NEO GeoPoker Run 2015: Back to Basics Event Cache

This cache has been archived.

Chris K in Geauga: Well, it’s been just about a month since the event date, so it’s time for this one to go. As always I need to throw out some final thank you’s to everyone that helped make this event possible.

  • To Punderson State Park and park manager Jon Quisenberry, thanks for allowing the event and all of the permanent caches.

  • To Mr. Ollivander, thanks for the huge amount of help getting the event and all of the new caches published, and for stopping by the event for a while too!

  • To CapFantasy, LuvWahoo, junebug60, and Nichole (of phil/nichole fame), thanks for all of your help throughout the day, without which I probably would have gone insane or had a stroke, or maybe both.

  • To all of the other cachers, too numerous to mention by name, who lent a hand in any way possible whenever I asked for help, thank you so much!

And to everyone who attended, thank you for coming out and sharing such a beautiful day with me and your fellow geocachers. I really appreciated everyone’s patience and attention while I finished up the scoring and gave the final presentation. I hope everyone had a good time. I always do, but I’m also so glad this one is done!

This event is history!

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Hidden : Saturday, October 10, 2015
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

Many thanks to new park manager Jon Quisenberry and Punderson State Park for allowing and promoting geocaching in this beautiful park, and for permitting this special geocaching event!



Come on out for some caching fun in October and enjoy the fantastic fall colors at Punderson State Park in beautiful Geauga County! The photo of the gorgeous view of the lake and its surrounding colors was taken by Ms.CallaLily at last year's event.

This event will take place at the Marina shelter between the hours of 9:30 AM and 4:30 PM. The specific schedule of events is below. While most of the cachers will hit the many trails in the park to search for the poker run caches, please note that you do NOT have to play the poker run game to attend this event. There will be cachers at the shelter at all times throughout the day during the event hours, so you can stop by for a short chat, or hang out with us all day, maybe go out and find a cache or two, or team up with some other cachers to tackle the poker run. Any way you want to do it, you may still claim a smiley for this event just by showing up. If you’re new to geocaching, this event may be a great way to meet some fellow cachers and maybe pick up a tip or two, or share some caching stories.

** If you do plan on playing a GeoPoker hand at the event, please note that in a Will Attend log as soon as possible so that I can get an estimate of the number of players and hands for planning purposes. **

Back to Basics
 After holding two very successful GeoPoker Run events at Punderson over the last couple of years, which highlighted various themes, like music, television, and movies, I’ve decided that it's time to get back to the basics of this event, which made its debut as a special activity at the 2007 Great Geauga Campout. While the special themes were really a lot of fun to do, they added heavily to the planning time and cost of the event, so I'm dropping most of the added frills and concentrating on the basic elements of caching and camaraderie, which I believe are the heart of this event.

History
 Since this is the 10th anniversary of the original Great Geauga GeoCampout, here is a short timeline and history of events (as I remember them), to pay a little tribute to the origins of this event, just in case you weren’t around back then to see it all happen . . .

- 2005 - SherwoodForest held the first Great Geauga GeoCampout event in August at the upper campground in Punderson State Park. GeaugaGarmin asked me, a relatively new cacher at the time, to help hide a temporary night cache as a special activity for the campout. The night cache was a big hit, and later it would be approved in a slightly shorter version as a permanent cache, known as “Bambi & Stumper’s Night Cache”. And yes folks, it’s still there today! Way to go Boris and Natasha!

- 2006 - After SherwoodForest's untimely passing in late 2005, plans for a Great Geauga GeoCampout were made by GeaugaGarmin at the last possible moment after receiving multiple requests from local cachers and the Geochums community. The campout was held in late October on a chilly weekend with a small group of dedicated cachers, and featured a special activity called the Super Sudoku Challenge.

- 2007 - When 2007 rolled around, GeaugaGarmin decided to start planning for another campout event, but this time the “Geo” was dropped from the name, so it became simply ”The Great Geauga Campout”. We met early in the year to discuss a possible special activity that we could hold, and a crazy idea popped into our heads. Since we had both enjoyed attending the NWOGEO Spring Fling and Geo-Poker Run Thing event in Findlay the previous year, we considered having our own poker run at the campout. Three or four months later, I had cranked out a working poker run program, complete with simplistic, but very cool graphics. A crowd of about 30 to 35 cachers showed up, including several from New York and Pennsylvania, to enjoy the park trails and each other’s company. The NEO GeoPoker Run was a smashing success!

- 2008 to present - Over the years, the popularity of the GeoPoker Run has required many updates to the program and format. The original program accommodated only 37 players, so it was rewritten for 52, and then later 104 players. An automatic scoring function was added, along with a barcode scanning option, to help speed things up when dealing with larger crowds. Finally, a Joker wild card option was added that has become a distinct feature of the NEO GeoPoker Run. In 2010 as the Great Geauga Campout event was held for the final time, the NEO GeoPoker Run became its own separate event. As a special activity or a stand-alone event, the goal of the GeoPoker Run has always been to bring geocachers together for fun and friendship as they enjoy the hikes through scenic locations on the many wonderful trails at Punderson State Park.


