Revision as of 18:28, 28 June 2008

The Denver Graticules

Denver is split between four graticules at latitude 39 and 40, longitude -104 and -105. This page is going to try to keep information on all four and coordinate efforts to reach them. Our goal is two-fold. First, arrange, coordinate and participate in Saturday meets, and second, try and get someone to reach the hot spots on all the other weekdays, so as to conquer the graticules. With enough people and interest, (which being a hiking state, we should be able to generate interest) we could set records and compete with other graticules around the world.

If you plan on actively seeking locations in these graticules, sign the participants section so we know who is out there. Also, please include where you're from so we can arrange carpooling.

We also have a Facebook group: Geohash-Denver.

Note: For a larger turnout, the 1st Saturday of the month is considered the primary Saturday, in an effort to get more people to a location and reduce burnout.

Neighboring Graticules

-	-	-	-
Steamboat Springs, Colorado	Denver, Colorado		Sterling, Colorado
-	Denver, Colorado		-
-	-	Colorado Springs/Pueblo, Colorado	-

Participants

Damien and Leah (if the location is near Boulder... gas is expensive)
Jessica (if the location is near Ft. Collins... ditto)
Michael (in Littleton for the summer; can travel semi-long distances)
Mario [Northglenn] - Out till July
Jeff (Colorado Springs. Willing to give anyone a ride up to Denver area)
Grant (if location is near boulder)
Ryan (Fort Collins/Northern Colorado but willing to travel.)
Brian (Westminster/Broomfield, pretty centrally located)
CB (Northwest Denver)
Erik (Near Fort Collins - my only wheeled transportation is a bike.)
Jon (Boulder-Broomfield - Can't travel far, only have a bike.)
Tom (Boulder - I was holding out since I'm limited by RTD and my feet, but I got one now!)
Doug (Lakewood/W Denver, soon to be Inverness/SE Denver)
Michael (Fairly central - Superior, just outside of Boulder, but can't go often)
Karen (Littleton/Centennial)
Jaeger (Longmont)
Mike (Golden)
Ilya (Fort Collins - only bike)
David (Highlands Ranch, and willing to travel, but I often work on Saturdays.)
Rich (Lakewood, interested and doesn't mind distance driving if the times work out)
Matt (Fort Collins)
Celeste (Fort Collins- generally only have transport by bike)
Donut (Boulder/Longmont area with a car. Willing to help drive if participants can pitch in for gas and it's not way the hell out there)
Karmen (Arvada/Westminster area)
Colin (Denver, but technically the southeast graticule)
Ian (Englewood- willing to drive, but must bring my daughter on saturdays)
Renee (Fort Collins)
Heather (Golden, would love to carpool, but can drive too!)
Chris (Boulder, biking or driving (no dirt roads in my car) using the graticule that renders the nearest and/or most accessible point for that day, unless someone wants to split gas for a longer adventure!)
Joe (Humble Longmont-folk, has a car and would be willing to carpool... but will probably be going with Donut most of the time.)
Will (Live in Aurora) - Unfortunately, I currently work Saturdays, so if you get me a better job, I can come hang out at the weekly meetups. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it to some.
Steven (Boulder)
Adam (Parker)
Isaac (Thornton)
Seth (Fort Collins, by bike)
Emily (in Denver loves to drive and roadtrip - Can't wait!)(Carpool someone with a GPS?)
David (Golden - Bike, carpool-passenger and once-in-a-blue-moon-borrow-my-friends-car)
Paksen (NE Denver)

News

6/28

The 6/28 geohash has been updated! Remember to put in Saturday's date! Looks like the SW or NW graticule might be best. I'm down for an extra long roadtrip on Saturday if anyone wants to tag along with southern/central Denver! BOOM DE YADA! -Michael

Being in the Lakewood area, I tend to aim for the SW graticule. Saturday's point actually appears to fall maybe 20m off a hiking trail outside evergreen, with a parking lot within about half a mile. parking lot is here, that will be the best meetup point. As for the rest, Northwest is of course more accessible for Fort Collins folk, but it's got a bit of a case of the middle-of-nowheres. there's a road that goes a bit towards it, but ends at a building, so is probably private. NE and SE are, as usual, on boring, flat, private farmland. --Booger 15:28, 27 June 2008 (UTC) (Rich)

