TIP: Spotting Your GPSr

By the time you read this, TaGeez and I will be on the road to Midwest GeoBash! (Special 'Thank you' to Oscar and Brenna for housesitting!)

As we were loading pocket queries and checking the lithium batteries, it hit me that I had two more tips to share:


Labeling your GPRs

I was just reading on YMBAGI (Facebook) about a man who dropped his iPhone on a power trail while caching. It goes on to tell all about his travails on relocating it (in case you were curious, he never thought to call it because he assumed it was still sitting in deep grass).

And we've all been out with someone who has lost their GPSr units while on a run. Or confused them in a group of units - heading to GeoBash, there will be hundreds laying around. Even in some of our smaller local events, you hand them over to the people loading event caches and hope the post-it note doesn't come loose.

In a crowd, they start to look alike

TIP: Even though most units have a spot in the settings to put your contact info (have you updated yours lately?), our local cachers have learned to also ink their email and phone info in the battery compartment.

GeoFleaz (AKA Travel Fleas)

In yesterday's post, you saw these little metal tabs attached to our trackables. GeoFleaz (originally called Travel Fleas) are also a handy way to personalize your carrying case. 

TaGeez and I have had ours for a few years, and you can see that the tags look brand new still.

Anyone else going to GeoBash?

Take me on an Adventure!

Look at my new toy! A Garmin Nuvi 65LMT - just came in the mail. Sweet, isn't it?

6" Touch screen

Lifetime maps and traffic

Ability to move Coordinates as my primary search

Quick find of food, gas, and bathrooms

Now we just need an adventure...

Talk About Taking Geocaching to the Next Level!

I read a fascinating article put out by Smithsonian Magazine called Cemeteries of the Future.  The premise is, with space limited and times changing, "Do you want to be buried in a coral reef, a skyscraper, or on an artificial island?

Imagine my surprise when I reached to end to read:

As “green” or “natural” burials, where bodies are buried in fields or other natural settings without being chemically embalmed, become more popular, the question remains: how will loved ones be able to visit the deceased, in the absence of a headstone. Several cities and cemeteries have come up with a potential solution: GPS. The deceased would be buried with a GPS unit, and families would be given a tracker to “find” them when they came to visit. 

Talk about taking geocaching to the next level! Imagine instead of finding Tupperware you're out searching for a loved one? I won't even make a joke about swapping swag.

Oh, No! He's Armed! (with a Monterra....)

I’ve been quiet lately. Really… not much to report for this week.  Still doing the Cache-a-day.  I did have a most excellent surprise on Tuesday.  I’m one of seven kids – the “youngest three” are avid geocachers as well as our nieces and nephews.  My older brothers have only expressed polite interest to date.

My older brother, Jim, bought a Garmin Monterra recently.  (We come from a family of gadget-hounds – we love our electronic toys).  It’s a VERY nice unit – good balance and comfortable-sized screen.  It has all the fabulous Garmin features like nearby geocaches, Chirps, waypoint averaging.  It also has the ability to install apps from the Android store!  Really!  Facebook, email, browsers.  I can’t wait to take it out for a field test.

Well, here’s the surprising part: Jim took it caching!  On his own! He’s been along for the ride a few times before (when we take the kids out caching while on vacation), but he’s never expressed an interest in actually taking up this sport/hobby/obsession/pastime! I’m assuming he wanted to take his new toy for a spin. His first cache: he found an ammo can in a cement pipe after hurtling a snowbank.  It was so sweet when he said he spotted my name on the log before his.

Even more exciting is, without guidance (because we Lobsingers have to do EVERYTHING on our own – a bullheaded bunch…. ), he created a geocaching.com account! AND LOGGED HIS FIRST CACHE!  I’m not sure what I’m more proud of…. His first solo find or his first log?  Writing a good log is a soapbox item for me – I will preach it to anyone who listens.  He wrote a good log, sharing his experience, using the correct lingo and even abbreviations. 

His next cache, dedicated to his hockey-playing son, was a DNF.  (Jim has stated he is not a fan of micros) But this log was even better – what a hoot! 

Despite my best efforts, no luck. Micro's are a bit tough for me at my experience level maybe, especially at night. Anyhow, I'll bet that kid is much taller and thinner by now. WHAT.......HEY!! STOP THAT KID!! HE'S DRIVING MY CAR, and wearing my genes;-}

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the family humor rearing its head! Jim’s family does a lot of camping throughout the summer.  I can’t wait to hear about his new adventures.