Number of Finds/Hides: 1352 / 20
Occupation? IT Professional I'm really a Civil Engineer (BSCE '82 from Iowa State, MSCE from Univ. of Kansas) but have been in engineering-related IT for the past 23 years. I now work from my home office for EDS (Electronic Data Systems) and indirectly for Black & Veatch (Kansas City based global engineering firm).
How you got your username? My home street address...Summitt Street. Also, I figured it would tick-off some of the cachers out in the Colorado Rockies to know that the name was already taken...by a flat-lander from Iowa!
How long have you been caching? Found my first cache on February 20, 2002. Hey, that's 02/20/2002. I guess 2 must be my lucky number (or maybe zero?).
Favorite cache/why? That's a tough one. I like a good puzzle cache, but one that's not impossible to find once solved. Many of my favorites are oldies that have been archived away already. "R. V. Run #2 - Haunted Hamlets in the Hills" in Boone Co., "Light House" in Waterloo, and "It's Greek to Me" in Ames are some. I also like caches that are cleverly hidden or take you to very interesting places like: "Post-Apocalyptic Fishin' Hole" and "Summer Journal" in Columbia, MO.; "Weight Limit 6 Tons" in NW MO; "Urban Woods" in Urbandale; "It's Greek to Me" in Ames; "Pot O' Gold" in Mt. Vernon;"Quixtotic Quest" in Okoboji; and "Minute Man" near Waterloo. My latest favorite is "What's Your Phobia?" in West Des Moines because it's a short distance multi-cache that's both educational and challenging.
Least Favorite/why? I have two of these and both occured very early in my "career". "Rock Creek Cache" near Grinnell was about a 1/2-mile walk one-way and the last 500' was through a nasty thicket with no trails. I had my daughters with me and we all got cut to ribbons. Thought we'd make for the shoreline and easier walking on the way out...and ran smack into a swamp. So it was back through the thicket again. The other is "Tunnel Valley" NW of Cedar Falls. Not because of the cache but the experience. At this cache there's a creek flowing through a tunnel under a railroad. Was there with my daughters again and the creek looked really muddy so we went up and over the tracks...bad move. It was 30'-40' almost straight up. As we climbed I wondered if the tracks were still active? The deer carcass lying beside the tracks (and the shine on the rails) told me we better scoot. So we did and ended up on the right side of the tracks but the wrong side of the creek! We found the cache but it was quite an experience.
How did you get started? My sister, the "Mar" half of MarDen, suggested that I check it out. Eventually I got bored one day... and did.
Current caching goals? To find "Trey's Car Cache" (inside joke). Honestly, to NOT get seriously injured or killed while caching (or during any other activity for that matter). 8^)
This year's event will be Saturday, September 23rd at
Lake Wapello State Park (yep, an Iowa State Park) about 10 miles northwest
of Bloomfield (in southeast Iowa). We'll have some cook fires going a little in advance of the
potluck and we should have some refrigerator or cooler space to
keep things cool during the day if that's necessary.
The posted coordinates are for a gazebo (near a restaurant) where we tentatively plan
to meet for registration and subsequent activities. Look for signs leading to this location
and available parking.
Camping
Event organizers will be in cabins and camping in the park for the weekend. Both
cabins and camp sites can be reserved online by clicking here.
You do not need lodging in the park to participate in the event.
Nearby hotels (Bloomfield, Centerville, Ottumwa) will be listed here once we have
contact information for them.
Technology
We are planning to have all of the cache data available in both
printed and electronic format. There will be computers available
for downloading both waypoints and cache descriptions. There will
be cables available for whatever GPS and PDAs we can arrange,
but bring your own just to be
sure.
If you have FRS radios, bring them along so you can communicate
with (or taunt) the other participants . Tune to channel 12, sub
channel 0. We will have the FRS repeater running if we find
that it improves reception.
Friday Night, September 22
We'll plan an informal campfire gathering and probably a night
cache (using reflectors and flashlights) for anyone who shows up.
State parks close at 10:30 PM so anyone not camping should
plan to leave by that time.
Saturday Morning, September 23
Things will get going around 9:00 on Saturday morning. We'll
have an area setup for you to get the cache list and load your
GPS/PDA if necessary. After you get the cache list, you are
on your own. Hunt the caches, or hang out in camp and shoot
the breeze with who ever is there.
Saturday Afternoon, September 23
The updated, but still flexible, plan for wrap-up activities is a
follows:
For the potluck, bring your own meat, beverages and table settings.
We'll have extra settings on-hand just in case and we'll probably
have any condiments you need also. Please bring a
dish to share based on the first letter of your last name:
If anyone wants to donate some bottled water, soda, ice or charcoal
for the event, that would be great.
Saturday Night, September 23
Another informal campfire gathering and probably another night
cache to wrap things up.