Ed Scott (edscott) admits, “I’m sort of obsessed with maps.” The Pennsylvania, USA geocacher discovered more than 2,500 geocaches using only maps, aerial photos and his wits. Watch Geocaching.com Presents: “Geocaching Without GPS” to see how edscott geocaches without using a GPS device.
He says, “In the beginning I preferred to do it this way. Then after that it became, well, people expect me not to have a GPS. So that’s what I’ll keep on doing.” The geocacher does use a GPS device occasionally, but says he’ll never use a GPS device 100% of the time.
Ed using a compass and a map
Geocaching.com will continue to release new thrilling and educational English, Czech and German language geocaching videos each month.
The next Geocaching.com Present video to be released will be “The 2011 Geocaching Year in Review.” What do you think should be included in the year in review? What are your personal geocaching highlights?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be one of the first to see new videos. Watch the more than 50 videos produced by Geocaching.com on our video page.
Get a Free Geomate.jr Trackable Geocoin with Every Geomate.jr Geocaching GPS
That’s right, Geomate.jr is giving away a free Geocoin with every Geomate.jr purchased from Shop Geocaching while supplies last! So you not only get an easy-to-use, family-friendly geocaching GPS that comes preloaded with 250,000 geocaches covering all 50 states, you also get a cool Geomate.jr trackable Geocoin that has its own glow-in-the-dark screen! To purchase a Geomate.jr., please click here.
You can even update the Geomate.jr with the latest US caches or caches from around the world. Find out more here.
Feeling lucky? A Geomate.jr is being given away every week until Christmas along with other prizes and competitions. Just “LIKE” Geomate.jr on Facebook to enter to win.
The 200 ThunderbirdGeo Art geocaches create a crystal clear picture that geocaching can extend beyond searching for a container outside. Geocaching means different things to different people. To many, geocaching is a reason to get outdoors, explore, and stay active. To others, geocaching is a challenge, a puzzle, or a creative outlet. To some, it is a venue for memorializing a certain event, location, or person. The 200 Thunderbird caches are a combination of all of the above.
200 Thunderbird Geo Art trail, birds-eye view
Developed by timtreinen, X$r, Johnny Rango, and Danzilla, four cachers from southern Idaho, the 200 Thunderbird is Geo Art compiled of 200 caches. The trail is located near the Mountain Home Air force Base (AFB) in Mountain Home, Idaho and forms the shape of an F-16 Thunderbird fighter plane in honor of the men and women who have served on the base over the years.
The Mountain Home AFB has been open since August of 1943 and has played a significant role in United States history. Cache developer timtreinen writes, “While we chose to do the F-16 as a nod to Mountain Home AFB and its men and women, we wanted the art to be part of something larger. We wanted it to be something our local area cachers would not only enjoy but be proud of, something they would want to invite their friends, locally and nationally, to come and enjoy with them.”
Thunderbirds in flight
After extensive research and preparation, the four cache creators spent ten hours placing all 200 caches in a single day. The plan was to have the entire Geo Art project ready in order to be introduced at the Western Idaho 11/11/11 Event. The event was orchestrated primarily by Johnny Rango and the League of Idaho Geocachers.
According to timtreinen the plan worked, “By 11/11/11, we were ready. More than 75 people showed up from all over Idaho and neighboring states to enjoy the fun of launching this new Geo Art. Many of them braved the dark, wind, and cold that night to start caching the art. ”
200 Thunderbird Crew
Here’s the catch – this Geo Art is more than an organized compilation of traditional caches. Included in the 200 Thunderbird Geo Art are 15 Wherigo Caches, 12 Letterbox-hybrid Caches, 22 Multi-Caches, and 151 Traditional Caches. The effect of using different cache types creates a color-coordinated design.
The Geo Art covers close to 5 square miles and is 5.7 miles long from top to bottom. Timtreinen states that, so far, “at least half a dozen others have finished the art with times ranging from 8 to 23 hours.”
According to timtreinen, “Judging by the participation, it seems evident that we have accomplished our purpose to create something cachers can enjoy.”
How about some castle caching, with a dash of dragon lore? The traditional geocache “Wawel” (GC2CZCX) can be found in Krakow, Poland. The GPS coordinates deliver geocachers to an impressive architectural complex called “Wawel” on the banks of the Vistula River.
Geocachers discover museums, a castle, and a cathedral. The history of the site is thousands of years old. According to the cache page, Neanderthals left their mark in nearby caves. The strategic location continued to play a role throughout European history. Legend even tells of a dragon that once lived in the caves under the limestone hill.
The cache owner, toczygroszek, encourages adventurers to explore the history of the site. He writes, “If I wanted to describe all buildings, museums and stories connected with Wawel, I would have to write a book. So the best idea is that you visit this place to see the unique character of Wawel yourself.”
"Wawel"Wawel Dragon
The difficulty two, terrain two geocache has been logged more than 200 times. It’s also accumulated more than a dozen Favorite Points. One geocacher who logged the cache wrote, “Found [the cache] after a brilliant visit to the state apartments and cathedral (and dragons cave). Krakow and its people are a constant delight.”
Continue your exploration of some of the most engaging geocaches from around the globe. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com. If you’ d like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.
Please join Groundspeak in thanking the volunteers who fuel the geocaching adventure for millions of treasure-seekers. More than 350 Volunteer Reviewers, Moderators and Translators give their time and talent to support Geocaching.com users. These dedicated volunteers serve the worldwide geocaching community by reviewing each cache listing before publication, moderating Groundspeak’s community forums and translating hundreds of pages of text. The volunteers don’t just serve the world of geocaching; they represent it.
The geocachers who volunteer are a diverse and hard-working group from nearly 30 countries. They are involved in their local geocaching communities and help a growing number of new geocachers discover and enjoy the activity.
The ranks of the volunteers are growing too. Groundspeak added more than 40 new volunteers in 2011. Collectively, they have published more than a half million new geocaches, supported more than 380,000 new geocachers and translated geocaching information into more than 25 languages in the past year alone. That’s a lot of time and geocaching know-how shared for the good of the global geocaching community. Oh, and most of them have “regular jobs” too.
Please take the time to join us in thanking a Volunteer Reviewer, Moderator or Translator today! Visit the Geocaching.com Facebook page to say thank you and leave a message for your local volunteers. Click here for information about finding your local Volunteer Reviewer.
