🛍️ Get in, geocachers, we’re going shopping! 🛍️
Along a dusty desert highway stands an unexpected structure. Prada. Why would a Prada store be here, of all places? Come with us to find out! Strut back to “Prada, y’all!” a cache we displayed ten years ago and are browsing once more for this week’s Geocache of the Week (GC1W1KC).
Geocacher Bigguy In Texas may not be exactly who you expect when you hear her username. For one thing, she’s not a guy! Her username certainly reflects her big presence in the Texas geocaching community, though. With over 1,500 geocaches hidden and 133 Events hosted, Texas geocachers know her well.
Since 2022 is the Year of the Hide, we got in touch with Bigguy In Texas to discuss all things geocaching. Read on to learn how she got her username, her experience with the game, and advice for new cache hiders:
The environment wins big when geocachers attend Cache In Trash Out (CITO) events. But now a group of Texas, USA geocachers are winning for their cleanup efforts.
Travis Gilbert (SKnight579) organized the Permian Basin Cachers Association CITO Events. Travis says, “We are a smaller group of cachers (around about 30) in the middle of nowhere out in West Texas.”
“A smaller group” with a big agenda to pick up trash. They’ve adopted two sites and pledged to clear trash from those areas on a regular basis. One site is a stretch of four lane highway and another is a location in a nearby city. The group has held CITO events at these locations over the past couple years. Travis says, “We are under contract to clean the road two times a year, we do it four times a year, and we also separate out recyclables as we go for a small bit of money for the group (covers the water basically).”
Travis says the extra effort was noticed. His email inbox had a surprise waiting for him a couple weeks ago, “I received an email from the State of Texas that our little group would also be getting the “Group of the Year” award for the State! I’m really proud of our group.” Gilbert says they also won another award from the City of Midland, Texas for the Permian Basin Geocachers cleanup efforts there.
He says the group is inspiring other local geocachers to help make a difference. “I know of several other groups of cachers in Texas that have adopted roads and spots after seeing what our group has done and I could not be prouder of our group.”
Bagging trash and picking up recyclables has an occasional reward.
Travis says, “The best find was our last cleanup in April when we found 20 proof sets of coins scattered over half of our adopted area. We called the police and no one had reported them missing and I spoke about it on the news that night and no one tried to contact me, so win win. There were 10 of us cleaning that trip so we raffled them and each took two sets home.”
Now they’re also taking home trophies. Travis did what any geocacher would do with the awards. He says “I’ve also made both awards Trackable.” Check out the Trackable pages here and here. Three geocachers, besides Travis, attended all the CITO events. They include grumpyoldtexan, DeKoning, and ZSandmann.
Since 2002, geocachers around the world have been dedicated to improving parks and other cache-friendly places. There are dozens of CITO events around the world each month. Check out the CITO Events Calendar to find at CITO near you.
Teachers are using geocaching to take their lesson plans out of the classroom and into the real world. Students learn about GPS technology, navigation, spatial concepts, math and more through geocaching. Watch how one teacher from McKinney, Texas, USA employees geocaching to educate her students about science. The Lost & Found video takes you along during a typical school day as Mrs. Burford’s elementary school class learns through geocaching.
You can find even more resources for educators in our GPS in Education Forum.
Watch all the Lost & Found videos highlighting unique geocachers and the worldwide adventure of geocaching.
I hope you’re blown away by the Lost & Found teaser video we posted in this blogging blast. Literally, I hope hurricane force winds of amazement shifted you from your seat in jaw-dropping anticipation of what’s to come. Ok. I’m just hearing this now. Alright. This just in. Our lawyers say we’re not liable for any “shifting,” femoral breakage or injuries incurred while watching said video, or “hurricane force winds of amazement.”
Where were they when I almost snapped my femur on a shoot in Texas?
Now, traditional behind the scenes blogs may not take you to the moment before near-disaster or a pic of how *not to win friends in Texas. Here’s a little look (way too far) behind the scenes of our latest adventure shooting some of the stories you’ll see in the Lost and Found series.
These pics are just a sampling of our (mis)adventures.
There are 15 stories in the works right now with more added each week. Hold onto your chair because we’re off to another round of Lost & Found shoots next week. This time we’re headed to Colorado, bound for Denver and Fort Collins. We’ll be in California after that. Any ideas for great geocaching stories in either of those states? Let us know!
