Good morning everyone. Going with today's theme of looking back at 2018, these are the top finders of caches for the year. Manitoba - Awol 3,193. Canada - joce13 (Quebec) 9,778. North Dakota - Butterfly_77 1,330. United States - FeartGoblin (Utah) - 18,829
It's that time of year where we say hello to a new year (2019) and bid farewell to the old year (2018). One thing you can't escape at this time of year is the look back at the year that has past. Everyone highlights the highs, the lows, the funny and not funny moments. I thought I'd do the same. How do I want this to come across to the readers? I would like it to be positive and entertaining. That eliminates my personal life as it was neither. Since this is suppose to be a blog about geocaching, I will focus on geocaching as a whole and where geocaching took me in 2018. I can't guarantee that this will be 100% positive. In fact, as I proof read this, I do see some negative seeping through. Without further ado.... Here is 2018 in a nutshell.
I started the year as a brand new blogger. A newbie to the blogging world. I wanted to do something creative. Vlogging was an option, but after asking a few questions to some vloggers, I determined that vlogging would be too time consuming. Blogging would be the better option. With the exception of three weeks for personal reasons, I have managed to publish a new blog every week. Doing a weekly blog was risky as I needed a topic to write about every week and keep it entertaining. That would be the challenge. I'll be the first to admit that some of my entries were better than others. Not everything you touch will be a best seller. There are two people I would like to thank again for answering my questions and helping me get this project off the ground. Local geocacher glacier_ice for the computer/technical side of setting up a blog page. GeoJangie, a blogger herself from North Dakota who always answered my questions. As a way to say thank you, I became a Patron member of Angie's work. I would also like to thank everyone who takes the time to follow/read my words. Without all of you, this project wouldn't have lasted a whole year.
Geocaching HQ did a few souvenir promotions over the course of the year. Planetary Pursuit, Hidden Creatures, and the more recent, You Might Be A.... None of these promotions used the friend league like the Mary Hyde promo from 2017 did. I, for one, would like to see the friend league put to use and have everyone's friend league work together towards a common goal. This year, it was only for comparing how you did against others on your friend list. Honestly, I don't really check the friend league to see who is doing/done what in comparison.
Late Winter, early Spring was the Planetary Pursuit challenge. The goal was to earn all the planet souvenirs. Each one got a little harder as more points was needed to achieve the next one. This would also tie into my first adventure. I was putting together a plan to tackle a power trail/geo-art to conquer all the planets. I shared this idea with AF Girl and a local vlogger, and they were soon on board. We did a portion of the geo-art, then broke off to get some very unique, fun, and creative gadget caches that are owned by local cacher JAB007. We did enough in that one day to earn all souvenirs. All this was documented in my blog "Geocaching and the Pursuit of Planets".
The Summer gave us Hidden Creatures. The set up for this was much like the Planetary challenge. Get all the souvenirs by earning points with each cache found. Each one got harder as more points was needed for the next souvenir. Once again, I found myself in a familiar part of the province, tackling a very familiar geo-art. This became a two day adventure as I completed the geo-art I started in April. The next day was spent grabbing more unique, fun gadget caches by JAB007. Just like the Planetary Pursuit, I found enough caches in one day to get all the souvenirs. All of this was documented in a three part blog "Geocaching and Hidden Creatures"
The Fall/Winter was You Might Be A.... Each month was a different goal. I just did a blog on this promotion and basically dumped all over it. I didn't like it at all. It has made me rethink the value of these virtual souvenirs HQ hands out.
There were other adventures as well during the year. I finally made it down to North Dakota for their camping and caching event. It was held just outside of Cavalier, ND, not too far from home. It was such an awesome event. I met other cachers from North Dakota and Minnesota and swapped stories. It was at this event that I finally got to meet GeoJangie in person. All of this was documented in my three part blog "Geocaching and Camping". I would have to say that this event was the highlight of my year.
Another adventure I went on was a four day vacation I took. The original plan was to camp in Bemidji, Minnesota, but that was getting more costly than I had hoped. One of the things I love about geocaching is the people we meet and friends we make. I had met WhiskeySowers earlier in the year at a CITO event here in Winnipeg. She came up from Grand Forks to attend that. Needing a place to camp, she offered her backyard. I set up camp there which turned out to be better than planned. Again, this is all documented in my two part blog "Geocaching and the Vacation".
There was other adventures as well. I teamed up with my puzzle solving friend, Auntie Mo for a couple of adventures. One of those was at the zoo to claim the caches there before they were archived to make way for new caches and another zoo event. There was a few solo adventures as well. My birthday week, I went back down to the Morden/Winkler area for the third time to find a bunch of caches. I also went back to the Winnipeg River Power Trail to do a small section.
