There is an event scheduled that seems to indicate that the ET highway is back.

Alien Search Party – The 2nd Invasion!

I love the idea that geocaching can be an important part of the local economy I just wish the caches were a little more interesting.  Everyone plays the game differently I guess.

There could have been a movie tie in here with Aliens and Cowboys coming out soon.

Related posts:

1. ET Phone Home … or NDOT

While the ET Highway series are not my favourite kind of geocache I find it very interesting that geocaching can have a meaningful impact in a local economy.  I did some research last year and one community that was part of a geocaching trail saw a $250,000 direct impact as a result of the geocaching trail.

It will not be long now before geocaching is used by local economic development departments as a way to drive visitors.  The key will be to place quality caches.  The temptation to do it cheaply or without the proper experience will be very strong.  There is no doubt that organizations will be placing caches for their own purposes.  I just hope these organizations hire an experienced geocaching consultant.

If there are any tourism or economic development departments out there I’ll be happy to discuss your project with you

No related posts.

Here are some things to look for if you are introducing a family with children to geocaching:

1. Pick regular or large container sizes.  Kids like to exchange swag.  It’s the treasure they are after.  Be sure and bring ample amounts to trade.
2. Look for a group of caches in a neighbourhood park or a local conservation area.  Don’t make the trip to the caches so long that the kids get bored before they get there.  Shoot for 3-4 caches in 1-2 hours.  Longer trips are possible but you might want to save those until the muggles turned geocachers get a little hooked.
3. You probably don’t want to try for anything to difficult either physically or hard to find.  Save the 5/5 for an adventure day.  Build up the difficulty once the new players have demonstrated an understanding of how to find a cache.
4. Look for attributes that indicate this cache hunt won’t pose too much of a challenge for younger players.  Here’s a few attributes I’d look for:
   1. Recommended for kids
   2. Less than an hour
   3. Short hike
   4. Parking Available
   5. Restrooms nearby (the little ones don’t always think in advance)
   6. Winter Friendly, these tend to be off the ground reducing the amount of leaves that need to be moved thus keeping everyone a little cleaner.
   7. Stroller Accessible if the kids are very small
   8. Parking available, road-side parking is not ideal for kids
5. Search for “kid” in the cache name, this isn’t a sure fire way to find kid friendly caches but it can help.

If you are the kind of person that likes to introduce people to geocaching you might want to set up a bookmark list of the caches in your area that you’d recommend for newbies.  A little preparation in advance makes it a lot easier later.

Related posts:

1. Is Parking Available?
2. Maintain Your Caches!

Is visiting your cache every once in a while important?  You betcha!  I learned this the hard way this weekend.  I have a cache close to home.  I actually pass by it quite regularly but I didn’t think I had any reason to stop in and check on it.   The cache was placed on October 24, 2009.  I thought I was reading the logs as they come in, apparently I was not reading them well enough.

I saw a log yesterday that said the log was too wet to sign so they put in some fresh paper.    With the cache so close to home I decided to drive over and have a look.  I emailed the person that found my cache to ask if they were sure it was mine as my cache is very weather resistant.  They were certain that it was.   On arriving at the cache if found my original log book was there and it was fine.  Some more emails were exchanged and the finder even sent me a picture of the wet log.  Something odd was going on so back I went to check things out.  That’s when I discovered what had happened.

In looking at the online logs I see that a number of people had made comments about a damp log.  I was certain my log would not be that damp as it is in a watertight container.  I don’t know why but I did not pay near enough attention to these comments.  I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t.   When I went to look the second time I found out what was going on.  A helpful cacher thought that the log was missing, it wasn’t, so they added their own piece of paper.  Future cachers found this piece of paper and assumed it was the correct log.   The correct log is inside a plastic matchbox inside the outer container.

The lesson I learned here is that you need to pay special attention to any log that seems even remotely unexpected for your cache.  I was lucky in that this cache is close to home and I can easily maintain it.  I’ll be paying special attention to future log entries!

Related posts:

1. (spoiler) Latest Cache
2. How Much of a Hint
3. Pay off for placing a cache

First and foremost consider carpooling.  If your cache is likely to be in an area that will attractive for group outings provide details on the best carpooling locations.  I’ve found many times that there is limited parking at a trailhead.   There may be a larger parking area a short distance away.  Have most vehicles park there and carpool to the trailhead.   You could apply a similar logic for linear trails where it makes sense to park vehicles at both ends of the trail.  It’s helpful to provide child waypoints for parking at a number of sections on linear trails.

Urban

The biggest parking hassle when urban caching can be just finding the parking spot!  If you are local to the area you are hiding your cache it is nice to provide suggestions on low cost parking or parking lots that tend to have spaces.  I prefer to plan my day such that I remove as many time variables as I can.  I don’t mind walking five minutes from a parking lot that tends to have space if it helps me avoid 20 minutes of searching for on street parking.  The nearest parking spot is not always the best or even available.  You can avoid parking hassles all together by taking public transit

Suburban

Local parkettes typically do not provide their own parking lots.  This means parking on the street.  If you’ve ever cached on a Sunday morning in a residential neighbourhood you know how out-of-place your car can look.   I’ve been stared down a few times when I getting out of my car.  Those little boxes we carry in order to find geocaches are always trying to get us to go straight for the cache.   Sometimes there is a parking lot around a corner or at a nearby facility that will do well to make your vehicle look less obvious.   I have a cache along a nice suburban trail but there is no parking.  The developers assumed you’d live in the neighbourhood if you were using the trails (they’d obviously never heard of geocaching).  I prefer to bike these trails. For some reason cycling tends to draw less attention that parking.   You also have to watch out for streets that only allow parking on one side.  Adding this kind of info to your cache listing might make the neighbours less suspicious.

Rural

Roadside parking scares me to death.   Unlike urban and suburban environments rural areas are not pedestrian friendly.   That fence post might  look like a great place for a cache but where will the cacher park?  If roadside parking is the only option for your cache make sure there are good sight lines.   There is nothing worse than coming over a hill and finding a car parked at the side of the road.

I’ve been to many trail systems in rural areas where there is no parking at the trailhead.   Let’s leave aside the idiocy of that decision.  If your trailhead doesn’t have parking you should suggest some suitable alternate locations.  Perhaps it’s best to enter the trail from another location, even it means a longer walk to the cache.  Getting outside is part of the fun for me at least.

I suppose because I’ve done these group outings I’m sensitive to parking issues.   It is also helpful to use the negative parking attribute on your cache listing if parking is not available.  More information is always better than less.

Related posts:

1. Coffin Found
2. Property Owner Meetings
3. GRCA Geocaching Policy Details