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2nd Annual Holi-daze at Bays |
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Come join the TriCities Geocachers at
Bays Mountain
Park in Kingsport, Tennessee for a little holiday geocaching
social from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. (official park operating
hours). The coordinates for this event will bring you to the park
entrance. The Nature Center is located further up the mountain
where both the lake and animal habitats are located. There is a
$3.00 entrance fee per day. This event will appeal to geocachers
who mountain bike, hike or seek easy walking caches. We are also
going to be conducting some sessions on different software and
caching techniques for those a little newer to the game of
geocaching.
The park has many caches
already in place and both cache owners and previous finders
will be available to help those who haven't found these yet if
needed. There are some caches new to the park since last year. Come
to the Discovery Theatre to sign in, register for door prizes, and
ask for directions or suggestions for your cache adventures!
Special, one-of-a-kind event buttons are being created for everyone
in attendance.
There will be a geocacher
gift swap for those interested--bring a gift and get a gift. If
you feel particularly 'evil spirited' you can also take a gift away
from someone else. The rules will be further explained on the day
of the event!
Mountain bikers are welcome to explore the many mountain
bike approved trails and roads in the park. Motorized vehicles are
NOT allowed anywhere except the park paved roads. The park also
does not allow dogs as visitors.
We will have a schedule of
events--all completely optional, so pick and choose which events
are of interest.
NEWS FLASH!!!Lunch will be a chili
cookoff challenge. Stir up your favorite tomato based and/or
non-tomato based chili recipe and win the cookoff! Judging will
take place by Bays Mtn. employees and the geocachers will be eating
the same recipes for lunch! More info to follow--mark this cache on
your watch list!
Chili Cook-Off Contest
All entries will be judged on a simple points-per-category system.
One being the lowest and five being the highest score for each
category 1-4. A fifth category score based on overall appeal and
will be on a ten points scale. The entry with the highest
accumulated score will win. We have decided to have two separate
chili categories and contestants can have one entry per category.
Category One: Tomato based chili. This is the “more well known” of
the dishes. Chili base must contain some form of tomato
product.
Category Two: White Chili. The “lesser known” of the chili dishes.
As much as I love the traditional tomato variety, white chili is a
favorite of mine. This category is very broad as the only
restriction that I am placing on this category is that it CANNOT
have a tomato base. Yes this can have tomato in it as long as it
does not form a base for the chili. This should make for some
interesting concoctions.
JUDGING CRITERIA
1. Visual Presentation: (1-5 points) Each entry should have a
single serving that will be a “garnished presentation”. Use your
imagination with the set-up here. Dishes, garnishes, accompaniments
etc. Judging is based on the “wow” factor of your presentation!
2. Texture: (1-5 points) Is the overall texture of the dish
appealing? Is the chili too “thin/soupy” or is it too “thick”? With
chili there is really no right or wrong...it is in the judges hands
as to what they prefer.
3. Seasonings (herbs and spices): (1-5 points) This is NOT a “heat
contest”!!! You are welcome to spice your chili as you wish,
however, judging WILL NOT be based on heat. This category will be
covering the infusion of flavors throughout the dish. Judges should
decide if the dominant flavor (or flavors) are preferable and lend
themselves to the enjoyment of the chili.
4. Ingredients: (1-5 points) The ingredients for chili are
limitless. “Chili theory” is important here. The minimalist would
argue that “beans, tomato and spices are all you need”. The
extremist can take everything in the pantry, stir it up, cook it
down and make a fabulous chili. Again, there is no right or wrong
with chili!
5. Overall Appeal: (1-10 points) This is the category where judges
will rate their total experience with your entry. Judges should
consider two things here. The first consideration should be for how
well they liked the dish overall. The second consideration should
be for the planning, execution and effort of the contestant. This
will be a strong category as it is a ten point maximum.
Hot cocoa and cookies will be
provided throughout the day. The Discovery Theatre will serve as
the 'base of operations' all day--restrooms are located on the
bottom level of the Nature Center.
 8:30 |
Sign in and drop off your crockpots for
lunch |
| 9:00 - 10:00 |
Coin
sharing, travel bug discoveries/swaps |
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10:00 - 12:00 |
Pocket queries, GSAK, and
CacheMate for beginners |
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12:00 - 1:00 |
Lunch in the Discovery
Theatre |
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1:00 - 2:00 |
Gift Exchange |
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2:00 - 4:00 |
Advanced GSAK and tips and
tricks for creating routes |
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4:00 - 5:00 |
Questions and Answers session
and tips on puzzle solving |
Click here to view the Bays Mountain Park cache bookmark list
(also linked above)