As for goals, I did have three goals I set for myself at the start of the year. Reach 4,500 finds, have one hundred finds in North Dakota and one hundred finds in Minnesota, and to find a cache in a State or Province that I haven't found one in yet. After setting the mark of 4,500 I wondered if I maybe set that too low? You never know how a year will unfold. I was living outside of the city, in Beausejour when I set that goal. Since then, I moved back to Winnipeg and the chances of geocaching adventures increased. As for this goal, I reached it at the Camping and Caching event in North Dakota at the end of June. I also hit one hundred finds in North Dakota during the same weekend. As for Minnesota, I did that on my vacation to Grand Forks and Bemidji. I never did make it to a State or Province that I haven't found a cache in.
Another highlight from the past year was discovering other bloggers and vloggers. As a blogger/vlogger, you want to get your product out there for as many people to see. One of my roles with the Manitoba Geocaching Association was posting some of these artistic ventures to the MBGA FB page. It was a lot of fun promoting not just my own weekly creation, but GeoJangie's weekly blog, Geocache Talk monthly blog, the Cache Advance monthly geocaching challenge video that is put out by the Geocaching Vlogger, and even something from a local vlogger. I also enjoyed some of the other video content that is put out there. Cache Canada, Geocaching Kaity, Neil Moore, Sir Drumalot, to name a few. Even finding other bloggers, such as Shortyknits and Where's JWo. I can't forget about the podcasts either. GeoGearHeads, Geocaching Podcast, and Geocache Talk. I have since stepped away from that role, and sadly, no one has picked up the ball and ran with it. Hakliva promoting her own videos and no one else's blog/vlog on the MBGA FB page doesn't count as picking up the ball and running with it.
Another thing I did that was new in 2018 was dabble in Periscope. Periscope is similar to YouTube, only you're live, no recording and editing. I did a few videos but I always ran into some form of technical issues. I also didn't really like how I was coming across in the videos. To me, I was flat, monotone, boring. That's not how I am once you get to know me. At least I can say I gave it a try. LOL
What does the new year have in store for me? I have no idea. I don't have any goals set, other than finishing up an old one from 2018, finding a cache in a Province or State that I haven't cached in yet. Since I didn't make it down to South Dakota as planned in 2018, maybe in 2019? I do see myself taking a much needed break from the Manitoba Geocaching Association. For a game that's suppose to be fun, and yet it's filled with politics and drama from it's members. This isn't anything new as I have read online from other areas having issues with it's members as well. There are people that are 40+ years old that should get an acting award for outstanding performance in portraying a five year old. I'm leaving that nonsense behind me. I'll still provide the monthly stats for North Dakota as I do enjoy providing that information and digging up some fun and interesting facts. As for the Manitoba stats, Hakliva is itching to squeeze me out of my position, so have at 'er. Have fun filling my shoes (FYI: they're size 11). I'll go about my caching business quietly. I'll continue to write my blog as I do enjoy reliving some of the past adventures, sharing any current ones, and of course, digging up some fun facts.
Whatever adventure I go on in 2019 will probably be solo. One of those adventures I'm hoping to go on is the 2019 North Dakota Camping and Caching event. It will be in Dickenson and the events have been published. Maybe 2019 will be the year I finally make it down to Gilby, North Dakota. There are some really awesome caches there that are owned by local cacher Trycacheus. I have found a few of his caches around North Dakota and those ones were awesome. I can't imagine just how much better the ones around Gilby will be. I wouldn't mind doing more caching in North Dakota and work towards the county challenge. If I'm counting right, there are 53 counties in North Dakota. So far, I have found caches in nine of them. I have a lot of work ahead of me on that one. LOL. 2018 saw a few adventures with a local vlogger. The blogger/vlogger connection as we coordinated our adventures/stories to coincide with our weekly blog/vlog. That's a thing of the past as I leave that behind me and move on forward.
That's some of the highlights for 2018. I'm not going to rehash all the negative stuff. I could write a couple of blogs and go on an absolute rant about the stuff that's going on, but it doesn't deserve the spotlight. I'll just look forward to 2019 as I move forward/ahead down the road. The past is the past and I'm leaving all the drama, politics and 💩 behind me. It's in the rear view mirror and fading fast. Until next week, be happy, be safe, enjoy and have fun. Peace out.
