paris1time's Geocaching Adventures

GeoWoodstock VII - My story

2009-05-31T20:50:00.009-05:00

It has now been a week and a day since my family and I attended our first "Mega" geocaching event in Bell Buckle, TN. GeoWoodstock VII was held there on May 23rd, 2009.

GeoWoodstock is the largest gathering of geocachers in the world.

We made a family vacation out of it and had been planning it for the last year.

My favorite type of cache in geocaching are event caches and I love taking trips with my family so it was a "Two for one".

We stayed in Murfreesboro, TN. We cached, we shopped, and we toured the area. We definitely made some memories that will be with us for the rest of our lives.

There were several "firsts" on the trip for us also. We found our first "Web Cam" cache when we stopped in Nashville, TN and found the "Every Breath You Take GCMF4B" web cam cache by Monkeybrad. This cache was located on Vanderbilt University. Thanks to my wife's co-worker Amanda for taking our picture using the web cam to prove our find.

After the web cam cache we found a couple of virtual caches on the Medical Center property before heading on to our hotel in Murfreesboro, TN.

We found our first earth cache when we visited the "Murfree Spring GC12TP3" earthcache located at the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. It was a very interesting cache and the Discovery Center was a great place for the kids to tour. They had a fun time. I also had the chance to meet some other cachers at the cache, including Lookout Lisa of Cache Advance and Trevor of Trevor and Kate.

Before the trip was over I had also found my first Wherigo Cache at GeoWoodstock.

On Friday night before GeoWoodstock VII we went to the "Friday Night Meet and Greet GC1M13D" held at Barfield Park in Murfreesboro. When we pulled into the parking lot I immediately noticed the vehicle belonging to cfd29 from Clarksville, AR.

I had the chance to meet a couple of people I had been wanting to meet at this event as well as getting to see some fellow Arkansas cachers. I had the chance to meet Monkeybrad who was also one of those helping with GW7. I also had the chance to me Sonny, Sandy, and Sean from "Sunny San Diego" aka Team Podcacher. They host one of the geocaching podcasts I listen to each week called the Podcacher podcast. I also ran into cfd29 (and got to meet their daughter and son-in-law), rklmbl, and BSA534 from Arkansas.

The Friday Night event allowed us to pick up our registration packets that contained our name tags, lanyards, meal-tickets, and other information. I also was able to drop off some travel bugs that I had brought to GW7.

While in the park we had the chance to find our second earthcache, "Ammonite GC14YYT".

The next morning we headed out early for Bell Buckle so we would not miss any of the happenings there.

We arrived and then walked to the main event area. The main event area had a stage with a large banner that said "Welcome to GeoWoodstock" hanging above it. They had square bales of hay set out for everyone to sit on. There were vendors selling geocaching related items, food, and other items set up all around the perimeter of the main event area.

There were other areas of interest spread out over the small town of Bell Buckle.

There were education sessions where you could learn about Wherigo Caches, the new Geomate Jr., and other geocaching related topics.

There was "Geo-Bingo" where after you filled out your card you were able to exchange it for a ticket that gave you a chance to win something in the drawings held later in the day.

They were also selling tickets for chances to win other items that were given away. We won a pair of t-shirts that featured a new movie coming out called "Splinterheads" that features geocaching.

We had a chance to visit a museum that was set up to display items from the previous six GeoWoodstocks.

There were several great caches to locate in the area that we also had the chance to find either on our own or while with other cachers.

There were so many cachers and others I had the chance to meet.

I am always glad to see my fellow Arkansas cachers and saw Tim and Connor Stone aka BSA534, Ron and Maribeth Laster aka rklmbl, Mike Beavers aka AR-Hick and his girlfriend aka BeSeeinU, Clark and Debbie Gray aka cfd29, Ryan Lehman and family aka Shadowcachers, Brenda Bain aka Bluesybreeze, Edie O'Byrant aka edieo, and Judy Theidig aka Mathseeker. I am sure I forgot someone, sorry if I did.

I again had the chance to see Team Podcacher at their booth and had the chance to win a couple of items at a little get together at their booth.