I would be fine to meet up in Evergreen. Do we meet at the parking lot at 4pm tomorrow? -Emily

What parking lot are you talking about? I think I'll do the Evergreen tomorrow. Usually we meet up earlier so that we can hike to the point and reach it at 4:00pm. On the actual tool, if you click and drag the pointer, you can suggest a proposed meetup location if we want to meet and hike. People can vote on the proposed one, and generally the one with the most votes wins. - Michael

That parking lot on stagecoach looks like the place to meet, the trail goes up from there. Marked it. -Joel.

What time? 3:30pmish? I'll bring cookies again? Any requests? -Michael

I will definitely be attempting to attend this one! Looks like it'll be nice and scenic. -David

3:30pm is a great time to meet in the parking lot. I'll be coming from Golden (getting a refreshing pint at the GCB) and then going to South Denver afterwards so that might not help anyone with a ride. Golden City at 2:00 if you're up for a pint first. -Joel.

I was planning on geocaching Elk Meadows on Saturday anyway. However it'll be in the AM. Does that still count? -Paksen

Sure. Try to get a picture of you by the point and get it posted in the point page, once someone gets it running. -Michael

Does anyone want a ride from Southern Denver? I'm in the Littleton area and don't mind carpooling (I can seat one extra comfortably), Aim-Rocketman1882 -Micahel

6/21

I've been investigating the SW location for Saturday, and I think it may actually be doable. It's west of Eldora and Nederland just off the Fourth of July Road. Apparently the road usually opens in June to early July, but may be plowed if snow is late in melting (link). When dry, it is passable to a carefully driven passenger car (same link). The road passes closest to the spot at roughly 3.3 miles west of the town of Eldora. Apparently at about 4 miles, there is a parking area and trailhead (different link) that may be a good place to leave the cars and hike back to the spot from.

As for other locations: NW is up on the Wyoming border, but none of the trails around are labeled, and without a name, I can't find out what kind of surfaces we're talking about, or even whether they're open to vehicles. NE looks like it would be interesting and doable, not far off a road, but it's still up on the Wyoming border. Too far north for my day. SE is in a field of crops east of Brighton. Probably private, definitely boring.

With that said, I may or may not be available Saturday, depending on how long it takes me to figure out how to replace a CV axle :) - Rich

I'm not so sure I'll want to do this one. I don't like driving up in the mountains with a truck (remember I'm from an area where a hill is a rarity) so I don't know. It's also really far away... -Michael

I was just up there on Monday Afternoon, I drove up to 4th of July Trailhead to check it out. The location is actually just up the hillside on the other side of the creek (Middle Boulder Creek) that runs along 4th of July Road. The creek is flowing rather a lot right now and crossing it might be interesting. The dirt road is passable by passenger car, a bit rough though and plenty of rocks to avoid or straddle. Another issue is that there is no parking allowed along the 4th of July road and on a Saturday that is likely to be enforced. The location might be on private land, probably is, might or might not be posted. The trick would be finding a way to ford the creek and getting to the spot along the hillside, after either parking up at 4th of July and walking a couple miles down or parking at a lower trailhead and walking up. Another option might be to park on FR505 if it's open now or walking in from Caribou. It might be a shorter or at least more pleasant hike. FR505 goes over Klondike Mountain to the East. It was closed on Monday but should be open for the summer... which is today? -Joel.

so uh, did anyone make it up there? i was working on my car all afternoon and wasn't able to go up --Booger 16:46, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Yup, three of us made it up just at 4! We just walked up 4th of July road and crossed the creek. It was quite fast and cold but fun. Left a little cairn at the spot. - Paul (Boulder)

6/20

The NE location is on the southwest corner of the intersection of Custer St. and Stoney Ave in Grover, Colorado, a small plains town. Too far out of the way for me, but easy enough to find. :) -- Seth

6/19

The SE location today is just off a runway inside DIA, if anyone's able to go for a Restricted_Area_Geohash --Booger 15:20, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Hah, using my airport and Boeing clearance (if I even have it still) would probably get me fired. No thanks. :P -Michael

I'm driving to DIA to pick someone up, but I can't get there. I'll be close though.... -Mario

6/15

The southeast graticule is just south of Parker, if anyone else is interested.
--
Big News!!! The statistics have been updated (but the records have not). Out of the 26 days this event has been going on, we have completed 8 geohashings (in 7 days).

