Western Geocaching

There wasn't time during the two and a half hour drive from Denver to Laramie, Wyoming to look for some of the many geocaches and benchmarks, but we did take an hour to find two interesting geocaches in Laramie. The first cache is associated with "Welcome to Laramie" and is located at 41.3 degrees north and 105.54 degrees west. Exactly due east from home but 32 degrees further west and more than a mile higher in elevation.

The second cache -- StarBrand's Rhyme Time #2 -- was different than any I have seen so far. It was hidden in a tupperware container under a log out in a field. On a sheet of paper were listed 100 words. In order to count the cache as a "find" you have to pick a word and write a four line poem with at least two rhymes with the word you selected. Since we were there for one of our son's graduations from Wyotech, the poem was easy to compose....

We came for our son's graduation
Mom and Dad are filled with elation
The ceremony was quite a creation
The students received an ovation
We had a fear this day would not be near
Now we're here shedding a tear

From Wyoming, it was back to Denver for a flight to Las Vegas to participate in the Stratus Technologies Conference. Staying at the Venetian was tough duty but somebody had to do it. Not being good gamblers, we found three very interesting virtual caches. A virtual cache is one where you go to a specified latitude and longitude and observe something and then send an email to the cache owner or post a picture to validate that you had actually found the cache. In some cases you have to report certain information that you would only know if you had actually been there. The first one was a commemorative plaque that had to be reported. At the second one a pose by a statue was required. The third one was most difficult to find and there were three questions that had to be answered and reported to the cache owner. Aside from the educational aspect of this cache, the surrounding scenery and wildlife made the walk worthwhile.

On Monday morning I gave a speech at the conference for 500 people and talked about the key trends I see with the future of the Internet. In the afternoon I participated in an executive roundtable to drill a bit deeper into the issues. My theme is still that we are only 5% of the way into what the Internet has in store for our business and personal lives. As for geocaches and benchmarks, the 84 I have found so far are less than one one-hundredth of a percent of those that are out there.

Conferences , Internet Technology , Travels March 28, 2006 10:08 PM