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Santa Surveillance Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Quiggle: Since the cache is still disabled with no indication of repair or replacement, I'm reluctantly archiving this listing to keep it from showing up in searches. If the owner wishes to reactivate this cache, please e-mail me through my profile and I'll unarchive it if it meets current guidelines.

Thanks!
Quiggle
Geocaching.com Volunteer Cache Reviewer
My profile page: http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?u=Quiggle

NOTE: If you have any questions, do not reply to this email. Click on the link above to go to my profile page and you can then send me an email regarding the cache. Please include a link to the cache in question so I will know which cache it is regarding.

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Hidden : 12/15/2007
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Part of the Twelve Caching Days Of Christmas 2007.


NORAD Tracks Santa

In 1955, a Colorado Springs-based Sears store ran an advertisement encouraging children to call Santa Claus on a special telephone hotline. Due to a printing error, the phone number that was printed was the hotline for the Director of Operations at the Continental Air Defense (CONAD). Colonel Harry Shoup took the first Santa call on Christmas Eve of 1955 from a six-year old boy who began reciting his Christmas list. Shoup didn't find the call funny, but after asking the mother of the second caller what was happening, then realizing the mistake that occurred, he instructed his staff to give Santa's position to any child who called in.

Three years later, the governments of the United States and Canada combined their national domestic air defenses into the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), but the tradition continued. Now major media outlets as well as children call in to inquire on Santa's location. NORAD relies on volunteers to help make Santa tracking possible. Many employees at Cheyenne Mountain and Peterson Air Force Base spend part of their Christmas Eve with their families and friends at NORAD's Santa Tracking Operations Center in order to answer phones and provide Santa updates to thousands of callers. About 800 service members and their families volunteer, and shift run from 2 a.m. MST December 24 to 2 a.m. Christmas morning.

In 1997, Canadian Major Jamie Robertson took over the program and expanded it to the Web where corporation-donated services have given the tradition global accessibility. In 2004, NORAD received more than 35,000 e-mails, 55,000 calls and 912 million hits on the Santa-tracking website from 181 countries. In 2005, more than 500 volunteers answered questions. The site now gets well over 1 billion hits.

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The cache container is a medium sized rubbermaid type container that contains a logbook, pen, some swag to get it started, as well as a small traveler (or two). Please be sure to rehide as well (or better) than found so that others may enjoy the cache also.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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FTF Honors go to cp12stones!!! Congratulations!!!

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