A mystery cache in honour of my geocaching
buddy Rick, a.k.a., RPW.
Congratulations to the ONLY finder
Joypa
Rick and I have been cache-hunting together since March 2003.
However, Rick's interest in Geocaching predates that by about a
year, when he found his first cache without the use of a GPS unit.
I discovered his interest shortly after I had started Geocaching by
looking through old e-mails and discovering that he was interested
in the activity. When I discovered that he still was interested, I
sold him my old unit (a Garmin Venture) at about 1/2 price and
bought a new GPSr. (I upgraded to a Garmin Legend.) We have found a
lot of caches together since then.
One thing that you show know about Rick is that he is truly a
man of many talents. He works as a systems manager/senior
programmer at Purdue University, but he has also pursued graduate
work in biochemistry. It takes a pretty smart fellow to
handle both types of knowledge as it could rotate someone
else around 180 degrees. He can talk on a variety of topics
from his work to... well, almost anything else.
He also loves board games, and not just simple games like
Monopoly or in-depth analysis games like Chess, but also games with
many complex interacting rules. Indeed, he manages to play these
games while also keeping the score. He isn't too big of a
fan of spectator sports, but he does manage to catch a Purdue
football game every year, especially if it's the BIG GAME of the
season. (I think that he might like professional football if he
gives it a chance.)
In April 2005, Rick, Paul (another one of our geo-buddies), and
I went cache-hunting around Indianapolis. Instead of hitting a
bunch of easy caches, we concentrated on puzzle caches. I was quite
giddy with this. Indeed, we worked on the puzzle for one cache
(A
Vintage Baudot), and so excited at solving this during
lunch at Cracker Barrel that he decided that he would set up
a puzzle
cache in my honour. Upon discovering this and being the
first-to-find, I declared that there would be revenge... er,
reciprocation at some point.
So I have decided to make a puzzle cache for Rick... and for the
rest of you.
Another thing to know about Rick is that he is rather flexible
and contemplative. When we are out on the trail, if the GPSr is
pointing towards a particular spot, he then figures out the best
path to the cache, unlike me who tends to be more direct. However,
his navigation skills do not always translate to the roadways.
Indeed, several times has he pointed us down the wrong road when
driving towards a cache site. It is almost as if he were using an
alternative set of coordinates, or reading the map from a different
perspective.
When we go out cache-hunting together, our conversations cover a
whole host of topics, from chemistry, games, particle physics, etc.
Naturally we converse about codes as our mutual interest in puzzle
caches almost always leads to that topic. As part of my
reciprocation, I am using roughly same kind of encryption of the
cache's actual location. While an alternative script may be more
appropriate, for those who dare to decode this while out on the
hunt, I've had to settle for a more readable format as follows:
OeFpF vASrF pMaNy GrPyT nXIAP nFLPn
OeFpS
rFpIA OeArI AGrPy SrFpZ bArPe YvPnF OeArL PnIAO
eFpPb ArIAG rPyFp PyFpP yFvAL PnLPn FeFPnF
As Rick is more or less the person who introduced me to many of
my favourite board games, he is one of the few people that I look
up to. It does help in that he is roughly 193 cm in height.
:-)
As he and I go cache hunting, we tend to race a bit to see who
finds the cache first. Often the race goes down to the wire on our
hunts. However, in the geocaching community, he is a rather
gracious supporter, often performing many of the hosting duties at
event without looking for credit. While with his height he stands
out at events, his contributions tend to blend in, and so many of
us are grateful for his efforts.
First finder's prize: To start off the cache, there is a
one-half ounce bag of pure gold! (It's not real, but I use it as a
signature item.) However, there are three coins in the cache which
are the base units of their respective monetary systems. Take one
of these as the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd finder's prize. The cache is small
in size, thus there is not much space for trade items.
All of the hints needed to solve the puzzle are contained in the
description of Rick given above: who he is, what his interests are,
what he does from time to time, and what he might like to do. Some
tidbits about Rick above will help in solving the puzzle, while
other tidbits should help you find the cache itself. It shouldn't
be too hard to find once you have the location determined, but the
puzzle will probably be difficult to figure out. There is no need
to go to the listed co-ordinates. They are of the location of where
Rick "works"; i.e. the place that pays him while he messes
around with the computer all day. :-)