Trackables Now Available in the Geocaching Intro App
We’re pretty excited for this update. Are you ready? It’s now easier than ever to find and log trackables from the field by using the Geocaching Intro app. Now you can:
Search for trackables by TB code and log them
View trackable details pages
Learn more about trackables with built-in tips
This is just phase one, so more updates will follow soon. There are plenty of trackables out there just waiting to be discovered. Who knows? You may even find one of these unusual trackables.
Download the free Geocaching Intro app for iPhone or Android.
The Geocaching Shop Boyz: Gary, Phil, Marty, Dylan, and Mark
If you’ve ever ordered anything from the Geocaching Shop, you may have wondered, “Where does all this awesome stuff actually come from? Is it from a warehouse? Is it located inside of Geocaching HQ in Seattle? Is it made and packaged with love by geo-elves?” Well, we now present to you the story behind the SWAG and introduce The Geocaching Shop Boyz.
Meet the five guys who do everything geo-related for all orders made within the USA.* Long overdue for a shining moment of glory, here they are:
Dylan is the Fulfillment Specialist and a Scorpio
Dylan literally wears many hats at the Geocaching Shop, and is the youngest of the Shop Boyz. Technically, he’s been at Geocaching the longest since he used to come to the office with his dad when he was a little kid, but he’s been an official employee for about two years. His responses are always typically Dylan-esque: clever, quirky, and understated. For example, his favorite item is, “Anything that goes out of stock, because it’s ‘good business’.”
Geocaching Logo Marble-Earth SWAG
Dylan got the job when, “…one of the guys was moving to the main office, so one of the founders offered their first son as a sacrificial lamb, I mean, hard-working employee.”
Gary is the Fulfillment Inventory Lead and a Libra
Don’t let his uncanny resemblance to Sasquatch scare you—Gary is actually the sweetest one of the bunch and perhaps the smartest. A little known fact is that he aced all three semesters of Calculus in college. Perhaps the theory that mathematics and music are well connected comes in handy since Gary plays a mean bass for a local band called the Greenriver Thrillers. Gary has worked at Geocaching HQ for almost six years and knew one of the founders, Bryan Roth, from a previous employer.
An aisle from the Geocaching Shop – in an undisclosed location…
As an organizational fiend, Gary keeps the Geocaching Shop in tip-top shape. He’s also responsible for most of the “interior decorating” which includes a holiday tree covered in tape rolls and a geocaching T-shirt. It’s very avant garde.
Mark is the Fulfillment Lead and a Taurus
Known as a family man and all around nice guy, Mark is also the designer of the Build Your Own Ammo Can Brick Set. He got the idea while building bricks at home with his son. After collaborating with one of our amazing vendors, these have become a very successful item in the Geocaching online Shop.
“Shipping and logistics are my specialty. I also pack and ship most of the international distributor orders and volunteer shipments that come through the door. There are many other components to my job, but these are my primary daily functions.” He’s been with Geocaching for close to eight years, and also knew Bryan Roth from a previous job. Side note: if you want a job at the Geocaching Shop, apparently knowing Bryan is a prerequisite. 🙂
Mark’s masterpiece, “Phil and Gary with a Unicorn”
At some point in time, a fun tradition began at the Geocaching Shop. Customers and other Geocaching employees would leave cartoon drawing requests in their order notes and Mark would animate those requests. Sometimes they’re good, other times not so good. But he tries his best to accommodate.
Marty is the Operations Manager and a Taurus
Now the Operations Manager of the Geocaching Shop, Marty started as a temporary employee about 3 1/2 years ago but eventually became a full-time Geocaching HQ employee after a few months. He wants to offer items that inspire geocachers and give them ideas (like our devious geocaches), are top quality (like our packs, bags, and tools) or are best practice (like large clear ammo cans as requested by law enforcement).
The best times Marty had geocaching were with the Shop Boyz during the 31 Days of August Geocaching campaign that ran in the summer of 2013. “We keep very busy with clearing out all orders twice a day, but needing to find a geocache every day for a month got us out exploring. We went as a group every day to a geocache nearby. Some of our best selling items (like our Cache Maintenance Kit) came out of these days of geocaching. It was a lot of fun to explore the area with this interesting group of characters, and we learned a lot about geocaching.”
