MNGCA Spring Event
Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis
Saturday, May 22nd 2004 from 9am to 3pm
-Rain or Shine-
Driving directions, click here
LOOK AT ALL THOSE GEOCACHERS THAT MADE IT OUT TO THIS EVENT! GREAT TIMES!
This event will take place in Minnehaha Park, one of the Twin Cities most beautiful and visited parks. Come to where
Minnehaha Creek empties into the Mississippi River, but not before it tumbles over the 53 foot waterfall. There are many sites and monuments to learn about the history of this 193 acre park, and plenty of woods for caching. Hopefully it's nice and sunny but if the weather is grey and wet, we can deal with that, we're geocachers! For more information on the park, check out the Minnehaha Park website.
The picnic area we reserved is located about .15 miles south of the intersection of Godfrey Parkway and 46th St. There's a sign that says "No Thru Traffic" because 46th St. goes to the Minnesota Veterans Home but the parking lot is off that road. The posted coordinates at the top of this page were taken in the parking lot you want to be at.
The lot directly adjacent to the picnic grounds we reserved (#3) is a free lot, or at least it was when this was written. That lot is actually the most convenient too. Parking at the other Minnehaha parking lots is $.50 per hour, but there's free on-street parking in the neighborhoods surrounding the park. Dogs are allowed but they must stay leashed at all times. The only alcohol allowed is 3.2 beer. For other FAQ about Minneapolis parks, click here.
Everyone is welcome to attend all or just part of the event - feel free to bring family and friends.
What you need to bring.....
- Your own lunch plus a dish to share, can be dessert, salad, hot dish, whatever you like.
- Your own drinks.
- Plates, cups and utensils.
- Come prepared for "changing" weather.... it's all fun!
- Bring along paper and pencil to log your finds and to keep notes for yourself.
- There will be a voluntary donation bucket to help with MnGCA expenses associated with this event.
- If you can, please bring an item or two for the door prize drawing.
Schedule for the day...
prior to 9:00 am: If you are hiding a temporary cache of your own, please do so and get the coordinates to shelter 3 by 9 am. Feel free to hide several…. Have fun with them!
10:00 - 12:00: RJ’s "Cache of the Month” game begins. Or you can hunt for the various individual temporary caches throughout the park.
12:00 - 1:30: Lunch, socializing, prize drawings and a short MNGCA meeting .
1:30: Group Photo near the shelter – PLEASE plan your caching and lunch activities to be here for this.
1:30 - 3:00: Hunting for individual temporary caches throughout the park.
after 3:00: all temporary caches must be retrieved.
Come by early if you want to help set up the picnic area or to get a jump start on some temporary caches. There's the Minnehaha Falls Park Tour permanent cache by WatrWalker and the Boreas Rex XVI permanent cache by King Boreas you can get too, if you haven't already.
Place your temporary caches before the event and we can all go hunting for them that day. If you do hide one, post a note on this page and it will be added to the list below. Bring the coordinates to the event. Here's a list of temporary caches that will be available to search for:
There will be at least 8 temporary caches in the park. They will be named for the 8 most recent "Cache of the Month" caches. Finders of some or all of these 8 will get raffle tickets and a chance at some of the prizes. There will be a 2 hour window, from 10am to noon to find them, and the prizes will be handed out soon after. To be eligible, you must have your own GPS receiver and be an active geocacher. Families and couples will count as one when it comes time to hand out raffle tickets. Complete rules and cache coordinates will be handed out at 10am. Rules/times are subject to change.
Beanie Bazaar has been successfully un-archived and will be available for kids aged 0-12. Plan to schedule some time with your children to get this cache done..... it won't be as easy to find as last time, but easy enough for even the little ones to be successful.
Here's a growing list of prizes that are up for grabs!
$50 gift certificate for REI
$25 gift certificate for Gander Mountain
Petzl Tikka Plus LED Headlamp
REI Merino Wool Light Hiking Socks-medium
REI Merino Wool Light Hiking Socks-large
REI Hydration Waistpack
REI Therm-o-compass "Original Micro Compass/Thermometer"
2 unactivated Travel Bug tags (thanks FSU Noles!)
3 unactivated Geocoins (thanks FSU Noles!)
a 50 cal. ammo can (thanks TwentySeven!)
MnGCA shirt(s) and sticker(s) (thanks Silent Bob!)
2 $5.00 gift cards to McDonald's (thanks Candy Apple Green!)
2 mini-leathermans (thanks Candy Apple Green!)
Click here for a photo gallery of some of the prizes.
All are welcome to join in the fun! You don't have to be a member of Minnesota Geocaching Association to attend this event.
Because all MNGCA events are paid for through donated funds, please consider making a small voluntary contribution to help defray the costs that went into making this Spring event possible. There was a fee just to get this picnic space reserved. A donation box will be available at the shelter.
Put this cache on your WATCH list to stay up-to-date on the latest information regarding this event.Please post a "note" saying if you are attending and please consider placing a temporary cache that day.
This event was planned and organized by members of Minnesota Geocaching Association.
For more information, go to......
