Geocaching and My Memory Lane

 Good morning everyone.  This week, we'll be looking at Arizona's oldest and most favorite caches.  The oldest is simply called 'Geocache' GC57.  Hidden in September, 2000, it has 1,517 found logs and 722 favorite points.  It's located East of Scottsdale.  The most favorite cache is one that I would personally like to get.  'Standin On The Corner....'  GC64F7.  This virtual was placed in June, 2002.  It has 2,978 found logs and 815 favorite points.  This cache can be found at a corner in Winslow, Arizona.  Just like in the Eagles song 'Take It Easy'.

As everyone is well aware, Geocaching HQ is celebrating the 20th birthday of geocaching with a virtual challenge called Memory Lane.  Just recently, I was reminded of my geocaching birthday.  August 7th to be exact and it's my 7th geocaching birthday.  I had heard of geocaching years earlier, but didn't really look into it at the time.  It wasn't until I was talking to a neighborhood dad at my boys school that I became interested in this hobby.  This week, I want to pick out a few highlights from over the years as I look back at where this hobby has taken me.

2013:  As mentioned, I found my first geocache by accident.  While out on a family outing at Lower Fort Garry, I stumble on what I thought was someone's lunch container.  It's my very first geocache, and the final to a multi-stage cache as well.  Who knew that finding that container on that fateful day would change my life and get me outside exploring more.  My first event attended was a few weeks later.  Appropriately enough, it was a Geocaching 101 type event.  Perfectly timed for me as I learned some very good tips that every newbie should know.  It was three months later that I would find my first trackable in a geocache. 

 

(The first geocache I found)

2014:  I found my first geocaches outside of Manitoba and Canada.  First, there was a family trip down to Grand Forks, ND during Spring break.  This was a day after a big snowstorm passed through the State.  One of the geocaches that I looked for was in the parking lot of Columbia mall.  My GPS took me to what should have been ground zero.  I'm standing on a big pile of snow that was dumped there from cleaning the parking lot.  I see something peeking out of the snow.  It's a post for the guard rail fence.  The geocache is hidden in the guard rail, which is now buried in the snow.  That was a DNF, but I did come back a couple of years later to find and sign it.  

I also took my boys camping in the summer.  We went to Blue Lake, Ontario.  I was finding caches there and back.  I also wanted to do a daily caching streak that would last the summer months.  I accomplished that and decided to continue on until I DNF one day.  Winter was coming. 

 

(My first find in Ontario)

2015:  This is the year that I separated and moved out.  I took to geocaching like a kid in a candy store with no limits.  I went anywhere and everywhere.  This included a trip West with my boys.  My first geocaches found in Saskatchewan and Alberta.  Remember that daily streak I started that was to last only for the summer?  Still going.  I made it through the Winter and now the zombie or iron man streak was in sight.  I completed that in June and decided to continue on.  The geocache I chose for the occasion was a zombie cache (a geocache that's been archived but the container is still in play).  I'll DNF one day soon enough.  I was finding 100+ geocaches per month.  I was out to conquer the geocaching world.  

(I was a little wet, finding a zombie cache in the rain for my zombie/iron man streak)

(One of my favorite pictures, a virtual cache in Banff, Alberta)

(Horseshoe Canyon in Alberta)

2016: My new places to visit and go geocaching was Fargo, North Dakota and Hecla Provincial Park, about two hours North of Winnipeg.  Remember that daily streak that I started in 2014? Still going.  Made it through another Winter.  I now have completed the zombie/iron man streak for two consecutive years.  

(Not a zombie cache this time, but a challenge cache where you have to have found 2 caches on each day of the calendar year)

2017: New places to visit this year and find a cache in was Las Vegas and Toronto.  Remember that double zombie streak I started in 2014? Yup.  Still going.  By this point, it has become more laboursome and less fun.  I made it to day one thousand.  I pulled the plug on the streak ten days later.  My stats will show my longest streak is 1,010 days.  A nice binary number.  I didn't do much caching after that.  I was burnt out and in need of a break.  I also started blogging towards the end of the year.  

(Sm66 and myself in Las Vegas)

(Completes 1,000 days in a row with a puzzle cache that had reference to wanting my life back)

(CN Tower in Toronto)

2018:  This is the first year that I'm attending the North Dakota camping and caching event.  I had so much fun that I made plans to go again in the future.  My other new place to go caching was Bemidji, Minnesota.  It was in Bemidji that I found a cache up in a tree.  It looked like an easy climb until I discovered that the tree was infested with ants.  I braved the ants and still signed the log sheet.  

(My first camping event in North Dakota)

2019: The North Dakota camping and caching event was held down in Dickinson.  I've passed through the area once, but that was years before I started geocaching.  I added a new state to my list; Montana.  I also saw some spectacular landscape as I drove through the badlands.  This trip also included North Dakota's oldest active geocache and increased the number of counties I have found a geocache in.  A challenge for the future; to complete the North Dakota county challenge.  The Geocaching Guild came to life as well.  A project started by Geocaching Jangie, we gave other bloggers a venue to reach out to a bigger audience.  

(Painted Rock Canyon in the Southwest corner of North Dakota)

2020: What can I say about the current year?  I haven't done any geocaching related traveling and probably won't with the current state of the globe.  I appeared on Adventures with Dan's podcast.  My blog is still going strong.  The Geocaching Guild is still going strong.  I may not be finding many geocaches, but I'm busy behind the scenes.

That's all for this week.  Until next time, be happy, be safe, wear a mask, wash your hands, and most of all, have fun.  Peace out.  

(Nap time)