January 21, 2013 / Adela B /

Cache ‘o Mat (GC1A11C) – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – January 24, 2013

Cache 'o Mat - the geocache vending machine — Cache ‘o Mat – the geocache vending machine

Geocaches come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Cache ‘o Mat (GC1A11C) on the other hand, a one of a kind geocache vending machine, has set a new standard for unique geocaches.

It’s easy to spot, easy to get stickers and easy to see why this is a favorite geocache. Sometimes, however, it’s not as simple to log the difficulty 3.5, terrain 1 geocache as it appears. In order to do so, geocachers will need to use their geo-sense.

While the geocache sits in plain sight, it is not highly muggle-sensitive. With some creativity from the geocache owner and help from the German geocaching musical act Dosenfischer, geocachers can enjoy a one of a kind geocaching anthem (in German) at the vending machine. Now, how often do you get that kind of entertainment when you find a geocache?

Thanks to JoFrie, this clever and creative geocache has been part of the Niedersachsen, Germany community since March, 2008. Over 1,800 geocachers have claimed their smiley and awarded it 849 Favorite Points. Among those who logged the geocache is Geocaching CEO and Co-Founder, Jeremy Irish.

The extensive and elaborate logs describe a lot of fun and entertaining experiences – exactly what this geocache is all about!

Cache 'o Mat Logbook — Cache ‘o Mat Logbook

One geocacher writes, “Natürlich habe auch ich schon oft von diesem Schmuckstück gehört. Zu finden ist die Lokation ja nicht unbedingt schwer. Aber das sieht man auch schon auf den ersten Blick ins Listing. Das Auffinden der eigentlichen Dose war dann schon schwieriger, hat aber Spaß gemacht. Einfach mal alles ausprobiert, überall gedrückt und gezogen, bis nach einiger Zeit tatsächlich etwas ruckte. Klasse gemacht, wirklich. Vielen Dank für diesen tollen Cache!”

This translates to, “Of course, I have often heard of this gem. Finding the location isn’t exactly difficult. But, you can see that at the first glance of the listing. Finding the actual box was then more difficult, but it has been fun. Just tried everything – pushed everywhere and pulled everything. After some time, something snapped. Well done, really. Thanks for this great cache!”

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.

There's something for everyone at this vending machine! — There’s something for everyone at this vending machine!

January 21, 2013 / Eric Schudiske /

GPS Adventures Maze Travels to Colorado

GPS Adventure Maze LARGE pic The 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.

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.

January 20, 2013 / Eric Schudiske

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

January 16, 2013 / Adela B /

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

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!!!”