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Why I Quit Geocaching

It’s always surprising to me the amount of passion that geocachers can have. This is, after all, a game. But like any game, there are people who have a passing interest and people who become obsessed.

Caching was a near instant hit with me and my family. It was a reason to drive backroads and a reason to jump out of the truck. It was a way to connect with mysterious strangers. Geocaching, is after all, the closest thing to a secret society most of us will ever experience.

Like any secret society, there are rules. And there are people who love to enforce those rules – or at least their version of them. They can put even more time and energy into their love of making sure everybody does it THEIR way than into the game itself.

And I think I might have been a rule breaker.

My dad and I were business partners in a website called EatStayPlay.com. And when we discovered geocaching we both realized that this was an activity that really SHOULD be added to our website. (We provided free information about outdoor recreation across 12 states.) Geocaching was absolutely awesome and something that needed to be shared!

The challenge with EatStayPlay always was that it was a great idea but it just wasn’t easy to monetize or advertise. Or even explain, some days!

Somehow dad came up with an idea to have geocachers help us spread the word about our website. It came in the form of a free geocoin that you could earn by placing little plastic geotokens into caches. To keep things fair (and to keep caches from being stuffed full of the things) we created rules of our own. And I’m the first to admit, the whole thing was to run on the honor system. But let’s face it – all of GEOCACHING really runs on the honor system.

A few posts on the geocaching forum and we were off and running.

And then the hate mail started to pour in.

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • Thought You Should Know

Crap! I found a geocoin…

Usually discovering a geocoin is a cause for celebration – and doing a little happy dance.

032015-GeocoinsInBox

But in this case… I found the geocoin in my garage in a box of random things. See, I’m packing my house to move so I’ve been digging through my “just scoop the stuff into this box and I’ll deal with it later” boxes (yes boxes!) so I peeked inside and… TWO geocoins were winking up at me from inside.

Damn! I feel terrible – I have NO idea how long I’ve had them. AND I know somebody, somewhere is bummed ‘cause they’ve gone missing.

Normally my motto is that if I’m not going to move a geocoin along within a week, I DON’T take it! And I give that advice to friends and newbie cachers as well.

After all, there are lots of geocachers who only cache once a month or less. It’s better to “discover” the coin but not actually remove it from the cache if it’s going to hang out in your garage for a month.

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • Geocoins • Tags: geocoins

PI Day Roundup from the Web

I wasn’t able to join any Pi Day fun since I’m RIGHT in the middle of selling my house but I wanted to share some of the best events from Facebook!

Photographs are property of their respective photographers! Please visit the group pages for more images and geocaching fun!

031515-PiDayGeocachingBrisbane

Geocaching Brisbane

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • Events and Games

Writing Contest for Geocachers!

New Frontier Books is sponsoring a writing contest JUST for geocachers! The book will be released at Geowoodstock XIII in May.

The book is titled: “Geocaching GPS: Great Personal Stories of Romance, Adventure, & Connection”

geocachinggps-03-3DHere are the details:

  • Submissions accepted 3/9 – 4/10
  • Open to any geocacher, Anywhere in the world
  • Submissions must be in English
  • No entry fee — Free to enter!
  • Winners get a copy of the book!
  • 1,000 words or less
  • Non-fiction OR 1 page of poetry

You can find  more details here.

#WritingContest for #geocachers - share your best #geocaching story! Book launch #geowoodstockXIII Click To Tweet

8 years ago • Events and Games, Kim Recommends • Tags: contests, events, geocaching story

Arizona BLM Wants You To ASK for Permission To Place A Geocache

Geocaching always has a mixed reputation in the news and on public lands. Arizona’s BLM takes it one step further by saying:

Geocaching may become a management concern for BLM if it jeopardizes public health and safety, causes environmental damage, or conflicts with other authorized uses.

At the moment, caches are permitted on lands in Arizona managed by the BLM. The BLM requests that these four rules be observed:

  • Identify proposed cache locations to the local BLM office before placing a cache
  • Do not place caches at archaeological sites
  • Obtain a BLM permit for any competitive events, contests for prizes, paid participation, or caches hosted by commercial business
  • Advise BLM if you observe any misuse or abuse of a cache location

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • advice • Tags: placing a cache

It’s a banana – not a bomb!

Ah… When geocaching hits the news for less than savory reasons. This time, at least it’s funny!

Suspicious banana in tree not a bomb

021115-BananaLincoln fire investigators have cracked the case of the suspicious banana found hanging Tuesday from a pine tree in northeast Lincoln.

The banana-appearing device, wrapped in yellow tape and attached to a wire, caught the eye of a Lincoln Electric System worker in the area of 84th Street and Leighton Avenue, Lincoln Fire and Rescue Capt. Lloyd Mueller said.

So the man called 911 to report the suspicious banana and police and fire crews, along with a bomb technician, responded.

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • Stories & Tall Tales • Tags: containers, in the news

What ELSE can you do with a GPS?

013015-ShutterspotIt’s amazing what the Google Machine can share…

I found these OTHER games you can play with a GPS. I’m kinda liking “Shutterspot”

What do you do with your GPS besides look for geocaches? Leave me a comment and let me know!

8 years ago • Events and Games • Tags: caching games, games

Geocaching Merit Badge

011215-GeocachingMeritBadgeAm I alone in thinking it’s WAY cool that the Boy Scouts of America have a merit badge for geocaching? How awesome is that?!

Part of the requirements are:

Explain the following terms used in geocaching: waypoint, log, cache, accuracy, difficulty and terrain ratings, attributes, trackable. Choose five additional terms to explain to your counselor.

Keep Reading!

8 years ago • Thought You Should Know

Pennies as Geoswag

So I love the idea of really COOL swag. I get most of my swag from Goodwill but when I saw this on Pinterest I knew it had potential…

It’s paining pennies in cool designs and adding a little ring… I’d use a picture but I HATE it when people snag photos from MY projects without asking so I’ll refrain. But trust me on the link. It’s well worth it!

I like that pennies are inexpensive so you’re really just out some nail polish and TIME. I wonder what it’d look like if you attached a Travel Bug to the coin?

I think I might need to raid my piggy bank!

8 years ago • Swag • Tags: swag

My First Maryland Geocache

010115-MDGeocacheVisiting Ben’s family for Christmas and we slipped out to take the dog to the park. On a whim, I loaded the geocaching app to my phone just to see if there was anything nearby.

And there was!

 

But caching from a REAL GPS is a lot easier!

Still happy to find my first-ever east coast geocache!

8 years ago • Stories & Tall Tales • Tags: geocaching story

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