I also ran into Ed, aka The Alabama Rambler, who once was the Arkansas volunteer reviewer.

I even had the chance to have my photo taken with Signal the frog.

We stayed at the event until it was over and after they took a group photo and announced that GeoWoodstock VIII would be held in Carnation, WA near Seattle on July 3rd, 2010.

While at the event we also picked up our GeoWoodstock VII t-shirts and geo-coin. I also picked up a few more geo-coins and cache containers from some of the vendors.

Later that night after returning to the hotel room and ordering pizza I went to the "Midnight Geocoin Madness GC1N4NH" event. There I had the chance to meet Snoogins and the Grand High Pobah. Snoogins is a famous Texas cacher and the GHP maintains the cacher rankings web site. I also had the chance to trade some geocoins and Pathtags.

The next day we took it easy with some shopping, then the day after that we headed home.

We really enjoyed the trip, but really enjoyed getting back home when it was all over.

It is a trip we will not soon forget and we are already talking about taking a two-week vacation next year to attend GeoWoodstock VIII GC1QM7K.

Cache-A-Maniacs, GeoWoodstock 7, and Geomate Jr.

2009-05-17T14:19:00.006-05:00

An update to this blog is long overdue. Thanks to anyone who happens to stop by and read it.

Today when I was checking the Cache-A-Maniacs podcast site for the new show I was surprised to see that the latest podcast (Episode #126) was featuring Arkansas' very own Ron and Mari Beth Laster aka rklmbl. I was so excited to listen to the podcast and was not disappointed. Anyone who has ever met and spent time with rklmbl knows that they are great people and were a perfect selection to be interviewed for the Cache-A-Maniacs show.

Two other caching teams have also been featured on Cache-A-Maniacs in the past. golfnutz (Episode 10) and nonnipoppy (Episode 41) were also great interviews. Visit the Cache-A-Maniacs podcast site to listen to them and all the other great interviews with geocachers from around the world.

In only a few days my family and I will be headed out to travel to GeoWoodstock VII to be at Bell Buckle, Tennessee.

This will be the first "MEGA" geocaching event we have ever attended and the whole family is excited. We are turning the event in to a family vacation. Geocaching is once again taking us somewhere we probably would have never visted if geocaching had not taken us there.

We plan on caching and seeing the sites. I hope to post to the blog again after we return to tell about the trip.

Geomate Jr. - Last week on Pocacher I first heard about a new GPS product that has been introduced just for geocaching. It is called the Geomate Jr.

To put it as simply as I can this product has a great price (Suggested retail of $69.95) that comes pre-loaded with traditional geocaches. The Geomate Jr. can also be updated with the purchase of an update kit. All you have to do is turn it on and then head out to the closest cache. No pocket queries necessary.

I'm thinking this might also be a great addition to what ever GPSr you might already have to take along on those trips that seem to come out of nowhere. With the Geomate Jr. already having tradtional caches pre-loaded you can cache without having to access the Geocaching.com web site.

Here is some more information about the Geomate Jr. from the Geocaching.com web site:

The Geomate.Jr. is an affordable and easy way to get in on the geocaching fun!

The family-friendly Geomate.jr comes preloaded with approximately 250,000 geocache locations covering all 50 U.S. states
Simply turn the unit on and it will navigate you to your current location's closest geocache; hit the "Next" button and Geomate.jr will direct you to the next closest cache
Along with cache location, Geomate.jr provides important information like size, terrain, difficulty rating and the Geocaching.com ID code for each cache
The Geomate.jr allows you to set a "home" waypoint to which it can guide you back
Displays compass heading, latitude and longitude
Visit log allows you to mark geocaches and review them later to keep track of which caches you've already found
With new caches being created all the time, an optional update kit (sold separately) allows you to add all the newest caches to the Geomate.jr database. (Available June 2009)
Geomate.jr is powered by 2 AAA batteries

Geomate.jr

Position accuracy: 3 meters
Routes: No
Waypoints (total): 1
Memory: No
PC Compatible: Yes
Compass: No
Altimeter: No
Color Screen: No
Compact antenna: Yes
Display size: 1.2 x 1.2 inches
Screen pixels: Not applicable
Battery type: 2 AAA
Battery life at 70 degrees: 12+ hours
Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.8 x 1 inches
Weight: (With batteries) 3.2 ounces

The Plunge

2009-03-13T21:21:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, February 21st, 2009 my wife and I along with 20 others took the Polar Plunge for Arkansas Special Olympics in Cove Lake near Paris, Arkansas.

