GPS Adventures Maze Travels to Colorado

GPS Adventure Maze LARGE picThe new GPS Adventures Maze is all set to open its doors just a short drive from downtown Denver. You can navigate the fun, interactive museum exhibit at The Wildlife Experience. Join Geocaching Co-Founder Jeremy Irish and hundreds of fellow geocachers at the opening event on February 9 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

GPS Adventures Maze
GPS Adventures Maze

The GPS Adventures Maze is open for exploration through May 27. You’ll be able to test your geocaching knowledge and sense of adventure inside the life-size maze. Plus, while you’re making your way through the family-friendly maze you’ll learn the inside-story of GPS technology, unlock navigational history, and discover geocaching fun facts. Those who log the maze will even earn the unique GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit cache type icon.

 

John Grisham Gold Geocoin Winner Announced

John Grisham GeoCoin 2
John Grisham Geocoin

The pictures have been sorted, assessed and judged. The winner in the Hunt for the Gold! Find THE RACKETEER’s stash has been announced. Geocachers in the U.S. gobbled up 5,000 free Grisham Geocoins which read, “John Grisham THE RACKETEER 999.9 Pure Suspense.” No more Geocoins are available, except one (more on that later).

Geocachers released the Geocoins into geocaches around the country, allowing others to enter a photo contest with the Geocoin. Hundreds of photos were submitted. The winner took home a one-ounce bar of pure gold!

Check out the winners below. Interested in winning the last John Grisham Geocoin? Use your wit and humor in the Geocaching Caption Contest. The winner will receive the John Grisham Geocoin and a barely coveted prize.

You can still discover and keep the John Grisham Geocoin moving. They’ve now spread around the world. Check out the interactive map on the Geocaching.com John Grisham page for their latest locations.

John Grisham Geocoin winner
Grand Prize Winning Picture – Axeman22

 

Selected Runner Up Photos
Selected Runner Up Photo – Andipotamus

 

 

Selected Runner Up Photos
Selected Runner Up Photo – Fstop_22

 

Selected Runner Up Photos
Selected Runner Up Photo – njphotoguy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Runner Up Photos
Selected Runner Up Photo – 3Nvestig8rsBob

 

Beyond Here, Lay Dragons (GCH52C) – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – January 17, 2013

A brave geocacher approaches the dragon
A brave geocacher approaches the dragon

Southshore Park, also known as Dragon Park, is a popular community park in The Woodlands, Texas. Fishing is one attraction. The park is also a great place for romantic picnics and for soaking in a beautiful sunset. For geocachers, it is popular for all those reasons and more. That’s because Southshore Park is home to Beyond Here, Lay Dragons (GCH52C), a difficulty 5, terrain 5 geocache whose size has not been revealed.

According to the cache page, “On old marine charts, they would record what they knew, and on the edges of the known world, they would write ‘beyond here, lay dragons.'” In this case, just beyond Southshore Park is a lake with a famous dragon sculpture.

And what a dragon sculpture it is. While the geocache’s size has not been identified, the sculpture is sure to be noticed, even from a distance. It is normal to see birds on the head of the dragon or kayaks floating alongside the long, green creature. The dragon is so popular that a three-day long Dragon Boat Challenge is held each year at the park. One of the events includes a “best dragon-like” boat competition.

... and off they go!
… and off they go!

To log a smiley, geocachers have to paddle their way to the dragon and follow the directions outlined on the geocache page. Over 125 geocachers have done exactly that. They also awarded this geocache 41 Favorite Points since it was hidden in October of 2003.

A group of geocachers who logged this find wrote, “LOVE THIS CACHE! It was just fun all around for us! We purchased an inflatable boat and borrowed some paddles instead of renting a kayak on the lake… We took 2 trips to the dragon: sureman & mr turdhustler were trip 1, and myself & mrs turdhustler were trip 2.

Sometimes it's just best to swim to the treasure
Sometimes, it’s just best to swim to the treasure

We grabbed the dragon by the tail, stared him in the face and battled him in an effort to get this cache!  We did not want to leave defeated! We felt like we were in the stone-age! We made a special tool from various items we had in our vehicle.  As my caching group knows, I am a picture freak, so this one was worthy of lots of pictures. Sureman (my dad) and me completed our first 5/5 cache! Turdhustlers completed another 5/5 cache to add to their list! Thank you for the milestone! What a fun cache for a Texas summer day!!!”

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

If you would 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.

