Countin' Bones is countin' caches

A few months ago I launched this Travel Bug, X400;

(whose name derives from the last 4 characters in it's logging code) with the intention of seeing if cachers who find it can take it to numbered caches in numerical order from 1. So far it has slowly worked it's way to number 3, although it wasn't logged into the cache. So, I figured why not try it myself with a TB that I carry with me, taking photographs at each stop?

Introducing Countin' Bones, who made his first stop today at Dave & Andy's Stationary 1;

I've not shown the actual cache container, so as to avoid giving away the surprise!

Now, where to for a number 2 cache..?



Anyone for a TB race starting in July?

Plans for my knockout Travel Bug race are on hold until the 2009/2010 EmCache TB Race ends, when I'll have more time to devote to it, but in the meantime I've entered the July Travel Bug race at TravelBugBaja and I'm trying to drum up some more entries.

The rules are simple, all you need is a Travel Bug Dog Tag attached to a hitchhiker with wheels. I've used an old Matchbox truck:

The great advantage of this race is that any cacher anywhere in the World can play, because your milage starts from the first cache that you put your Bug into in the three or four days after the race starts on July 12th. This means that cachers from the UK or US or Germany or anywhere else can all compete on equal terms without having to deliver their TB to a specific starting cache or event. Race On!

Anyone for a Travel Bug race?

Followers of my other blog, EmCache Race will be aware of my enthusiasm for Travel Bug races! That particular race has a set finishing date, but has run into various problems due to a lack of foresight regarding the rules prior the start.

I'm thinking of starting a race organised by myself, with the following rules;

1. Only Travel Bug Dog Tags with hitchhikers attached allowed. Reason: Each entry will be equally attractive to viewers of the cache page, and anyone retrieving the TB would receive the same icon. This would stop someone entering an unusual GeoCoin which would attract the attention of icon-hunters.

2. No-one with an entry in the race would be able to move any entry, including their own. Reason: No-one would be able to help their own entry of hinder anyone else's. This would not stop anyone creating one or more sockpuppet-type GC accounts in order to move their own TB along, but hopefully cachers will play the game fairly.

3. Only the first move by a cacher will count. Reason: This will not stop "dippers" from doing their thing, but it does mean that only their first dip counts.

4. All Travel Bugs must have a picture on their page. Reason: So that a "badge" can be made so that the race positions can be easily checked. Help will be given to any cacher unable to upload a picture of their TB.

5. A stolen/lost/muggled TB can be replaced, but the new Bug would start from 0 miles unless the original Dog Tag is found. Reason: Muggling are unfortunately part of geocaching.

Basically my idea is that the race would be a knock-out with the bug with the shortest distance travelled each (period to be determined) would be elimated until only one remains. How this would work is that if 10 Bugs were entered for the race and the race started October 1st, and the time period was determined as 1 month, then the Bug that had travelled the least distance by November 1st would be out, then the least travelled of the 9 remaining Bugs on December 1st would be eliminated until just 1, the winner, remained.

Poolsbrook Park, 10/1/2010

Sunday, so time for a father/daughter bonding experience (a.k.a. geocaching!). Unfortunately due to one reason or another, we didn't have much time so we just popped over to Derbyshire for what was more-or-less a cache-and-dash to find this cache, which I knew would be large enough to drop off the Austin Powers Travel Bug that we had.

A very quick find followed and we were delighted to discover three Travel Bugs in the cache. We took the two most interesting ones and left Powers to "interrogate" the remaining bug.

This picture shows the two TBs, Chicken Run - Rocky and Painted Ponies, along with an item that I can't believe anyone would leave in a cache, a packet of dry-roasted peanuts! I always remove foodstuffs from caches, in case they attract animals that can damage or disturb the cache, although as these nuts were 6 months out-of-date, they had probably been in the cache for a year or so, so maybe they hadn't attracted wildlife, but even so...

Rocky the Chicken had been touring the World for almost 5 years, pretty good for a TB, and was trying to get to Liverpool, whilst the other TB wanted to visit traditional carrousels. Not many of those around here, but I could think of one not too far away.

