Category: Geocachers Care

/ Eric Schudiske /

“Hammy” a Groundspeak Hamster Finds a New Home

Charlie and "Hammy" the Groundspeak Hamster

Jon Hudson (Dakar4x4) will always remember an afternoon phone conversation on May 26th. The quick call marked the finale after weeks of questioning and anticipation.

His daughter Charlie (FluffyDog) called Jon at work to say the postman finally delivered a small package. The box arrived at their United Kingdom home from Seattle, Washington in the United States. He says, “Her excitement was unforgettable.”

The package contained a glossy eyed battery-powered hamster. The toy hamster had starring role in a Geocaching.com video. The segment aired in a continuous loop while the website received a major update in early May. The “Geocaching.com Hamster Power” video played on an old joke – that Geocaching.com is actually powered by hamsters. (It’s not.)

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Inside the package Charlie also found the hamster’s purple wheel and a note. Jon says, “She had the cutest hamster (the exact same one she had taken a liking to in the video) and an adoption certificate from everyone at Groundspeak, even Signal.”

But Jon says he never intended to adopt a toy hamster and Charlie has a cautious interest in any real pets, “She adores animals, but is equally scared out of her wits by them. It takes a long time for her to trust whatever geo-pet we meet on our adventures together, and of course, caching outdoors and going to caching events, we meet a lot!”

Charlie, Hammy and Dad

However, the hamster video struck a chord with Charlie. Jon says,”When Groundspeak announced the retirement of their aging Hamsters with the really cute video, I just had to show Charlie! She watched it again and again and again, still does in fact! As soon as the site was upgraded though, the video disappeared from the main screen and she asked where all the hamsters had gone. I explained that as per the story, they had been retired and the new ones were now running the geocaching site behind the scenes. Her immediate reaction was to ask where the retired ones had gone now that they were retired. That of course left me somewhat stumped, and so after being asked many times, I agreed to email.”

Soon a Groundspeak Lackey emailed a response. Jon quickly showed Charlie, “When she came home from school I watched her read it, she could not contain her excitement! One of the retiring Hamsters was going to be adopted over to Charlie! Now it wouldn’t be me getting the questions about checking the emails every hour for a response, but our poor post man, who was watched like a hawk for anything Hamster shaped being delivered from Seattle!”

Two Groundspeak hamsters still need homes!

The retired hamster, “Hammy” is happy in its new home. Jon says, “Hammy is still surprisingly spirited in his retirement years and has quickly adjusted to his new life with Charlie, who of course, is very proud of her very own, and incredibly famous geo-pet, thanks to everyone at Groundspeak! You folks really are the best!”

Almost all of the retired hamsters from the video found homes on Lackeys desks at Groundspeak Headquarters. The hamsters unblinking eyes and T5 cuteness remind Lackeys to diligently keep the website running at peak performance and to focus on the fun of an activity that allows people get outside and be active.

Here’s your chance to adopt some of that cuteness. Two retired Geocaching.com hamsters from the video still need homes. If you’d like to offer one of the hamsters a “forever home” post a comment on this blog. Explain why you’re the type of geocacher or geocaching family that would provide a good home for a retired Geocaching.com hamster. Please include your Geocaching.com username. The two winning geocachers will be announced by July 1.

 

 

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocacher Viewing the Endeavour Launch: “Right place at the perfect time”

Courtesy: Lorriebird

You never know where you’ll find a geocacher. Avid geocacher Lorrie LeBlanc (Lorriebird) was piloting an airliner over Florida just as the space shuttle Endeavour launched through the clouds this week. She snapped these pictures. Her pictures went viral, even posting on CNN.com.  Here’s her story.

Courtesy: Lorriebird

Lorriebird writes, “I was flying a route from Miami to Montreal on Monday, May 16th. I hadn’t paid much attention to the shuttle launch because I knew I would be working at the time and would miss it. We were cruising at 37,000 feet, and the chatter began on the Jacksonville radio frequency about the launch. Other aircraft started asking for permission to turn toward the launch, but they were denied.

“Then we received a message that the Endeavour was launching in one minute. I started looking at our position relative to the launch site and realized that we were VERY close at only about 40 nautical miles away. I told the Captain that I was flying with that we were the closest plane to this thing! I started looking for it and at that very moment the Endeavour punched up through the clouds in perfect position outside my window! The frequency erupted with questions….JAX center and other planes started asking us what we could see…but I was too busy taking photos to answer them! I mean, if I could have snapped my fingers to re-position our aircraft anywhere else, I wouldn’t have moved it! We absolutely lucked out and were in the right place at the perfect time.

Courtesy: Lorriebird

“I cannot write what I was saying out loud at the time. But all the while I was shooting, I just kept thinking that we were watching history being made. I really cannot describe the feeling properly, because words like amazing and incredible truly don’t cut it for trying to describe that thrill.  It took quite a while for the adrenaline rush to cut me some slack! The other pilot and I just looked at one another….did we REALLY just see that????”

