[zuma]

Congratulations on 1K. Hope to meet ya on the trails someday, but in the meantime, keep on cachin in the free world, where we are all afraid of terrorists and such.

zuma

[zuma]

Just an update….I did get through to the investigating officer. Sounds like they made a really big deal out of nothing. I did not get the whole story, because the officer got called away during our conversation, but what I got is that a gentleman saw a geocacher there at 7am this morning, went out and kicked over the fake plastic plumbing cover I had there (a 4″ round sewer lid) and saw the bright orange matchstick container. He felt it was a bomb. The Fon Du Lac cops didnt think it was, but wasnt sure, so being on the safe side, they called the Green Bay Bomb Squad. The local cops were in the process of telling people in the neighborhood that there may be a bomb in the park, and one of the neighbors apparently knew of the cache, and told them it was just a geocache. The local cops, opened it up, found it was not a bomb, and called off the bomb squad, who were still en route. The cache has been removed by police, and they are planning on giving it back to me.

Anyway, that is the story I got. If anyone has more or better info, I would be interested in hearing it. Thanks.

zuma

[zuma]

I have, and it was a great experience. For example, when I visited England in June, I was lucky enough to have a very attractive young lady pick me up at the train station in Oxford in a rickety old Festiva. We had a great time caching, and I could not have gotten out to the camping event near Oxford without her help. I think caching is about discovery, usually discovery of places you havent been. But if you cache with strangers, you open yourself up the possibility of a more interesting type of discovery.

zuma

[zuma]

Hey Marc

It is comparing apples to oranges to say that finding 3000 caches in recent years is comparable to what the Lil Otter accomplished in the early years of geocaches. The Lil Otter will always be Wisconsin’s First Lady of Geocaching, and numbers do not have a heck of a lot to do with it.

It has more to do with the example she set for people who came after her, found her caches, and enjoyed them because they were placed in interesting places. She is Wisconsin’s First Lady of Geocaching because she knew that a cache should take you to some place worth going, whether it be scenic, or historical, or amusing, or just weird, her caches take you places. Many geocachers have followed her example, which is one of the main reasons that geocaching is as strong in Wisconsin as it is.

People tend to place caches modeled on the ones that they enjoyed that they have found. I didn’t do it consciously, but after looking back on it, I realize that I modeled the geocaches that I have placed on Bobcat’s. Bobcat, in turn (whether he knows it or not), modeled his placements on the caches left by the Lil Otter, so in that sense, The Lil Otter is my geo-grandmother. I suspect that she is the geo mother, grandmother, or even great grandmother to many Wisconsin geocachers, whether they know it or not.

As far as calling her an “Old Lady,” I am not so sure about that. I think she could kick your a** geocaching up any hill or through any brush or any marsh in this state. I know that she could kick mine. Anyway, I prefer to think of her as Wisconsin’s First Lady of Geocaching, rather than “the Ol Lady.”

zuma

[zuma]

When placing a cache, I think it is best to think ahead to cache maintenance. If you go to the trouble of finding a great location, driving out there, placing it, and filling out the form to place a cache, I prefer to just to put out a quality container in the first place. I have learned the hard way that if you try to get by with a cheap container, it will cost you more in the long run to go out and replace it.

For a regular size cache, there is nothing nearly as good as an ammo can, IMHO. And really, for 5 bucks, it is worth it, knowing that nothing is going to destroy your cache. To me, the ammo can is the gold standard in caching.

For medium size caches or large caches in urban areas, it is hard to beat a Lock N Lock box, available at big box stores everywhere. They dont look like bombs, can be left clear if you are worried about looking like bombs, or can be spray painted camo to blend in. They generally do not leak. I have seen one in the woods that was ripped apart by animals, but for the most part animals leave them alone and they are proving to be quite durable, at least so far.

For a micro, the orange matchstick containers are hard to beat. They only cost 89 cents, and generally are problem free. Occasionally, some one will loose the gasket, so it will need to be replaced, and once I had an animal chew through one, but most of the time, you can place them, and not worry about them for cache maintenance until the log fills up. Plus you can camo them if you want. The metal bison tubes also make great micros, but are kind of expensive.

The worse cache containers, again IMHO, are film canisters, and it is regrettable that there are so many film canisters out in the wild. They do not stay dry for long, and are basically seen in short lived caches.

zuma

[zuma]

Congratulations Marc. 4K is a lot of caches. You DA MAN.

