Win Big Cache (GC1VQB6) by bflentje

Ever since I stumbled upon the GDLibrary (graphics device library) while working on a web project, I've been wanting to create a geocaching puzzle that involved dynamic web images.  Building a functional slotmachine as the puzzle seemed like a fun idea.  After hours of scouring around the Internet for the slotmachine images, I had what I needed to begin.  The slotmachine was written in Classic ASP (Active Server Pages) and is able to be embedded into a geocache listing because it looks and acts like nothing more than an image tag.

As a geocacher looking to score the find, the only way to solve the puzzle is to click the spin button on the slotmachine and hope for good odds.  You are awarded the coordinates, in part or in full, by hitting a winning combination as defined by the payout schedule or by scoring a jackpot.

This morning during the 8AM segment of AM1500 KSTP's Patrick Reusse radio show, my geocache named Halloween 2008 BONUS: Coughin Up A Lung was mentioned.  Reusse interviewed fellow geocacher Andrew McCracken about geocaching in response to last week's article in the Minneapolis StarTribune.

You can listen to the segment using AM1500 KSTP's On Demand feature by clicking here.  The interview about geocaching starts right at 14:04, fourteen minutes and four seconds, into the segment.  If On Demand does not work for you, you can also find the segment in the iTunes Store by searching on Patrick Reusse, October 27th, 2009, hour 4.  You can also download the segment in MP3 format directly from here.

You can read about the construction of the geocache by clicking here.  You can read more about incident by clicking here.  You can also read my response to the county contemplating the issuance of a citation by clicking here.  You can read the Sheriff's Department Newsletter here.

This is the second article published in Thisweek newspaper and the story is still not correct about the incident involving my geocache named Halloween 2008 BONUS: Coughin Up A Lung.

You can read the article online on the Thisweek Live website  by clicking here.

Since Thisweek is not capable of any investigative work, let me make a couple of comments to help set the record straight.  First, the geocache was not something left over from Halloween.  Guidelines on geocaching.com forbid temporary geocaches.  Coughin Up A Lung was not temporary and it was not just left over.  It was a viable, active, popular, and highly maintained geocache.  The geocache logged over 40 finds in it's short 8 month life, and considering it was a mystery cache, this was a phenominal feet.  The second thing to be pointed out is that the article implies there was something inherently dangerous about this cache.  Nothing could be further from the truth..  it was nothing more than a Halloween prop, not so different than what I see on my neighbor's front porch during the Halloween season.  The actual geocache container was the typical container used in geocaching; a painted .30 caliber ammunition can purchased at Fleet Farm.  The container was stuffed with child friendly Halloween themed trinkets purchased from Target Stores.

One thing is for certain, the article speaks volumes about the REAL reason for the harrassment I received from the Sheriff's Department earlier in the year.  It had NOTHING to do with geocaching and everything to do with saving face.  I would imagine the embarrassment caused by the needless deployment of county assets meant someone should pay.

You can read about the construction of the geocache by clicking here.

You can read more about incident by clicking here.  You can also read my response to the county contemplating the issuance of a citation by clicking here.  You can read the Sheriff's Department Newsletter here.

It seems as if geocache Halloween 2008 BONUS: Coughin Up A Lung just won't die.  It was featured in the Minneapolis StarTribune today as the centerpiece for policy change in Dakota County Parks.  Like all previous articles, this one too lacked historical detail of the geocaching incident.

You can read the article online at Minneapolis Star Tribune website for yourself by clicking here.

You can read about the construction of the geocache by clicking here.

You can read more about incident by clicking here.  You can also read my response to the county contemplating the issuance of a citation by clicking here.  You can read the Sheriff's Department Newsletter here.

It was brought to my attention this morning by a coworker that my archived geocache Halloween 2008 BONUS: Coughin Up A Lung was written about in one of the local newspapers.  The Burnsville and Eagan edition of Thisweek newspaper contained an article about the incident and how it is leading to a new geocaching policy in Dakota County.  What the article lacked was the history and details of what really happened during the incident.

You can read the article online for yourself by clicking here.

You can read more about incident by clicking here.  You can also read my response to the county contemplating the issuance of a citation by clicking here.  You can read the Sheriff's Department Newsletter here.

Caching Challenge: Oak Shores Park (GC1PWYC) by bflentje

This geocache is part of my Caching Challenge series.  Each cache in this series is hidden at a higher level of difficulty than the average geocache and in addition to providing frustration and angst, also garners a sense of relief and satisfaction once found.  If you're seeking a quick and easy find, this is not the cache for you.

This cache was hidden on April 11th, 2009, and as of this writing, eleven finds have been logged to its 20 DNFs.  I originally thought this cache would not be as difficult as it is.  As you can imagine, I've been tweaking the difficulty ratings for quite some time in the upward direction.  The ratings currently stand at 4.5 stars difficulty and s stars for terrain.

If you plan on finding this cache, avoid looking at the pictures below as they are spoilers to this evil hide.

Enjoy the photographs.. 

The cache at ground zero.

Getting a better look with the container pulled down.

Do you see it now?