It's that time of year where we say hello to a new year (2019) and bid farewell to the old year (2018). One thing you can't escape at this time of year is the look back at the year that has past. Everyone highlights the highs, the lows, the funny and not funny moments. I thought I'd do the same. How do I want this to come across to the readers? I would like it to be positive and entertaining. That eliminates my personal life as it was neither. Since this is suppose to be a blog about geocaching, I will focus on geocaching as a whole and where geocaching took me in 2018. I can't guarantee that this will be 100% positive. In fact, as I proof read this, I do see some negative seeping through. Without further ado.... Here is 2018 in a nutshell.
I started the year as a brand new blogger. A newbie to the blogging world. I wanted to do something creative. Vlogging was an option, but after asking a few questions to some vloggers, I determined that vlogging would be too time consuming. Blogging would be the better option. With the exception of three weeks for personal reasons, I have managed to publish a new blog every week. Doing a weekly blog was risky as I needed a topic to write about every week and keep it entertaining. That would be the challenge. I'll be the first to admit that some of my entries were better than others. Not everything you touch will be a best seller. There are two people I would like to thank again for answering my questions and helping me get this project off the ground. Local geocacher glacier_ice for the computer/technical side of setting up a blog page. GeoJangie, a blogger herself from North Dakota who always answered my questions. As a way to say thank you, I became a Patron member of Angie's work. I would also like to thank everyone who takes the time to follow/read my words. Without all of you, this project wouldn't have lasted a whole year.
(a pathtag I received for being a Patron member of GeoJangie)
Geocaching HQ did a few souvenir promotions over the course of the year. Planetary Pursuit, Hidden Creatures, and the more recent, You Might Be A.... None of these promotions used the friend league like the Mary Hyde promo from 2017 did. I, for one, would like to see the friend league put to use and have everyone's friend league work together towards a common goal. This year, it was only for comparing how you did against others on your friend list. Honestly, I don't really check the friend league to see who is doing/done what in comparison.
Late Winter, early Spring was the Planetary Pursuit challenge. The goal was to earn all the planet souvenirs. Each one got a little harder as more points was needed to achieve the next one. This would also tie into my first adventure. I was putting together a plan to tackle a power trail/geo-art to conquer all the planets. I shared this idea with AF Girl and a local vlogger, and they were soon on board. We did a portion of the geo-art, then broke off to get some very unique, fun, and creative gadget caches that are owned by local cacher JAB007. We did enough in that one day to earn all souvenirs. All this was documented in my blog "Geocaching and the Pursuit of Planets".
(One of many gadget caches found on our trip)
The Summer gave us Hidden Creatures. The set up for this was much like the Planetary challenge. Get all the souvenirs by earning points with each cache found. Each one got harder as more points was needed for the next souvenir. Once again, I found myself in a familiar part of the province, tackling a very familiar geo-art. This became a two day adventure as I completed the geo-art I started in April. The next day was spent grabbing more unique, fun gadget caches by JAB007. Just like the Planetary Pursuit, I found enough caches in one day to get all the souvenirs. All of this was documented in a three part blog "Geocaching and Hidden Creatures"
(Another gadget cache by JAB007)
The Fall/Winter was You Might Be A.... Each month was a different goal. I just did a blog on this promotion and basically dumped all over it. I didn't like it at all. It has made me rethink the value of these virtual souvenirs HQ hands out.
There were other adventures as well during the year. I finally made it down to North Dakota for their camping and caching event. It was held just outside of Cavalier, ND, not too far from home. It was such an awesome event. I met other cachers from North Dakota and Minnesota and swapped stories. It was at this event that I finally got to meet GeoJangie in person. All of this was documented in my three part blog "Geocaching and Camping". I would have to say that this event was the highlight of my year.
(Sign post indicating where and how far everyone came for the Camping and Caching event in North Dakota)
(The group picture. I'm on the right hand side of centre, on my knees, holding a sign that says 4,000. We all lined up according to the amount of finds we had at that time.)
Another adventure I went on was a four day vacation I took. The original plan was to camp in Bemidji, Minnesota, but that was getting more costly than I had hoped. One of the things I love about geocaching is the people we meet and friends we make. I had met WhiskeySowers earlier in the year at a CITO event here in Winnipeg. She came up from Grand Forks to attend that. Needing a place to camp, she offered her backyard. I set up camp there which turned out to be better than planned. Again, this is all documented in my two part blog "Geocaching and the Vacation".
(Paul Bunyan and his faithful ox Blue in Bemidji, Minnesota)
There was other adventures as well. I teamed up with my puzzle solving friend, Auntie Mo for a couple of adventures. One of those was at the zoo to claim the caches there before they were archived to make way for new caches and another zoo event. There was a few solo adventures as well. My birthday week, I went back down to the Morden/Winkler area for the third time to find a bunch of caches. I also went back to the Winnipeg River Power Trail to do a small section.