We raised approximately $2,300 for Arkansas Special Olympics.

The water temperature was estimated at approximately 40 degrees and the air temperature was approximately the same.

I would estimate that with plungers and spectators there were approximately 100 people on hand at the event.

There were prizes given out to those who raised the most money, to those who wore costumes, and to those who helped make it all happen.

I was proud to be a part of the effort and look forward to doing it again in the future.

I'm going to take the Polar Bear Plunge!

2009-02-12T10:10:00.003-06:00

On Saturday, February 21st, my wife and I will be taking the "Polar Bear Plunge" at Cove Lake near Paris.

I'm not just crazy, it is for a good cause. The plunge is to raise money for the Arkansas Special Olympics athletes.

The event will take place at the Cove Lake Recreation area on State Highway 309 south of Paris, Arkansas. Registration will begin at noon withe the plunge taking place at 1:00 PM.

Proceeds from the Polar Bear Plunge help support year-round sports training and athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities or developmental disabilities who participate in Special Olympics Arkansas.

We invite anyone else who wants to raise money and participate to do so. There is a registration form and waiver to be completed at the event. There is a minimum amount of $50 that you need to raise or donate to take the plunge.

With $50 donated or raised you get to take the plunge and get a t-shirt.

With $250 collected you also get a drawstring backpack.

With $500 collected you get a neoprene 6-pack cooler.

With $1000 collected you get a blanket (you might need it).

Just bring your pledges with you on the day of the plunge.

Anyone who can not participate but would like to give money can do so at : http://www.firstgiving.com/loganso

Thanks in advance to all those who might give or participate!

David Spicer
paris1time

paris1time's Geocaching Event Tips

2009-01-16T23:09:00.004-06:00

The third annual geocaching event held in Paris, Arkansas has now come and gone. This time the event was called the "Cache Ca$h Dash Bash", and unless something changes that will be the name for all future events. The event will also be held on the 2nd Saturday of January each year.

You can go ahead and pencil in next years event for Saturday, January 9th, 2010.

I am still shaking my head at the number of people that attended this years event. I estimate that there were approximately 150 people in attendance. I would like to think that they all came just to see me, but I don't think they did.

With three years of event experience under my belt I thought I would give what I think are "Event Tips" for anyone out there that might be planning an event.

Trust I would never claim to be an expert, and I can only share with you what I think works because it seems to work for us.

1. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: I feel the first step to a successful event is the event location. We are so lucky here in the little o' town of Paris, Arkansas to have a community center that can hold the 150 attendees that has such nice features. I feel that you need to make sure you location is a good "fit" for the type of event you want to have. For example, the Paris event is held in January with an emphasis on being indoors in the event of bad weather. The community center is perfect for that since it holds a large number of people and has everything you would need (restrooms, a kitchen, tables, chairs, a stage, and a sound system). Think about what kind of event you are having and pick a location that fits.

2. HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: Everyone has their own reason for attending an event. I think it is known that everyone who attends loves geocaching, but give them all something to come for.

For those who like to attend to visit with other cachers make sure that you allow for plenty of time during the event just for that. If there is something always going on at every moment they might find that the came did everything and the event was over before they sat down and talked with the cacher they never met before.

For those who like to come to an event to find geocaches place some new caches prior to the event. I did not get a chance to place as many caches as I wanted to prior to the Paris event this year, but I did place some. That still gave those who had already found the area caches something new to find.

For those who like to find temporary caches try to do something different. Don't get me wrong I will go to and event and participate in a Poker Run just like the others, but I think if you can do something different you can give your event it's own identity to separate it from the other events. We chose to have temporary caches that mirrored five of the different caches that could be found in geocaching and tied that with an auction with play money awarded after finding the event caches.