Take a look here. -Mike

6/14

Another "BIG" Saturday. Please read.

6/10

Looks like there is a really good point in today's southwest graticule. Rather close to boulder in westish Denver. Anyone able to stop by? -Michael

6/7

Big saturday! Extra extra, read all about it!

6/3

So I got to the SW graticule's point, around Dillon Rd. & 96th in Broomfield. No camera, so no proof, but at 8am I left a piece of paper under some scrap metal so it won't blow away, just in case someone else came by... guess not. :( -Mario

5/31

Veni, vidi, frisbee. Writeup!

5/30

Another geohash success! Here's the trip report of the journey in the SW graticule.

5/28

The report is in! Here's a detailed trip report of the day's activities.

5/24

May 24 - Snow!

What I love about that group picture is the genuine smiles... that joke timing was perfect. -Mario
Many of us made it to the Saturday geohash point in the NW graticule and we earned 4 Achievements! Full write-up available.

First Arrival!

Looks like we have pictures of our first arrival in the SW graticule. I do believe we are definitely one of the first. Lets get this arrival out on the main page. Good job. If we can hit a spot tomorrow as well, we'll have our first streak. The arrival article is here.

- Here's an expedition to the 05-22-08 NW Denver graticule.

5/22

Fourteen geohashers signed up makes us tied for number 2 out of 200+ (at current count) in activity. Woot. Ahead of us is Boston and we are tied with Baltimore. We were previously (5/21) tied for third with Seattle, but have pulled ahead. Lets sign a few more people up and pull into the lead.

If anyone manages to meander over to a hot spot this week, let us know here. Pictures a must! Other than that, I guess we'll wait until Friday morning, which is when we'll know where the Saturday hot spots are.

5/22's coordinate is located in the northeastern part of each graticule, thus making the Southwest coordinate probably the easiest to get to. It looks like it's on a street in some residential area. Pictures anyone?

Significant Dates

July 5th

These coordinates will be available at 7:30am MDT on Friday, July 4th.

NW -
NE -
SW -
SE -

Voting

NW -
NE -
SW -
SE -

Carpooling

Lets organize any carpooling here. If you are willing to drive, and are alright with carpooling, please list how many people you can list, expected gas cost to be split, how many people can fit in your car and whether your car is smoking or non-smoking. If you need a ride, just list your location.

Drivers:

Your Name Here

Riders:

Your Name Here

Groups:

Formed carpools here

Theme for Saturday

Graticules

NW

The NW graticule at 40, -105 conveniently has around 15% of the land is either Rocky Mountain National Park or Roosevelt National Forest, unfortunately, many of the locations though are far from civilization. Included in the NW Denver graticule are Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont and others as well as both CU and CSU.

May 21st, 40.179467°, -105.861537°

Today's hot spot for the NW Denver graticule is in Lake Granby in the Rocky Mountain National Park. This is the first location we've received. It is fairly close to roads and not very far from the shore. Unfortunately it is far to the west, away from most of the cities. Perhaps if someone is close they can find their way out there and get a picture or two to launch our Graticule conquering campaign. Since it is so far west, many people might find it easier to get to the destination of the NE graticule.

Lake Granby as well as the nearby town of Granby is named after a lawyer who worked as district attorney in the county. The city of Granby (the closest city to the destination point) is best known for Marvin Heemeyer. Marvin was frustrated over a city zoning dispute in 2004, so he built his own tank and with it demolished town hall and a former judge's widow's home, as well as other buildings. 13 buildings were destroyed for an estimated $7 million in damage. Some people say that Marvin went out of his way not to hurt people, but the question isn't decided. In the end, Marvin's tank, immune to attack from SWAT teams, got stuck and Marvin killed himself with a gun.

