Left: GBP2013 Tell Me Your Story! Center: TB racers at the starting line Right: GBP2013 – 2013 Miles to Say Hello!
And the Travel Bugs have (finally) crossed the finish line! With the 2013 Geocaching Block Party now in the books, it’s time to announce the winners of the The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug Race. To be eligible for a prize, the Travel Bug contestant had to start at the 2012 Geocaching Block Party, travel at least 2013 miles, and make it back to Geocaching HQ before this year’s Block Party festivities wrapped up. In just one year, the 57 Travel Bug racers collectively traveled 479,548.48 miles!
Now, without further ado, here are the winners of The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug Race:
LibLabLady carried Arruf1’s Trackable “Anne Bonney” thousands of miles. After discovering a shared love of this pirate lady’s history, they decided to meet up at Geocaching HQ to swap stories and drop off Anne Bonney together – just in time for Block Party!
The winners will each receive a (modestly) awesome bag of geocaching swag. Thank you to all of the geocachers and Travel Bug racers who participated, and a special congratulations to the winners!
See all the smiling faces of those who earned a smiley for attending Geocaching Block Party 2013 on our Facebook page.
What is your best Travel Bug story of 2013? Do you have any special goals for a Travel Bug in the next year? Tell us about it in the comments.
We thought Week #1 of 31 Days of Geocaching was pretty great, but it turns out that Week #2 was two times the fun! This week we learned that every day can be an adventure if you choose to make it one. Here is a photo recap from our HQ explorers:
Day 7: No hitting the snooze alarm this morning! A few caffeine-loaded Geocaching HQ explorers skipped up a mountain to catch sunrise over Mt.Rainier and grab an early morning Smiley before work. (Pssst…check out our new geocaching and Forest Service volunteer friend photo-bombing from the fire lookout.)
Day 8: What do you call a race that involves running, biking, swimming, and geocaching? A geocachalon. This heart pumping adventure was the brainchild of Videographer Reid Kuennen (Username: reidsomething). Office Manager Maria McDonald (Username: AKprincesswarrior) jumps into ice cold Lake Union to celebrate sweet victory.
Day 9: Copy writer Derek Hamilton (Username: scattermycaches) struggled to figure out this smarty-pants geocache hidden by one of our own, Community Volunteer Support Coordinator Cindy Potter (Username: Frau Potter). Derek says, “Call Bill Nye! There’s science in this tube!”
Day 10: On Saturday, Partner Programs Manager Annie Love (Username: Love) decided to lead her family off the beaten path. She reports, “Even though the geocache was 100 feet away, our group decided that exploring the creek drain and jumping in the swimming hole was necessary before we started our search.”
Day 11: Community Manager Annika Ledbetter (Username: Lebbetter) was a hero on Sunday (coincidentally also her birthday). She says, “This dinosaur was saved from extinction. After almost being lost for 4 years on Bainbridge Island, I rescued Dino and brought him to Geocaching HQ. We gave him a warm welcome and a day full of fun.”
Day 12: These intrepid travelers journeyed for hours (mostly because they have terrible navigational skills) to a hidden marvel that (for once in their chatty lives) left them speechless.
Day 13: Product Manager Joel Werdell (Username: Tieyak) takes his geo-parent responsibilities very seriously. His daughter Bennet says cheese after finding some sweet swag.
Day 14: Watch out for Troll droppings! Today marked the release of the Geocaching HQ GeoTour. We created this Tour to help share our favorite places in the Center of the Universe with all of you out there in our geocaching galaxy.
Day 15: Beering up for Block Party – our Keg Squad organized a refreshing get together at a local micro brewery. Armed with tiny beermugs, we made our way through Ballard’s breweries. As we crossed a busy street to our next refill, Geocaching Reviewer “The Leprechauns” remarked, “This is not jaywalking, this is urban bushwacking!”
Day 16: UX Manager Nick Botner (Username: Whiskey Bones) and his team take the cake for best Team Trackable. (Yes, it is actually a flying shark. Jaws has nothing on this monster.) Less than 24 hours left in the count down to Geocaching Block Party and International Geocaching Day 2013! But don’t worry – we still managed to earn a smiley in the midst of all the party planning panic.
Stay tuned for more adventures from Geocaching HQ. What are your favorite tales from the 31 Days of Geocaching trail? Tell us about them in the comments below.