I am glad I got to go along with you on some of those finds, and look forward to our next expedition into the great unknown.

zuma

[zuma]

I have cruised twice in the Caribean, but both were B.C (Before Cachaholic)

The first company is out of business, and the second cruise was with Norwegiean Cruise Line. I had a different experience than Team Bear Bear. I thought NCL was a great cruise line. Great ship, great service, very good food. Good variety in ports of call.

Sailed out of Miami once and once out of New Orleans. Since air fare is a big chunk of the cost, it makes sense to check out air fares before you check out which cruise ya want to go out of. The last time I sailed, air to New Orleans was a lot cheaper than air to Miami or the other Florida ports, and New Orleans was a great place to visit. There are also sailings from Galvaston that might be cheaper to fly into.

Best port of call was Belize, and I think there are a few caches there. Belize is not quite so overrun with fakery as other ports of call, yet, and I loved the river cruise with the monkeys in the trees. The worse is Key West (Think Wisconsin Dells tackiness, on steroids, with a tan, gallons of watery drinks, and more silicone.)

When ya get back, please post a note on what ya found out. I would love to cruise and cache, and any information would be appreciated.

zuma

[zuma]

Hey Doug,

I went out this morning too!!!!!Went and got the new Bobcat hide, white rabbit…..Great to be out in the woods this time of year.

zuma

[zuma]

Ohhhhh. I got a new Bobcat hide to go out and find, which I did prior to opening presents with my daughter. Gotta love the new Bobcat hides!!! (She sleeps til 2pm anyway.)

I also got a new Razor Cell Phone….Very cool. Got it from onesearching2find, but it is a bit strange, it wont let me save any of the “other” numbers I had in my old cell phone. Must be some kind of glitch.

zuma

[zuma]

Welcome to geocaching, yaboo. There are quite a few caches along the Ice Age Trail, so ya can combine visiting the Ice Age Trail with geocaching. Hope to meet ya out on the trails.

zuma

[zuma]

Hey Shrek and Fiona,

Hey, way to go…..And only 1 DNF in 800 tries…Ya got to be kidding man. Wow.

zuma

[zuma]

HI jracepilot,

The event Kent is talking about here is the 6 week geocaching event in the Chippewa Valley. Here is the web site to last year’s event, to give ya an idea of what it is all about:

http://www.geocachingwisconsin.com/index.cfm?event=postingpage

You will definately want to keep tuned in for more details, and they will be forthcoming, towards spring.

zuma

[zuma]

Hey LO,

Glad to hear that the Gauntlet Memories are bringing you a little of the joy you brought everyone else by placing and maintaining it for so long. I know that I am not alone in having fond memories of the Gauntlet and the great chance to meet a really great bunch of people. Sure, I could have had a more “productive” day in chasing down 20 skirtlifters, but I dont do this to be productive anyway, and I doubt that there would be many memories doing those. If I wanted to be productive, I would clean my house. LOL.

I hope you have a Great Christmas, and have all of the joy you deserve this season from all the memories of great places you visited caching, knowing that you have brought joy, fun and adventure to those of us who have followed in your footsteps and found the great caches you placed, at the Gauntlet, and throughout Wisconsin.

zuma

[zuma]

@LightningBugs Mum wrote:

@Coastiegirl04 wrote:

*cough cough zuma cough cough*

LOL! Ralph kept asking me about The Gauntlet. I told him, that if my 10 year old son could do it, then it was certainly within his capabilities. I wish I could have been there for zuma’s discovery. 😀 Getting together with the other cachers made it worth it, right?

I am not saying, but I MAY have called LO an unprintable name for this forum, just before we both busted out laughing. LOL….Cant recall what that name was, but LO might recall.

zuma

[zuma]

@Team Deejay wrote:

@Team Honeybunnies wrote:

Ahhh…. 😀 . A tip of our bunny ears to The Leading Light of Western Wisconsin Geocaching.

Now wait a minute here. I thought ROBIN was The Leading Light of Western Wisconsin Geocaching. Isn’t Zuma’s title “Sidekick and Occasional Chauffeur of The Leading Light of Western Wisconsin Geocaching?” 😀

Yeah, that is right, ROBIN is the leading light of Western Wisconsin Geocaching. And she does let me drive sometimes….But I do get real nice hootie rewards sometimes, if I can get the find.

zuma

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