SW

May 22 - Perhaps not the scenery we were hoping for.

Denver itself seems to be split between two graticule, the first, the SW (39, -105), contains the west side of Denver as well as Westminster, Broomfield and Arvada. Contained in the graticule is a good portion of Pike National Forest, as well as several other smaller parks. Again, the far South and West could be a bit remote though.

May 21st, 39.179467°, -105.861537°

This hot spot seems to be far South and West. Around Fairplay and Garo. Doubtful that anyone from the Denver area can reach it, but maybe someone is in a good position. There appears to be dirt roads within a few miles of the location, but no hint as to whether it is private property or what the condition of the roads are like. Land looks barren.

May 22nd, 39.972874°, -105.238697°

In South Boulder on Bradley Drive just southwest of Broadway. An attempt was made to mark it off, but a lady chased away marker claiming kids would end up playing in the street if they saw it. Marker moved a bit north of the playground. Boulder is ridiculous.

May 28th, 39.687451°, -105.212208°

In the Matthews-Winters Open Space Park. Near the West boundery of the park as well as a smalll graveyard. Reached the point at approximatly 6pm.

SE

The other half of Denver, the SE (39, -104), contains the Eastern half of Denver as well as Aurora, Englewood, Cherry Creek and Castle Rock. Littleton is split between the SW and SE evenly. The SE graticule contain a portion of Pike National Forest, as well as half of the Air Force Academy. The land in this graticule is significantly less interesting than the previous two, encompassing a lot of farmland.

May 21st, 39.179467°, -104.861537°

The SE hot spot is right off of I-25, south of Castle Rock. Seems like an easy reach if you are in the area. Someone swing by this one and get us some pictures.

NE

The NE corner (40, -104) is the least populated, containing mainly Greeley, but it is very likely that the closest location for a majority of people in Denver will often be in this area. Again, the land here, being east of the Rockies, is a little on the boring side.

May 21st, 40.179467°, -104.861537°

The NE hot spot is 200 meters off a road in someone's crop. Looks like an easy reach, a handful of miles from I-25 a little north of Denver. For most Denver residence, this is today's easiest and closest location. Lets kick off the Geohashish season by getting someone to this location.

Records

Since Denver is split between multiple graticules, records will be kept two ways. One method will treat all four as though they are one graticule, but to keep our numbers fair for comparison, we'll also keep tabs on the individual graticules and list the highest record. A more comprehensive records page will be created when we have some records. Since we have four points, we also get to have fun records and statistics about how many times we reach multiple points in a day, with different people, or if someone really has time on their hands, individually.

Combined Consecutive Arrivals - 1
Combined Consecutive Saturdays - 0
Individual Consecutive Saturdays - 0
Individual Consecutive Arrivals - 1
Most People - 0
Geohasher with most arrivals -
Geohasher with most consecutive arrivals -

Statistics

Starting Morning of May 21st:

Total Locations Reached - 8
Total Days Spent Geohashing - 7
Total Persons to Have Arrived - 33
Total All Four Points Reached on Same Day - 0
Geohashers that have performed a tour de force - None yet!

NW Stats

Total Locations Reached: 4 (May 22, 2008, May 24, 2008, May 31, 2008, June 7, 2008)

Land Locations - (4/25)
Water Locations - (0/1)

National Park Locations - (1/8)
Non-park Locations - (3/18)

SW Stats

Total Locations Reached: 4 (May 22, 2008, May 28, 2008, May 30, 2008, June 14, 2008)

Land Locations - (3/25)
Water Locations - (1/1)

National Park Locations - (1/2)
Non-park Locations - (3/24)

SE Stats

Total Locations Reached: 0

Land Locations - (0/26)
Water Locations - (0/0)

National Park Locations - (0/0)
Non-park Locations - (0/26)

NE Stats