Revision as of 01:36, 7 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.

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]
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 - willing to drive slackers in Fort Collins who have no car)
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!)

News

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

June 7th

These coordinates will be available at 7:30am MDT on Friday, June 6th.

NW - N40°30'6.42", W105°6'51.73" - Just off Taft Hill Rd on the outskirts of Fort Collins, across from the Larimer County recycling center. Easy to get to and the views are actually pretty nice despite the landfill. Check out street view for this. Kind of barren looking.
NE - 40.501784°, -104.114371° - farmland. blah blah.
SW - 39.501784°, -105.114371° - Very close to a road, but inside the middle of Lockheed Martin. I've had to make deliveries down there, and they don't even let you past the guard shack, about a mile southeast of this point. Restricted_Area_Geohash anyone?
SE - 39.501784°, -104.114371° - Middle of nowhere, somewhere near Deer Trail and Agate on I-70 out east. looks like interesting terrain, but quite possibly private ranching land.

Voting

NW - 1 vote for NW - easiest to get to and seems to be the most interesting! - Rich. Another vote for this [and hi booger] - Matt., Michael, Mario
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:

Chris (Boulder) - Can take one, non-smoking, paved roads only. (Current Prem. $/Gal)*(~Total round-trip distance from Boulder)/(~20mpg)/2 (ex. $4.299 * 100 / 20 / 2 = $10.7475 (must have exact change ;) ))
Michael (Littleton) - Willing to drive to any close distances (within one hour of home). Can fit two people, one comfortably in my truck. Non-smoking, and I don't mind paying for gas.
Your Name Here

Riders:

Grant (i live in boulder on the hill. no car, just mah bike)
Chris (Boulder) - I'll carpool with someone if it's cheaper than my car or the location requires any non-paved-surface driving. Always up for a bike-ride if it's not more than 10-20 miles.
Michael (Littleton) - I'll carpool with people if the location is really far away from southern Denver.
Mario (Northglenn) - Can take 1 person (non-smoker), I'm near I-25 & 120th. South of me? drive up, we carpool in my hybrid up to the point. contact through AIM or gTalk (remove underscores): u_c_f_f_o_o_l

Groups:

It looks like we're going to be going to the NW destination up in Fort Collins. Are there any southern Denver residents who want to carpool with me, Michael?
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 May 21st:

Total Locations Reached - 5
Total Days Spent Geohashing - 5
Total Persons to Have Arrived - 24
Total All Four Points Reached on Same Day - 0
Geohashers that have performed a tour de force - None yet!

NW Stats

Total Locations Reached: 2

Land Locations - (2/11)
Water Locations - (0/1)

National Park Locations - (1/2)
Non-park Locations - (1/10)

SW Stats

Total Locations Reached: 3

Land Locations - (3/12)
Water Locations - (0/0)

National Park Locations - (1/2)
Non-park Locations - (2/10)

SE Stats

Total Locations Reached: 0

Land Locations - (0/12)
Water Locations - (0/0)

National Park Locations - (0/0)
Non-park Locations - (0/12)

NE Stats