But don’t let the calm and cool demeanor fool you. Marty is terrified of adults dressed as animals. “When I saw Cats, I did not enjoy it. Adults dressed as cats is probably the one thing I dislike the most. So creepy!”
Phil is the Fulfillment/Customer Care Specialist and a Scorpio
Of course, we saved the best for last: Phil! He’s the guy that makes showing up to work seem like a party. Funny, hardworking, engaged, and big hearted, Phil also plays drums for the Greenriver Thrillers with Gary.
He’s worked at Geocaching for about five years and his favorite Geocaching Shop item is the Pelican Cache Containers – because they’re indestructible (just like Phil’s spiked hair). And yes – Phil wears his hair spiked every day – not just for blog post photo shoots. The color scheme is usually in support of Seattle’s NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks.
A huge map adorns the wall while Mark and Phil collaborate with distributors and fill orders
All the Shop Boyz pitch in to cover every area: logistics, customer service, ordering, receiving, creating kits, putting items on the website, writing item descriptions, figuring out the best items for the Geocaching Shop newsletters, etc. In addition, they all have input as a group on what items to carry, and work together to come up with the next great items for geocachers to use.
Have you ordered anything from the Geocaching Shop? Tell us in the comments below!
*If you are outside of the United States, please look up one of these great international retail partners for all your geocaching and SWAG needs.
Parks Canada created the Heritage Hide’n’Seek GeoTour for visitors to discover people, places, and events of national significance in Northern Ontario. There are 500,000 square kilometers of nature waiting to be explored—that’s an area twice the size of California.
Best time of year to visit:
August and September, when the days are warm and the nights are cool. The fall foliage starts to change in mid-to-late September, and the views along Lake Superior between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay are spectacular.
Learn from Aboriginal grandparents while walking through splendid scenery in Pukaskwa National Park (GC5BQBG)
Terry Fox Scenic Lookout (GC455RQ) honours a Canadian hero, near the location where he was forced to halt his Marathon of Hope.
Prizes:
If people find the caches, complete the passport, and collect 100+ points, they will earn a collectible Geocoin from Parks Canada.
The Heritage Hide’n’Seek geocoin available once you earn 100+ points and submit your passport.
What geocachers are saying about this GeoTour:
“I just spent 4 days in the Thunder Bay area and did one traditional and three Multi-Caches there so when I knew I was driving from Sudbury to Orillia today I loaded this cache into my GPS to stop and find it. What a great series of caches this is, love the history lesson and the places the caches take me to. T4TC!” – Desafio
“…This is the second cache in the series for me and I now have 30 points. To get more points I need to go further north. Because of this I’m now planning a Northern Ontario tour for next spring to explore the northern towns and find some more HHS caches. I’ve never been north of Sault Ste Marie / Sudbury / North Bay, so I’m looking forward to the adventure. It’s great that Parks Canada is embracing GeoCaching! Thanks for setting up this great cache and for bringing me here. Thanks for the fun Parka, you busy little beaver!…” –swed31
Additional Information:
To start the tour simply download a passport from any of the Heritage Hide’n’Seek GeoTour geocache listings. Adventure, discovery, and your shiny new Geocoin await!
Note: All the above information was provided by the GeoTour host. Copy has been edited by Geocaching HQ.
GC4WXX9 – this requires a lot of thought, so you might think.
Why Hannover is a great place to visit:
Hannover is a beautiful and verdant city located in the middle of Germany. With a population of over half a million, Hannover has it all: great shopping, museums, theaters, lush parks, and more.
Best time of year to visit:
Hannover is a wonderful place to visit all year-round. The summer is ideal because of the nice weather. Visitors traveling from abroad during this season will notice how green and beautiful the city is. The winter in Hannover is also great, as the city has Christmas markets that open in November. If you’re coming for the sole purpose of geocaching, the warmer months are recommended – April through September.
Berggarten is also an important European botanical garden. Some points of interest in the garden are the Tropical House, the Cactus House, the Canary House and the Orchid House. The Orchid House hosts one of the world’s largest collections of orchids, free-flying birds, and butterflies.
Additionally, the Hanover Zoo is one of the most spectacular zoos in Europe.
GC4WXWY – Music opens doors. Can you sing that tune?
