Re: [Az-Geocaching] Big Sky

Brian,

We will all miss your physical presence in Arizona, and hope you will
stay in touch via the list!! I look forward to hearing about how you
will be energizing geocaching in that beautiful part of the country!

I am apparently the "only" person who was not born in, raised in,
visited or driven through Montana, YET! It is one place I have always
wanted to see. (wait a minute, we drove to "Old Faithful" in
Yellowstone while elk hunting near Jackson WY a few years back, does
that count? It's CLOSE to Montana!! ha ha) (yes, I have hunted elk and
deer. I'm a darn good shot, too, and make the best elk jerky on the
planet!!)

Best wishes to you and your family, Brian. Do you have a job yet? The
job climate is pretty dismal in some areas, as some on this list have
experienced. This week, my hubby's company laid off 10% of the
workers, he will go if they do another round, and there is a 50/50
chance of complete shutdown. Scary.

Sorry, I digress......

Brian, again, I will miss you!

Trisha "Lightning"
Prescott


On Wed, 2 Jun 2004 01:21:08 -0700, "Brian - Team A.I." wrote:








It seems that these days, this type of message is
becoming too commonplace, all for different reasons.  A decision was
made
recently, that was very long in coming, and very tough in deciding. 
On
June 1st, my home went on the market.  My family and I are moving to
Big
Sky Country, Billings, Montana.
 
Last summer was the first vacation my family and I
had ever been able to take as a family since being married (8 years
this
August).  Instantly I fell in love with the place, the weather, just
the
overall environment.  But I was very set against considering a move
because
I had finally found my niche in law enforcement, and had my foot in
the door to
test for officer.  I simply didn't want to leave a sure thing.  My
Grandpa's death in mid-February changed that.  He had always told me
that
if I moved up north, he'd be right behind me.  Now, he is unable to do
so,
but will be there in spirit.  My plan was for someday to move back to
the
mountains, originally somewhere in Colorado.  But the thought came to
me
one day, and I agonized over it for 3 months before finally deciding I
just
needed to follow my heart, thanks to some wonderful advice I was
given.   Oddly enough, I was driving to my first cache find when I
called him from my cellphone to give him my first impressions of the
place.
 
Things are moving quickly now, because the plan was
to be out of the house and on the road August 1st.  No sooner than the
sign
is put up (Saturday morning), a neighbor comes to us (who is moving
out) and
tells us they want to buy the house.  Tuesday we were given a formal
offer.  Thanks to a substantial inheritance, a home that was out of
reach
for them is now well inside the ballpark.  If there aren't any
financing
problems, closing will be July 16th, at which time my road-trip will
start and a
new life will begin.  We already have someone coming to show the house
in
the morning, so a quick sale is imminent.
 
Some of you might wonder what I've meant in some
logs about my soon-to-be-replaced cachemobile.  On Monday, my Dad
and I are trading vehicles, as he wants a/c, and wants me to have a
4x4 for
the mountains.  My Jeep envy is now quelled, as I am going to be the
owner
of a 1994 Jeep Wrangler YJ (all the more reason to find one of those
Jeep
TBs).  Thanks to an outstanding realtor, our contract will give us
quite a
bit more out of the home sale, and I get to start tweaking. 
Initially, I'm
looking at a Dick Cepek 3.5" Suspension Lift, Eagle 15x8s, 33" BFG
ATs, and a
cat back exhaust for just a little more juice.  Of course, there are
more
mods planned, but over time and as money permits.  :)  This will get
me started for off-roading in the mountains, and the trail rides I
can't wait to
join.
 
In all honesty, the abundant caching, and more
importantly the Arizona Geocaching community were a huge tug on my
mind when
considering this decision.  I am having a very tough time leaving
everyone,
because I've met some of the greatest people through a sport I found
by accident
after hearing a news story on Channel 10 back in August 2001.  One of
the
things I'll miss most this year is the planning and execution of the
second
Halloween Radioactive event.  It was so much work the first time (Tamo
can
attest to this), but the rewards were so great when so many people
attended, and
the event caches for all went so well.  For those who are curious, the
ratio of caches in Montana vs. Arizona is 1:5.05 (as of 0038 on
6/2/04). 
Sure, there are far fewer caches, but in one respect it will be a much
greater
experience finding each and every one of them.  While driving to a
cache
yesterday, I came up with an idea for a multi that will bring that
ratio down to
1:5.  =)  I've already joined 2 Geocaching groups in Montana, and hope
to foster a strong Geocaching community in Billings, but it will never
reach the
level of Arizona or many other states, due to a statewide population
of under 1
million.  Billings rests comfortably at ~130,000, and is the largest
city
in the state.
 
With my wife's family living there and in Sheridan,
WY, we'll be taken care of in the emotional support department, and
something
I've wanted for awhile will finally be reality...time to ourselves. 
:)  There is a family cabin south of Fishtail, MT that sits a mere 75'
from
the banks of the Stillwater River, literally around the corner from a
ranch
owned by Mel Gibson (Beartooth Ranch).  While researching lift kits, I
showed my wife some pictures of some trail runs, and hard-core
offroading. 
She was so excited she couldn't contain herself.  I see a Jeep
Jamboree in
our future, and lots of mountain mud running down the driveway.  :)  A
cache in this vicinity is a distinct possibility as well as some
future event
caches.
 
On to the formalities...
 
As with TeamBlunder, I too am looking at cache
adoption.  This will not occur until the middle of next month, but may
not
officially change ownership until I arrive in Montana and have
internet access
setup at my in-laws.
 
The most important issue to deal with is
transferring of the Adopt-A-Highway torch.  This was already well in
motion
before I began to consider moving, and support was so strong I went
for
it.  Now, I need someone who is willing to be point for ADOT, which
consists of little more than calling the coordinator and informing
them of a
clean-up date, picking up vests/trash bags and organizing the
clean-up.  It
truly wasn't a difficult task, and required more time driving
back/forth to make
sure everyone had bags and water than it did to actually plan the
event
itself.  The requirements are that 4 cleanups per year are performed,
but
if they are done each quarter, the cleanup time will diminish if the
participation stays the same.  With this, I will also pass on
ownership of
the CITO Always cache.  The signs are already up, and our first
cleanup was
very successful, even though we didn't get the southbound side
completely
clean.  It would be a shame for ADOT to have to remove those signs in
favor
of another group, because visibility is so outstanding.
 
Caches I need to turn over:
 
CITO Always (should really go with the
Adopt-A-Highway Program)
Fzzzt! (considering archival+simple
maintenance)
Directionally Challenged (most likely archiving,
unless someone really wants it)
Rest Your Mind (simple maintenance)
Horseshoe View
Lime Creek Cache (not likely I'll be getting back
up there before the move)
 
Caches I may turn over (or simply archive and
recreate there):
It...Has You
Fundamental Flaw
 
Both of these caches may be difficult to
understand, with only It...Has You requiring maintenance on
intermediate
steps.
 
I'm keeping the following:
 
Fallen Heroes (virtual)
A Fallen Hero (virtual)
Journey to the Center of the State (AZcachemeister
has graciously offered to maintain)
 
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll have time to
complete my final Matrix cache in Arizona.  It will only exist in SE
Montana, or perhaps NE Wyoming.  At this point, anyone wishing to find
either Matrix cache has until 7/1, unless someone wants to adopt
them.  At
that time, they will otherwise be archived and removed (this applies
to any
un-adopted caches I'm not keeping).
 
I apologize for the long e-mail, but I'm just that
way sometimes.
 
Brian
Team A.I.