+Jhwk Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 What has GC.com done for me lately? Well, they added this new feature called cache along a route. Before, folks had to go through all kinds of perturbations to get a decent plan of what caches to visit on a short or long road trip. I, for instance, took a trip last year from my home in MO down to the Gulf Coast along the AL/FL border. Rather than work for two weeks trying to figure out the old cache along a route method, I just downloaded the local caches along the coast and missed the potential caches hidden along the 1000 mile trek. A few months ago, I noticed that most of my finds had occurred within my own state, and the few locations that I travel to on business (not too surprising!). I devised a plan that I would go on a five state cache swing near South-Eastern MO and visit caches in IL, KY, TN, and AR. I kept wrangling with how to choose the route, create the PQ’s, how many to visit, how far apart, how far from the route, etc. etc.. etc… Then, a few weeks ago, I noticed that GC.com had added a caches along a route tool to help folks like me. Now, don’t get me wrong, the tool is not perfect, but it does simplify the process, at least in my mind. I followed the directions on the site (I already had Google Earth) and began building my route. One problem that you will quickly run in to is that Google will only allow you to add a start and end point, no by-way-of stops are allowed. At least I couldn’t figure it out. So I had to end up breaking my trip into five “legs” from MO to SE MO, then on through Southern Illinois, down the West side of Kentucky and Tennessee, and then back across the Mighty Mississippi through Arkansas and on to the house. I then saved these legs as .kml files and used them on GC.com to build PQ’s to find caches along those legs anywhere from 1-2 miles from the route. My final PQ result was 133 caches in five states. I left Friday morning and traveled through St. Louis, down to Cairo, IL, Fulton, KY to Martin, TN for the night. I then finished caching through TN and AR and back to my Home about 6 p.m. last night. All told it was 771 miles and 21 cache finds that I will cherish forever. My wife and I got to spend some very valuable time together, without all of the daily distractions. We met some interesting folks and found quite a few quality caches. And, I got to teach her how to use the GPSr to both navigate on routes, and how to hunt down those elusive caches. Could I have done, say, 100 caches in those two days? Sure, but then my wife would have seen the bad side of my caching addiction. I was in it for the journey this time, more than the numbers. That’s what Geocaching has done for me lately. And you? Quote Link to comment
+Bear Paughs Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 That sounds awesome! I'd love if my husband and I did something like that. Glad you had such a great time. Quote Link to comment
+ThePropers Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 That’s what Geocaching has done for me lately. And you? What has geocaching done for me lately? Well, the most recent thing was a bad case of "wish I would've avoided the stinging nettles" Does that count? Quote Link to comment
+crystalndave Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 WAAAAAAAAAAA <--- Thats me crying..Sniffle.. wish I could forget daily life for a few days!! Sounds like you had an awesome time ! The quality time you had with your wife will be of way more importance than your count! Dave and I love caching equally and we do get out together on Saturdays never without each other. We did about 12 attempts on Saturday but had a lot of fun! Thats what geocaching does for us everytime we go out! In the two months I have been caching I have seen more trails, bugs, and animials than I have in my entire life. I am so happy for you and your wife! Quote Link to comment
+parker313 Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 That's so awesome! That's some pretty country to go caching through, too! My husband has been out of town since I got bit by the geocaching bug, so I can't wait for him to get home (early August, yay!!) to show him how much fun it is! Quote Link to comment
+Jhwk Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Hey Mod - Can we move this over to The Hunt/The Unusual - They may enjoy it more over there. Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 My prep time has dropped to less than 15 minutes for most trips - awesome!! Quote Link to comment
+Quiggle Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Hey Mod - Can we move this over to The Hunt/The Unusual - They may enjoy it more over there. It's your thread, ask and you shall receive.... mostly. Quote Link to comment
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