Hidden gems only locals know about:
Germany is known for its geocaches hidden in lost places, and Hannover has some hidden gems that fall into this category. Old war bunkers are scattered around the city and some are even open to tourism. If you are interested in this sort of sightseeing, check with the Hannover tourism organization to see if there are available guided tours.
Prizes:
Geocachers who find all 19 geocaches will receive a clue to break the code for this TB. If you succeed (which you will), you’ll be lead to a location where you will receive a Geotoken as a prize.
What geocachers are saying about Schatzhüterin GeoTour:
“The crowning finale of a genius series! I am very excited about the Schatzhüterin series. It was a lot of fun, getting to know Hannover and the surrounding area through all the different caches. I found a lot of creative caches that I had not seen that way before. The motivation to do the entire Geotour was high in order to earn the Geocoin. ;-). We will place the Coin soon somewhere in the world and can’t wait to follow its travels. Thank you so much for the great tour and the loving design of each station!” –CeeJayyN’Enni
Additional Information:
Visitors should set aside a whole weekend to complete the GeoTour. For additional information on the GeoTour, please visit https://www.schatzhueterin.de/.
Discover all the unique areas of Hannover and make memories that will last a lifetime!
Note: All the above information was provided by the GeoTour host. Copy has been edited by Geocaching HQ.
Why West Bend is a great place to visit:
West Bend is nestled in the heart of Wisconsin’s northern Kettle Moraine, but is also close to Milwaukee. The area embodies the best of small town living and big city offerings. From museums and shops to miles of scenic trails and other outdoor recreation, West Bend has something for everyone.
Best time of year to visit:
West Bend is a year-round destination with festivals and fun for every season. In winter, have fun skiing, snowboarding, or tubing on two nearby ski hills. Music on Main is a live celebration every Thursday during summer. Geocachers from all over the globe head to this area for the annual $1000 West Bend Cache Ba$h Mega Event in August.
Must-see attractions:
The Old Courthouse and Jail (GC53BB1) is a standout attraction. Built in 1889, this historic building now houses an outstanding museum with exhibits that tell the story of Washington County from the Ice Age to the Industrial Age including some hands-on interactive exhibits.
The Museum of Wisconsin Art (GC53BBB) houses the largest collection of Wisconsin art, including Milwaukee-born artist Carl von Marr (1858-1936).
Hidden gems only locals know about:
Many locals don’t even know about Shalom Wildlife Zoo, a 100-acre wildlife sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to deer, elk, bison, wolves, bighorn sheep, a farm petting zoo, and many other animals. And don’t forget to say hello to brothers Lewis and Clark, a pair of young brown bears that like to show off in front of visitors.
Prizes:
Those who complete the GeoTour Passport receive a special West Bend Four Seasons Geocoin.
Site of Lithia Brewery/Time Capsule (GC53C91) – photo by Ashley Ambur Sanders
What geocachers are saying about South Park GeoTour:
“Made a last-minute decision to drive up for this geocoin challenge with mymowgli today. What a beautiful day of fun caching & great eating! We didn’t have quite enough time to hit all the caches, so we made up for it by taking in some extra meals for our needed points…and the food/hospitality did not disappoint! Thanks much for putting on this geotour/geocoin challenge for us to enjoy!” -ugomaddie
“Completing the West Bend GeoTour this morning before heading back home. I really enjoyed going to all of the historic sites in West Bend. Some I knew but some were new this time around. Top notch tour!” -MoonyMarauder
You can feed the animals at Shalom Wildlife (GC53GBA) – photo by Hack1of2
“A lot of time, thought, and effort was obviously put into the creation of this series, and we wanted to honor that by spending a little bit of time at each location, taking in the surroundings, and learning what we could of the area’s significance….This is turning out to be a great, great series. We are so impressed with West Bend! We’ll be back!” -Hack1of2
Additional Information:
From West Bend, it’s only a 30-minute drive to the oldest geocache in Wisconsin (GC3B1).
The first stop on the tour is the home of the West Bend Chamber of Commerce. Come inside, and the friendly staff will help make your trip a success! For more information about the GeoTour and things to do in West Bend, go to www.visitwestbend.com.
Note: All the above information was provided by the GeoTour host. Copy has been edited by Geocaching HQ.
