Geocaching Virtual Souvenirs

Groundspeak has been doing virtual souvenirs on their geocaching.com site. Mine are listed HERE. I am not that impressed with them.I think part of the problem is that geocaching is a hobby that i am jst not doing as much as I use to. I am benchmark hunting and waymarking more than caching and even that is not being done as much as I use to. I think the other problem is I do gps games to find a nice hike or an interesting spot I would not have found otherwise. I am not really interested with my online stats other than a statement of fact of where I have been.

I guess I am just a slacker but what the heck. It is just a hobby.

Canadian Benchmarks

I went on another trip to Southern Ontario. True to my habits, I had my GPSr and digital camera in tow to do some waymarking. I found two more canadian benchmarks. I understand that benchmarks are not everyone's cup of tea but it always interests me on where they are placed and what is used for benchmarks. One of them was at the Kingsville harbor and the other was along was used to be the Pere Marquette railroad. that railroad has been converted into a trail. I will be talking more about that tomorrow.

The waymarks for these two benchmarks are here:

MO53006
33U2060

Benchmark in the cemetery

When I was visiting family in Michigan and we were going around to yard sales. We noticed the sign for the benchmark. Not only did we find USGS elevation benchmark but the cemetery had laso put one of their benchmarks right next to it to show the sections of the cemetery. I guess they wanted to get use of the witness sign as well. I do not blame them. Benchmarks are usually pretty easy but if they are in tall grass growth or you are not sure to look, they are hard to find. The waymark for this benchmark is HERE.

Freak the Norm Factor

I went out benchmark hunting today. I wound up finding neither of the ones I was looking for. The basic problems were the facts that I had no good place to park and both locations had a freak the norm factor to it. I define the freak the norm factor as any hobby or activity that is both harmless and out of the norm enough and yet public enough to make those unaware of the hobby to get suspicious about what you are doing. Geocaching, benchmark hunting and waymarking can count at this. Whether it is a a person using a gps to find something or the fact that you are finding a hidden container and then replacing it can be unnerving to those who are not familiar. It is sad that this is a part of life. These hobbies are really cool (at least to those involved.) but to those outside, it can also be scary.

It reminds me of an old Twilight Zone episode called "the monsters on Elm Street". (I hope I have the title right.) Some weirdness happens on Elm street and all the tech starts shutting down. The inhabitants get isolated and they start blaming each other for the problems based on each other out of the norm behavior whether they are an insomniac or a ham radio operator. It ends with the street doing a melt down and shows that aliens have set this up to have the inhabitant kill themselves off for the aliens. It is funny how this 40 year old episode is just as timely now as it was then. That is one reason I think the show has had such a large following even now. It poked at ideas that we are still dealing with.

I think it is sad that with this post 9/11 world, we are still having this paranoia. I am not saying that this is unique to here and now since the McCarthy hearings had the same issues with the communists. There are threats in this world but when we start mindlessly demonizing things, then we can get into trouble.

DNR Benchmark and Waymark

I was out doing errands and I needed to go to the DeKalb County Courthouse to file some paperwork. (What is the modern life without paperwork?) I was on my way out of the courthouse while I was looking for the time capsule monument I knew that was there (HERE), I notice a bare spot in the grass. It was not your normal bare spot in the sod but an actual benchmark. Since I had my digital camera and my gps with me, (yes I am a nerd or geek), I was able to get the information necessary for doing the waymark. The waymark is HERE. the things you find when you are out looking for something else.

Saint Paul's Lutheran in Leamington

I went over to Canada to visit my folks. Naturally, I was not going to pass up the chance to go gps gaming so I hunted down a Canadian benchmark. It was in the foundation of Saint Paul's Lutheran Church. The nice thing is that this benchmark was right along the route I was going for the trip so that makes it really nice. It was a two for one spot since it was a Lutheran church with a benchmark on the property.

Benchmark waymark.