The big, green sea creature
The big, green sea creature

Celebrate the Geocaching Community’s Volunteers

The Global Geocaching Community VolunteersThank you volunteers

English language flagVolunteers help define your geocaching experience. Volunteers offer their advice and guidance to geocache owners and help set the tone of the game. The volunteers number in the hundreds, speak dozens of languages, and most all love geocaching and the global community it creates. Find out more about the geocaching community volunteers, including a behind-the-scenes video. Each geocache you find or hide has the digital fingerprints of a volunteer on it. Volunteer reviewers assist geocachers by reviewing and publishing geocaches that meet specific guidelines. To learn more about how to work with your local reviewer and successfully hide a geocache, see How to Hide a Geocache and watch Basics of Hiding a Geocache. For more information about working with a reviewer, see the Geocaching Help Center. Go to the official Geocaching Facebook page to join us in saying a big ‘Thank You’ to the community’s volunteer reviewers.

Die weltweiten Volunteers der GeocachingCommunity

Volunteer image

german language flag

 Freiwillige helfen mit, Dein Geocaching-Erlebnis mitzugestalten. Sie stellen Cache-Ownern ihre Expertise und Anleitung zur Verfügung und helfen dadurch mit, wesentlich bei unserem Spiel mitzuwirken. Volunteers beherrschen hunderte, sprich: dutzende, Sprachen, und fast alle gehen in Geocaching und der globalen Community, die dadurch entsteht, voll und ganz auf. Deswegen finde hier mehr über die Arbeit der freiwilligen Helferinnen und Helfer der Geocaching-Gemeinschaft heraus, inklusive eines Video-Clips, der einen Blick hinter die Kulissen wirft.

Jeder Cache, den Du findest oder versteckst, trägt den digitalen Fingerabdruck eines Volunteers: Freiwillige Reviewer sorgen mit dafür, dass alle Caches, die gepublisht werden, auch den Richtlinien des Spiels entsprechen. Um zu erfahren, wie die Zusammenarbeit mit Deinen lokal zuständigen Reviewern aussieht und wie man erfolgreich einen Geocache versteckt, schau Dir die Seiten “Wie verstecke ich einen Geocache?” und “Grundlagen des Versteckens eines Geocaches” an. Für weitere Informationen zur Zusammenarbeit mit einem Reviewer, wirf bitte einen Blickin den Hilfe-Bereich.

Besuch die offizielle Facebook-Seite von Geocaching, um mit uns zusammen den Volunteers einmal ein großes “Dankeschön!” für ihre Arbeit zu sagen.

Lamanai High (GC19505) – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – January 10, 2013

Descending down the temple
Descending down the temple

This week, we will walk through a rain forest and climb the highest ancient Mayan temple to log a difficulty 5, terrain 4 micro geocache.

Located in the Orange Walk District in Belize, Lamanai High (GC19505) is known for the incredible experience that comes with finding the geocache. Not only is the temple the highest exposed structure of 108 feet (33 meters) for miles, it also provides a breathtaking view of the jungle and the nearby river.

Lamanai, a Maya term for “submerged crocodile,” is one of the largest and longest inhabited ceremonial centers in Belize. It’s an imperial port city that includes ball courts, pyramids, and several exotic Mayan features. Hundreds of buildings have been identified in the two-square-mile area, among the tallest of them is a cleverly hidden geocache.

It’s been said that “the difficult part is getting there.” Geocachers have the option of driving over rough roads or taking an organized day boat trip. Once there, the climb up the steep steps can prove to be a challenge despite the assistance of the rope. However, the final destination at the top of the High Temple provides a spectacular 360 degree view of the archaeological reserve, the exotic animals and forest, and the river.

Since February of 2008, Thumbs Up! has drawn more than 70 geocachers to travel to this location and experience an exciting adventure to find a cleverly hidden geocache.

Planning for the approach
Preparing for the climb

The geocache logs describe detailed and fun-filled adventures that may otherwise not have taken place. One geocacher wrote, “What an amazing journey Team Muddyloon experienced traveling to get to Lamanai High! After securing transportation for an hour long ride into the interior of the Belizean jungle, we arrived at a floating dock to board our boat for the second part of our journey. We set out at 34.6 mph up the twisting and turning crocodile ridden New River. Approaching some fishermen in a canoe, our driver slowed down while the fishermen pointed out a big green snake swimming swiftly to shore. Proceeding onward, we spotted numerous birds and the ripples of crocodiles along the shoreline.

Approached by a local
Approached by a local

Approaching the ruins we felt like we had transported back in time, making us feel as if we were Indiana Jones. As we rounded a path the High Temple came into view. We stood in awe of the beautiful structure that was built over 3000 years ago and is still standing today. Now we had the daunting task of climbing the temple to the cache. As we reached the level the cache was hidden on we quickly searched and discovered the cache, signed the log and proceeded to the top of the temple. A beautiful 360 degree panoramic view granted us our final reward. Heading back down the river we were treated to unexpected bonus of seeing the branches of the trees along the river’s edge rippling and then seeing the long strong arms of some Spider Monkeys swinging towards us. One Spider Monkey dropped into our boat for a banana and to treat us to a close up view before swinging back into the jungle and disappearing from view. Thanks for an adventure of a lifetime!”

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching Blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

If you would 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.

View from the top
View from the top