New Puppy

They where born on 6/16/09. The mother had a little of 4 males and 1 female. We finally got a photo of them at two day's old. Now we have to wait 8 week's till we can go up and pick up our pup. It's a Shiba Inu breed. Here's the picture of the males.




The one we are getting is the one that look's like he's laying on top of two others. I think he may be the runt of the litter, but that's the one that PJ really want's. Also here's a picture of the female.



She's a little cutie too.

We have been looking for a Shiba Inu for what seems like forever. We found one a while back at a pet store, which I wasn't too keen about getting another dog from a pet store. I don't know why but it seems getting one from a pet store are much harder to train. Our pug is a great example. He's a great dog, and has been great as PJ ruff houses with him a lot and he's never snapped at him at all. But the price tag on the one at the pet store was 1300 dollar's. Forget that!!!

We found a breeder on the net, and since this is a newer breed to the U.S. is why we have had such a hard time finding one. But the breeder is in Iowa and about a 3 hour drive from us. We are getting pretty excited about getting him and now we need to come up with a name for him. If you ask PJ it would be Bolt after the cartoon movie. I kind of want to name him Manson after Marylin Manson. Or I thought Noose after the guy in The nightmare before x-mas. Who knows yet.

I'm really hoping I can get him trained to go caching with me. Our pug can't take the heat, since pug's can easily get dehydrated, I've been leary about taking him out.

I would give a plug to the breeder we are getting him from be he's told us don't e-mail him with Shiba Inu in the subject line. He said they are in high demand right now. But this breeder and his family seem to do a great job with the breed's they offer and raise.

Parabola

Iowa's All County Challenge (GC1T84M)

As many of you have seen I had a cache published called Iowa's All County Challenge. I've seen many people ask if someone would set one of these up, and have been asked a few time's myself.

First the basic's of the Challenge cache. You have to find one cache in every county in Iowa. Virtul's, earthcaches, event's, webcam's, locationless, caches don't count. The idea is to find a cache and I'm defining that as a hidden geocache container. I've laid out a few ground rules. Like if you find a cache that is missing, and replace the container, it doesn't count as a "find". I do give you prop's for helping out another cacher but that's not finding a cache, it' more like hiding one. If it's a multi or puzzle cache, then the listed cord's for the cache determine what county the "find" is in. If some how it land's on a county line, I will let you pick which county it count's towards. It won't count for both.

Due to a guideline change, I can't have you use a site like www.itsnotaboutthe numbers.com for verification of completion. The guideline won't allow a cache that you have to use a website that you have to sign up and make an account. You can choose on your own to use a site like that, but I can't ask you too.

I've tried to lay out some option's for you to keep track and send the info to me for verifying completion. The one I like is if you use the bookmarking feature. You will be able to set a bookmark on the cache, and list the find date, and what county it's for. I can pull a PQ from that and easily check it with a program I have. You can set it up to keep it private till you are ready for it to be verified, then make it public, so I can grab a PQ from it.

Another way that is pretty easy for me to check would be keeping a database in GSAK, and make and send me a GPX file. Then with the help of a macro I can check that way pretty quickly as well.

You may also keep a spread sheet, with the GC# of the cache, name of the cache, find date, and what county it's for. For obvious reasons, this will take me longer to verify it.

These are just some suggestion's and you may keep track however you like as there may be an easier way, that I don't know about yet.

Before I get to the part that some people aren't too keen on, I'm working on designing a pathtag for this cache. A person that completes this, will get one of these pathtag's as kind of a "reward" or "trophy" for finishing it. These will not be set up for trade, and the only way to get one is to complete the cache. I would have loved to make up a geo-coin for this, but that is out of my budget.

Now on to the one rule that I made, that some aren't happy about and first off, I do agree you have valid reason's. This rule is only "finds" on the publish date of this cache count. So anything found before 6/03/09 will not count towards this. I've done this for a few reason's. One, if I lifted that, it would be found tomorrow. There are some cacher's that have done this on their own, just to do it. In fact I remember two set's of cacher's that are family, that where trying to beat each other to find one cache in every county. It was fun to watch their side game. At that time there was a few county's that didn't have a cache at all. Two, I thought this would give everyone a fresh start on this, and level the playing field to see who does complete it first.