The Dakota County Sheriff's Department released my geocache Halloween 2008 BONUS: Coughin Up A Lung from custody today.  It was a full sized toe pincher coffin and was confiscated from its hidey hole back on May 15th after a group of teenagers stumbled upon it in Lebanon Hills Regional Park.  After speaking on the phone with Sgt. McGinn Sunday evening, I was told that no citations would be issued and that I could arrange to pickup the container.

While picking up the container at the Law Enforcement Center in Hastings, Sgt. McGinn was very pleasant and even helped me load it into my truck.  My beautiful wife covertly took a picture or two of us loading up the coffin.  It was suggested by some in a local geocaching circle that it would be a great idea to arrive in Hastings to pick up the coffin driving a hearse.  While I thought it was a funny, I do not think it would have been wise even if I could get my hands on one for a day.

I am unsure about plans for Halloween 2009.  I had a couple of grandiose ideas that would have certainly outdone the coffin in 2008.  Unless I can arrange a working relationship with the county or find private property, plans will probably be scaled back some.

You can read more about incident by clicking here.  You can also read my response to the county contemplating the issuance of a citation by clicking here.  You can read the Sheriff's Department Newsletter here.

My geocache Halloween 2008: Coughin Up A Lung (GC1H32A) has certainly had its share of attention.  Besides the rave reviews it gets from those geocachers that find the cache, it's been written about in other BLOGs and it recently won the vote for Cache of the Month for February 2009 by the MNGCA.  But the most recent attention that my cache has been getting hasn't been so positive.

Last Sunday, four teenagers were strolling off the trail in Lebanon Hills Regional Park and happened upon the final location to the cache.  The kids thought the toe-pincher coffin, created out of fence pickets, looked real enough that caused them to freaked out.  Three of the teenagers bolted and the remaining kid contacted the Eagan Police who then got the Dakota County Sheriff's Department involved.  If the law enforcement officer that contacted me was telling the truth, there was even a crime scene for a short moment.  By the time the dust had cleared on Sunday, my cache had been disabled and the county is now in possession of a very elaborate and expensive geocache container.

I am not sure where the end of the story will lead as I am just now in the process of making contact to get the container back.  I do not know if there are bad feelings on the side of law enforcement or the county parks system.  What I do know is that the Sheriff's Department seems to have enough sense of humor about it to write about it as the front page item in their latest newsletter.

You can read the Sheriff's Department Newsletter here

For the record, the Dakota County Park System does NOT have a geocaching policy and they do not require a permit as falsely indicated by the county officer I talked to.  As of the time of this posting, there are 52 geocaches listed as being located within the boundaries of Lebanon Hills Regional Park.  In addition to that, there are at least 4 to 5 other puzzle geocaches with final resting locations within the park.  I have not counted the geocaches listed in other Dakota county parks but one thing is for certain, the other parks are not as densely populated with caches as Lebanon Hills.

While I understand that my cache may have caused some kids anguish, I hope the park system realizes the harmless nature of geocaching and takes into consideration the value of the sport and the amount of visitors it adds to the park.

Click here to read more about the history and making of this geocache

My geocache Halloween 2008: Coughin Up A Lung (GC1H32A) has won the vote for Cache of the Month for February 2009 by the Minnesota Geocaching Association.  An astounding 40 votes were cast overall with my cache taking 42% of them. 

While the average geocache is nothing more than junk in the woods, the experience I gave my fellow geocachers with my annual Halloween series is something they've enjoyed more than I ever imagined possible.

Click here to read more about the history and making of this geocache

Halloween 2008 BONUS: Coughin Up A Lung (GC1H32A) by bflentje

This cache is the grand finale to my 2008 Halloween series.  In order to find and log this geocache, you must find the other 12 geocaches in the series.  Each of the others contains a secret code that is required to have in order to calculate the coordinates to this bonus.  The calculation requires all 12 of the codes from the other caches and there are no feasible ways to cheat (unless your name is Pfalstad).

I normally start planning my Halloween series about the first week of September.  This year, I had started planning around July 1st and spent the majority of the summer designing and constructing cache containers.  The toe pincher coffin required the majority of the planning.  I wasn't exactly certain how to build a toe pincher coffin but I know I've seen them on the Internet.  After downloading some partial plans, that incidentally didn't have dimensions, and after various trials and errors in my design, my toe pincher coffin started to materialize.  There were two different instances where I realized I had made mistakes and ended up completely dismantling everything, making the fix, and putting it back together.  It did not have to be mortuary showroom floor perfect.  But it had to be good.  After a month of working on the coffin each night after work, the completed container was perfect.  It was so nice in fact, I was having second thoughts about placing it in the woods.  In the end though I did need a grand finale for my Halloween 2008 series.

Enjoy the construction pictures.. 

Construction materials included small and large fence pickets.	The first attempt at building the base, a crucial step.	The first draft of the base and the top.
Assembling the sides required many opposing angle cuts.	The finished product before it was taken to the woods.	The coffin could not be empty. It had to contain George.
Arranging the coffin in the woods so it looked perfect.	Finalizing the inside of the cache container.  George guards the black ammocan.	The final cache placement.  To bad other cachers can't leave it like this after their find.