Scouting Geocoins

Here are the last colors of coins we will have.

There are a limited number available this month with more coming in 30 days.  (many on this batch will be reserved for the scout jamboree in three weeks.

Geocoins and Scouting

About a year ago I started work with the UNPC on some projects for the 100th anniversary of Scouting.  I spent a number of weeks convincing them to place the original order. We waffled from 100 to 300 coins.  Never really deciding what to do for months.  Quotes went out to six different companies, and weeded down to two.  For the next three months I played with the design, and I worked on trying to get the best prices for the order that by the time we hit December we were at 200-300 coins in size.  We thought of the risk and really had a hard time deciding. 

Each company kept modifiying their bids, wanting another shot.  We tried to stick with a local company that was near the low bidder, and wanted the business, but had no experience in geocoins.  Finally when the numbers came in we made our choice for Coins and Pins for 300 coins.  Th number was chosen because of thats what the looser wanted as a price point. 

So sometime in Febuary I finalized the design, I was really happy with it and could not wait until the time came.  By March the order was placed.  Then one day in May this massivly heavy box was on my doorstep.  Do you have any idea how much 300 coins weigh?  Lots.

I was so exited, and we had what I had hoped for, but never expected.  70 for a contest, 100 copper and 130 brass for sale.  Up for sale they went, and poof they were gone.  So we ordered more of a slightly different color scheme.  300 to be exact.  then recenly I was told they were gone.  So I changed the color scheme again and we ordered 100 more, two orders for 50 each  made us decide to jump the order to 200.  Now another person from back east is asking for another 130 or so.

So what was orginally an order for 300 that I hoped we would sell, has now turned into 800 with a possibily of 1000 coins with 3-4 different color schemes.  All from the original little hope that we would sell them. 

I am in the process now of finalizing the orders, and getting a design ready for 2011.  It was so sucessful, we are rolling with the next batch.  Thanks for everyone that bought some.  Hopefully you enjoy them.  I have seen 3-4 around, and have bought a number myself.

The contest

The contest is still going on.  If you want one. 120 or so were reserved for the UNPC get in the game contest.  This entailed finding a cache and getting your photo taken and emailing your entry. 

1. Log the cache and upload a photo of yourself/group at the cache site.
2. Email the following info to unpcbsa@gmail.com, Name,cacher ID, Address, Phone #, email, and the name and GC # of the found cache.
3. Please include a story of your cache hunt.
4. Missing or incorrect information may invalidate the entry.
5. Each UNPC Scouts cache will count as one entry (multiple finds on the same cache will not count).
6. A monthly drawing will be performed to determine the coin winners.
7. The contest may be ended, and/or rules modified to fit changing situations, and limited number of coins.
8. Limit one coin per household

We have awarded 50 coins out so far.. with 50-80 more to go.  If you are interested, you and/or your scouts. Please feel free to enter

The coins for the contest are the Antique Silver ones. Except for a few gifts, that is the only way to get one.  So enjoy, and we hope to see your entry soon.

Update 9/27/10

Go here /journal/2010/9/27/scouting-geocoins.html

for a picture of the new coins that arrived today.

The good the bad and the ugly.

Well here goes the story for the week.  I packed up with a group of young men and headed to Maple Dell for my scout camp.  It was going to be rough, eating food and letting the scouts do all the work, but someone has to do it.

There was a lot to do to get ready, medical forms, getting a physical (weee).  So much to do and so little time.

I did finally get everything together.  I about forgot to actually get someone to look over the Utah Queue.  At the last second I send out some feelers to HighCountryAdmin, one of the greatest reviewers of all time, all hail his name.  I actually have to say that.  I think it was part of the contract of having him train me.  I must always point out how fantastic he is.  He would be to have to put up with me.

After a long day saturday I headed up to the mountain with the boys.  Everything went well.  I did take the time to get out and see a few things.  I showed a few of the boys a micro that was at the entrance.  Not a great one, but placed by one of my favorite cachers Cervine Girls.  She has worked at this camp for a number of years.  Due to a series of events she is at another camp this year.  That kind of depressed me.  But it was fun anyway.

Well the time at camps was pretty well spent.  Arrival is full of many duties that entail, looking lost, lifting lots of heavy stuff, wondering if you will have the courage to use the outhouses after you smell them, and wondering if you can actually sneak away and get a cache.

Well that night we headed up to do a service project around the lake.  Great view.

We spend a few hours caching around the lake.  Of course what could be more fitting when looking for trash than trying to find a cache.  When everyone was settled down and waiting to go home I broke away and headed up into the trees to find a cache left by a scout troop.   

Troop 68 Rocks Layson Lakes  has been around for 4 years.  Not bad.  Seems like most that i have found are 2 years old or less.

It was a hundred yards off the trail and up in the weeds.  It was pretty easy to spot.  There are not many rocks in the area, they must have scavanged to find the few that they used.  But the big one on top.. not really heave but a little kid would not have mored. it.  

Nothing much inside, but then I do not pay attention to that.  It is too much work and too much pain for me to worry about the contents.  After finding it I scrambled back and we headed down to camp. 

Later in the week thrusday night four of us headed for a walk.  There are a ton of caches placed by Baldin Eagle about scouts.  I have spent a ton of time solving them, and have a few more to go.  A few have me really stumped, but I will get them sooner or later.  I am missing something obvious.  We did stop and get Citizinship in the Community.  They are a bunch of puzzles that are in the shape of a scout symbol.  Really cool.  I have done a few dozen (or less), I passed a number, but we were hiking with youth and did not want to spend the day looking for caches with boys that may not want to.

After my trip home and looking over my reviewing queue I had a bunch of issues that I had to deal with.  Too many people did not get my auto response that I am out of town.  If you sent an email to me and used geocaching.com and did not select the button to include your email address, you thought I was ignoring you.  It was not the case, a few I should have dealt with earlier, but I had not taken the time.

Then last night as things were getting back to normal and I was going home to buy tickets to geowoodstock and back, a young lady pulled out, and into the side of my car.  :P  so now I am without car.  Well I can play Dukes of Hazard and go in and out the window, but I am not 22 anymore.  Plus my car is small and it is tricky to wiggle behind the seat.

Munched door and some of the frame.  So we will see what happens.