Check out even more of her photos here.

 

Courtesy: Lorriebird

 

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocachers Care – “One Ring to Rule Them All”

AgTitan receives his alumni ring, again

Erik Hulse, AgTitan, gets straight to the point, “This is a story I will be telling for the rest of my life, a story I will never forget.”

The story he’s talking about – and will talk about for decades to come – begins on the soft, muddy bank of a Texas river.  AgTitan and Kenny Wade, GeoGeex, hiked through a park on an early April geocaching adventure.

Their first obstacle would be little more than a slithering side note. AgTitan says, “The hike was several miles and the snakes were out in force.  GeoGeex spotted the first snake of the twelve we saw that day.  We both had several close calls, almost stepping on several snakes during the day, but thankfully we averted disaster with the snakes.”

But an attempt to cross a river set the stage for a good deed that AgTitan could little imagine. He fell hard into the water. He says, “According to GeoGeex, the high pitched wail and spastic water dance was a sight to behold.  We learned several things during the encounter… like… when your hand hits the muddy, clay-like material on bottom of a creek, Aggie rings easily slip off the finger!” AgTitan lost his beloved “Aggie ring.” It’s a Texas A&M University alumni ring.  He says, “It sobered the mood the rest of the day.”

But AgTitan put a call out for help. He posted the coordinates of his fall into the river on a local geocaching Facebook page, jokingly calling the location, “One Ring to Rule Them All.”

Ground zero (GZ) where the ring was lost

Jeff Cruser, Z_Malloc, saw the post and reacted, “I knew that I could not let a fellow Aggie (Texas A&M Alumni) lose his ring without at least hunting for it! So I packed up my metal detector from work and loaded up the cachepack for a water trip.”

But Z_Malloc wasn’t prepared for the jumble of fallen trees when he reached the location where the ring was lost. He says “As I approached GZ (the coordinates) I saw that it was not just a simple narrow stream with a single log to search around, but it was to be a whole blockade of logs and other submerged debris with small rapids flowing by.”

Z_Malloc says that time was crucial. Rains were expected later in the day which could wash the ring downriver. He says, “I made some logical guesses about where the mighty AgTitan may have fallen in and focused on the partially submerged log in the middle of the stream. I was really glad I was alone because I bet it was quite funny to see me bent over at the waist in thigh deep water running a metal detector in one hand and feeling the bottom with the other. But after about ten minutes, and on my third hit on the metal detector, my hand brushed something in the moderately packed clay on the bottom.”

Z_Malloc recovers the ring

Z_Malloc pulled a silt covered ring from the water and kept his sense of humor intact. “I had the ring in my hand. So as I dragged the cache (ring) to the surface. I knew I was going to be FTF…..but NOOOOO the log (inscription) read Erik J. Hulse. All that work and to not get the FTF! So feeling all depressed, I tossed the ring back in the water for the next person to find and walked away.  Just kidding.”

Z_Malloc says he got a great story out of the adventure and helped a former Texas A&M alumni and geocacher.

AgTitan says that he only found out the ring was recovered when GeoGeex called hours later, “Kenny (geogeex) called me when I was at work because Jeff (Z_Malloc) posted on Facebook that he found my ring.  I didn’t believe Kenny at first, and kept asking him if he was joking with me.  When I realized it was for real, I found Jeff’s number and called thanking him.”

AgTitan says he didn’t just receive his ring back – he also earned a new respect for the geocaching community, “It is amazing what geocachers (and Aggies!) will do for one another, even when you hardly know someone.  TFTR (Thanks for the ring!) Jeff!!”

GeoGeex, Z_Malloc and AgTitan
/ Eric Schudiske /

A Lackey’s “Thank You” after Attending a Mega-Event

Editor’s note: Groundspeak Lackeys are traveling thousands of miles from H.Q. this year to share smiles, shake hands and make geocaching memories at more than a dozen Mega-Events worldwide. Jessie, aka Foxfire, attended the Mega-Event MOGA (Midwest Open Geocaching Adventure) this past weekend in the U.S. state of Illinois. Jessie has been a Lackey since 2009 and answers your emails as a Community Relations Specialist. This is Jessie’s account of her trip.
I was very happy that Signal made an appearance at 2011 MOGA thanks to SLB4U and friends

By: Jessie, Foxfire

This past weekend it was my privilege to attend the 2011 MOGA event in Rend Lake, IL. I don’t think I could have asked for a more interesting and fun weekend.

I was able to fly into St. Louis Airport Thursday afternoon to pick up my rental car and start on the 2 ½ hour drive to Rend Lake. I have never been anywhere near Illinois so I was excited to see a little of the state on my way. This included a lot of amazing architecture, “little” Nashville and my first glimpse of an actual swamp. I was born and raised in Seattle so yes, seeing a swamp was exciting. I spent my first night relaxing and doing some work on my laptop before turning in for the night.

