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Geocaching and the Transcona Adventure Labs pt.1

 Good morning everyone.  Heading along the Gulf Coast, we stop in Mississippi.  The oldest active geocache is also the first one placed (it's nice to see the original geocaches survive the test of time).  Bonita Lakes GC90.  Placed in October, 2000, it has been found 1,362 times and has 443 favorite points.  It is also the most favorite cache in Mississippi.  The second most favorite geocache is Wilson House Travel Bug Inn  GCNZQB.  Hidden in May, 2005, this geocache has been found 2,162 times and has 424 favorite points.

I have a confession to make.  I have fallen head over heals, completely, madly in love....  with Adventure Labs.  Especially during the pandemic.  Aside from Virtuals and Earthcaches, ALs are contactless.  It seems that there's a new AL popping up all the time.  Plus I have my second AL to put together still.  



As you can see, I've barely scratched the surface when it comes to ALs in Winnipeg and surrounding area.  I noticed there was three ALs located in my old stomping grounds of Transcona.  I spent my teen and young adult years living in this suburb of Winnipeg.  

Transcona is located on the Eastern side of Winnipeg.  It was founded in 1909 when the railway set up repair shops in the area.  It was incorporated as a town in 1912 and merged with Winnipeg in 1972.  

In the past, I've only done a single AL at a time.  On this day, not only will I be doing three in one day, but two will be done at the same time as they overlap each other.  The first one I'm going to feature is one of the ones that overlaps another AL.  Mural, Mural, On The Wall was put together by local geocacher SneakyShields.  This AL takes us to some of the murals that were commissioned by Transcona BIZ and can be found in downtown Transcona.  It covers a three block radius which is very walkable and wheelchair accessible.  As you do this AL, you will see additional murals that are not part of the Adventure Lab.  Let's get started.


Our first stop is at the First Transcona Scouts, Cubs & Beavers Headquarters.  An interesting mural of monsters that is dedicated to the kids and the kids at heart.  This was painted in 2018 by Cathleen Hues.


As mentioned, not all murals are a part of this Adventure Lab, but you will come across them in your travels.  Looking online, there's upwards of 20 murals to check out in the area.  The one above is close to the next AL stop.  Same for the picture below.


This one is located on the side of Bond Printing and was painted in 2017 by Jason Botkin.


Our second official stop on this Adventure Lab is the back of RJ Accounting.  If memory serves me correctly, this use to be a restaurant way back in the day.  This was painted in 2016 by Fred Thomas and is just steps away from the second stop of another Adventure Lab (more on that next week).


Just a short walk to the East will bring you to Sevala's Ukrainian Deli and the third stop of our tour.  This was also painted in 2018 by artist Mike Johnston.



Still heading East, we stop at the Royal Canadian Legion Transcona Branch #7.  This mural was done by Charlie Johnston in 2005.


As I'm putting this blog together, I'm just noticing that I don't have a picture of the last stop.  DOH!!  Fortunately I am able to get a screenshot.  This mural was originally done by Dan Sawatsky in 1991.  It was restored by Tom Andrich in 2010.  

As mentioned, I see upwards of 20 murals in the area.  We can easily have a couple more Adventure Labs just taking in these murals.  As I sit here, I wonder if SneakyShields has plans to do another one of the murals in Transcona.  Hmmmm.

That's the first of three Adventure Labs I did that day.  Next week will be the second one that takes me back to some memories of growing up in Transcona.  Until then, be happy, stay safe, wear a mask and wash your hands, but most importantly, have fun.  Peace out.


The girls catching a little sunshine in the window.

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