Think of other things that you can have, but can still link it to geocaching. All three years we have had a photo contest and played a game we call cacher chaos. The photo contest lets those who enter show off and share the great photos they have taken while also making a great conversation starter. We also play a game called "Cacher Chaos". The game was just a simple "ice breaker" game used to get people to mingle. I think everyone that has attended the Paris event loves it and I have never seen it at another event.

We also try to provide a little something for the little ones. It is amazing how a table with some tables, chairs, T.V., a DVD player, crayons, and a coloring book can help occupy the little ones for a while so they will not be sitting there asking if it was time to go yet.

3. HAVE A PLAN: It does not have to be a long complicated plan, but still have a plan for your event. If you plan on having a lot of people make sure you plan for a location that they can all get into and plan your date for a time that will allow them to come. If you plan on having some type of game or contest plan it all out on what you want it to be then make a "dry run" to make sure it works like it should.

4. GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO TAKE HOME: Try to make it where everyone takes something home with them. I would recommend on trying to give them some great memories. Prizes are great, but where will those prizes be by the time the next event rolls around?

Again, this is only a couple of things I feel have worked for me. I may be completely wrong, I usually am, but I feel that since these are the things I try to accomplish each year and the Paris event continues to grow something is working.

If I can ever be any help for an event feel free to contact me at paris1time@yahoo.com.

ArkGeo December Eat-N-Greet: Fayetteville

2008-12-08T19:58:00.003-06:00

Have I ever said that I love geocaching events? If not, I am going to tell you now: "I love geocaching events".

It doesn't matter what kind or what size I always enjoy going to an event and spending time with geocachers.

On Monday, December 1st, 2008 I attended the ArkGeo December Eat-N-Greet: NW Fayetteville (GC1HVN1) at the Golden Corral restaurant in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Currently I am a board member for the Arkansas Geocachers Association and one of my duties was to host a couple of "Eat-N-Greets" in the Northwest section of Arkansas. This event was the first of those two events.

It was a cool night, but there were a good number of cachers in attendance. I noticed that most of those in attendance I had actually met at least once. There were a couple that I was meeting for the very first time.

I also had the chance to see a friend that is originally from Paris but leaving in northwest Arkansas. It was great to see him there, and to see him there with a friend who cached back when geocaching first started, but has not cached in about 6 years. It was great to hear that attending the event had once again inspired him to geocache.

When the event was over I immediately began thinking about when I would get to attend another event.

I enjoy events so much that I have even created a "Bookmark List" on Geocaching.com of the geocaching events that have been held in Arkansas.

Here is a link to the list: Arkansas Events Past and Present

2008-12-03T21:50:00.002-06:00

It appears we have started a new family tradition. Geocaching on Thanksgiving with family!

Last year we traveled to Van Buren to have Thanksgiving at my wife's sister's house and after the meal we went to find a couple of caches. We took my wife's nephew and his wife with us and introduced them to geocaching. I spoke of that adventure in a previous blog post.

This year after the meal we did the same thing. All four of us jumped into our vehicle and found 6 caches in the Van Buren area.

We went to the Van Buren Park and one of the caches we found there was the VB Park Lockbox (GC19H1X). We had a good time at the cache. Prior to going I had noticed that a previous cacher had logged finding the cache container, but not the key. It would drive me crazy to find the container and not the key. We arrived at the cache and actually found the key in only a matter of moments. It was a mix of luck, a good eye by one of us, and one of us thinking outside the box. We had a good laugh and made another great Thanksgiving memory.

I could not think of a better way of spending Thanksgiving with family. I also love the new family tradition.

Cache Ca$h Dash Bash - January 10th, 2009

2008-11-24T20:40:00.006-06:00

The first geocaching event I ever went to was one that I hosted myself. I used part of my geocaching nickname in the title of the event and it was called: This 1Time in Paris... (GCZFTY). It was held on Saturday, January 13th, 2007. I don't know if it is smart to host an event when you never have been to one, but I have never been accused of being smart. I held the event in January because I thought that since some might not want to cache in the cold they will would be willing to get together to talk about caching and meet other cachers. I feel it was a success since the first year we had approximately 75 people in attendance.

