Re: [gpsstash] Ritz Camera *caching* in on Geo-photo Hunt
Am I reading the rules wrong, or is it legal if I attach an entry form to any old 4"X6" photo. It doesn't say anything about the judges deciding whether your photo is actually of the object they had in mind! It also seems pretty lo-tech that they only accept entries by mail. I would be happier (and 37 cents richer) if they would accept e-mail entries.
All of that being said, my brother and I will go out and check out the coordinates in Raleigh-Durham NC (misspelled on the Ritz site) and make an entry.
Rick Simpson
----- Original Message ----- From: Doug Adomatis To: gpsstash@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2004 9:56 AM Subject: [gpsstash] Ritz Camera *caching* in on Geo-photo Hunt
GPS Enthusiasts and Geocachers, You may not be surprised that Ritz Camera is selling Garmin GPS receivers, but you may be curious about the "Hi-Tech Geo-Photo Hunt"
At first I was skeptical about this Geocaching-type of contest. As I looked through the state listings, I saw that many states did not have any waypoints. You had to manually enter the data to your GPS as there was no downloadable data file. I found several typos, including missing decimal points and even "?" question marks within the data. I was even more surprised to find Charlotte listed under *South* Carolina. It was then, I started wondering just how accurate the coordinates were.
Curiosity got the best of me and my son and I ventured out on a Geo- Photo Hunt last Sunday. The listings for South Carolina had five waypoints in "W. Carolina" which I recognized as downtown Greenville. As we approached the first waypoint we realized that all five were within walking distance. Each waypoint has a clue associated with it and you are supposed to go to the waypoint location and take a picture of what you think the clue refers to. When we got to the location of the first waypoint, my son was the one who spotted the weather vane atop an adjacent building as the answer to the "Which way the wind blows" clue. I was impressed that the location I was standing was the perfect spot to take a picture of the weather vane, because a few feet in any other direction and the view would be obscured by the roofline of the building. This accuracy proved true for the remaining waypoints. Each put us in perfect position to take a picture of the subject.
Overall it was good clean fun and it got my son and I out doing something together on a cold afternoon. Your results may differ. Especially for those of you hunting in Texas (21N Lat?) and Maryland (44W Lon?) where there are obvious errors in the specified coordinates and for those of you in California (N33 58.947 W117 22.385) and Ohio (N41 23.738 W81 51.077) where you have no clue.
To make it easier for you to enter the coordinates into your GPS, I have compiled all of the currently available Geo-photo Hunt waypoints in GPS eXchange (.gpx) format. I have also taken liberties to make corrections to obvious errors. The data file I have created is available at http://www.travelbygps.com/special/GeoPhoto/hunt.php
I'm not affiliated with Ritz Camera, so you should follow the GPS links at the Ritz Camera web site (www.ritzcamera.com)for the official details and the latest information.