P.O. Box puzzles

[E_barker728]

I am somewhat new to geocaching. I have been trying to figure out how the post office caches work.. but I can't seem to grasp the concept. Help would be appreciated, thanks!

[+K13]

Ive never heard of a post office cache. Can you provide a GC code or a link to the cache?

[+on4bam]

Letterbox?

[+The GeoSpy]

Ive never heard of a post office cache. Can you provide a GC code or a link to the cache?

P.O. Box caches are a type of puzzle cache. To find the coordinates for the final stage, geocachers have to go to the Post Office that the puzzle corresponds to, and use the clues on the cache page to find certain boxes. Then, the cachers can preform a simple calculation with the numbers, add that to the coordinates, and find the cache. The first P.O. Box cache was P.O. Box – Bel Air. A few of my P.O. Box caches are P.O. Box Wabasso and P.O. Box Vero Beach #1. If you have any more questions, just let me know.

[+jellis]

I find this odd. The OP is new with no finds.

[+cerberus1]

I find this odd. The OP is new with no finds.

+1

Even weirder (to me) is that it's okay to wander around inside a government building (post office), looking for clues by checking others box numbers.

[+dprovan]

Even weirder (to me) is that it's okay to wander around inside a government building (post office), looking for clues by checking others box numbers.

What's weird about going into a public building?

[+cerberus1]

Even weirder (to me) is that it's okay to wander around inside a government building (post office), looking for clues by checking others box numbers.

What's weird about going into a public building?

You wouldn't think it odd enough to say something to the post master if three people were standing in front of your PO box, scribbling "something" down on paper?

[+cheech gang]

Even weirder (to me) is that it's okay to wander around inside a government building (post office), looking for clues by checking others box numbers.

What's weird about going into a public building?

You wouldn't think it odd enough to say something to the post master if three people were standing in front of your PO box, scribbling "something" down on paper?

 

It is okay if it is Publishers Clearing House figuring out which box to send the winnings to.

[+TriciaG]

You wouldn't think it odd enough to say something to the post master if three people were standing in front of your PO box, scribbling "something" down on paper?

Maybe they'd think it odd behavior, but I see nothing wrong with it. It's about as odd as finding clues in library books.

 

There aren't names or addresses on PO boxes; it's just a wall with numbers on it. *shrug*

[+cerberus1]

You wouldn't think it odd enough to say something to the post master if three people were standing in front of your PO box, scribbling "something" down on paper?

Maybe they'd think it odd behavior, but I see nothing wrong with it. It's about as odd as finding clues in library books.

 

There aren't names or addresses on PO boxes; it's just a wall with numbers on it. *shrug*

Odd then that when I first started as a state constable, thinking I'd fly under radar, not cause a scene by not introducing myself to the PM, every time I looked at boxes for a person I was gonna arrest, someone asked me if I needed help, followed by the pm shortly after.

Didn't matter if I was in a city or small town either.

Finally I just went to the counter and asked.

Edited July 5, 2015 by cerberus1

[+dprovan]

You wouldn't think it odd enough to say something to the post master if three people were standing in front of your PO box, scribbling "something" down on paper?

I seriously doubt anyone would notice. I rarely run into anyone in a post office to begin with, and if I did run into anyone while solving a PO box puzzle and I thought they were curious, I'd just explain it to them. No big deal.

 

Odd then that when I first started as a state constable, thinking I'd fly under radar, not cause a scene by not introducing myself to the PM, every time I looked at boxes for a person I was gonna arrest, someone asked me if I needed help, followed by the pm shortly after.

Just because you were doing something that actually was violating people's privacy doesn't mean it's bad for geocachers to do something that has nothing to do with anyone.

 

Anyway, worst case, some official or LEO comes over to question me, and I tell them what I'm doing. They can't arrest me for being in a public building for a few minutes while not causing any trouble.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

 

Anyway, worst case, some official or LEO comes over to question me, and I tell them what I'm doing. They can't arrest me for being in a public building for a few minutes while not causing any trouble.

 

That can still be an uncomfortable situation. I tried telling a couple of LEOs last week after they stopped me shortly after I had found a cache. They were plain clothes polizia in Rome and didn't speak English and I don't speak Italian. It probably took 15-20 minutes before they finally returned my identification and let me go on my way.

 

 

[+dprovan]

Anyway, worst case, some official or LEO comes over to question me, and I tell them what I'm doing. They can't arrest me for being in a public building for a few minutes while not causing any trouble.

That can still be an uncomfortable situation. I tried telling a couple of LEOs last week after they stopped me shortly after I had found a cache. They were plain clothes polizia in Rome and didn't speak English and I don't speak Italian. It probably took 15-20 minutes before they finally returned my identification and let me go on my way.

I would be more worried about tracking down a PO cache in a foreign country, as much because I wouldn't know the legal situation as because I wouldn't be able to communicate with LEOs.

 

But, having read your description of that event in another thread, I have to say your example doesn't really argue against PO caches. It sounds like an amazing and memorable adventure, not something that should be avoided. After all, you were looking for a straightforward cache, so the only way to avoid your experience would be to not cache at all in foreign countries. Never mind PO caches...

 

But anyway, in the US, I've never had a problem with LEOs. In fact, my biggest problem with LEOs so far are the times they've started to help look for the cache, sometimes leading to me looking longer that I would have because I can't really walk away after they've offered to help.