Click for a printable version of the 31 Days of Geocaching Calendar
They’re lean, they’re mean and they’re swarming back to Geocaching HQ as we speak. Almost a full year ago at the 2012 Geocaching Block Party, we released a collection of Travel Bugs in The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug Race. The trackables entered the wild to start the race of their lives. Geocachers and Geocaching HQ Staff (Lackeys) alike watched their intrepid racers start their journey with a singular goal: to make it at least 2013 miles and return to Geocaching HQ in Seattle in time for the 2013 Geocaching Block Party. Additionally, Travel Bugs competed in the following categories:
Fastest TB back to HQ (after traveling the minimum mileage)
TB with the most mileage
TB to travel to the most countries
TB with the best picture
TB with the best log entry
TB with the most geocachers who moved the TB
TB with the most creative Hitchhiker (item the TB is attached to)
Summer Time Geocoin’s Travel Map
We’re in the homestretch now, less than 72 hours left! But who will win each prize? Will the mileage race be won by budda63’s 28,000 mile powerhouse Summer Time Geocoin, which has already traveled further than the circumference of the Earth? Will “most geocachers involved” go to Pinscreen’s Hippo Safari racer, or will belaviz’s Pass’n Gasser Racer Tag take the prize? All questions are answered once and for all this Saturday in Fremont at the 2013 Geocaching Block Party.
In the meantime, keep up that 31 Days of Geocaching streak (we sure will)! You can also check out the status of all the Travel Bug® racers here. Who’s your favorite to win?
Tony and his son’s adventures take them to find Ko Tapu James Bond Island (GC2179V) in Thailand.
Meet Tony Linberg (Username: galdrin): IT guy, geocacher, and proud father. Meet Tony’s son: 13-year-old treasure hunter, adventurer, and explorer. They’re your everyday father-son geocaching duo. But dig a little deeper and like most geocachers you’ll uncover something remarkable about their relationship and why they geocache.
In 2006, Tony’s three-year-old son was diagnosed with severe autism, meaning that he is unable to use spoken language. He also suffers from asthma, light epilepsy, and hyperactivity. This diagnosis would change the Linberg family’s life. They moved away from their friends and family in the city to a quiet house in the countryside, an environment more suitable to their son’s needs. A year after the move, the Linberg’s daughter came into the world. She was also diagnosed with autism.
Then, in 2008, Tony happened across an article about geocaching. After discovering that his son enjoyed being driven in a car, Tony had started the routine of taking long car rides with his son. They would just drive and drive for hours at a time. Tony says, “The article gave me an idea to create a goal for our next evening in the car so that the trip would have some meaning for me also and not just for my son. And this is where our life takes a new direction for me, my son, and in the end all our family. If the [autism diagnosis] started a downward spiral then the discovery of geocaching started an upward spiral that just keeps on going.”
On that first geocaching experience, Tony and his son both fell in love with geocaching – but in very different ways. Tony loved the way that finding the treasure at the end of the trail made him feel: excitement building, pulse racing, confidence growing. Tony says his son fell in love not with the find itself, but rather with the adventure of getting there: “My son has never cared about the box at the end of the trail, he only cares about the trail and what he got the day we found geocaching is the activity needed to feel good.”
Geocaching has not only changed Tony and his son’s life, but also the way in which the entire family lives, loves, and exists. Through geocaching, Tony says, “I get small glimpses of the boy behind the handicap, small moments when his hyperactivity lets go of him and he can sit down and enjoy the situation, and short moments when he grabs my arm and laughs when we have successfully logged a geocache and are walking back to the car. He almost never laughs normally, but when we are geocaching I am blessed with the sound of his laugh… Geocaching is a water balloon full of goodness that hit me, but it splashed everyone in our family.”
Tony’s son finds a geocache in their early years of geocaching.
Tony and his son are now going on 1400 finds and currently own two geocache hides. Their geocaching adventures inspired a new level of physical activity for both Tony and his son. Tony’s son started sleeping more than four hours a night and improved his balance. Perhaps most importantly, geocaching showed the Linbergs that their children’s autism diagnoses were not the final chapter. At first, the Linbergs thought that autism spectrum disorder meant that their family would never get to explore the world together. Because of his disorder, Tony’s son cannot be left alone for even short periods of time. But through geocaching, they learned that they can still lead lives full of exploration and adventure and – like all parents hope to do – they can challenge their children to try new things and discover interesting places. Tony has started calling his son his “shadow cacher” because they get to have adventures together all the time.
