Join tens of thousands of geocachers on 12-12-12 as they tromp through snow, brave chilling winds, or if they’re closer to equator or in the Southern Hemisphere – enjoy a nice sunny day on the beach. Geocachers united on 12-12-12 to celebrate caching, and record the last numerical alignment of day, month, and year this century. Geocaching.com and four geocaching vloggers recorded the day.
12-12-12 in Seattle, WA
Nearly 70,000 geocachers from around the world log a “Found it” or attended an event on 12-12-12. Every one of the geocachers, or geocaching teams earned a special digital souvenir for their efforts. Watch ‘Global Geocaching on 12-12-12’ to see the special sense of global community created by this geocaching event.
Subscribe to the Official Geocaching.com YouTube channel for the latest tips and tricks in geocaching. Watch the more than 50 videos produced by Geocaching.com on our video page.
Geocachers might be easier to spot in Ontario, Canada than anywhere else on earth. The province approved the world’s first official Geocaching.com branded license plate.
A Geocaching.com license plate was one of the attractions at the 2012 Geocaching Block Party. It was proudly showcased in the “Geocaching Museum.” It rested among other unique items from the history of geocaching. Exhibits included the world’s first geocoin, a log book from an original Project A.P.E. cache and a Travel Bug that spent some time on the International Space Station.
These unique license plates (which also feature a “GC” license plate number) are now available in Ontario, Canada. Local geocacher Roy Alexander aka RCA777 spearheaded the initiative.
Geocaching Museum exhibit
Roy says, “The Ontario government have offered graphic license plates with logos of professional sports teams for a few years. The graphic license plate program expanded and other organizations were also beginning to offer graphic license plates. I was certain that geocachers in Ontario would appreciate their own geocaching license plate … and the Ontario Geocaching.com License Plate Project was born”.
After contacting Geocaching.com and the Ontario government to confirm the process and work through the details, Roy reached out to the Ontario geocaching community for their support. Roy is also an active community member within his local Central Ontario Geocachers group (COG). Through monthly events and their annual Mega-Event, COG spread the word of the project across the province. Other regional groups also helped to spread the word, echoing the message of the project within their community groups and discussion forums.
Roy explains “The Ontario government required a bulk order of 200 sets of plates before they could process our application to the graphic license plate program. After a year of promoting the project, there were commitments for all 200 sets of plates. The government fee for the new plates was collected from everyone and the order was placed. After the plates were manufactured, they were shipped to me for distribution. The living room floor was quite a sight for a few days!”
At the Geocaching Block Party, Geocaching.com received special delivery of their own license plate from Roy. As the Lily Pad is located at Latitude 47 (hence the name of our blog), it seemed appropriate that our license plate would be 01GC47.
RCA777
Geocaching.com branded license plates are now available to all Ontario residents through the local Service Ontario offices, who handle driver and vehicle licensing.
Some tips for success:
Make sure you understand all the requirements from your official agency.
Ask Geocaching.com for official permission to use the logo.
Early on, agree on a foolproof way to allocate license plate numbers within your group. The first numbers (01, 02, 03…) and the doubles (77, 99, etc.) will most likely be very popular.
Create an easy way for group members to communicate with one another.
Each week Geocaching.com delivers a geocaching adventure starter kit to your inbox. It’s the Geocaching.com Weekly Mailer. You can opt into the Weekly Mailer by visiting your Geocaching.com Profile page. Go to Your Account Details and change email preferences.
When you receive the Weekly Mailer look to your left and you’ll discover a mega list of Mega-Events. You can map out a trip to meet hundreds (or thousands) of other geocachers near your home or across the globe. There will be more Mega-Events in 2013 than ever before, so keep watching that column on your left for updates.
Enter a location near your home on your Geocaching.com profile and the weekly mailer becomes a tailor-made caching service. New caches hidden close to your location will be listed each week below the article. You could be logging a first-to-find (FTF) in no time; think of all that room to write your username on the log! You’ll also receive a list of nearby events that will give you the opportunity to talk to local cachers about geocaching, connect with your growing caching community, and learn some cool caching tips and tricks.
Watch for your Geocaching.com Weekly Mailer each week and get the most out of caching!
This week, we’re visiting some of Europe’s highest sea cliffs to find the Geocache of the Week. We may even climb as far as 1972 feet (601 meters) in our search for the difficulty 3, terrain 3 traditional geocache in County Donegal, Ireland.
Thanks to John, a.k.a. Wild Rover, Slieve League (Bunglas) (GC18RT) has brought nearly 300 adventure seekers to this secluded and stunning location since it was published in April, 2004. The extensive logs and 53 Favorite Points speak volumes for this remote geocache.
John’s goal was simply to place the cache, conscious that geocachers would aim to find a location with something unique worth seeing or doing. He says, “These cliffs, while not unknown, are quite remote for most visitors and the cache has laid as a pointer to an unforgettable area to see and enjoy.”
And what an unforgettable area it is. The tall marine cliffs create a breathtaking, and sometimes intimidating view of the Atlantic ocean. For those who love to take walks, the “One Man’s Path,” an infamous hiking path to be approached with extreme caution, provides stunning views of of the sea, the Sligo Mountains and Donegal Bay.
High winds won’t keep geocachers away
The cache container is a camouflaged box with lots of goodies for kids. Even though the 984-foot (300 meter) view down into the wild Atlantic waves can be disorientating, the cache is nestled in a safe and approachable location. Rain boots are strongly recommended in wet weather.
One geocacher who recently embarked on this adventures writes, “When planning our trip through Ireland, Reisegern and I also planned to visit some interesting caches. This one looked very interesting, so we visited Slieve League today. We didn’t expect that it would be that great! We walked along the high cliffs and watched the seagulls and the sheep. The sun was shining so we earned a sun-brand as a souvenir. We enjoyed several hours with the fantastic scenery. Thank you for guiding us here. We wouldn’t have found this great place without the cache. At the cache container everything is alright.”
Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 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.
Click to watch a rare geocaching adventure. It’s part club house, part dream destination for avid geocachers. Space Coast Geocaching Store is the only full-time walk-in geocaching store in the United States. The Space Coast Geocaching Store is the hub of activity in eastern Florida. Caching supplies, from Geocoins to cache containers, stretch wall to wall. Plus the store offers one of the largest active geocaches you’ll find in plain sight.
Cache Containers at Space Coast Geocaching Store
Dale n Barb own Space Coast Geocaching Store. The Florida geocachers also hosts events and have been nominated as Featured Geocachers of the Month on the official Geocaching.com Blog.
They have worked with parks and the geocaching community, including numerous CITO events. They are the owners of “A Cool Cache” (GC15RQB)
Subscribe to the Official Geocaching.com YouTube channel for the latest tips and tricks in geocaching. Watch the more than 50 videos produced by Geocaching.com on our video page.
