This is the 2nd of 12 geocaches we have placed corresponding to the 12 years of the annual West Bend $1,000 Cache Ba$h, with this one celebrating Cache Ba$h #2 (GC1KZHZ), from the year 2009.
WHERE TO PARK
Including this one, 11 of the 12 caches we have placed are located at Ridge Run Park. Free parking is available on weekdays after 5pm, and all day on weekends in the nearby 300-car special event east parking lot at N43 25.154 W88 12.818 (or you can likely take your chances going earlier). Or you can park at any time farther away in the 90-car west, 57-car central, or 10-car northeast parking lots of Ridge Run Park.
Cache Ba$h 2009 was the second-ever Cache Ba$h in West Bend, but more notably it was WISCONSIN'S VERY FIRST MEGA EVENT! After the initial success of the first non-mega cache bash in 2008, with 381 people participating and 130 "attended" logs, the West Bend Chamber of Commerce and the Cache Ba$h committee of local geocachers went big and applied for mega event status. They got it, and over 1,100 people showed up for the state's first mega. So it didn't seem appropriate to place a small or micro cache to celebrate this significant event. Mega events deserve a mega container!
There weren't any specific themes for those first several bashes in the "early" years, but the concept was unique. It was one of the first geocaching events in the world to offer large cache prizes. Fifty caches were placed for the event, each containing a different inked stamp. Geocachers were provided with an event gamecard, and would stamp the gamecard with the stamp that was located in each cache. The more caches found, the more chances to win in the $1,000 raffle. The first 250 teams to register also received the free very first Cache Bash pathtag (pictured above), which was not available for purchase.
Other activities included a Friday night meet & greet event and fun night caches, a post-bash event on Saturday night, and a PJ breakfast event on Sunday hosted by the Wisconsin Geocaching Association.
Special events on Saturday for future generations of geocachers included Little Cachers Pennies and Prizes Treasure Hunt for ages 2 to 7, and a Secret Treasure Box activity for ages 8 to 12, as well as free swimming passes at the Regner Park pool.
Some of the statistics:
- 312 attended logs (1,100+ people)
- 450 caches overall located within 7 miles (currently it's 1,200 within 10 miles)
- 50 new cache hides
- 118 favorite votes for the bash caches as of summer 2021 (not bad considering favorite votes weren't created until 2 years later)
- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday meet & greet events
- 10 of 50 caches still active as of summer 2021 (get them while they're still there!)
We hope you enjoy all of the caches at this year's Cache Ba$h 2021!
Placed by members of the:
(click to visit our website)