DENVER! GeoWoodstock 14er

Recently, I made the long drive to Denver, Colorado with my boyfriend, McDoogins and our dog Rogue. The reason we were in Denver? GeoWoodstock 14er. We arrived to Denver on June 30^th. That night we attended “GW14er: Denver Craft Brew” (GC6EB4A). The event was at a local brewery called Prost Brewery. Attendees were given a small sample cup and were allowed to try samples at 6 breweries and 1 distillery. These were also the locations of 7 of the 10 lab caches for the Mega event. We got two of the 10 lab caches that night.

The next day we visited the Garden of the Gods park. In the park are many large red rock formations. We took a driving tour around the park and got out at a few different locations. We did a few earthcaches and the “Garden of the Gods Wherigo” (GC5FEBH).

The morning of July 2^nd was the “GW14er: Early Meet-n-Greet & GeoCoin Poker” (GC6CQKW) event. When we arrived there was a really long line to pick up your registration packets and any swag you ordered. Instead of waiting in the long line, I met up with many people I know from the #USGeocachingHour which is a weekly chat about geocaching on Twitter. I even got to meet some of the popular vloggers and podcasters such as The Geocaching Vlogger, Geocaching with Darick and Geocache Talk.

After that event, McDoogins and I decided to head up Pikes Peak, the tallest mountain in the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. There was an event scheduled at the summit that afternoon, “GW14er “DGS Rocky Mountain High 14,115ft”” (GC6C8FY). The drive to the top is a 19 miles on switchbacks with a near drop off right next to you. The weather near the top turned cold and cloudy so we did not stay long. We found a handful of caches on the mountain and they are all now my highest elevated caches at 10,000 feet or higher.

Sunday, July 3rd was the big day. I headed out early to the “GW14er: Donuts in Denver” (GC6CT3Z) event. It was at a donut shop with the most delicious donuts I’ve ever had. I was even given a sample of a fresh, hot one right off the cooking line. I signed the donut shaped log and chatted with some other cachers for a while before heading out.

I had a mission to complete. I was going to make an attempt at finding 10 cache types in one day. I stopped at a virtual nearby “Northglenn Veterans Memorial” (GCHHJY) and quickly gathered the required information. I also needed a webcam cache for the day. The one I chose was “Pearl Street Webcam” (GC4994); it was a 35 minute drive away from where the donut event was, and the opposite direction of the Mega. I arrived there for find a group of probably 10 cachers there waiting. When I approached them they said they had been there for quite a while and the camera hadn’t refreshed. I was so upset at this point that I wouldn’t be able to get all 10 icons. I decided to sit and wait awhile. A few other cachers came and went and a few more came. I decided to give up on the webcam and got back into my car. Before I left, I checked the webcam page on my phone one more time and the picture was of the two cachers who were still sitting at GZ! It worked! I excitedly hopped back out of my car and told them it was working again. I waited anxiously a few more minutes before the camera refreshed again and I was in the picture!

I headed back to pick up my boyfriend and we headed over to the Denver Botanical Gardens at Chatfield. We first headed over to the large letters that spelled out GeoWoodstock which were the log book for the event. We signed on the letter D. After that, we spent some time checking out the different vendors. There were a dozen or more vendors attending and they had a wide variety of supplies and swag. We also wandered around the grounds in search of the 3 lab caches that were there. Before too long we were heading toward to big letters again but this time for the group photo. Thousands of geocachers gathered together and our photo and some video was taken by a drone. We spent the rest of the afternoon finding the new gadget caches that were placed around the grounds. Lucky for me, there were 6 cache types placed throughout the grounds specifically for the event. Soon after that McDoogins and I left the event and headed to the remaining breweries for the lab caches.

The next morning, we began our long journey back home to New York. We had a fantastic time at the Mega event and all the satellite events. I got to meet many people I had previously only known online. It was a great time with great friends that I will never forget.