The positive input we received on the event caused my wife and I to host another event in on Saturday, January 12th, 2008. There were approximately 109 people at This 2ndTime in Paris... (GC17T78).

At both events we held a photo contest. I love looking at photos on cache pages and we felt that if the weather went bad it was something that could still be done indoors. Both years there were some great photos brought to the event.

We all had a contest using temporary caches hidden in the area. After cachers found the temporary caches they would be rewarded with some play money that was then used at the event to bid on prizes. The auction was based on the auctions I had seen on the television reality show "Survivor". The prizes were all in boxes or containers, so those bidding were not able to see what they were bidding on until they had won and opened it. The auction would also end without notice. Cachers were also allowed to pool their play money with others or give it away. The auction was so successful that this year's event will be called the Cache Ca$h Dash Bash (GC1DAY1).

The event is listed on geocaching.com and will be held on Saturday, January 10th, 2009.

The search for the temporary caches and the auction will once again be the feature contest at the event. We will once again have the photo contest and another game I like to call "Cacher Chaos".

"Cacher Chaos" is a game where each cacher is given an envelope containing several copies of the same word. Cachers keep one copy of their "word" and trade their extra copies for all the other different words that are given to them on a list. The first three cachers to trade and get all of the different words on the list win prizes. A room of 100 cachers running around trading words is "Chaos".

There is at least one other addition to this years event. This year there will be an "Event Geocoin". The geocoin will be trackable on geocaching.com and will have a special "Geocaching Event" icon. A picture is listed on the Cache Ca$h Dash Bash blog and more details will be available soon.

I have to thank cacher JuggoPop for help with both the logo that you see above, on the cache listing, and on the Cache Ca$h Dash Bash blog and for the artwork for the event geocoin.

Geocaching Event: Van Buren Breakfast

2008-11-17T20:27:00.005-06:00

I love geocaching and I love events. I love meeting other cachers that I have and have not seen before.

On Saturday, November 15th, 2008 I was able to attend the Van Buren Breakfast Eat-N-Greet Event (GC1H7JJ) hosted by geniegill at the Western Sizzlin in Van Buren, Arkansas.

I was not originally going to be able to go to the event, but after already having plans on visiting family in Van Buren and deciding to travel there the night before to attend a birthday party for one of our son's friends at Chuck-E-Cheese in Fort Smith the night before I was able to make it.

I pulled in right behind bluesybreeze and saw cfd29 unloading from their cachemobile. We all stopped to look at another cachemobile in the parking lot that had a VERY LARGE travel bug decal and tracking number on the back of it. It was the 4 Rosa B Travel Bug (TB123NM). We have one of them on our cachemobile, but it is not on this scale. I knew right away that it probably was the vehicle being driven by RosaBella that I had seen posting in the area lately, and it was. It was great to meet him at the event.

geniegill and jaygill were great hosts and fun was had by all. I have to say that the drawing for the door prizes will go down in history as the "most rigged drawing" ever held. It was very funny.

The food and fellowship was great.

I have been to several conferences for one thing or another in my life and I always say that I learn more from talking with everyone at the conference than I learn from the sessions at the conferences. I feel the same way about geocaching events. I learn so much from fellow cachers by talking with them at events.

It was cold the day of the event, but after the event I did go grab a few local caches before heading back to be with the family for the rest of the day.

Once again, I can't wait until the next event.

NOTE: The photo used for this post was taken by bluesybreeze at the event and posted on the event listhing on Geocaching.com.

Camo Can

2008-11-08T21:09:00.004-06:00

I recently obtained some .50 caliber ammo cans that I have decided to paint and give to some of the new cachers here in Paris. For the last couple of years I have been the only real active cacher since demonicangel moved out west.

In the last year there have been more local cachers and I'm hoping my gift to them will create more local caches.

