NOTE: Everybody attending this event should sign up using the
on-line registration form. Please don't bother positing a "will
attend" log on this page... we will only look at registrations made
on the WGA website.
WGA Geo-Campout 2008
Governor Dodge State Park
May 16th - 18th
Come join the fun!
(First WGA Geo-Campout, Governor Dodge 2002)
Dates: May 16th-18th, 2008
Location: Governor Dodge State Park, Dodgeville, WI (west of
Madison)
Caching event: Saturday May 17, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Caching base: N43 00.664 W90 07.330
Camping: Group sites C & D
Costs: Saturday caching event is free! (donations accepted)
Group site camping: Fee $8.00/night. Payment needs to be
received prior to the campout to lock in your reservation.
Registration: All participants must pre-register to guarantee
enough materials are printed.
Schedule of Events
Friday, May 16th
3:00 pm - Group campers can register and start to set up tents
5:00 pm - Campfire social in group campsites C and D (N43 03.226'
W90 05.892') (parking for non-campers: N43 02.919' W90 05.747')
11:00 pm - Park quiet time, all non-campers must leave park and
campers must be on their site
Saturday, May 17th
8:30 am - Registration open at Enee Point Shelter (N43 00.664' W90
07.330')
12:00 pm - Grills ready for cooking
1:00 pm - Registration closed
5:00 pm - Group photo at Enee Point Shelter
5:15 pm - General membership meeting
5:45 pm - Raffle
8:00 pm - Night geocache info / uploads / sheets available
8:30 pm - Night geocaching begins at Enee Point Shelter
10:30 pm - End of night geocaching
11:00 pm - Park quiet time, all non-campers must leave park
Sunday, May 18th
8:00 am - Pancake breakfast at Twin Valley Beach Shelter (N43
01.927' W090 05.445')
11:00 am - End of pancake breakfast
Morning - Temp cache retrieval – See Jeremy or Justin to sign
up
Friday Night Activities
Group campers may sign-in and start setting up their tents at
3:00 PM.
Friday night the WGA will sponsor a campfire social with
marshmallows starting at 5:00 PM in the group campsite area (N43
03.226' W90 05.892'). This concludes at the park's closing of 11:00
PM. Individuals not camping in the group sites are welcome to stop
by but please heed the parking restrictions outlined below.
We will also start passing out the geocacher "social" bingo
cards at this time. If you did not play this game at the 2007
Geo-Picnic, here's the scoop. Printed in the squares of each
geocacher bingo card are various attributes that might apply to a
particular geocacher or geocaching team, such as "Owns A Garmin" or
"Caches With A Dog". Your goal is to find people at the event who
have these attributes and can sign the squares on your card.
Getting five signed squares in a row gives you a bingo, and each
bingo earns you a ticket for Saturday's raffle. Social bingo cards
will also be available at the registration table on Saturday.
Parking note! Parking in the group camp lot is reserved
exclusively for group campers. There will be no parking available
for non-campers at the group sites. It is suggested that non-group
campers park in the shower building lot about 1/4 mile south of the
group campsites (approximately N43 02.919' W90 05.747') and walk
down the paved road to the sites. If it becomes necessary we will
run a "shuttle" from the Twin Valley picnic area parking lot to
accommodate non-campers. There is absolutely NO PARKING allowed on
any park roads.
Saturday Day Activities
Saturday daytime activities will begin at 8:30 AM at the Enee
Point Shelter. (N43 00.664' W90 07.330') Registration for Saturday
activities will be available from 8:30 AM until 1:00 PM.
Approximately 55 temporary caches have been hidden all over the
park along with the 10 (3 yet to be published) permanent caches
already placed. All participants must register at the shelter
before seeking these caches. At that time you will receive your
packet of information, including the coordinates to the temporary
caches. We will have cables and laptops for downloading temporary
and permanent cache waypoints to your GPSr.
Temporary geocache bingo. Yes, like a bunch of old folks cooped
up in a nursing home, we have gone BINGO CRAZY this year. Printed
in your booklet will be a bingo card with the names of some of the
temporary caches randomly placed in the squares. As you find
temporary caches, you stamp the corresponding squares on the card
and earn a raffle ticket for each bingo you get.
Pin the flag on the waypoint game. We will give everyone a
waypoint (set of coordinates) and a survey flag and ask them to go
where their GPS tells them that the waypoint is located and plant
the flag in the ground. You will be surprised at how variable GPS
readings can be even out in the open!
If you would like to grill your lunch on Saturday, we will
provide hot charcoal grills ready at noon.
Garlic mustard pull. We will be scheduling two or three short
outings on Saturday to help rid Governor Dodge of the invasive
plant garlic mustard. Look for more information at
registration.
Please make your way back to the Enee Point Shelter no later
than 5:00 PM Saturday. All bingo cards MUST be "cashed in" for
raffle tickets PRIOR to 5:00PM. A group photo will be taken
promptly at 5:00 PM, immediately followed by a brief WGA General
Membership Meeting.
Raffle. At the end of the meeting we will conduct a raffle using
the tickets people have earned from their bingo cards and by their
participation in other activities. The grand
prize is free gas to and from the campout... that's
right, we'll pay all the costs associated with getting you and your
vehicle to and from the event so you can't use high gas prices as
an excuse not to attend! (Maximum value of $100.) We will also have
other gas gift cards (2 @ $25), Gander Mountain gift cards ($50, 2
@ $25), numerous Wisconsin and other geocoins, vouchers for a free
pancake breakfast, and more! You must be present to win these
fabulous prizes.
Saturday Night Activities
Night caching events will begin Saturday at 8:30 PM (dusk)
starting from the Enee Point Shelter. Night caching must be
completed by 10:30 PM to ensure that everyone abides by the park's
established quiet time.
We still have room for a few more night caches along the trails
we will be using, and you are welcome to hide them up until noon on
Saturday (the day of the event). Please contact Justin Korpal
(K0rpl) if you would like to place a night cache for the event.
Quiet time is 11:00 PM. The DNR requires campers to be on their
sites by this time, and that campers are quiet. Non-campers must be
out of the park by 11:00 PM.
Sunday Pancake Breakfast
The WGA is sponsoring a pancake breakfast at the Twin Valley
Beach Shelter (N43 01.927' W090 05.445') Sunday morning from 8:00
AM to 11:00 AM. The menu will include pancakes, sausage, coffee,
juice, and milk. Cost is $4 for adults (13 years and older), $2 for
children 6-12, and free for children under 6. Breakfast fees will
be collected on Sunday morning (no advance payment required).
Sunday we will ask for volunteers to help pick up the temporary
caches. Cache retrieval will be organized during breakfast.
Camper checkout time is 3:00 PM Sunday.
The WGA asks that this event be logged only once. The practice of
multiple logging of temp caches is no longer condoned by the WGA or
considered to be a good practice by much of the geocaching
community.
Register Here!
See who is already signed up!