Selective Availability of 24 US military satellites launched by the US Government ended a few minutes past midnight on May 2, 2000.....Therefore civilian GPS receivers became accurate to within 16' to 49' instead of 300'.....This opened up the whole world to the fun game of Geocaching......And on May 3, 2000 Dave Ulmer placed the first documented GPS-located cache container, "A BLACK BUCKET", in the woods near Beavercreek, Oregon, near Portland.....The cache had the usual cache contents, a logbook, pencil, and several trade items.....This event happened before the days of Groundspeak Inc as we know it today.....Ulmer promoted his first cache hide as the "GREAT AMERICAN GPS STASH HUNT"....He shared the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav USENET.......This first geocache was found twice within days....And logged by Mike Teague of Vancouver, Washington....The Original Cache is gone, but a Geocache and plaque called "The Original Stash Tribute Plaque" are at the site (N 45 17.460....W122 24.800)....."CACHING LORE HAS IT"....that if you place your GPS on the Original Stash Tribute Plaque, you will find all Geocaches you search for thereafter....
Come to Blydenburgh Park to celebrate and commemorate the May 3, 2000 placing of the very first geocache! That’s the cache that started it all! Now 15 years later, there are thousands of caches scattered around Nassau and Suffolk counties!
This Sunday morning event will be from 10am until whenever as we celebrate this 15th anniversary!
We'll be celebrating this special day with coffee and donuts. So, if you are coming, please place your donut order in your "Will Attend" log.
Special "15 Years of Geocaching" Event coins! We will have our own Long Island version of the geocoin available at the event!!! Artwork of the coin to be posted when available.
Come join us! I hope to see you there!
LOCATION: Blydenburgh County Park
Smithtown, New York 11787
Directions: The main (southern) entrance to the park is on the north side of Veterans Memorial Highway, opposite the H. Lee Dennison County Center in Smithtown.