(Animated insects took residence at the zoo this year)
As for goals, I did have three goals I set for myself at the start of the year. Reach 4,500 finds, have one hundred finds in North Dakota and one hundred finds in Minnesota, and to find a cache in a State or Province that I haven't found one in yet. After setting the mark of 4,500 I wondered if I maybe set that too low? You never know how a year will unfold. I was living outside of the city, in Beausejour when I set that goal. Since then, I moved back to Winnipeg and the chances of geocaching adventures increased. As for this goal, I reached it at the Camping and Caching event in North Dakota at the end of June. I also hit one hundred finds in North Dakota during the same weekend. As for Minnesota, I did that on my vacation to Grand Forks and Bemidji. I never did make it to a State or Province that I haven't found a cache in.
Another highlight from the past year was discovering other bloggers and vloggers. As a blogger/vlogger, you want to get your product out there for as many people to see. One of my roles with the Manitoba Geocaching Association was posting some of these artistic ventures to the MBGA FB page. It was a lot of fun promoting not just my own weekly creation, but GeoJangie's weekly blog, Geocache Talk monthly blog, the Cache Advance monthly geocaching challenge video that is put out by the Geocaching Vlogger, and even something from a local vlogger. I also enjoyed some of the other video content that is put out there. Cache Canada, Geocaching Kaity, Neil Moore, Sir Drumalot, to name a few. Even finding other bloggers, such as Shortyknits and Where's JWo. I can't forget about the podcasts either. GeoGearHeads, Geocaching Podcast, and Geocache Talk. I have since stepped away from that role, and sadly, no one has picked up the ball and ran with it. Hakliva promoting her own videos and no one else's blog/vlog on the MBGA FB page doesn't count as picking up the ball and running with it.
Another thing I did that was new in 2018 was dabble in Periscope. Periscope is similar to YouTube, only you're live, no recording and editing. I did a few videos but I always ran into some form of technical issues. I also didn't really like how I was coming across in the videos. To me, I was flat, monotone, boring. That's not how I am once you get to know me. At least I can say I gave it a try. LOL
What does the new year have in store for me? I have no idea. I don't have any goals set, other than finishing up an old one from 2018, finding a cache in a Province or State that I haven't cached in yet. Since I didn't make it down to South Dakota as planned in 2018, maybe in 2019? I do see myself taking a much needed break from the Manitoba Geocaching Association. For a game that's suppose to be fun, and yet it's filled with politics and drama from it's members. This isn't anything new as I have read online from other areas having issues with it's members as well. There are people that are 40+ years old that should get an acting award for outstanding performance in portraying a five year old. I'm leaving that nonsense behind me. I'll still provide the monthly stats for North Dakota as I do enjoy providing that information and digging up some fun and interesting facts. As for the Manitoba stats, Hakliva is itching to squeeze me out of my position, so have at 'er. Have fun filling my shoes (FYI: they're size 11). I'll go about my caching business quietly. I'll continue to write my blog as I do enjoy reliving some of the past adventures, sharing any current ones, and of course, digging up some fun facts.
Whatever adventure I go on in 2019 will probably be solo. One of those adventures I'm hoping to go on is the 2019 North Dakota Camping and Caching event. It will be in Dickenson and the events have been published. Maybe 2019 will be the year I finally make it down to Gilby, North Dakota. There are some really awesome caches there that are owned by local cacher Trycacheus. I have found a few of his caches around North Dakota and those ones were awesome. I can't imagine just how much better the ones around Gilby will be. I wouldn't mind doing more caching in North Dakota and work towards the county challenge. If I'm counting right, there are 53 counties in North Dakota. So far, I have found caches in nine of them. I have a lot of work ahead of me on that one. LOL. 2018 saw a few adventures with a local vlogger. The blogger/vlogger connection as we coordinated our adventures/stories to coincide with our weekly blog/vlog. That's a thing of the past as I leave that behind me and move on forward.
That's some of the highlights for 2018. I'm not going to rehash all the negative stuff. I could write a couple of blogs and go on an absolute rant about the stuff that's going on, but it doesn't deserve the spotlight. I'll just look forward to 2019 as I move forward/ahead down the road. The past is the past and I'm leaving all the drama, politics and 💩 behind me. It's in the rear view mirror and fading fast. Until next week, be happy, be safe, enjoy and have fun. Peace out.
Hi! This is wheresjwo! I realized you might not know it's me when you see Jeannette Wong pop in the comments box. BTW, that's me commenting on another one of your posts just now. Thank you so much for the shoutout. It's really nice of you to read my blog. I am also tech challenged. Let's see if I can figure out how to subscribe to this puppy. I am really enjoying your posts, by the way. You make me laugh.
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