You have to remember I don't chase First to find's. That's my choice and I just don't get into them that much. But on a cache like this, I really really would like to see who is nut's enough to complete it first, just due to you have to travel the whole state. Yes, I am aware that a few county's only have a few caches, or have "cached out" the whole county. My suggestion around this, is to contact another cacher that lives in the area, and encourage them to hide a few more cache's. My thought behind this is this will add to the game more across Iowa, and maybe even get some people that are not very active, some communication with some active cacher's and they will get bit by the bug again (so to say). I kind of see this as you may get the opportunity to meet/talk or maybe even find another caching partner, and encourage the spread of the game in a positive manner more threw the state.


This was my reasoning of why I put that requirement in. I've been doing some research on this as it was called to my attention by some cacher's. Which thank you for posting your thought's and idea's. I'm well aware that some are set up as doing this as a "trailblazer" (all find's after the cache publish date) or as "Heritage" (find's found before the cache publish date.

I looked threw some bookmark's that hold many many different kind's of Challenge caches, and looked into some of the All county type's. There are some others that have this same requirement that all caches have to be found after a certain date. There's also a lot that don't have that requirement and break it out using the "trailblazer" and "heritage" method. Colorado and Florida are two that caught my eye on a date requirement, off the top of my head.

I've talked to a few people about this as well, and have found a lot of "twisted" feeling's about this. Some wondering if they want to bother, or just work on it over time, and not try to rush threw it. Which I don't encourage anyone to just rush threw it, stop and see some of the great park's Iowa has to offer, and have fun exploring new area's to you.

If I'm going to drop the rule, I feel (thanks to someone for pointing this out too) the rule would have to be changed fast, so there's no, "well I had to do it this way" and "this person got off easy on this". I want to keep if fair to everyone. So that kind of lead's me to think, I should leave the rule stand as is since it was there when the cache was published.

Plus those people that know me, well you know I kind of follow my own path and just do my own thing, and that has a big effect on the caches I place. Believe me the terra-cacher's know that well, as the "torture" I've put them threw, while hunting some of my terra hides. Ammo can's hanging down in the middle of cliff's, part's to an offset 30 feet up in a tree, crossing river's, are just a few thing's for example's.

So to wrap this up, instead of seeing post's wanting me to change that or not, I figured I would make this post on my blog, and let you post your thought's on the whole thing. Please feel free to post your thought's, comment's, suggestion's, but please do so in a positive manner. I'm not out to tell someone they are "wrong" or "I'm the cache owner it's mine and I'll do what I want". I would like some construction feedback. So again, feel free to make a post on this blog, and maybe thing's will change as I hear others opinion's.

Seriously, have fun exploring Iowa, and the caches they have to offer, team up with other's and have a group hunt to take out some county's. Communicate with your fellow cacher's, maybe some encouragement by asking if they are planning on putting out a new cache, will get them more involved.

I look forward to your comment's.

Happy and safe caching, and get out and enjoy Iowa!!!!

Parabola

They are beening born!!!

We just got word from the dog breeder. The pup's are beening born tonight. So far there is three out of the litter and a few more still on the way. We don't have picture's yet but he's going to be sending them to us soon.

Pathtag Design for All Iowa County Challenge Cache

I'm trying to come up with idea's for a pathtag design. This is going to be given away to every person that completes my All Iowa County Challenge Cache and will not be available for trade with the pathtag community. I'd like to make a geocoin for it, but cost is a huge factor. So I went to the next thing and thought a pathtag would be nice to add to someone's collection of caching trinket's. Plus it would be kind of like a "trophy" for completing it.

I'm rolling around with having the state on there and it saying I've cache out all of Iowa or some tag line or something. When I get some jpeg's thrown together, I'll post them.

The way I wrote the cache up, I do think I've got some time before I have to get this done. But if someone does finish it before I get them made, I'll get them one.