I have already given one can to my good friend and new cacher jorby. I know he has already been trying to think of a place to hide it, but I'm sure he will come up with something. I plan on giving one away to Paris cachers as I get one finished. I hope they like the camo I have painted on the cans. I found that the more cans I paint the better I get at it.

I also painted "Offical Geocaching Game Piece" on the side of each can with a stencil I have. I am hoping that the cachers will use it to help identify their hide as a cache and help keep down any bomb scares while letting others know what it is.

Paris cachers I plan on giving a can to in the near future: auntbea, Buzzard Skanly, bobert65, and Dr-See-Dawg.

Geocaching Podcasts

2008-11-03T21:34:00.004-06:00

Last week I discovered podcasting. Not that I had not heard of it before, or did not know what it was, but I finally listened to one. The first podcast I listened to was, Pocacher, a geocaching podcast by Sonny and Sandy in San Diego. It was Show #189.0 "Amtrekkers Final Cache".

Podcasting is being able to listen (audio) or watching (video) a show that can be downloaded to an mp3 player or iPod or can also be listened to or viewed on a computer. The geocaching podcasts are free!

I don't have an iPod, and I rarely have time to listen to my mp3 player. I do have a CD player in my vehicle and I downloaded the podcast and burned it to a CD to be listened to in my vehicle.

I will definately be downloading more episodes.

I am also going to look at some other shows. There are many, but here are the three I plan to listen to: Podcacher.com, Cachers of the Round Table, and Cache-A-Maniacs.

I even sent an e-mail to Sonny and Sandy at Podcacher.com about listening to my first Podcacher podcast and about a recent milestone and it made the show! I was also excited to hear Tim Stone (BSA534) call in his 1000th find to the show.

If you have not checked out geocaching podcast yet click on the links and give them a listen.

2nd Annual Conway County Geocaching Event

2008-10-27T20:29:00.000-05:00

On Friday, October 24th, 2008, ddkds and I went to Atkins to watch Paris play football. We knew about the football game in advance and knew that the following day there would be a geocaching event in Conway County at Center Ridge, so we made room reservations in Morrilton and spent the night there instead of driving all the way back to Paris after the game.

The next morning after getting some great sleep we headed for Center Ridge and attended the 2nd Annual Conway County Geocaching Event (GC1FXTX). The event was held at an old gym that reminded me of the old gym I played basketball in when I was in school.

We arrived and immediately saw familiar faces. It was great to see all those cachers we had already met and some cachers we hadn't.

We logged into the event and started off by looking for some temporary caches that were hidden nearby. These first five temporary caches were designed to resemble caches of different difficulties. We even had the chance to tell someone who saw us and asked, "what are all you people looking for with those GPS's. I was happy to explain to them what geocaching was all about.

After being able to find all 5 of the temporary caches we teamed up with majii and did what was called the puzzle run for the event. In this contest there were several temporary caches located throughout the area, most of them were miles apart. When you found a container you took a "puzzle piece". After finding all the puzzles pieces and using the clues and numbers given on the puzzle pieces that were put together you would obtain the final coordinates to the final cache. We also found some of the other caches in the area while finding the puzzle pieces. We enjoyed our time with majii and getting to know him better.

We returned to the event and after eating some great hot dogs we found out who the winners were. The highlights were when AR-Hick was presented with his "soap box" and searcykid was awarded with the most awesome of awards, the Rosenberg Cacher Challenge Trophy. It was really something to behold.

It was a fun time with great people. I look forward to the next geocaching event.

ArkGeo 2008 Social Event : Lake Catherine State Park

2008-06-07T18:24:00.000-05:00

On the morning of Friday, May 30th, my wife (ddkds) and I headed out for Hot Springs to attend the ArkGeo 2008 Annual Social Event (GC197P5) at Lake Catherine State Park on Saturday, May 31st, 2008.

We did some caching on the way and in Hot Springs.

We had decided to stay at a hotel in Malvern when planning our trip. The hotel there was not that far away from the park and it was a good deal. I had also learned that woodwalker9 and CFD29 was going to stay at the same hotel.

