Brett: Thanks for your efforts on this cache. I was unaware of these monuments. It looks interesting and I'm looking forward to visiting. Jerry Cache-Quest ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brett Duvall" To: Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2002 2:04 AM Subject: [Az-Geocaching] Madonna(s) of the Trail - the cache owner replies > First, let me apologize if I am posting incorrectly to your discussion > group. I was able to subscribe OK, but have seen nothing to let me post a > reply to the existing thread. I will also apologize that this email is > getting lengthy. I will keep it as short as possible. > > Yes, I am the dirty dog many of you seem to have decided to hate in one day. > I will try to explain, then you can go ahead and shoot me. My goal was to > point out a series of monuments that many might otherwise miss. I will try > to group your criticisms and answer them the best I can. > > criticism #1) The only thing you get out of the virtual cache is a > certificate. > >> No, the certificate may be nice to some, but it means very little. It is > only there to give a geocacher a warm fuzzy. What I intended for the > geocacher to get from these monuments was some knowledge that a group of > people in our history used their optimism, faith, stamina and determination > to take a 1-way trip into the unknown and make that place their new home. > Their sacrifice was so great that others decided to spend their money and > time to memorialize it. If all a cacher sees in a virtual cache is +1 to > their cache-found count, then I feel truly sorry for them - they have missed > the boat. > > criticism #2) Anyone can easily cheat to get credit > >> Yes, currently they can be easily cheated - I am sorry. Initially, there > was only one cache and the picture had the N.S.D.A.R. wiped off. I put the > "un-modified" picture there because I was offending members of the DAR, who > paid for all these statues in the 1920's. > >> I WILL make these caches acceptable in their individual communities, > including yours. I have already made a modification that requests cachers > to email me with information to verify their find in Arizona. I have > extended this to California, and when my information is complete, will do > this to the rest of the caches as well. If you have any other suggestions, > I will give them every consideration. > >>I don't wish to upset any of you, and will do what I can to make the > caches fit into your community. I personally do not feel that a cache-found > count tells us anything about a geocacher, however. Someone in an urban > area can spend a couple hours finding 10 caches in the park nextdoor, while > someone in a rural area might have to drive a couple hours just to look for > one. I am sure that there are thousands of caches I could cheat if I want > to, but I would only be cheating myself. I view geocaching as an outdoor > activity and not a competitive sport. I do respect your wishes, however. I > will fix all the caches so that the cacher can post a picture or email me. > I will police all the sites, to the best of my ability and remove logs as > necessity demands. I will also change the background picture to remove the > Madonna from Lexington. Maybe I will change it to something I wish for all > of you to see real soon. > > criticism #3) I haven't visited the sites myself and have given credit to > others for finding the statues for me... without thier GPSr's. > >> Now, this one pisses me off, because you are attacking someone in your > own community for helping me create a cache site for YOU. I took a landmark > that meant something to me (in Missouri) and made a cache site out of it. > When I found out that there were several of them, I was thrilled and thought > everyone should have the chance to understand them (those who want to know, > that is). I wanted to set up these caches, which span 12 states and several > thousand miles, for everyone's benefit - not just mine. I don't want and > won't get any Wizzo button for creating these sites. I just want to feel > that I did something good. I don't have the time or money to travel the > country, so I decided to contact other cachers. I asked each of them to > take the information I got online and locate the statues for me. My > response has been fantastic, and I have met several very nice people. I > wanted to give them credit for finding the cache site, so I wrote it into > the description. You can gripe at me for not driving 10,000+ miles to find > all the coordinates myself and I will simply smile and apologize, but don't > attack those who happily gave their time to help me. And don't say they > didn't find the cache, because each of them has found the cache site, and > used their GPSr. (In New Mexico's case, the search required them to find a > park that no longer exists, and a statue that was moved from the original > location with very little information). > > Maybe I got a little verbose here, but let me summarize by reiterating: I > will make this cache acceptable to your community. I will make the effort > to address your concerns, just as I will do with the other communities. > Your criticisms are very helpful, even when they are barbed. I appreciate, > especially, those who contacted me so I could deal with your concerns. I do > value my own integrity and care how my geocaching efforts are perceived. > > I wish you all the best, > Brett Duvall > (brettd on geocaching.com) > (talons@kc.rr.com) > > _______________________________________________ > Az-Geocaching mailing list > listserv@azgeocaching.com > http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching > > Arizona's Geocaching Resource > http://www.azgeocaching.com >