Tag: Trackables

/ Paige Edmiston /

Announcing the Victors of The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug Race

By Kara Bonilla

WinnersTB
Left: GBP2013 Tell Me Your Story! Center: TB racers at the starting line Right: GBP2013 – 2013 Miles to Say Hello!

And the Travel Bugs have (finally) crossed the finish line! With the 2013 Geocaching Block Party now in the books, it’s time to announce the winners of the The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug Race. To be eligible for a prize, the Travel Bug contestant had to start at the 2012 Geocaching Block Party, travel at least 2013 miles, and make it back to Geocaching HQ before this year’s Block Party festivities wrapped up. In just one year, the 57 Travel Bug racers collectively traveled 479,548.48 miles!

Now, without further ado, here are the winners of The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug Race:

AnneBonneyTrackable
LibLabLady carried Arruf1’s Trackable “Anne Bonney” thousands of miles. After discovering a shared love of this pirate lady’s history, they decided to meet up at Geocaching HQ to swap stories and drop off Anne Bonney together – just in time for Block Party!

The winners will each receive a (modestly) awesome bag of geocaching swag. Thank you to all of the geocachers and Travel Bug racers who participated, and a special congratulations to the winners!

See all the smiling faces of those who earned a smiley for attending Geocaching Block Party 2013 on our Facebook page.

What is your best Travel Bug story of 2013? Do you have any special goals for a Travel Bug in the next year? Tell us about it in the comments.

/ Paige Edmiston /

Coming Down the Homestretch: The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug Race

TB Race 2013

They’re lean, they’re mean and they’re swarming back to Geocaching HQ as we speak. Almost a full year ago at the 2012 Geocaching Block Party, we released a collection of Travel Bugs in The Great Geocaching Block Party 2013 Travel Bug Race. The trackables entered the wild to start the race of their lives. Geocachers and Geocaching HQ Staff (Lackeys) alike watched their intrepid racers start their journey with a singular goal: to make it at least 2013 miles and return to Geocaching HQ in Seattle in time for the 2013 Geocaching Block Party. Additionally, Travel Bugs competed in the following categories:

  • Fastest TB back to HQ (after traveling the minimum mileage)
  • TB with the most mileage
  • TB to travel to the most countries
  • TB with the best picture
  • TB with the best log entry
  • TB with the most geocachers who moved the TB
  • TB with the most creative Hitchhiker (item the TB is attached to)
Summer Time Geocoin's Travel Map
Summer Time Geocoin’s Travel Map

We’re in the homestretch now, less than 72 hours left! But who will win each prize? Will the mileage race be won by budda63’s 28,000 mile powerhouse Summer Time Geocoin, which has already traveled further than the circumference of the Earth? Will “most geocachers involved” go to Pinscreen’s Hippo Safari racer, or will belaviz’s Pass’n Gasser Racer Tag take the prize? All questions are answered once and for all this Saturday in Fremont at the 2013 Geocaching Block Party.

In the meantime, keep up that 31 Days of Geocaching streak (we sure will)! You can also check out the status of all the Travel Bug® racers here. Who’s your favorite to win?

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

3 Travel Bug Travel Tips

WeeklyMailer_071513_TravelBugs_vFINAL_blog

3 Tips to Help Keep Travel Bugs on the Road

Thousands of Travel Bugs are in motion right now. They’re powered by geocachers, bounding from geocache to geocache. Travel Bugs travel in pockets, backpacks, purses and snuggle up in suitcases for long distance voyages. Sometimes though, their travels stop cold. They get stuck in couch cushions, lost in the kitchen junk drawer or simply (and sadly) forgotten.

Here are 3 tips to help Travel Bugs do what they do best: travel. First, if you find a Travel Bug® or any trackable in a geocache, you are not required to trade anything for it. But if you take it, follow some common sense trackable etiquette. It all starts by entering the tracking code here.

•    Log that you have retrieved the Travel Bug or trackable from the geocache as soon as you’re able. By logging that you’ve retrieved it, the Travel Bug owner, geocache owner and all those looking for Travel Bugs will know that this one is on the move.

•    Check the Travel Bug’s goal by going to its page. It’s as easy as typing in the tracking code. Then you can find out if it’s headed to beaches around the world, mountain tops in Austria or somewhere else. The idea is to place the Travel Bug in a geocache that will move it closer to its goal.

•    Drop the trackable in the next geocache and log that you have done so. If you need to keep the trackable for more than two weeks, please email the owner to let them know that their trackable is taking a short rest, but will be on the road again soon.

Geocachers who follow the 3 keys to Travel Bug etiquette help create the beautiful global choreography that unfolds in this Travel Bug® Travels video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nJ_GHVY7aI]

/ 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

 

 

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

 

/ Adela B /

And the winner of the Trackable Week Story contest is…

Geocachers shared Trackable tales of adventures, challenges, and friendships. After careful consideration and deliberation, we are pleased to announce Log Dawgs as the Trackable Week Trackable story winner!

Log Dawgs shared a story about his encounter(s) with “one of the greatest pieces of geocaching local lore”: LostGuys’ FTF Trophy (TBHYTP). The FTF Trophy is a Trackable with the special mission “to be found by the champion first to finders in the Houston Area and be displayed proudly for a short time on their mantle.”

As a token of appreciation for sharing this great story, Log Dawgs will receive the newest Moun10bike Geocoin. LostGuys will also receive a Lackey Geocoin for creating such an inspiring Trackable!

Congratulations also to our two Honorable Mentions: Northwing65 and HoustonControl. Their stories show us how Trackables can intertwine with family, baseball, and the armed forces!

Visit the Trackable Week 2012 Trackable story contest page to read all the entries.

LostGuys’ FTF Trophy (TBHYTP) in all its glory.