I also put a video together of some photos. You can find it here:

DENVER! GeoWoodstock 14er

Recently, I made the long drive to Denver, Colorado with my boyfriend, McDoogins and our dog Rogue. The reason we were in Denver? GeoWoodstock 14er. We arrived to Denver on June 30^th. That night we attended “GW14er: Denver Craft Brew” (GC6EB4A). The event was at a local brewery called Prost Brewery. Attendees were given a small sample cup and were allowed to try samples at 6 breweries and 1 distillery. These were also the locations of 7 of the 10 lab caches for the Mega event. We got two of the 10 lab caches that night.

The next day we visited the Garden of the Gods park. In the park are many large red rock formations. We took a driving tour around the park and got out at a few different locations. We did a few earthcaches and the “Garden of the Gods Wherigo” (GC5FEBH).

The morning of July 2^nd was the “GW14er: Early Meet-n-Greet & GeoCoin Poker” (GC6CQKW) event. When we arrived there was a really long line to pick up your registration packets and any swag you ordered. Instead of waiting in the long line, I met up with many people I know from the #USGeocachingHour which is a weekly chat about geocaching on Twitter. I even got to meet some of the popular vloggers and podcasters such as The Geocaching Vlogger, Geocaching with Darick and Geocache Talk.

After that event, McDoogins and I decided to head up Pikes Peak, the tallest mountain in the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. There was an event scheduled at the summit that afternoon, “GW14er “DGS Rocky Mountain High 14,115ft”” (GC6C8FY). The drive to the top is a 19 miles on switchbacks with a near drop off right next to you. The weather near the top turned cold and cloudy so we did not stay long. We found a handful of caches on the mountain and they are all now my highest elevated caches at 10,000 feet or higher.

Sunday, July 3rd was the big day. I headed out early to the “GW14er: Donuts in Denver” (GC6CT3Z) event. It was at a donut shop with the most delicious donuts I’ve ever had. I was even given a sample of a fresh, hot one right off the cooking line. I signed the donut shaped log and chatted with some other cachers for a while before heading out.

I had a mission to complete. I was going to make an attempt at finding 10 cache types in one day. I stopped at a virtual nearby “Northglenn Veterans Memorial” (GCHHJY) and quickly gathered the required information. I also needed a webcam cache for the day. The one I chose was “Pearl Street Webcam” (GC4994); it was a 35 minute drive away from where the donut event was, and the opposite direction of the Mega. I arrived there for find a group of probably 10 cachers there waiting. When I approached them they said they had been there for quite a while and the camera hadn’t refreshed. I was so upset at this point that I wouldn’t be able to get all 10 icons. I decided to sit and wait awhile. A few other cachers came and went and a few more came. I decided to give up on the webcam and got back into my car. Before I left, I checked the webcam page on my phone one more time and the picture was of the two cachers who were still sitting at GZ! It worked! I excitedly hopped back out of my car and told them it was working again. I waited anxiously a few more minutes before the camera refreshed again and I was in the picture!

I headed back to pick up my boyfriend and we headed over to the Denver Botanical Gardens at Chatfield. We first headed over to the large letters that spelled out GeoWoodstock which were the log book for the event. We signed on the letter D. After that, we spent some time checking out the different vendors. There were a dozen or more vendors attending and they had a wide variety of supplies and swag. We also wandered around the grounds in search of the 3 lab caches that were there. Before too long we were heading toward to big letters again but this time for the group photo. Thousands of geocachers gathered together and our photo and some video was taken by a drone. We spent the rest of the afternoon finding the new gadget caches that were placed around the grounds. Lucky for me, there were 6 cache types placed throughout the grounds specifically for the event. Soon after that McDoogins and I left the event and headed to the remaining breweries for the lab caches.

The next morning, we began our long journey back home to New York. We had a fantastic time at the Mega event and all the satellite events. I got to meet many people I had previously only known online. It was a great time with great friends that I will never forget.

