In Lieu of Micros Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Not a micro!
In the summer of 2004, my husband (Geocache Ferrets) and I were searching for dinosaur tracks in southern Utah. We met a group of people and they asked “Are you Geocachers?” MMMM? “What is geocaching?” we asked. They began telling us this wonderful tale of a game where you used a GPS to find hidden treasure. “Just go to geocaching.com and check it out!” (BTW: this was Moosemob, who gave us his card and later sent us one of his coins) Now, Ferrets, he started looking everywhere for this hidden box of treasure, although we did not have a GPS. Of course we did not find it; although we did find the dinosaur tracks.
We returned to Asotin, discovered geocaching and have been hooked ever since. We love to get out in the woods, get some exercise and find that treasure. As someone has so succinctly put it, “I want to trade my junk for your junk!” Of course, you don’t always have to get an item to find the treasure. We followed the Civil War from Nashville, Tennessee to Atlanta, Georgia one summer. While there may not have been a lot of ammo boxes along the way, we “discovered” battlefields and learned facts that we would not have found if it were not for geocaching. We have located geological oddities and ghost towns in our pursuit of the perfect cache.
All this said, we are still hunting the elusive “treasure” be it key chains, coins, TB’s, or just someone else’s “junk” To us, the smiley is not the important part of caching. We cache for the “prize” Be it knowledge, location or dollar store stuff. No, we don’t always take something. We have been known to fill up somewhat empty caches with our own swag--the better the find for the next cacher! And if you own a cache, PLEASE go out occasionally and make sure there is something in it! Those of us who hunt for the “prize” are disappointed when we find none.
Lately the Lewis-Clark valley has become a haven for a plethora of micros! Yes, micros have their place and some people love the challenge of finding an itty bitty something hidden in a pile of rocks! I especially like the clever micros: the extra nut and bolt on a roadside sign, the little something that just doesn’t fit. However, when I drive my car up a mountain and walk 100 yards into the woods only to find a film canister in a pile of leaves, I am sorely disappointed. In my way of thinking, if it ain’t going to be muggled and there is room for even a small lock and lock, don’t throw out a micro! Something a coin or TB might fit into!
I have not geocached very much this summer because it seems that every new cache is a micro. I’m not into numbers or the number of smileys! In fact, I told Ferrets that I was thinking of giving up the sport--nothing but micros out there. I wish that geocaching.com had a way to sort caches by size so I did not have to go through a hundred micros to find one “treasure” cache.
I think of geocaching as a family sport. I love to introduce kids of any age to the sport. But what will excite my 9 year old grandson-to be more: a matchbox car or maybe a McDonald Toy, or an itsy bitsy piece of paper he can sign his name to?
So, this cache is for those of you who, like me, adhere to the original ideas of geocaching (come on, a can of beans will not fit into a micro!) and want to get out into nature, maybe hike a bit and find something that both you and your children, or grandchildren will enjoy. I promise to the best of my ability to keep the cache full of stuff and if you ever find it not so, please write me a note and I will run up and remedy the situation!
Enjoy!
Congratulations to cumminscachers for FTF!!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Whfg nsgre "vg'f Pbbyre va gur Oyhrf" gnxr ebnq 160, naq urnq hc gbjneq "Gbc B'Pnova" Lbh jvyy svaq vg n fubeg jnl sebz gur ebnq haqre n ybt.