Parabola

Scott County Park

Yesterday, it was a little cloudy but I had some puzzle caches figured out, and knowing me, I'll lose the info before I get to look for them. So I took a round about trip and made a side stop at the Herbert Hoover Site in West Branch. I had to visit the tomb of Herbert and his wife and get a picture of me there to get credit for the virtual cache. As many time's as I've been to the museum there, and caches there, I never knew about the tomb's. It was kind of neat to see.



I show how missed my exit's and crossed over into Illinois, and snag one in the parking lot where I turned around at. Then I was headed back in the general direction. A little side road's here and there looking for a few on the way. I finally made it to the park about 2 in the afternoon.

I've been to this park once before, but never really realized it's size. It's huge. I can see where if you know the layout of the park, the parking area's, and the trail's it would help out alot. I parked on the south east side and started off on a trail. As soon as I hit the wood's it started raining on me. As I kept going the trail's seemed to become shallow stream's. But I pressed on. I got near one cache but could see it was on the other side of the real stream. So I crossed on a log. I'll bet it was like the movie "The Goonies". Trying to cross a wet log, with muddy and wet shoes. But I made it, found the cache, and realized I had to cross it again.

Then I picked off another geo-cache, and then headed off trail and up a hill out into a kind of open field for a terra-cache. The whole time I was out in the open it just poured on me. Then after that I headed towards another geo-cache. As soon as I got back into the wood's, the rain stopped. In fact in less than a half an hour the sky's where clear. This is the area I wasn't sure what was smarter, turning around, and heading back to the car. Or keep going on the path I was on. Well, I was soaked from head to toe, so might as well just go with it. I pressed on. Just to find a parking lot. Go figure. I headed back to the car to move it.

I worked in another terra, and on my way to that one, well I was walking along in some ankle high grass, and just as I put my foot down, a three foot long snake goes, flying across the ground right between my leg's headed towards the lake. I'll bet I was a .10 in 3.2 second's. I still am not sure what kind of snake it was. It was a solid dark color, almost black, but not quite. It was a good three inches around, but I never saw it's head. I was thinking a bull snake, but I think those are more of a brown or tan. UGH!!!






I moved on and worked on a geo that was listed as a traditional but really was a two stage cache. It was an easy first stage as just get some number's from a sign and put them in for the final cord's. But I spent a good while looking for it, finally I looked up at previous log's, and saw a string of DNF's. So I bailed on that one.

Then I found another parking area. There was a terra and a geo way back from here and I though I could slip by and work another geo in if I went this way. Looking back at it now, that was a dumb idea. I took the deer trail, heavy bushwhacking (yup even this time of year), fought off some man eating plant's. But I finally made it. In fact I was so intrigued by the area, I walked right by the terra cache and had to turn around. I looked for that one for a long time but couldn't find it. I know the owner and I'm sure it's well hid. My GPSr was bouncing all over the place while I was there. So much I just put it down and starting thinking ok, where would I put it. That didn't work eather. So I figured I head down to this last geo then head back and take a fresh look for it.





I made it to the last planned geo in the area, but then realized if I took this other trail, I could start looking for the first stage of a 5 stage muli cache. So I went that route. After locating that I got the info needed, but got a phone call from home sawing some bad weather was coming in. So I kept going on that trail, and figured out just where I should have parked. Oh well, if one always stuck to the main trail's they would miss all the neat thing's out on the side trail's. Which I almost forgot I stirred up a turkey out of it's nest. Three egg's in there. I didn't bother them, just neat I was about 10 feet away when it took off, and if you've ever heard a turkey taking off from a few feet away, they sure can startle you.

I made my way back to the car. I didn't get to the puzzle in the park I had figured out. But there was some puzzle on the way home, I had figured out. Can't you tell it's been raining out a lot? I've been working on puzzle caches. I was about half way home and two caches left to go, and go another phone call from the wife saying about the tornado near Central City. So I figured I'll be driving right into it. I picked off the last couple and got three TB's to move along through the day.

As I drove home, I got a little rain but not much. But very shortly after I got home, oh yeah the rain broke lose. But all in all I'd have to say I had a great time and got to see a lot of Scott County Park, but I've still yet to scratch the surface of it. I can't wait to go back. I only picked up two tick's, and there was a few sketter's out. Gonna have to dig out the bug spray.