Local Catholic Church History

It has taken me a while to get around to doing this blog post I was out benchmark hunting and waymarking and it took me to St Michael's Catholic Church. It is a NGS Benchmark at at least the church's sphire is. It makes sense, you can see it for miles. a lot of church sphire's water towers and ourhouses are since they are generally very visable. I also think it is interesting because Father Young who was connected with the Garrett Catholic Church and Cemetery also had fingers with the Catholic churches in Auburn and waterloo as well as the now closed Sacred Heart Hospital in Garrett. It is nice to see a historical connectedness for these churches. Their waymarks are following
Garrett Catholic church
Auburn Catholic church
Waterloo catholic church
Sacred Heart Hospital
Calvery Cemetery

GPS Games

It is that time of year when I don't do as much with my gps. The benchmarks and caches are covered with snow. The snow can add something to pictures for waymarking but in most cases, I would prefer more green in the pictures. Time to sit in the warm and listen to the shortwave and police scanner a bit more. I have a few ideas for waymarking for the next month or two but nothing serious. Maybe I can work on getting benchmark database info to the PDA so that when warmer and less snowy days come, I will be once again ready to start looking for things. I wil try to keep blopgging as I find stuff but I got a feeling it is going to be intermittent at best. Considering I have always been more or less intermittent about blogging and what I blog, it won't be anything new.

Labor Day Weekend GPSr games

I have been having some fun with they way of gps games lately. Between doing a combo hunt of geocaches, waymarks and benchmarks and doing a bit of planning, I am getting my gps games to follow my life instead of the other way around. One part of the waymarking stratagem is getting familiar with the waymarking categories so I waymark the things that come across my path. It gets kinda amazing how many things you pass up on a holiday weekend once you start knowing what to look for. Some of the categories are more interesting than others but isn't that the case with everything.Three of the things i have foound lately is the bell tower at St Mark's Lutheran church in Auburn, the welcome bear at the Noble County fairground and a benchmark in Traverse City, Michigan. All of which were done will doing other things. This new way of playing seams to be really working. I doubt if I am going to be getting a lot of FTFs on caches for the next while or be a high number cacher or waymarker but the hobby is getting to be more fun than it has been for a while. I don't really care, I am starting to raise the score on neat things that I am finding. I am rediscovering the reason I got into geocaching in the first place and that was to play with technolgy and find neat things. Kinda simple.

Waymarking and benchmark hunting

The Indiana DNR with the Department of water has set up a bunch of benchmarks throughout Indiana. The database for that is here. I found tow of these benchmarks yesterday and made waymarks out of them. (here and here). They are neat and the database does not have coordinates for them. Since I find them neat, I think I will continue to hunt for them. I have enjoyed benchmark hunting for a while and i don't want to stick to just one database of them. The National geodetic Survey has a good database but they also do not have a list of every benchmark out there. So I will be looking for more benchmarks andmore databases of them so I never have to run out of things to look for. Coolness- life is good.

Hydbrid Hunting

I have been a gps gamer both as Captian Spaulding and "Paws"itraction for a while now. I think the longer I do this, the more divers ways I will do this. It started out just geocaching then i folded benchmarks and waymarks also came in. I am also going GPSr-less with letterboxing. I am really amused with the morphing styles of play. It will be interesting to see how my play changes as new elements are picked up and let go.

Just as a side note, I am starting to get another irratation about micros. I have two travel bugs that I picked up and am having a problem placing because of the lack of bigger caches that can hold them. The one I got because it was in an unknowncache that was not listed and the other was given to me to get moving. I am getting plans to get them moving however. I just wish it was a bit more timely.

Caching has changed

My wife and I have been in geocaching since March of 2003 which puts us in for just over 6 years. Does not mean much except we have been in for a while. It is kinda weird to see how both geocaching and us have both changed over the years. We have gone through phases of being more and less active. We have done different ratios of benchmark hunting and waymarking. We have seen earthcaches becoming the latest fad and then fade a bit. Even the jeep travel bug promos have come and gone. Life changes and so deos everything with it. I am just glad we have found new ways of making it fun and interesting. I don't I am ready to hang the gps up yet.

Winter GPS games

I am kinda surprised that I was able to do as much as Kim and I did over the weekend with GPS games. There were a couple of caches that involved walking in too deep snow for too far that prevent us being able to do them in a fun way so we did not do them. Luckily there was a couple of benchmarks on walls we could find and not have to dig for them. There were waymarks that easily presented themselves to be posted. One cache we actually braved the cold and snow to find. It was not much to get to but it was still frozen to the ground and frozen shut. On top of it, I logged some blog waymarks when I got back so I would not even have to leave the house to claim them. I am a lazy player sometimes but sometimes the weather just does not cooperate I need to find alternate means to play.

