June 18th
in
Valentine, Nebraska
You are invited to the Heart of the Sandhills
for a weekend of caching, camping,
canoeing, and fun.
I currently am not planning on hiding any caches special
for this event, but I have hidden several caches since last year's
event.
SATURDAY EVENING POTLUCK
PICNIC
Saturday evening at 7:00 pm there will be a pot-luck supper
at the City Park. This park is located at the north end of Main
Street at the listed coordinates. The gathering will be at the
picnic shelter just inside the entrance. There are several picnic
tables and there are four park style grills adjacent to the
shelter. At one end of the shelter is a kitchenette with 40 feet of
counter top and a dozen electrical outlets for those bringing the
iconic crock pot or similar. It is a short walk to a public
restroom and there is plenty of room to park.
For the supper, I will be providing hamburgers, buns, and
condiments. You are invited to bring what you want, but please RSVP
via your log and indicate what food you are bringing and how many
folks are in your group. Alcohol cannot be served in the park
without a permit and I did not pay for the extra cost.
CACHING
Other than the picnic, cachers are
invited to do as they wish. At the time of this event notice, there
are 282 caches within 50 miles, and 652 within 100 miles. Since
many of the attendees will have to drive to get here, there are
numerous caches to pick up en route.
SPLASHING
Besides caching, there is canoeing,
kayaking, and tubing on the Niobrara River. The Niobrara was
designated a National Scenic
River in 1991 and rated by National Geographic Magazine as one
of the top ten U.S. canoeing rivers in 2000. You are welcome to
bring your own canoe or kayak, or if you prefer, you can use one of
several outfitters in the
area.
MISCELLANY
As most of you will be coming from out of town, here is a
partial list of local lodging.
There are also many things to see and do in Valentine, so here is
the link to the Chamber of
Commerce site and the official Valentine Visitor's site. These
sites contain information about local attractions, plus additional
information about lodging, camping, and river outfitter
details.
There are also a few primitive campsites in the park for
$5.00 a night on a first come, first serve basis. Lodging fills up
fast this time of year in Valentine, so if you think you might
attend, be sure to book your room or campground early. Hope to see
you there!
