestion.
I usually buy 1 or more shirts at every event, as many members do. I think the generic shirts have run there course, and it is time to start making shirts that are event specific. I am currently wearing my Interstate WGA shirt from the event in May 2013. I have a collection of the shirts from several events, and would like to see upcoming events sell more than the generic WGA shirts.
I know that there is probably not enough time to do this for the spring event. But we really should have some fall event shirts this year.
thanks
zuma
I like the idea of keeping it as is with one series of the month for the whole state and one cache of the month for each of the five sections of the state. The benefits of it are up to six quality caches are highlighted each month, and those six cache owners get to put a nifty graphic on their respective cache pages. Consolidating it into one winner per month doesn’t seem to me to solve the main issue, with that issue being people actually voting for and nominating caches. Another benefit is that people will hopefully be eligible to actually vote! Since you can only vote for caches that you’ve actually found, to a certain extent if there was only one winner per month, the only people who could consistently vote would be those who are well traveled around Wisconsin. Imagine what it would be like if a cache in the north woods vs. a cache in West Bend were nominated. The north woods cache may have only a handful of finds, while the WB cache may have had hundreds. Therefore the north woods cache only would have a relatively small amount of potential voters, while the WB cache could have dozens or even hundreds of potential voters. If one were going to vote for a potential COTM and the choices were all unfamiliar and outside of their area, they’d potentially move on to something else. So if we keep it with the same format (5 regional caches + 1 series of the month), how do we promote it and increase voter traffic? The general membership hasn’t been very proactive, so I guess it is going to have to start with the board of directors. If each BOD member would nominate a cache or three every other month, that right there would be a big improvement. I nominate caches almost every month, sometimes in all 5 regions since the whole state is our playground. 🙂 Secondly, giving a shout out to the COTM winners (maybe with pictures) at WGA events would help bring awareness. Thirdly, promoting the COTM on social media can help, and it’s already being done to a certain extent from what I’ve seen in the past year or two. It’s great that the issue has been brought up here (actually I saw the question posed on FB and followed the link here, nice). I look forward to following the discussion.
I know this is an old post, but now that the web site is working faster, it may be possible to revisit the idea of promoting COTM, I agree with the above ideas, and just think we need to promote it more, like Marie has promoted the LCG.
zuma
Yes there will be new caches
With the report of uncertain cell coverage in that area, are the caches going to be published Friday?
z
Here are the links to the relevent maps. You can find the geocaching map on your own.
Much of the park already has old caches, and much of the park is in a SNA.
http://www.mappery.com/map-of/Buckhorn-State-Park-Map
SNA where caches are not allowed on this map.
https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/lands/naturalareas/documents/topomaps/map360.pdf
z
In NW Wisconsin there are at least 3 awards already. Myself, Comkelp and Suntse. In central WI, BigJim has one.
I have not yet decided on a date
zuma
Personally, I do not care a lot about this issue, but I do think that the weather is likely to be better in the fall, so it does make sense. Ido think it is great that the BOD is involving the members in the decision making process.
zuma
Like the majority of WGA members, I do not go on this website very often. Came on now to vote. Looking at recent discussion, I see Hack1of2 post this, which I agree. The MN Geocaching Association has a lively FB group, with discussion almost every day. Right now, there is so much fragmentation of Wisconsin FB groups, it is hard to communicate across the state. I think Hack is correct. We should consider a WGA open Group than anyone can join. And then advertise it on all of the regional groups, which I think also have their place.
Just my 2 cents.
zuma
Social media has been brought up before, even in this year’s Candidates Corner discussions, but not quite focused on the issue of Facebook PAGE versus Facebook GROUP. I’m just throwing it out there for discussion. The WGA currently has a Facebook PAGE, meaning that only the WGA moderators can post a new message. It’s one-way communication, like what a business would have to advertise sales and product information. Others can then respond to the messages, but they cannot start a message or create a photo album at the site. On the other hand, there are Facebook GROUPS, such as Coulee Region Geocachers, Wild Bunch Geocachers, Geocachers Guild, Geocachers in Wisconsin, Fox Valley Geocachers, NE Wisconsin Geocachers, etc. (I might not have their exact names listed). Facebook GROUPS allow members to post and initiate messages. Two-way communication. If the WGA were to have a Facebook group rather than a Facebook page, it could lead to a much higher participation rate. Instead many go to the smaller FB groups where their messages are posted instantly. I wonder if those groups would have ever even come into existence if the WGA had set up a GROUP rather than a PAGE. Just a topic for your consideration.
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