I have one more thing to add to this although having never released any
"real" travel bugs (so far - the tag is on my desk!) I haven't tried it.
I've read that people have had better luck if they attach a laminated card
to the travel bug spelling out exactly what it is and how it works. I guess
there are plenty of people who don't read the forums, etc or are new to
geocaching, and have no clue about travel bugs, so they just keep them. This
is the idea that I will be trying.
I'm actually planning on eventually releasing several travel bugs, both here
and in England, with the same purpose. So if one or two go missing I won't
be too dissapointed.
Andy
-----Original Message-----
From:
az-geocaching-admin@listserv.azgeocaching.com
[
mailto:az-geocaching-admin@listserv.azgeocaching.com]On Behalf Of Team
Tierra Buena
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 9:26 AM
To:
listserv@azgeocaching.com
Subject: RE: [Az-Geocaching] What should I do when a geocacher looses my
TB?
Hello IFISHAZ (Dennis P.) here,
Unfortunately I have had two travel bugs lost by geocachers who had
retrieved them from caches. Anyone have any suggestions as to what I could
do next? It seems to me (as a relatively new cacher) to be a waste of money
to buy TB's that if they get lost are just gone (both bugs were lost in
their first months of life, one wasn't even a complete month old). Any
suggestions would be appreciated.
By sheer coincidence I received an email last night from a cacher who
picked up one of my TBs last November! I had emailed him a couple of times
in the past but never got a response until now. He was quite apologetic, and
he has promised to put it back in play very soon.
My suggestions:
1.. Never give up a TB for dead until and unless you have proof positive
that it is gone.
2.. If you're convinced your TB will never again see the light of day,
you can always "drop" it in the Travel Bug Graveyard (GC72A8)
(http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=d95385c7-cfe2-47ef-b
232-94e7818cbaa8). If it does turn up later, you can retrieve it from this
site. This assumes you (still) have the TB ID number.
3.. Try emailing the cacher who last took the TB. I think many TBs get
lost when people grab them and then lost interest in the game. Maybe a
friendly reminder will at least get them out one more time to put the TB
back in play.
4.. I'm convinced that TBs without specific destinations have much
better and more frequent travels.
5.. Finally, you have to be realistic and think of TBs as one of those
animal species you see on National Geographic specials where many are born
but few survive their first year. If that's disturbing to you, then don't
spend any more money on TB dog tags.
Steve
Team Tierra Buena
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