New This Year!
 Thanks to the approval from new park manager, Jon Quisenberry, this year the GeoPoker Run event will feature 15 new permanent caches hidden along the many wooded and scenic trails in the park. The caches may be logged on their own geocaching pages when they are published after the event. Shamelessly stealing yet another great idea from the NWOGEO Geo-Poker Run event, there will be a drawing for a chance to be FTF on the new caches. The names of seven cachers will be drawn 15 minutes before the main event starts, and they will each be given the coordinates of one of the seven card caches. Once they find the card cache, they can also continue and be FTF on the corresponding joker micro cache. After (hopefully) getting their two FTF’s, the cachers will need to return to the shelter to pick up the rest of the GeoPoker Run coordinates.

In order to be fair to everyone, only individual cachers, not groups, will be eligible to hunt for the FTF's. If you do not wish to go to the caches alone, then please do not enter the FTF drawing.


How Do I Play This Game?
 Don’t know anything about playing poker? Don’t worry! If you can find caches, you can play GeoPoker!

Once again, you do not need to play GeoPoker to attend this event, but if you do intend to play, read on!

When you arrive at the Marina Shelter at the event coordinates, you will be registered and given a scorecard and a fun Chris K quiz to complete. Take the completed quiz to the coordinate table to pick up a packet with the event coordinates and a map of the park. Hopefully we'll be able to send all of the coordinates directly to your GPS unit as well. Then hit the trails and start finding caches!

In each card cache you will find a bag with an assortment of GeoPoker cards printed on adhesive labels. Grab one of the labels and attach it to your scorecard. Remember to take only one card from each cache! If you end up with more than one card from any single cache, the additional cards will not be counted and you could hurt your chances for a high score.

Each of the card caches will also have a set of coordinates on the inside of the lid. Use these coordinates to find the corresponding joker micro cache. When you sign the micro logsheet, look for a letter and number combination at the top of the sheet. Write the number on your scorecard under the corresponding letter. These will be used later to help you find the Joker cache.

Once you've found all of the 14 caches, return to the shelter to have your GeoPoker hand scored. If you have correctly entered all of the joker micro numbers on your scorecard, you will be given a Joker sheet that will allow you to use the joker micro numbers to find the Joker cache. Grab one of the cards from that cache, attach it to your scorecard, and return to the shelter before the deadline to play your joker and increase the value of your hand. If you can't find all 14 caches before the deadline, return to the shelter with the cards you have so they can be scored. If you're really short on time, you may want to consider skipping some of the micro caches so that you can find as many of the seven card caches as possible.


Event Notes & Schedule
 The event coordinates are for the Marina Shelter which is along the park road that leads to the campground. The shelter has been reserved for the entire day and there is plenty of parking nearby. The event schedule is below, and please note the 3:30 PM deadline for returning with your completed scorecard. Cachers may sign the event logbook if they wish when they arrive, and anyone who stops by the shelter at any time during the event may claim an "Attended" log, even if they do not wish to play GeoPoker.

Please be sure to obey all park rules during the event, including the speed limit, and park only in designated areas. Parking is not allowed on the grass.

Also please note that if you participate in the poker run at this event, you will be hunting for permanent caches. All geocaching rules apply. You must sign the log, and if you take something, you must leave something of equal or greater value. At past NEO GeoPoker Run events, the temporary caches may have had special swag in them that could be taken by anyone without leaving anything. That no longer applies, so please do not clean out these caches before any other cachers get a chance to find them.


9:30 AM - Enter your name for a chance to hunt for two of the new permanent caches and claim the FTF's. Individual cachers only, please.

9:45 AM - FTF winners will be chosen and given the coordinates for their individual caches. After finding their FTF caches, these cachers must return to the shelter to pick up the rest of the cache coordinates.

10 AM - 12 Noon – Sign up for a poker hand at the Marina Shelter if you intend to play. You will be given a scorecard which will hold your poker hand, so it should be kept as clean and dry as possible. Note that cachers will still be allowed to sign up for the GeoPoker Run after 12 Noon, however they must return with their cards by 3:30 PM, and it is highly unlikely that they will be able to find all of the caches in that amount of time.
A poker hand may be played by an individual cacher, a couple, or a team of cachers.
There will also be another easy (or maybe difficult) Chris K quiz to complete for a chance to win a special Halloween-themed prize. After you complete your quiz, you will receive your cache coordinates and you may begin caching immediately. Hopefully we will be able to send the cache coordinates directly to your GPS unit via a GPX file. If your GPS unit uses an unusual connector cord to transfer coordinates, please bring it along with you.

12:30 PM - Pizza time!

3:30 PM - All poker and joker cards must be returned by 3:30 PM!

4:00 PM - Once all cards are returned and scored, the final presentation will begin. Chris K quiz answers will be revealed and awards presented. All eligible players must be present to choose a prize.

4:30 PM - If all goes well, the award presentation will conclude by 4:30 PM when the event ends.


After the event, cachers may stay in the park and hunt for the other permanent caches, including Bambi & Stumper's Night Cache. Punderson State Park closes at 11 PM.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fcraq fbzr gvzr jvgu lbhe sryybj pnpuref . . . ng gur furygre be ba gur genvyf! Vg'f unzzre gvzr!

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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