On Friday, I woke up to a sunny and very brisk day and the strange sight of snow on my car. I decided I needed a good cup of coffee and better shoes for the weather, so I headed off on a mission into the small town of Benton. I soon figured out that there were no coffee shops but I was able to find a very large Wal-Mart where I could pick up some rubber boots. These boots ended up being the best thing I could have bought.

The ship's log and log book for the event

Friday night was the opening event of the weekend and my first chance to get to meet some of the geocachers that would be participating in the other events of the weekend. It was the BYO…Buccaneer’s Booty Bash Before the Big Bash. Everyone was dressed in their best pirate gear, including one very well dressed dog. I have to say pirates are my favorite! To my surprise even Signal was able to make an appearance. Everyone was so shocked to see our green mascot that they all fell quiet when Signal entered the picnic area. You could hear crickets. After a long night, it was back to the hotel to get some sleep before an early – very early –  3 am Seattle time wake up to make it to breakfast.

Saturday had to be the best day of them all. I was able to spend the day talking with local geocachers, answering questions about the website, troubleshooting issues and just socializing. I heard great stories about tornadoes on New Year’s Eve, muddy fields that apparently everyone at the 2010 MOGA ended up driving their cars into, the year of “The Snow Storm” and many more fun stories of past events. Little did we know that this would be another year in which we would end up with somewhere between three to six inches of snow by the end of the night. However, as many cachers kept saying, “Weather will not stop us from caching.” And it did not. For many people a little inclement weather may have brought down the spirit of the event, or made them unhappy. For this group it seemed that they found it a greater challenge. Through wind, rain, sleet and snow this group of about 600 cachers was out searching through the woods looking for the next cache. Each came back with a smile on their face and excitement for the awards ceremony at the end of the night.

I am now back home after a drive through the snow and a long plane trip but I will never forget the kindness and welcome that the cachers at the 2011 MOGA showed me. I only hope that I can make it back again to share in the fun of 2012.

The Iowa Geocachers Organization. The hosts of the 2012 MOGA Event

You can also find a Lackey at one of these upcoming Mega-Events:

Bussum, Netherlands – Geocaching Multi Event 2011
Oeiras, Portugal – 11 Years! Oeiras – Portugal
New York, USA – ASP GeoBash 6
Ontario, Canada – COG Spring Fling
Salzburg, Austria – Pinzgau 2011
Pennsylvania, USA – GeoWoodstock IX
Ohio, USA – Midwest Geobash
Wales, UK – Mega Wales 2011
Wisconsin, USA – West Bend $1000 Cache Ba$h
HQ in Washington State, USA – Groundspeak Block Party
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany – Geocoinfest Europa
Catalunya, Spain – Mega Event Catalunya
South Carolina, USA – Geocoinfest

/ Eric Schudiske /

“Trouble in Tinseltown” – Insider Tips to Hosting a Geocaching Event

Copy of "Hush Hush" magazine

Molly Shock, aka mshock, teaches the basics of hosting a successful and fun geocaching event. It’s part party-planning and all logistics. Find out how to make the event something to remember, how much time you’ll need to prepare and other insider tips. Watch the video below for a three-minute tutorial from Molly on tips for making your own themed geocaching event a success.

Molly’s marque event to date has been Trouble in Tinseltown – A Puzzle Rally Event (GC2993W).

An Event Cache is where local geocachers or geocaching organizations decide a time and location to meet and discuss all things geocaching. The attendees often go geocaching before or after the Event Cache.

Crime scene map from "Trouble in Tinseltown"

Molly’s event was no different, but the geocaching that occurred that day took puzzle caching to a whole new level. Molly spent four months orchestrating the elaborate themed geocaching event. “Trouble in Tinseltown” guided more than 80 cachers through a fictitious scandal, betrayal and murder in a  Hollywood whodunit.

Teams of geocachers discovered 15 caches by solving puzzles. They accumulated clues which ultimately provided the answer to the question, “Who killed Noah Boddy, where and with what?”

Each team received a copy of “Hush Hush” magazine [pictured above] which Molly wrote to provide a detailed back-story for the event. Then teams received these instructions at the start of the caching: “Solve the puzzles, find the caches, record the facts, bring the murderer to justice!”

Clipboard with "facts" for the event

Molly also created an elaborate crime scene map, a dossier and a clip board full of facts. Correctly using and deciphering each item brought teams closer to solving the crime.

You can still get a sense of the event. Most of the 15 puzzle caches that Molly placed are still active.

Hostess, Molly Shock

Molly’s tips for a successful geocaching event include:

– Design an event that lasts no more than eight hours

– Make caches challenging, but not frustrating

– Make it self-sufficient, provide clues (for a penalty)

– Let friends help

– Take cachers to a safe, interesting place

– Practice the event

– Have fun!

Geocachers who wish to attend the event but not look for caches should be able to attend as well. They can be spectators or extra “props.” They can also simply hang out, enjoy the crowd, trade Trackables and the usual.

Find out even more tips by watching an interview with Molly below.