Caching Name: ivorybilledbirder
Real Name: Dominic Morrell
1. How did you become involved in geocaching?
I first discovered geocaching in Knights of the Dinner Table, which is a comic that follows the lives of 5 people who play roleplaying games. That’s why my profile says I joined in November. But once I realized there were no caches extremely close to my house, I never signed on again. In January, I started reading Ken Jenning’s Maphead, in which he discusses the topic of geocaching and his experiences finding caches. Then I remembered I already signed up in November. The next week, I tried to find 10 caches in Dover, failing to find every single one. I stopped again, but when I was home sick on the last day of February, I went out and found a cache just around the corner, which was Opus Caementicium (now archived.) Not only was it muddy, but the place was quite overgrown. Just before I was going to give up, I spotted a huge lump of concrete with the container on the underside. I was hooked from then on!
2. How did you choose your caching name?
I loved birding when I was a bit younger, but one of the birds that always fascinated me was the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, a bird down in the lower Mississippi that many presume to be extinct, despite a possible sighting back in 2005. That bird is also my avatar.
3. What type of cache do you prefer seeking – traditional, multi, and puzzle, virtual?
I very much enjoy seeking any type of cache, but one of my favorite ways to pass the time is to look at a challenging puzzle. And pester the CO for hints.
4. Which caches were the most challenging, either physically/mentally?
Hmm… that’s a tough one. Most of rehobch’s puzzles take a heck of a lot of effort and hints to crack. There was one by the Canadian border whose hint was ‘stump’, not because it was in a stump but because you had to stand on a stump to reach it. It took us forever to find. Oh, and there was one cache that was hidden along a hunting path. We took the best path; however the cache was actually on the other side of the path, across a large ditch and through a field of tall thorns. Ouch.
5. What are your current geocaching goals?
Well, I am planning to hit 500 on August 16th, as it is International Geocaching Day. After that, we might attend GWXIII, and along the way find 5 states and 10 icons in 1 day. It would also be nice to solve Pure Evil and complete the Delaware Fizzy Challenge.
6. Where have you always wanted to go caching but haven’t?
It would be nice to take I-90 from Massachusetts to Washington! Or cross the border from Massena, NY into Ontario, or visit another Western European country. Some day…
7. What is your most memorable caching experience?
Wow, I really have quite a lot. In fact, I might just have to make a list of those. But I have to say, the #1 caching experience I’ve had caching was up in New York. There was this one cache that was next to the Chateaugay River, however to get there you had to take a steep path from a small gravel parking lot down under the river bridge. Not only were there great views, but the hider provided a picture map hidden by the parking lot, so I didn’t even use my GPS!
8. What do you like about geocaching?
I’m not exactly an outdoors person, but ever since I discovered geocaching, I’ve found that it’s my excuse to go outdoors. I now know of so many more interesting places- parks, monuments, museums, and even Melvil Dewey’s birthplace! (If you didn’t know, he invented the Dewey Decimal system, which categorizes library books.)
9. Do you have some favorite caches in the area?
Some of my favorite Dover caches were:
(GC22ZY1) St. Jones Reserve Beyond the Marsh
(GC43RYY) king of the world at the dog park (my 1st cache)
(GC104JE) Flash Cache
Mainly because they involved nice, short hikes or fun climbs.
10. Do you have any other hobbies or interests?
I run a Dungeons & Dragons group every other Friday with some friends I’ve known for a while now, which inspired me to create my D&D cache. I also enjoy a bit of coin collecting and birding now and then.
