Scott, I just wanted to say thanks for that awesome email. You really put this into prospective here. I've only been doing this for a couple of months now. I also agree that the micros are a bit boring myself. I enjoy them, but really enjoy doing the ones that take you to actually see things you wouldn't normally go to. I have not had the opportunity to actually do any "urban" ones yet. *sigh*. We are definately planning a trip to Prescott the first weekend in October as we always go to the pumpkin patch in dewey :) Debbie aka TryingRacer Roping The Wind wrote: >>Microcaches - The Death of Creative Geocaching By Daniel J. Caram aka jmarac My son Paul has been geocaching half of his life. He was probably one of the few two year olds in the country that could say the word "Geocaching". I have pictures of him bouncing along in my backpack, patiently enduring the prickers, heat, and mud. One such quest took us a couple of hours up the side of a mountain and ended up with me having my boots literally sucked off of my feet! Eventually it became an understanding between us, that Paul's reward was to be able to choose his prize from the spoils when we actually found the green box. But recently a whole slew of microcaches have flooded our area, prompting the now 4 year old Paul to inquire - Where is the green box? Although I have other reasons for asking it - it is a good question - Where have all the green boxes gone? We all remember the first time we went geocaching. I became fascinated in the sport after reading a lengthy article in the local Erie Times News. Soon afterwards, I purchased a Garmin Etrex from Amazon.com which I still refer to as the best $100.00 I ever spent. My first few caches were found at Presque Isle State Park. I have lived in Erie, Pennsylvania all of my life and had been to this beautiful area of forests and beaches more times than I could count, but I discovered my first cache in an area of the park to which I had never ventured. "Wow, I never knew this place existed!" I exclaimed. I found myself making that statement repeatedly as the geocaching bug bit me, taking me to beautiful overlooks, pastures, and state game lands all around my hometown. Not only was I impressed by the locations, but also by the creativity of the individuals who had placed them. One cacher did a series based on Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Another fellow had devised a couple of caches where the green ammo box was to be found high in a tree, only to be accessed by finding a rope that would lower the cache from a pulley system! Yet another had stashed a multi-cache based on Star Wars; one stage involved finding a hidden set of binoculars and then using them to read clues of a sign posted far away Little mini adventures! I applauded this thinking that was "outside the box" (no pun intended). I appreciated the time and energy that was invested into making them clever. Geocaching provided a great way to spend a pleasant afternoon, seeking a diversion away from the city on a little hidden scavenger hunt adventure. But slowly, this escapism and creativity has been fading away with the inordinate number of microcaches that have been flooding the geocaching landscape. Instead of a green ammo box or substantive container cunningly squirreled away in a beautiful area, there are little Altoids tins or magnetic keyholders or tiny green cylinders hastily stuffed right smack dab in the middle of a bustling public area. Many of the cache descriptions have the following disclaimer - "be discreet while retrieving this" or "this is a high traffic area so beware of muggles", or "use stealth when obtaining this one". Why!? Why should I have to act like a petty criminal up to no good when I'm trying to obtain a cache? I like fresh air and scenic overlooks - not wondering what that whole row of houses across the street thinks of me poking along their fence trying to find a tic-tac container. I do not enjoy sneaking around trying to look nonchalant in a public place! One microcache in our area was actually hidden right on the base of a rock-climbing wall in a family sports park. This place is usually teeming with people so I went early in the morning to try to get it, only to have a police cruiser slow down and observe me. I finally found it but had to admit to myself- "I really didn't enjoy that". I'm into geocaching for the challenge and the scenery, but I want to do all this without having to act suspiciously. Is that too much to ask? A fellow geocacher, who lives about 30 miles from me, said that in his area, microcaches are showing up in laundromats, parking lots, and newspaper boxes. "Geocaching," he lamented, "is becoming organized littering". Why do geocachers place these little microcaches? Two reasons: Because generally, they are a fast and cheap way to rack up more numbers next to your name. 1) Fast - because they do not involve much planning or creativity. You don't need to put any real time or energy in the creative process putting a little magnetic holder on a bridge post. 2) Cheap - You can procure a dozen little containers for a couple of bucks. A green ammo box is at least $5.00, plus you want to stock it well (another $10) so probably about $15 for an average cache. As I write this, the number next to my name is a measly 82. That works out to be about one cache a week. I was never into geocaching for the numbers and I never will be. I would rather find one thoughtful, creative or scenically placed cache, than ten hastily dropped and ultimately annoying microcaches. I have some great memories and experiences while geocaching - almost none of them involve microcaches. There are exceptions, of course, to all of this.Creativity and microcaches do not have to be mutually exclusive. Micros aren't always horrible and ammo boxes are not always creative. While I was on business in Pittsburgh, geocaching brought me to a spectacular overlook of the city that could only have accomplished with a microcache. Conversely, I have seen people just drop an ammo box in the midst of some poison ivy infested area behind the rest room of a state park. Of course, if you live in a strictly urban setting like New York City, you are probably resigned to microcaches, but for the majority of us with many parks and acres of forests around, we don't have an excuse. I steadfastly reject the argument that we are running out of places to hide caches. I used to look forward to my weekly email from Geocaching.com heralding the new caches in my area - now this list, replete with just more and more microcaches, inspires a disappointed yawn. I write this article not to be critical, but because I love geocaching and want to see it survive. Perhaps I'm not as annoyed with the microcache containers themselves as I am with the complacency and lack of originality they seem to engender. Next time you place a cache, tap into your hidden reserves of creativity and let's get back to what made us want to go geocaching in the first place. Oh and by the way, if you're caching out in the Erie, Pennsylvania area - put a toy in the green box for Paul. << Scott Team Ropingthewind _________________________________________________________________ Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ ____________________________________________________________ Az-Geocaching mailing list listserv@azgeocaching.com To edit your setting, subscribe or unsubscribe visit: http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching Arizona's Geocaching Resource http://www.azgeocaching.com