I also put a video together of some photos. You can find it here:

May 2016 #GeoChallenge – Move a Trackable

The Geocaching Vlogger and Cache Advance have partnered up to issue a geocaching challenge to the geocaching community worldwide! This month’s challenge is to move a trackable.

Check out the Geocaching Vlogger’s #GeoChallenge video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jI93OU6tb8

GeoGearHeads 228 – Podcasting

I had another opportunity to be a guest on the GeoGearHeads Podcast for a show about podcasting. I’ve been tossing around the idea of starting my own podcast and I was able to ask a lot of questions about how to get started. Thank you to LANMonkey, Dabaere and The Bad Cop for all the great advice!

Why Do I Love Geocaching So Much?

I often get asked by friends and family “What’s so great about geocaching?” or “Why do you like geocaching so much?” The first few times that I was asked, I didn’t have a chance to think about it and I would say that it gets me outside more. While this is still true, there are so many other reasons to love geocaching.

Geocaching brings me to the most beautiful places.

One of the best parts of geocaching is the interesting places where you can find a cache. I’ve had the opportunity to see mountains with lake views, waterfalls, towering pine trees, stunning gorges and more. Earthcaches tend to be my favorite cache type for this exact reason. Since earthcaches are about geological features of the earth, you’re bound to find something interesting. I’ve been to a lot of stunning places because there was an earthcache there. One of my favorite places I’ve been because of geocaching is the Eternal Flame (“Eternal Flame Falls Earthcache” GC10VMY) located in Chestnut Ridge Park near Buffalo, New York. A small waterfall cascades over the shale creek bed, but that’s not even the best park. Underneath the waterfall, in a small grotto is a natural gas emission. When lit with a lighter the flame burns continuously. It is one of the most amazing natural phenomena I’ve ever seen.

Geocaching pushes me to do things I normally wouldn’t.

I wouldn’t consider myself in the best shape; I’m not a runner, swimmer or anything like that. Since I’ve started geocaching I’ve done many things I otherwise wouldn’t have done. I climbed two mountains in the Adirondacks because there were geocaches at the summit. I’ve gone kayaking to find geocaches, which is something I probably wouldn’t be interested in if I wasn’t going to get a smiley out of it. Last summer for the Geocaching Road Trip, I did something I never would have done before geocaching. I needed a cache for the 5-star terrain or difficulty souvenir. The cache I decided to do required a hike down into a gorge, a quarter mile hike along the rocky shore of the raging Genesee River toward a huge waterfall and into the back of a large, dark cave (“Over the Falls” GC2127R). There is a new cache that was placed in that cave, so I get to make the trek again, and I’m actually excited about it!

Geocaching has brought me out of my shell.

Normally, I tend to be a pretty shy person. I don’t normally find myself talking to people I’ve never met before. Geocaching has really changed that about me. I almost immediately latched onto geocaching events. I really enjoy getting together with other geocachers and having conversations about our great hobby. Talking with other cachers came so naturally to me; probably because it is something I am so passionate and excited about. I look forward to every geocaching event and make a large majority of my caching plans centered around events. Attending events has allowed me to meet so many great people that I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to get to know. I’ve made great friends through geocaching.

To me geocaching is much more than just finding containers in the woods. It has pushed me to my limits, physically and mentally, it has allowed me to meet so many great people and it has brought me to so many amazing places. And that is what I love about geocaching.

I Got Some Great Mail Today!

Today was an exciting day. Today I walked away from my mailbox with quite a few packages in hand. 

The first was a prize package I won from the GeoSnippits Reboot Podcast. It included a UV marker and UV flashlight, a log stamper, a GxProxy trackable and an Alaska geocoin. 

  
The other package was much more exciting!! It was one of the highly sought after Dragon “geocoins” from CoinsandPins.com. It is a golden dragon that is just about 4 inches long. He has blue gems for eyes and is holding a bit orb in his front paws. His wings even flap! It is probably the most beautiful trackable item that I own!