January 1 - Final Draft (2.4 mb pdf file): Final
Bellingham Cache Machine Route
January 1 - Bookmark List:
Final Cache Machine Bookmark List
Check here for late-breaking information, hotel recommendations,
and general chatter: Bellingham
Cache Machine Forum Thread
Fill up the tank, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early
o'clock, and meet at the above coordinates (
A little cache between you and your coffee) at sunrise on
Saturday, 7:15 a.m.
If you're still out on the road at dinner time (6:00 p.m.), skip
the rest of the route and come on in. Socializing at dinner is one
of the best parts of machine events!
As before, if you find the cache, you'll be
the one who has to re-hide it. Hide it as well as you found
it.
If it's a micro cache, one "Bellingham Cache Machine" log entry
should suffice for the group. We tend to fill up log books too
quickly, and our stickers tend to make micro log books hard to
re-stash. For normal-sized caches, or even large micros, everyone
should sign in.
Bring FRS radios if you’ve got them. We’ll use Channel 2 to
communicate among caching vehicles and to say 'Howdy' to listening
locals. Suggestions and "Count me ins" are welcome below. If you’ve
already found a couple of these caches, that’s fine - give us a
chance to find the cache, and then we may turn to you for a
hint.
Be sure to put this on your watch list
now, so you'll be the first to know about changes and updates as
the big day approaches! A "will attend" note here or on the
companion thread in the Northwest forum will be greatly appreciated
in order to help plan the dinner locations for our big
group!
Working on
The Washington DeLorme Challenge? The Cache Machine route
will take you through pages 108 and 109 of the DeLorme atlas. You
can also grab the pesky page 107 with a visit to Point Roberts,
about 35 minutes beyond the Peace Arch border crossing.
To ensure an easy crossing at the border, bring either a
passport or birth certificate plus a picture ID (driver's licence),
and tune your radio to AM 1130 for accurate border-crossing wait
times broadcast every 10 minutes. There are currently 5 active
caches available at Point Roberts -- do a search using zip code
98281.
If you want further information about caching Point Roberts or
crossing the border, email Half-Canadian through my profile
page.
The Bellingham Cache Machine FAQ:
When is it?
7:15 a.m., Saturday, January 7, 2006. Latecomers can track us down
en route.
Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or
what?
We start the day as one giant group, which means we'll hopefully
find each cache quickly. Then it's on to the next one. The group
tends to fragment after the first few caches, though. The longer we
can keep the big group together, the more fun it is!
Is anything going on before, during, or after?
- There will be a pre-CM dinner at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 6,
at El Cazador Mexican Grill & Cantina,
N48° 47.400 W122° 29.066, 190 E.
Bakerview (one block east of Meridian, driveway entrance on east
side of building). Menu offerings include all the usual tasty
Mexican fare, along with some specialty items. Menu prices for most
items around $10.00, full bar available.
- The WSGA 48 North Chapter will set up a mid-morning coffee and
cookie stop at N48° 47.215 W122° 28.934,
the location of new cache GCRTC6
Chain Store No More
- Dinner on Saturday will be 6:00 p.m., at Quarterback Pub &
Eatery, N48° 43.850 W122° 28.369, across
the shopping centre's parking lot from our morning starting point.
They have agreed to seat our large group (+/- 100 people) with a
more limited selection from their large menu. Offerings will
include burgers, sandwiches, soup and salads, and appys at prices
under $10.00. Kids are OK until 9:00 p.m. GOOD NEWS!! Thanks to the
Washington voters, this (and all other similar establishments) will
be smoke-free by the date of the cache machine!!
- Sunday -- You're on your own to clean up the caches you
missed!
A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park.
Let me know, and I'll incorporate it into the route.
It sounds fun, but I've already found some of them.
Then come laugh at us, or guess when we'll be at the caches you
haven't hit yet. Monitor FRS channel 2.
You don't have X cache on the route. Why aren't we getting
that one?
I'll be avoiding longer multicaches, complex puzzle caches, caches
that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner
has asked us to avoid.
You have X cache on the route, but it's
disabled/archived.
Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or
will check with the owner (if disabled).
X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area.
By all means, let me know. I'll work with the cache owner to
minimize our impact, or skip the cache altogether.
I disagree with the whole idea of cache machines. I don't
want you finding my cache.
Sorry to hear that. It's too bad you've got a neat place to show us
that we won't be able to see. Let me know, and I'll remove it from
the route.
What's this gonna cost me?
Nothing for the caching. Or, at least, nothing more than it would
cost than if you did the trip solo (e.g., paying for your own gas,
hotel, and dinner). I'm not collecting any money for this.
Lunch? Breaks? Bathrooms?
Lunch: You should probably bring a sack lunch to eat on the
road.
Breaks and Bathrooms: There's no breaks in cache machines!
 If you are a geocacher in
the state of Washington, please join the Washington State
Geocaching Association. This is a great way to get the most
out of geocaching in our region. Simply go to geocachingwa.org for
details! |
