Tacklemom

Tacklemom

Interviewed December 2007

Our Featured Geocacher Tacklemom, also known as Dawn Jaquette, is as you might guess from her geocaching name a mom who takes quite an interest in her children's activities. As those of us who have children participating in "extra curricular" activities know this also means becoming the chief transportation officer for these family events. Tacklemom found a way, though, to transition from the traditional sports to the favorite sport of those who visit this web site - geocaching. For several years the name Tacklemom actually denoted a kind of team which included Dawn, her husband and her two children. As happens with all families, time goes on and the kids grow up. In Dawn's case this marked the happy event of her oldest child moving on to establishing his own geocaching identity and continuing to participate in the sport he had enjoyed with his family. That's quite an accomplishment for the both of them.

Tacklemom recently provided us with answers to our interview questions and a great set of photos to accompany them. Check out her responses and learn more about this committed geocaching mom.

How did you become involved with geocaching - and how long have you been doing it?
In July of 2006 we started the Golden Boot Challenge and I wanted something more to do than just hike the trails of the State parks, so we gave geocaching a try.

Your online stats show that you've geocached mostly in states that border Delaware but there's also mention of one find in the Netherlands. Tell us how this happened and a bit about geocaching in a country so far from home.
Mike Ott brought a traveling cache from the Netherlands to the Dog Days of Summer Picnic for those who attended to have the opportunity to log it. I'm not much of a world traveler so that will probably be the only country I will be able to add to my finds.

You've done some geocaching with your family. Are your children and husband as excited about geocaching as you?
My son (Robster06) is into it as much as I am, it was hard for him to watch all the nice October days go by when I wasn't able to get out caching recently. My husband (Yobob) will occasionally cache with us for high terrain caches or if I am going somewhere that presents photo opportunities for him to capture and he will endure through a few virtuals if we are road tripping out of state. My daughter (Hammie) has recently decided she doesn't enjoy it and complains the whole time so she mostly stays home with my husband or will go to a friend's house. Recently we rode bikes to Delaware's Longest Geocache and the few others in that area as a family and we all enjoyed some aspect of the journey. I think that's the key to caching with your family there has to be something each person enjoys about it.....

How many caches have you found so far?
As of yesterday 1260 finds.

Again referring to your on line stats on August 11, 2007 you found 157 caches. That's an astounding number. Tell us a bit about that day. (for example How many hours were you geocaching that day? How did you get from cache to cache?

That trip had been kinda in the planning stages for a while, an idea that was talked about and pondered before it really took off.  The goal was to see how many caches we could find in a 24 hr period. Of course we needed to find a cache dense area that none of us had really cached before so we wouldn't run out of caches before we ran out of time. Major T did a tremendous job of planning the route and Horn229 did the awesome job of driving. It was an honor for me to join in the fun, in addition to Evanspack & Debjoey, on this 24 hr cache run.

Most geocachers find that they run up against a really tough find once in a while, have to post a DNF and return for another go at it on another day. So it's possible that those 157 finds represent a lot more than just going to 157 sites. How many sites did you actually visit to make all these finds?

Actually, if I remember correctly, we ended up with less than 4 DNF's that day.

Given that geocaches cannot be closer than .1 of mile from each other and most are much farther than that 157 finds implies you covered a lot of territory. Where did you make all these finds?
We were mostly in the Hagerstown, MD area and picked up caches along the way out and back. We also made a slight side journey to W. VA. to pick up a couple.

How did you keep track of all of them so you could accurately post them all? And how long did it take you to get them all posted?
That was the not so fun part of the trip, the logging. It took me a week of logging about 4-5 hrs. per day until I had them all logged. Fortunately, MajorT had sent each of us the cache file so I was able to print the list of caches out and just made notes on that paper along the way so I could remember details for logging later. I actually came across that paper last week when I was cleaning out my backpack.  Souvenir.....

Which type of cache do you prefer seeking - traditional, multi, puzzle or virtual?
That's kinda a tough one, it really depends on my mood, the weather, and who is with me. I guess if I had to put them in an order from most liked to least, it would look something like this on most days: Virtuals - Puzzles - Traditionals- Multi's

Of all you finds which was your most challenging?
Well, the one that drove me crazy for a long while was Horn229's "Get to the Point". I lost count after 12 trips trying to find that one ..... Robster06 & I finally made the find on that one after months of searching for it. Rehobch's BK beach also was a hard one to find. I think we had 5 different visits on that one....

Do you have a your favorite or favorites from among the caches you have found?
The 3 challenge caches I've been able to complete come to mind as my top 3 favorites. They would be the Delaware Hundred's, Maryland CAM 2007, and the Delaware/Maryland DeLorme Challenge.  I learned so much and experienced so many new places doing each of them. 

Have you had any memorable experiences while seeking a cache?
Many, but I think being stopped by the Secret Service while nighttime caching in DC on my 43rd birthday will remain # 1 for a long while .....  

What advice would you give to a beginning geocacher?
1. Enjoy the journey as well as finding the cache.
2. Respect the environment while caching, try to leave it better.

Your on line stats show that you've placed 6 geocaches. Two of them "Harvey" and "Alice's Restaurant" are based on a movie and a famous song. How did you happen to chose these as a basis for your hides?
" Alice's Restaurant" was based from a song that has long been a Thanksgiving tradition for me. I wanted to hide a cache for Thanksgiving and the place I had to hide it fit appropriately. 

" Harvey" was a spur of the moment thing. My kids were sitting next to each other, glued to this movie (and if you have ever met my kids, all they do is argue...) I thought "hmmm this must be a special movie" so I sat down and started to watch it with them. I feel it has a universal, across the generations message and wanted to share that with others. Conveniently, a former mental hospital and former Ellis Drive In were close by to tie it all together and "Harvey" was created.

Have any of your cache hides proven to be more "popular" than you expected?
Alice's Restaurant and  Only the Blue & Gold have been well received.

Have geocachers found any of them more difficult to find than you expected?
Harvey ended up be quite frustrating for some but I did want it to be a challenge .....

What advice would you give to someone designing a cache placement?
Be creative, think outside the box !

What's your best caching story - the one you tell others to let them know the kind of fun and adventures one can have while geocaching?
Usually, I'll just pick some experience I've had that I think the person I am talking to can relate to and enjoy. Typically, it will be one of the caches from either the Delaware Hundred's, Maryland CAM 2007 or the MD/DE DeLorme Challenges.

Beside geocaching, what other things do you like to do?
I prefer to do outdoorsy things, like garden & surf fishing; but I also love to cook, sew and read.

Which Delaware cache site would you'd like to see reviewed on the Delaware Geocachers web site and why?
Delaware's Iron Age because it is Delaware's first Earthcache !!! (I really like Earthcaches !)

What question did you expect us to ask but we didn't? And, what's the answer?
Why I wasn't caching much in September and October of this year ?  I came down with "Shingles" in my right eye and that has greatly restricted my activities. The good news is it seems to be fading away so I will be out caching more and more as I feel better !

Thanks, Tacklemom, for sharing these answers with us