RE: Decided to go ahead and take the initiative
I may catch some flack for this, but after reading some posts I decided to put up some of my favorite caches under the "Favorite Cache" listing. I did this not to be elitist or because I think I know what are the best caches out there -- I'm still relatively new with less than 200 caches so I definitely don't have a handle on what are the best caches state-wide.
I did this because I know if I was visiting an area due to a meeting, vacation, etc. and had a limited amount of time to go geocaching I would appreciate any input from folks who might have some insight as to what they feel are good caches to check out . . . this is not designed to be an end-all, be-all since new caches appear and old caches are archived. Instead, I hope it may prove helpful to some folks . . . and show new cachers what some good caches look like . . . at least in my humble opinion.
At this time I would ask folks here to do two things. First, I created a thread for my favorite caches in the Greater Waterville Area, Greater Bangor Area and Greater Unity Area (incidentally I specifically did not include my own caches -- I did not want to be seen as promoting my own caches) since these are two areas that I have done a lot of caches in . . . if you've done a lot of caches in these areas please feel free to go to these threads and post your own favorites that are in these areas (of course your opinion is entirely subjective as is the idea of an "area" -- i.e. some folks may consider Millinocket to be in the Greater Bangor Area for example whereas I would probably put it in another thread . . . again the idea behind this is to give someone who is coming into the area for a limited time the chance to explore a few caches in the local area.
The second request is this: I have not cached state-wide and so I have little to no experience in many areas. To help make this list complete I would ask that others who are interested in this project to make up their own favorites list for traditional, micro, puzzles and multi caches (I threw in the historical caches as well since I particularly like these.) Feel free to follow my format. I personally think it would be great to have listings for areas like Greater Augusta (especially since I'll be going to a conference in another month), the Belfast Area, Portland, Deer Isle-Stonington, Mt. Desert Island, Rumford, Caribou, Presque Isle, Millinocket, Lewiston-Auburn, etc. . . . once again, imagine that you're going to a conference or are on a vacation and can't spend days doing every single cache in the area . . . what would be your picks for the favorites.
It would be nice to have these lists be specific to the area and not just a state-wide list of caches. This list is also just an opinion and is not designed to slight anyone by including or not including their cache . . . rather it is simply one person's opinion of what was their favorite cache since I have enjoyed caches of all types and locations myself personally. I might also suggest not including your own cache when you pick your favorites . . . and for that matter . . . pick your favorites not on who you know or who you don't want to offend, but rather on what caches you truly liked and why you liked them.
Not every other cacher might agree with your picks . . . but then again this simply will give a would-be cacher an opportunity to see what caches others think are worthy of a look as well.
If this idea proves popular I may ask Rick if he will pin these threads at the top so folks can check in there and quickly find the info . . . I also imagine these lists will be fluid as new caches may be added to the list and archived caches will be taken off the list.
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."
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