Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.
The geocache “Para Emmy-n-Sapphie” (GC19941) sits just outside one of the most recognizable vistas in the South American country of Peru. According to the cache page, the micro-cache is “hidden along a path on the outlying edges of Machu Picchu.”
The fascinating history of the site and the breath taking views reward geocachers for their find. Many tourists hike a substantial portion of the 2,450 meters (8,040 ft) trek up the mountain.
The difficultly three, terrain 3.5 geocache was hidden in 2008 by GiGi and JoJo. It’s maintained by a local friend of the cachers. The cache received more than 20 Favorite Points. Its been logged by 281 geocachers so far.
Geocachers who visited the tourist destination and logged “Para Emmy-n-Sapphie” write, “A perfect day for Machu Picchu. Coming here with heavy rain, fog, clouds and not so much tourists. And during noon the sun was coming out. The cache I found quickly.”
Para Emmy-n-SapphieCaption on the cache page photo reads, "Cache guardians..."
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.
WINNING CAPTION: "Tfth. Left bug, wallet, car keys, flashlight, prescription eyeglasses, hat, and pride." Mentor19
The search for a geocache often takes us to unusual places and sometimes bends us into unusual shapes. Share your gift for witty captions in the 29th installment of our Geocaching.com Caption Contest. You could earn a barely coveted prize. What caption would you write for the picture above? It was originally posted on our Geocaching.com Facebook page by teamoggy.
Submit your caption by clicking on “Comments” below. Please include your geocaching username in all entries. Then, explore the captions other geocachers have posted.
Coveted Prive - Size Medium
You’re encouraged to ‘influence’ the voting process (nudgenudge). “Like” the caption that you think should win. If you think your caption should win, convince your fellow geocachers, your friends, and family to “like” your caption. Lackeys vote from the top finalists to decide the winner of the contest.
The winner receives the ‘barely coveted prize’ you see to the left, which may actually be quite coveted. It’s is a sample product submitted to Shop Geocaching – a size medium orange hooded sweatshirt. No other sizes are available to the winner.
Click on the image to see the winning caption for this contest
More than a dozen Lackeys voted to award the winner of the 28th Geocaching.com Caption Contest a barely coveted prize. Click on the image at right to discover the winning caption from the last Geocaching.com Caption Contest.
Explore all the past winning captions by checking out all the Geocaching.com Caption Contests. If you have suggestions for Geocaching.com Caption Contest photos, send a message and the image to pr@groundspeak.com.
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.
