Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.
For some, it’s a game. For other, it’s a hobby. And for a few, it’s a way of life. However you describe geocaching, we can all agree on one thing: it’s fun. Geocaches like this one add an extra level of fun before you even leave the house. In order to find this Mystery Cache, you’ll have to play a few rounds of a geocaching-themed version of the ever-popular game Flappy Bird. From there, you’ll get the coordinates to find a unique container. The combination of a fun and innovative description and puzzle, plus a cool container makes this geocache prime for plenty of Favorite Points.
“Flappy bird came to my mind my kids love it, the game even made the news and almost everybody knows it. It’s an annoyingly great game in it’s simplicity, so I searched the web for ideas and I came across a opensource flappy bird clone in HTML5…I got to work on the game and replaced the bird with a traditional and the tubes with Travel Bugs. When it was finished I let my kids play the game they loved it. I was very pleased with the result of the game…I didn’t want to put it away in an ordinary Tupperware box because I love it when we find creative caches that suits the cache itself.”
“I would like to thank all the finders of the cache for there great logs and favo’s, it inspires me to go on this way. I hope that other geocachers get creative ideas from our cache and with all the media available nowadays everything is possible, and please don’t forget the container where possible make it equal to your cache, because a great container stays in your mind.”
What geocachers are saying:
[all logs translated from Dutch]
“Another fun and innovative way to put a puzzle together. Although I’m not a fan of Flappy myself, I find the use of the new HTML5 techniques used very nice with a nice mental twist. Insane family, keep it up! Another fav point from this team.” – Pdreijnders
“Flappy was fast, but luckily we had the coordinates even faster…Nicely done, and the place where the cache was hidden, is new to us! A favorite point is coming.” – haglibber
“Beautifully crafted puzzle. Although this game is hard for us, we still knew pretty quickly to get the coordinates. The cache was also beautifully made and was good to find. TFTC!” – Rik&Mir
What’s the most interesting Mystery or Puzzle Cache you’ve ever found? Tell us in the comments.
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, leave a comment below with the name of the geocache, the GC code, and why you think we should feature it.
Musicians and geocachers share quite a few traits. Namely, when they get together, amazing things can happen. One geocache maker has set out to prove this idea by creating one giant geocacher-powered band. And where better to recruit musicians than London’s Denmark street? This famous place is also known as the British Tin Pan Alley. Artists like Elton John, Jimi Hendrix and the Sex Pistols all have ties to this area. Whether or not the band will be headlining any tours or festivals this year has yet to be decided, but one thing is for sure: between the electric triangle players, backup singers, guitarists, cellists and percussionists, this band is going to top the charts for sure.
“I read every single log (which is almost daily!) and it gives me a great uplifting feeling to read them knowing that I have made so many geocachers happy and given them a geocache of a difference in such an urban location. As for the Favorite Points – totally amazed with the shear numbers – go to show, the most simplest geocache, can create the greatest awards!
The best geocaches are those which surprises us geocachers, either by it’s location, history, scenery, challenges or the geocache originality – get them all and they’ll clock up the geocache Favorite Points!”
What geocachers are saying:
“What an amazing cache. A must if passing this location. gets a favourite.” – Pebbles&Co
“This is a wonderful cache and a definite favourite. Never seen one like this before and it’s excellent TFTC” – Tangled two
“Brilliant idea for a cache, first time I’ve seen one like this but worked out straight away what I needed to spot… and after a couple of minutes there it was! Thanks for the cache, this one gets the favourite point for the evening. Add another bass player to the band!” – BandMandAandA
The band so far! Photo by geocacher OllivierA few of the band members. Photo by geocacher SelmiceIf you’re ready to start rocking, you can pick up a guitar next door. Photo by geocacher PiRad-ler
If you had to pick a theme song for your geocaching career, what would it be? Tell us in the comments.
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, leave a comment below with the name of the geocache, the GC code, and why you think we should feature it.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin
It’s a month to celebrate the quiet geocacher, the geocacher whose kindness reaches people one-by-one. They’re the reason bonds form across town and across political barriers – because they let us follow them along when we’re new to geocaching, or offer us that gentle nudge closer to finding the geocache.
Each geocacher mentioned here is already a winner. They’ll receive a prize package from Geocaching HQ for their contributions to the global community.
Now, this is your opportunity to help decide who will take home the earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (at left). Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive the exclusive special edition Geocoin, a hat and a profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.
