Category Archives: weather

Where Geocaching takes us…

Posted on April 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

I shot this video a couple weeks ago, merely to reinforce my statement that, for us, it’s all about the experience of geocaching, and not so much about the numbers. This isn’t to say that geocachers who enjoy racking up their number of finds is wrong – not at all. The idea of heading out for the main purpose of increasing my count isn’t out of the question – and while I have tried doing just that, inevitably, our purpose is diverted by an interesting town to explore, reading the text from old headstones at a cemetery find, or just taking in the sights of the surrounding area. Maybe it just comes down to the fact that we’re easily distracted.

The bottom line is, geocaching means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I welcome the chance to talk to other cachers, which is the main purpose of this blog. As always, I encourage your comments and enjoy hearing from others around the world about their experience with geocaching and what it means to them.

It was still pretty gray when this video was made two weeks ago, but with a few rains since and the temperature getting warmer, the trees have been budding and it’s starting to green up already here in Ohio. I’m looking forward to a great caching season – I look forward to your comments.

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Posted in geocache, history, movie, video, weather

GeoWoodstock IX – What a great time!

Posted on July 2, 2011 | 2 Comments

My first GeoWoodstock didn’t disappoint me. I guess in a way I was expecting something different, but I can’t complain about anything. My only real beef had nothing to do with the event itself, but rather the heat and humidity. I was a walking commercial for anti-perspirant – the sweat was rolling off me. Obviously there’s nothing you can do about that, so overall, it was a great day. I was having issues with my cellphone once we got out of the car and on the fairgrounds. I was hoping to meet P.J. from A ‘lil Hoohaa, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I was trying to contact him through Twitter, but alas, no signal.

The vendors had some nice gear and I bought a couple geocoins and geocaching containers. I wanted a GeoWoodstock IX ball cap, but they were sold out. I was told they can be ordered online, so I’ll be doing that soon. I also sat in on a couple of the podcasts going on and it was pretty cool seeing the shows that I watch online occur live in front of me. Gave me a little perspective on how things work for those who report on geocaching.

I tried shooting some video and taking a few photos, but that massive tripod I was lugging around got to be a real nuisance. The heat was making me miserable and shooting video soon became a chore. So I know when I go back and look at what I’ve shot, I’ll get pissed at myself and try to piece together something salvageable from all the crap.

We took six trackables to exchange and brought home six that belong to others. Amazing to have a trackable that has traveled over 42,000 miles. I hope mine travel just as far. My only real request is to have those that find my travel bugs to take a photo of either where it’s found , where it’s dropped or of the geocachers. I have yet had any of those options take place.

So, I understand that GeoWoodstock X will be held in Indiana. Woo Hoo!!! A quick trip across the border and it’s going to be in May of 2012. I hope the weather holds out and it’s not a Spring monsoon. I know I will definitely be attending more than just one day. I feel gipped that I only spent a few hours there today. Next year, I will be better prepared.

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Posted in container, geocache, GeoWoodstock, travel bug, Uncategorized, weather

It’s been awhile…

Posted on May 16, 2011 | 2 Comments

I have been neglecting my blog. I have been preoccupied with work, family issues (in a good way), this ridiculous wet weather and general depression. I get real bummed this time of the year. All the rain seems to dampen my spirits in various ways. It’s during this time that I think of my mother – she passed away in April of 2003 and this time of the year always brings me down. I miss her terribly – I was close to her. And even though I visit her in my mind frequently, I long to hear her voice just one more time.

The rainy weather has really been effecting me as well. I’ve always heard that it’s rainy in Seattle or in Great Britain – I don’t know if that’s true or not, but what I do know is I would be a stark raving lunatic if I had to put up with this shit on a regular basis. Without fail, whenever we actually do have a promise of sunshine, it inevitably rains when I am getting off work, or every weekend. I have tried to just deal with it while I’m out caching, but ultimately, I get pissed off and my day is ruined.

This past weekend was the first time I have been out to geocache in weeks. Saturday was spent completing two tasks – seeking ancestors and a little caching along the way. My wife and I headed out to a cemetery that she determined was the final resting place of several members of my family. Through ancestory.com and findagrave.com, she zeroed in on my 5th generation grandfather who passed away in 1850. Amazingly, I found out by reading his gravestone that he was a Baptist Deacon. I am born and raised Catholic, so at some time in our past, we made the conversion to Catholicism.

Find A Grave
So this website, findagrave.com is an interesting service. I think it’s a good marriage of two similar activities, that of geocaching and helping others on findagrave.com find their family. This website is a great resource for those into genealogy. One of the things that my wife and I have been volunteering with, is to photograph gravestones in the various cemeteries we are caching in. Through findagrave.com, people seeking their ancestors will request a photo to be taken of related grave markers. As a contributor, you complete their request and upload the photo to the website. This service has been a great help to us as we trace our heritage. Since we’re already in the cemetery, it only takes a few extra minutes to take a photo of a gravestone – and those receiving the photos are very grateful.

Twitter
I am constantly reading twitter posts of various geocaching individuals and related businesses. I enjoy reading them – there’s a lot of great information out there whether it’s a business selling geocoins or GPS units, or just an individual sharing their caching experiences. I am envious of my twitter friends … having the opportunity to be out there day after day, seeking and find those caches. I don’t know what it’s gonna take to bring me out of this depression. We all have the same amount of time – yet I feel as though I am so tied down with obligations, that it holds me back from doing what I want to do. If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears.

I guess it will eventually fall into place – I just need some motivation, time and some sunshine!

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Posted in cemetery, family, geocache, geocoin, history, weather

Starting to Get Spring Fever…

Posted on March 5, 2011 | 4 Comments


Last weekend, I took advantage of the brief warm spell we had and painted up several containers that I bought earlier this winter. With the temperature at nearly 60 degrees, I wanted to get a jump on a few projects. It’s been a long, hard winter and I have a bad case of spring fever. It was somewhat strange to have a 60 degree day and still have all this snow on the ground.

I bought several red, plastic first aid containers at Dick’s Sporting Goods. They were will filled with bandaids, gauze and alcohol wipes. I have seen these online selling for nearly $8.00, like here at REI – way too much for a few bandaids. I was lucky to only pay $2.99 each. Really nice hinged container with a rubber seal to keep out the moisture.

I also bought a camouflage paint kit that worked out well in preparing these containers. Once I have some additional free time, I have several metal ammo cans that I would love to paint up and hide. But for now, these will work out great. I also painted up a few waterproof match containers. These also have the rubber seal to keep out moisture.

Seems as though the transition has started with our weather. We’ve been having 40 to 50 degree days more often and it’s been raining more than snowing. Only 15 days until Spring arrives – it can’t come any sooner for me.

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Posted in camouflage, container, weather