More Geocaching with Eleanor - 3/1/2010

Eleanor wanted to find larger caches today, hopefully with more swaps in them, so I decided that a trip to Lincolnshire was in order.

First stop was the village of Welbourn where there was a new, unfound cache waiting; Welbourn Treasure Trunk, which according to the cache page contained toys.

Upon arriving at Ground Zero I quickly found a 35mm film canister with carefully hand-painted camouflage. "This doesn't look right" thinks I, and upon opening I knew that it wasn't the cache that we were looking for as it had signatures on the enclosed log dating back almost 2 years!

Nevertheless, I signed the log and returned the cache to it's hiding place, and it was only then that I spotted the actual Welbourn Treasure Trunk only 3 feet away. Our first First-to-Find of 2010! Eleanor chose a water pistol as a swap and left a racing car, and I also dropped in the Prisoner badge trackable from yesterday.

Upon checking GC.com later in the day I was able to pin down the microcache as this archived cache.

The view from up near the cache(s) was pretty good...

After that we headed across to Horncastle and visited a cache in someone's front garden. Yes, really! The cache is question was 'Tis the season at number 34, a huge and generous cache set by The Croft House Cachers. Read the cache page to see how generous this cache is as there are wrapped gifts for each caching team that visits plus a lucky dip for children, and a bag of swaps too. Eleanor chose the gift for us, which turned out to be a fun animal racing game, and her lucky dip gift was an elasticated wooden wonky dog. Thank You and Happy Christmas Croft House Cachers!

We left the Brumby GeoCoin from Silver Birch here and collected this attractive Travel Bug;

Can you guess what it's name is?

That's right, it's Nigel! Nigel's mission is to visit every mainland UK county, so having collected him in Lincolnshire, it's back to Nottinghamshire for Nigel.

On the way home from Horncastle we stopped at two quick cache-and-dashes, The Meaning Of Life which was a good cache but in a terribly stinky area. Not the usual countryside smell, but that foul landfill / dirty Biffa-bin odour. The other cache was Odder-ty (a pun on oddity I presume), another simple find on this cold day, and as previous finders had noted, home to a colony of snails (the hide, not the actual cache container!). Eleanor was happy with the swaps that she made at both of these caches, so she really enjoyed her day out, as did I.

GeoCaching in the snow

Eleanor and I went to Colwick Country Park today to attempt a new series of 14 caches by Carlton cachers Jacaru and Wemnog. As we arrived it began snowing, but we ploughed on anyway. We decided to go around in an anti-clockwise direction starting with Cradled In The Fallen Tree. Despite quite a search we couldn't find the cache so it was on to the next one, Ivy The Fence!, which we found almost immediately, although Eleanor was disappointed that it was a nano, without swaps.

The next one we tried was If You See A Crocodile. We found the crocodile easily...

                                                       

                                                    ...but no cache!

Next we headed on to Parachute Tree, and again despite searching for a good 20 minutes, we couldn't find the cache.

Undeterred, we headed on to Riverside for a simple find (at last!), in fact it was replacing the cache that was tricky here as there were so many muggles around, but we managed it eventually. I left the German Frog Travel Lizard from yesterday here and collected this unusual TB...

                       ...who's mission is to reach Lismore, NSW, Australia.

Our third find of the day was Polo Tree, another simple nano.

From there we found Silver Birch who's hide was to a cacher like a neon sign, being an unnatural looking pile of sticks. I found this great GeoCoin there...

 

...all the way from Australia! It's mission is to collect photographs of horses.

Eleanor (and I, to be truthful) had had enough snow and cold for today, so we headed back to the car, and were surprised to see some people searching around the Ground Zero of Cradled In The Fallen Tree. We introduced ourselves and were delighted to make the acquaintance of Skippy49 and Purplerain1275, especially as they found the cache and immediately handed it over for me to sign. Thank You for the smiley, guys! Eleanor was also happy as she got a bouncy ball from the cache, leaving a clockwork sprout in exchange.

Tomorrow we're planning a trip to Lincolnshire, weather allowing of course!