MikeOtt – January Geocacher of the Month
In January, Mike Ottwas named the Geocacher of the Month.
A geocacher who commented wrote, “He is not the reason I joined Geocaching but he is certainly one of the reasons I am still involved. He has taken a huge role in our state with organizing events and special caches. He has a unique way of finding the “right spot” for a cache. Always an educational experience in one way or another. Thanks. Mike for all you do for new cachers as well as veteran cachers!!.”
Now it’s your turn to help us select the next Geocacher of the Month. Write a supportive comment at the bottom of this blog for the nominated geocacher that you feel should be awarded the title. A panel from Geocaching HQ will then use your comments to help guide the decision of which geocacher is awarded the Geocacher of the Month honor.
Here are your nominees for the February 2014 Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.
I have nominated witch24 because she is my geocaching inspiration. She has placed many caches in my area and have enjoyed finding many of them. On the few of the caches that i have needed help on, nothing has been to much for her. She has also gave me many new cache ideas and introduced me to this amazing game, i am now getting a geocaching membership this Christmas. Thank you for reading my nominee letter and I think that Witch24 is well worth of the prize.
I would like to nominate Brady, aka bjmccacher, as the Geocacher of the Month.
I first made Brady’s acquaintance in late 2013. I was driving from my home in Kansas to South Dakota, and stopped off along the way to find a few caches in Nebraska City, Neb. I found a few and DNF’d a few. Shortly after posting my DNFs, I received an email from bjmccacher. He very kindly inquired about my experience to both make sure the caches I had DNF’d were there, and also to provide a helpful nudge in the right direction. That was the first of many great experiences with Brady.
Several weeks after our email encounter, I visited Lincoln, Neb. (Brady’s hometown) to attend a lunch geo-event and do some caching. He ended up spending several hours… showing me some wonderful examples of great geocaches. I was blown away. But I later learned that my experience was similar to what many others have had with Brady. Just last month, he again spent a few hours taking me around Lincoln!
Since our first meeting, Brady has continued to be amazingly helpful and a great influence on my enjoyment of the hobby. He is kind and incredibly giving of his skills and knowledge. All in all, Brady Holmes is an example of the geocacher we should all aspire to be. To me, he’s a slam dunk as the Geocacher of the Month!
Wee Willy is a beloved geocacher, known all around north Texas for his love of hiking and finding places to hide geocaches, large and small but not nanos. Although he is one of the most prolific cache-hiders in our area (current number of active geocaches 594), it is his heart for people that make him so special to geocachers.
Most who share a story about finding a Wee Willy cache describes a memorable geoadventure of a long walk in a park and the joy of discovering a cache large enough to put trackballs or fun swag. Yes, we all grumble that Wee Willy takes us on trails that end up in some really uncomfortable place (itchy Cedar trees), but that doesn’t slow us down as we find his geocaches. His reputation for responding quickly to a DNF or Needs Maintenance is legendary and sets a high standard for all to follow. If every cache owner followed Wee Willy’s example, there would be no grumblers on Groundspeaks’ [Geocaching HQ’s] forums. Finally, we appreciate Willy’s endless attention to new geocachers, inviting all to come and meet local cachers at events and welcoming all to SWAG. Wee Willy is the best of geocaching!!
Leslie
aka Winstonsmom
Comment below to tell us who you think should be the January Geocacher of the Month. We will be accepting comments through March 28.
If your nominee wasn’t recognized here, please submit your nominations again next month. We’re always looking for the next Geocacher of the Month. To nominate a geocacher, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@geocaching.com and include the following information:
Your name, the name of your nominee, their username
A picture of the nominee
Description (200 or more words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month
Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. Nominations for the next Geocacher of the Month should be received by April 3.Once Geocaching HQ has received the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so that we might learn from each other.
Geocaching does more than just give us something to do. It gives us a way to explore and to meet new people. In fact, one of my favorite quotes is “the best things you’ll find while geocaching aren’t the geocaches, it’s the geocachers.” With about 7 million geocachers worldwide, there are plenty of adventurous folks just waiting to be your friend. However, it’s not always people you meet. When you seek out a geocache like Aliens Among Us, you’ll have the chance to make the acquaintance of a weary galactic traveler. He/she/it doesn’t say much, but if you search around the spaceship, you might just find a familiar sight: a trusty ammo can.