We made some arrangements and we met with woodwalker9, searcykid, quiltingranny, AR-Hick, hikerron, and CFD29 for dinner at the Western Sizzlin in Malvern. We had some good food and fellowship and planned on most of us going to find one of the night caches placed by SJClimber at Lake Catherine State Park.

It was quite a "mis-adventure".

ddkds and I did not really leave the hotel in time to make in on the trail in a timely manner, so we were playing catch up from the beginning.

Then on top of that it turns out we went one way on the trail when we should have taken the other side of the loop that was closer to the night cache. We could have continued the way we were going, but it would have been a long trip in the dark. We also met up with CFD29 on the trail who was also running late and also took the long side of the loop. We finally decided to walk back and give up after I made a phone call to woodwalker9 and he told us of our mistake. We did find one cache on the trail on the way back, it was not a night cache but it did keep the trip from being a complete washout.

The next morning after leaving the hotel we headed back to Lake Catherine State Park for the event. This park really is a great park and was the perfect place for this event. ddkds and I plan on possibly returning later to stay in one of the cabins.

The event was fun and this was the first event in a while where I had the chance to meet several new cachers I had not met before. There was plenty of food, prizes, and fun.

ddkds and I found a couple of the caches in the park and when we return we hope to find the others.

I also learned at the event that I had been elected to the Arkansas Geocachers Association Board during the previous election. I am excited about working with the others on the Board to promote geocaching in Arkansas. You can learn more about ArkGeo at http://www.arkgeocaching.org.

We had to leave immediately after the event and did not get to stay for the rest of the fun that was had during the day or the Cache In Trash Out event that was held the next morning. We hope to stay longer next time.

We look forward to next years social.

By the way...

The photo above was at the event, but it said "No Camping beyond this point". I used a little Microsoft Paint to have a little fun with it.

Spadra Creek Nature Trail Cache Trip

2008-05-26T10:12:00.000-05:00

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

What a day!

The day started off by getting a chance to do some geocaching along the Spadra Creek Nature Trail in Clarksville. I took a friend and new geocacher along with me Jorby.

We walked the entire trail and found most of the caches that have been placed along it.

We first walked the west side of the trail that is paved. This is a great part of the trail for the entire family to be able to walk, jog, run, or ride a bike along. I think this would also be a great area for a night cache.

Here are a couple of caches I enjoyed along the trail:

Hurry Hurry GCMBW7
Paul Bunyan Revisited GCHH8W
Jack in the Woods GCM17K

All of the caches are great but these three really stick out.

The east side of the trail has not been paved with asphalt and really is a trail, not a path. We really enjoyed walking this side too. The seclusion and the walk along the creek was really great.

After the hike and eating lunch we went to the Johnson County Regional Hospital to visit rkl of the rklmbl caching team. rkl recently had a stroke and was in the inpatient rehab portion of the hospital.

It was great to get to introduce Jorby to rkl and mbl and their daughter +1. I know that over time Jorby like the rest of the geocaching community will get to see what great people they are.

We enjoyed our visit with them and before we left we had to stop and find the cache hidden in the courtyard by them for rkl's visitors to find.

The cache is rkl's R and R GC1C3WF.

After leaving the hospital I had to take Jorby to visit one of the great Clarksville caches, How Do You Measure Up, As A Cacher? GCVF6Q. Jorby like all the other cachers that have found it really enjoyed it.

I look forward to returning to Clarksville to find more caches and look forward to spending more time with Jorby caching.

We left Clarksville and headed home.

I had what I thought was going to be a teen function at our Church to attend. It turns out that ddkds had set up a surprise 40th birthday party for me at the fellowship hall. It was really a great ending to a great day. I got to do some geocaching with a good friend, got to visit rkl, and was surprised by friends and family for a party.

Like I said at the beginning of this post..."What a great day!".

Seary aka Searchy

2008-05-18T08:47:00.000-05:00

Searcy aka Searchy

For our wedding anniversary my wife made up some index cards that were to be coupons for me to use when I wanted to redeem them. One of them was for what ever I wanted to do for a day.

I turned the card in and asked her to go to Searcy for a day of geocaching with Pat (aka woodwalker9).

