Geowoodstock lost.

Well I was getting all exited for heading up to Geowoodstock.  I was looking forward to spending time with lackeys and with friends that I had made on the internet and with PeanutsParents. I was slow at getting everything set up because of the cost and things going on at home (ie trying to pay bills)

Then I decided.. I am going home tonight and buying tickets. Yep.. that is what I am doing... buying tickets. Then on the way home young lady pulled out into traffic and smashed my little car.  I knew I could not buy tickets, but I held off for as long as I could.

The realization hit me last night that this years events had passed me by. Gone.

<sigh>

Well maybe next year.

Podcast mania

I spent a fair amount of time this week trying to listen to the different geocaching podcasts. This week they were so so.  I was listening to last weeks as well.  I have the ability at work to download them and stick them in my ear while I work.  It is far better than sitting and listening to the same songs over and over

Podcacher has came to be my favorite.  They talk about a few of everything. I listened to show 273 called Invasion, Fire Tacks and a Big Green Frog.  They are interesting.  Cover a number of subjects.  It was not one of  the better ones, however this last one is Show 274: Geocachers Vs Plants.  There was a great idea that one area had about using geocachers that were out in the woods to locate and identify noxious weeds that are growing in the area.   The full article is located Here.  A few other ideas were thrown in there.

Geocaching podcast was a bit different this week.  For some reason that I missed the guys did not get together and just one of them did this weeks program.  It was on Leave No Trace and geocaching.  I completed the training to be a Leave No Trace Trainer a few years ago.  Though I am not rabid like some, there are a large number of Leave no Trace principles that apply to geocaching.  I have thought about writing more about Leave no Trace and coming up with a training program that is specific to the geocaching program.

I am just starting to listen to todays and it has Jenn  as a guest.  Jenn is one of the great people from the Lillypad in Seattle.  I have had a few phone calls with her.  So I look forward to listening to her discuss geocaching.

I listened to this a bit.  They only broadcast once a month.  I had wanted to listen to a geocaching podcast from nearby.  They are as close as possible.  Unfortunately there is not one locally, and I am not sure that it is a good idea for me to put one together, but in the end I decided that it was not a great idea.  Maybe someday when I am done with the reviewing idea.

Well that is it for the day. Heading off to listen to Geocaching Podcast.  I will post a bit more about it later.  Go Jenn  :D

The good the bad and the ugly.

Well here goes the story for the week.  I packed up with a group of young men and headed to Maple Dell for my scout camp.  It was going to be rough, eating food and letting the scouts do all the work, but someone has to do it.

There was a lot to do to get ready, medical forms, getting a physical (weee).  So much to do and so little time.

I did finally get everything together.  I about forgot to actually get someone to look over the Utah Queue.  At the last second I send out some feelers to HighCountryAdmin, one of the greatest reviewers of all time, all hail his name.  I actually have to say that.  I think it was part of the contract of having him train me.  I must always point out how fantastic he is.  He would be to have to put up with me.

After a long day saturday I headed up to the mountain with the boys.  Everything went well.  I did take the time to get out and see a few things.  I showed a few of the boys a micro that was at the entrance.  Not a great one, but placed by one of my favorite cachers Cervine Girls.  She has worked at this camp for a number of years.  Due to a series of events she is at another camp this year.  That kind of depressed me.  But it was fun anyway.

Well the time at camps was pretty well spent.  Arrival is full of many duties that entail, looking lost, lifting lots of heavy stuff, wondering if you will have the courage to use the outhouses after you smell them, and wondering if you can actually sneak away and get a cache.

Well that night we headed up to do a service project around the lake.  Great view.

We spend a few hours caching around the lake.  Of course what could be more fitting when looking for trash than trying to find a cache.  When everyone was settled down and waiting to go home I broke away and headed up into the trees to find a cache left by a scout troop.   

Troop 68 Rocks Layson Lakes  has been around for 4 years.  Not bad.  Seems like most that i have found are 2 years old or less.

It was a hundred yards off the trail and up in the weeds.  It was pretty easy to spot.  There are not many rocks in the area, they must have scavanged to find the few that they used.  But the big one on top.. not really heave but a little kid would not have mored. it.  

Nothing much inside, but then I do not pay attention to that.  It is too much work and too much pain for me to worry about the contents.  After finding it I scrambled back and we headed down to camp. 

Later in the week thrusday night four of us headed for a walk.  There are a ton of caches placed by Baldin Eagle about scouts.  I have spent a ton of time solving them, and have a few more to go.  A few have me really stumped, but I will get them sooner or later.  I am missing something obvious.  We did stop and get Citizinship in the Community.  They are a bunch of puzzles that are in the shape of a scout symbol.  Really cool.  I have done a few dozen (or less), I passed a number, but we were hiking with youth and did not want to spend the day looking for caches with boys that may not want to.

After my trip home and looking over my reviewing queue I had a bunch of issues that I had to deal with.  Too many people did not get my auto response that I am out of town.  If you sent an email to me and used geocaching.com and did not select the button to include your email address, you thought I was ignoring you.  It was not the case, a few I should have dealt with earlier, but I had not taken the time.

Then last night as things were getting back to normal and I was going home to buy tickets to geowoodstock and back, a young lady pulled out, and into the side of my car.  :P  so now I am without car.  Well I can play Dukes of Hazard and go in and out the window, but I am not 22 anymore.  Plus my car is small and it is tricky to wiggle behind the seat.

Munched door and some of the frame.  So we will see what happens.

MIA

I was missing for a week.. I had not forgotten and will follow up soon.