Today, Tony’s son is beginning to learn to communicate using an iPad. For the most part, the language is very basic (e.g. “I’m hungry” or “I need to go to the toilet”). However, there is one phrase that Tony says his son uses more than any others: “I want to go geocaching.”
For Tony and his son, geocaching is not about the numbers. 1400 finds means 1400 adventures, 1400 memories, and 1400 reasons why any parent and child – of any ability – can find a common bond through geocaching.
You can follow shadowcacher’s adventures on Tony’s blog. If you have a story you would like to be considered for the next installment of “Geocachers Care,” please email pr@geocaching.com.
With 31 Days of Geocaching in full gear, we thought we would give you a few pointers on how to keep your cool in the midst of all the craziness.
Tip #1: Don’t hit that snooze alarm!
We love lazy weekend mornings as much as the next guy, but hiking days are not the days to roll over and hit the snooze button. Partner Programs Manager Annie Love (Username: Love) admits that she’s not the biggest morning fan but still says, “Getting on the trail before the temperatures rise will make for a more pleasant experience and help avoid factors like heat exhaustion, dehydration and loss of sodium from mass amounts of sweat!”
Tip #2: Bring lots (and we mean LOTS) of H20
A big hike is not the day to skimp on drinking your water. Community Liaison to Engineering – as well as expert hiker and world-renowned geocacher – Jon Stanley (Username: Moun10Bike) gives us the lowdown: “Without water, your body will dehydrate, causing a loss in performance, dizziness, and possibly heat stroke. The general consensus is that hikers should carry about two liters of water on them, and drink about 1 pint (or 1/2 liter) every hour. The actual number will depend on the climate, level of exertion, and individual needs. Today there are many options for bottles or backpacks with water bladders that make it a snap to carry water and access it easily on the trail.”
Tip #3: Don’t forget your sunscreen and bug spray
Dude, bug bites and sunburns are not cool. Sunscreen is absolutely vital for a long day out on the trail. Excessive sun exposure speeds up dehydration and can result in sunburns, which can increase your risk of melanoma (skin cancer). As for bug spray, Jon says it’s more of a personal choice whether or not you decide to use it. Annie, on the other hand, is not a fan of bugs, “OMG, bugs are annoying! Do you want to enjoy the hike? Be prepared for those little buggars!”
Tip#4: Shoes should be more than a fashion statement
You know what else isn’t cool? Getting a blister. Annie says, “Waterproof boots with good ankle support are the best for summer trails. It’s a good idea to buy a half size larger than you normally wear as your feet will swell when hiking. Having boots that fit properly with thick (wool is ideal) socks will help keep blisters away.” Jon says you can also help prevent blisters by wearing shoes that are already broken in. A long hike is not the place to test drive your new kicks!
Tip #5: Do your research
It’s hard to know how to gear up if you don’t know the trail conditions. Annie reminds us that there are great resources out there to help you get prepared. “Check to see if there are websites that offer information on the hike you’re going on, or buy a local hiking guide that includes trail information and directions. I like to check out websites that allow for hikers to leave their trip reports so I can be prepared for any current trail conditions (snow on the trail, trees down or other obstacles that might make a difference in how you plan for the hike). Check on Geocaching.com to see if there is useful trail information in the description of the geocaches, or if recent finders provided useful information or pictures.”
Tip #6: A smiley (or Souvenir) isn’t always worth it
Check yourself before you wreck yourself. We know that earning 31 Souvenirs in a row sounds totally awesome. But we also know that taking care of yourself (and your family, friends, and pets) should be the priority. If finding a geocache makes you feel unsafe or if keeping up the streak is taking too much away from other aspects of life, it’s okay to DNF that one. There will always be more opportunities to log a “Found it” or earn a Souvenir….so don’t sweat it too much!
Okay, this isn’t the original Old Yeller, but it is somebody’s Old Yeller. And Moun10Bike is being careful to take good care of him! (Note: Power bars are not approved for canine consumption by the American Veterinary Medical Association.)
Tip #7: Don’t forget your faithful geocaching companion Old Yeller
Your dog may like to eat hots dogs, but he sure doesn’t want to be one! Remember that your favorite geocaching companion is only “mammal” too. Brings lots of water, snacks, and love for your pet with you on the trail. Oh! And don’t forget the poop bags! No one want to FTF the little presents that your pet may decide to leave behind.
How do you keep healthy, happy, and cool as a cucumber while out on the geocaching trail? Share your tips in the comments below.
