KBI: I visited the cache site today, and ... wow. That dadgum tree grows FAST!! (Fast is good in NASCAR, right?)
There are many issues here, and as a result I have decided to permanently retire this cache:
(1) The tree has grabbed the container and will not let go. That’s right: somehow the little plastic container ended up in a hole at the top of the large chest-high horizontal branch to which it was leashed, and the tree has grown around and over it. I tried to chisel away enough wood to pull it out, but it quickly became obvious that to do so would require causing more damage to the tree than I was willing to inflict (and probably with a chainsaw, which most likely wouldn’t go over very well in this quiet little neighborhood park.) If the tree wants my cache container that bad, it can keep it.
(2) The adjacent field has been fenced off from all sides, apparently to allow the grass to recover from the heavy trampling of park visitors. I had to clamber around the end of one of the fences – in violation of a posted sign – just to get to the cache site. No indication when the field will be publicly accessible again.
(3) The cache is quite a ways from my house, and frankly the convenience-to-fun factor has dropped to the point that it’s not worth maintaining any more.
(4) The cache has been active for over two years. I have several ideas for new caches that I want to hide, and I want to keep my active cache total down to a manageable and maintainable level This one has had a good run.
(5) I’m a HUGE Jeff Gordon fan, and I believe this is the year he is finally going to score his fifth Cup championship, which would invalidate the next-to-last question. Well okay, not really ‘invalidate’ it, but I would have to re-word the question, and ... well, maybe not even that, but it seems like a nice way to commemorate the Drive for Five ... when it happens ... IF it happens ... okay, that’s not a reason for archiving the cache at all, it’s just that Gordon is dominating the points race right now, and I wanted to rub it in for all the anti-24 folks out there ... [:D]
Now that the cache is archived I have modified the description to include the answers to the quiz questions for anyone who might be interested. The answers are in bold -- and by the way, that last number should be zero, NOT "43." It won't let me edit the text now that I've pushed the big red ARCHIVE button. Oh well ...
If anyone out there can figure out how to convince that tree to release its grip, let me know ... and if you somehow manage to do so, and if you haven’t logged the cache yet: help yourself to a smiley! [:D]