“I had whizzed past this location many times when heading west on I-90 and always noticed the alien waving to me from in front of his space ship. Every time I passed I would think to myself, ‘That would be a great place for a cache.’ …I found the owner of the property and explained what geocaching was and asked if he would like to have a cache placed there. He was all-in! Thus, the alien became the guardian of my cache. I am very happy that this cache has garnered so many “favorites” and I love the positive comments people leave. This spot inspires many people to post pictures and I love seeing which amazing objects here draw cachers’ attention. This whimsical place always makes people smile.
My message to the geocaching community is: If you are going to place a cache, take the time to make it a quality cache. Choose a unique container (with a clever name), or an interesting location. Make the cache large enough to be worth the effort to find it. Create a cache YOU would enjoy finding. I want everyone who finds one of my caches to walk away thinking ‘That was fun!'”
What geocachers are saying:
“Absolutely loved checking everything out, there are some really cool things to be seen in here. Much more than appears from the freeway, that’s for sure! Alone with our thoughts, laughter and wandering feet, we ventured here and there inspecting as many sights as possible. After having a conversation with the Alien in the ship of course. TFTH!” – WrongWayMommy
“What can I say about this cache? We absolutely loved it!! I really wish we had more time to explore the area, but in the bit of time we did have, we had a lot of fun. Great cache, great area and lots of fun…. a favorite for sure!” – 2sunbeams
“Took a big group up for this cool geocache. The owners of the place came out to chat with us and were super nice. So much cool stuff to look at out there. The adults were a little stumped looking for his cache cause we were looking in the spaceship itself. The kids are the ones who actually found it. Had a great time all around.” – Superbob77
Greetings Earthling. Photo by geocacher 2sunbeamsHe seems friendly enough. Photo by geocacher followingameliaMeet the alien, but watch out for nearby dinosaurs. Photo by geocacher followingamelia
Who are the most interesting people (or aliens) you’ve met while geocaching? Post your stories and photos in the comments.
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog.
If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, leave a comment below with the name of the geocache, the GC code, and why you think we should feature it.
Editor’s Note: Staff from Geocaching HQ in Seattle are visiting more than 30 Mega-Events around the globe this year, to shake hands, share stories and hear what you think is next for geocaching.
In February, the Southwest Arizona Geocachers hosted their signature event, S*W*A*G’s Yuma Mega #11, in sunny Yuma. Above is what it looked like at home in Seattle, where Geocaching HQ is located, that same weekend.
Christy and Signal
After arriving in Yuma and thanking the Southwest Sunshine Gods (they must exist), I found my first-ever Arizona geocaches and got started on the Mega Event’s Lab Caches.
Jeff Nicholson, you+me_makes3, with S*W*A*G created an elaborate series of 10 Lab Cache locations to show visitors a diverse range of attractions all around Yuma. Fortunately, he had suggested that I get a rental car for the trip. The Lab Caches were an excellent way to see the city’s well-known and hidden gems, ranging from the historical Sanguinetti House Museum to the Yuma Territorial Prison Cemetery. I even got to see some cute animals at the Wild World Zoo and Camel Farm, thanks to the Lab Caches.
The Yuma Warm-Up Mega Event #11 at a local restaurant was a great opportunity to meet the friendly Geocaching community and to get to thank our amazing volunteers in person. There was a nice handful of Geocachers who also had ties to the Seattle-area, and it was fun to catch-up with them. The event also featured a special screening of the Geocaching International Film Festival (GIFF), as shown at the 2013 HQ Geocaching Block Party.
Making friends at the Yuma Warm-Up Mega-Event #11
The next morning, the Mega Event was set up and ready for crowds. The West Wetlands Park was an incredible location, not too cramped and very pretty. There was a large array of fun activities to choose from; check out the impressive Activities Schedule on the cache page! I met with even more geocachers, vendors, Signal the Frog, and checked out the cool vehicles on display before completing the Lab Cache series later that afternoon.
Before heading back to the airport, I hosted a very-early-morning event cache of my own: I choo-choo-choose you! at the historic steam train near Gateway Park. I arrived early and there was already a welcoming crowd of friendly faces waiting for me as the sun came up. What an incredible group of geocachers! A great way to end an outstanding weekend of geocaching. Thanks, S*W*A*G!
A Show of Support Local Sheriff’s DepartmentAll are welcomeI choo-choo-choose you Logbook
Alone with our thoughts, laughter and wandering feet, we ventured here and there inspecting as many sights as possible. 
After having a conversation with the Alien in the ship of course. 
TFTH!” – 