Trip to Canada

I wen to Canada to visit my folks for my mom's birthday. I was sitting on some information in my pda and gps so I could go some gps games while on the road. I did not do so bad when you consider my first priority was to visit family. Kim and I got to find a benchmark both in Ontario as well as Michigan. We also found a multi cache in Ontario and did some waymarking.

Some of our activities were as follows so check out the links

Ne 1012
Waymark for NE 1012
Canadian Benchmark
The Leamington Tomato
You are Here


AS a side line note, I was reminded by the fact that we were waymarking in Ontario again that we did a waymark about a war memorial a few years ago (see link) that got referenced by the department of National Defense on this link. I think it is really cool when one of the things I do as a hobby gets ferenced by someone else and we get the credit. I really enjoy finding neat things and sharing the information on it and getting noticed is even nicer.

In the name of the Pizza Lord

Over the last week, Kim and I got to enjoy some of the best Pizza ever!. It is from the New Bethel Ordinary. For a write up about it, check out this waymark. One thing I love about the pizza is how filling it is. One to two slices will fill even the hungriest adult. Yum! I think it was amusing that when we were trying to figure out the logistics of going, we checked out the waymark we had made rather than googling for a website. I look waymarking and using it for the information we need. That's why the website was made.

Speaking of waymarking, I got to enjoy doing some benchmark hunting, geocaching and waymarking. It was nice to get a mix in since I have been finding way too many micro caches lately. Yuck! Micros have their place but a steady diet of them is less than satisfying. Having a mix is a great solution if you are in any kind of rut.

GPS Games Whine

My wife and I have been in gecaching for 5&1/2 years. That is pretty good for us for doing a hobby. Some hobbies we do longer and some we hardly stick around for at all. I think that is the nature of past times. Caching has changed for me. I got in for the caches with nice walks and a lot of them seam to be urban micros now- not my favorite kind of caches. We have been doing waymarks and benchmark hunting but we are past the honeymoon phase with those. too. I think a lot of it is the fact we have been in for a while. Some of it is the fact the hobby has changed. Does not help that the price of gas is hideous and Kim's leg got hurt which really has put a bamper on things. I don't want to sound like I am blaming Kim. Her injury is only one factor and not like she did it on puropose but it still affects things. The real grump is that geocaching is not the fun it once was. I guess it is time to reprioirtize and do the things that give more fun for what I am willing to put into it. Nothing else I can do. Please indulge or ignore this grump as you will. I guess I just wanted to write it up, own it and get rid of it. Much better now.

Cache as Cacher Can

With Kim being off her feet, it has changed how we cache again. It has turned into a solo activity for me. It is a bit different because I have gotten very use to having her along to help find things. It has forced me to start looking better. I don't have that second set of eyes so it is all up to me for finding things. I have been also trying to find things on the fly even more and have not been doing too bad. I actually got to get a string of finds in. I still the company and help that she brings to the hunt.

The Last Few Days

Kim tried going back to work this week and it just did not work out. We got to visit with Torry and that was nice. Also got to see the Embertons. They are great, neat people. I was able to get some rest in as well as some caching, waymarking and benchmark hunting. That was really good for my mental health. It really helped me work off some stress. I also played knightmare chess with Tony Emberton and that helped a lot. I am going to work on having some me time while getting Kim back to health. I can't afford to get burned out. There are some tough times ahead but we are doing a plan of attack and hopefully we can deal with the things ahead. God will provide. It is just scary when you don't see it.

The Hunt Continues

I got to find a benchmark today while running some errands. It really felt good to have some fun with all the stress lately. Things will get easier but for now, it can be a bit much.

Trip To Chicago

We went to Chicago to welcome Elemental Jay home from Iraq. He is a Indiana cacher and friend and it was really freakin' good to see him get his butt home safe and in one piece. WE were also able to getting some gps fun in. We found beverly (GC28) which was really cool. It is the third oldest active cache in the world and the oldest cache east of the Mississppi. Really darn cool. It was an excellent cache to find and really cool to find one that old. It was hid in 2000 which is pretty impressive since we have only been caching since 2003 and the majority of our caches have been archived in that time. We also got to find our first benchmark in Illinois which had the added benefit of being the first rod benchmark we have found. I am rally enjoying seeing all the different kinds of benchmarks. We also got to do some waymarking since the place we went to gather was waymarked. It was a fun weekend but also very tiring from the travel and long late nights.