I started planning the trip weeks in advance and decided to take my trip on Friday, May 16th 2008.

Pat was going to be in Searcy on that date so things were good to go.

I left my house at approximately 5:30 am. It was a beautiful morning and it turned out to be a beautiful day. No rain and the temperature was just right. I made good time and when I approached Searcy I gave Pat a call and he met me at the Searcy Chamber of Commerce.

It turns out there is a great cache at the Chamber of Commerce called The Great Seal (GCV35G)

This was a "great" cache to start the day off with. I really enjoyed it and if you travel to Searcy you will too.

Pat then chauffeured me around Searcy for a great day of fellowship and caching.

I was able to see fellow cachers Gaddiel, Ice Cream Man, Geojeepers, HondaCacher, SearcyKid, and Quiltingranny before the day was over.

I was able to also set a personal record of finds for a single day. By the end of the day I had found 60 caches in Searcy. That is why from now on I will can Searcy, Searchy. Search here and search everywhere for caches. They are everywhere.

There are some good caches too. Here are a few I recommend:

The Great Seal GCV35G
Ya hooo GC15YHG
WOODwalker's Nightmare (GC15GAJ)
What's the Score? (GCKHDK)
Hit the field (GC15C3F)
OH YES THERE IS (GCZH9G)
1591 (GC19W49)
Batters Up (GC134V5)

There are also plenty of "Red Men" to find, and if you have never found one once you find one there are plenty more to find in "Searchy". There is even a multi-cache "Red Man" called Red Men-Multi (GC16E7C)

By the end of the day I had reached a new milestone of 300 caches.

The 300th cache was Remembering Daniel Longstreet (GC162DB). The cache is placed in a small city park in Higginson and stage one is at a plaque memorializing Officer Daniel Longstreet who was killed in the line of duty.

Thanks to Pat for placing this cache here in honor of that fallen officer and for taking me there for it to be my 300th cache.

After finding my 300th cache we found 3 more to give me 60 finds for the day.

We then went and had a great meal with more great talk before I headed out to return home.

Pat, thanks again for being a friend and all you have done for me and the caching community. I look forward to caching with you again soon.

Geocaching Events

2008-04-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

Geocaching has taken me to places that I have never gone to before and has taken me to some places I probably never would have gone to.

Caches we have searched for have taken us to some amazing places we never knew existed.

Event caches are geocaching events where geocachers get together and talk about caching. The event usually involves food, contests, and meeting fellow cachers.

Like physical caches, cache events have allowed me to meet people that I probably never would have met if it had not been for geocaching, and so far we have met a bunch of great cachers. All of the geocachers I have met so far are fun to be around, friendly, and willing to help you.

This weekend I attended the Clarksville or Cacheville, You Be the Judge 2008 geocaching event.

The event brought cachers from all over the state of Arkansas and even some cachers from other states.

There was a poker run consisting of temporary caches that were placed by the event organizers that you had to find using the coordinates they printed out. Once you found a temporary cache you would write down the number and name of an animal written on the container to prove your find. There was even a kid's cache for the kids to find that had goodies for them.

I had a great time doing the poker run with woodwalker9, SJClimber, and AR-Hick. The joking around and fellowship was what these geocaching events are all about.

There was the ammo can toss contest. There were categories for men, women, and children. Those who were able to toss a can into a ring won prizes.

Hot Rod on Foot and Bike tosses an ammo can in the ammo can toss contest.

There was a cammo cache contest where cachers entered caches they had made that were camouflaged. There were some interesting, creative, and evil entries. The winner was a cache that appeared to be a tree limb with leaves and an acorn. The acorn turned out to be a nano cache container.

The cammo cache winner.

Tickets were given out as we arrived and door prizes were also given away. I was lucky enough to have my number called and won a prize. I chose a Groundspeak Volunteer geocoin for my prize. The coin had been donated by the volunteer cache reviewer for Arkansas, Chuck Walla. Chuck Walla works hard to review the submissions for new cache placements to insure they are placed by the Geocaching.com guidelines. It is an honor to now own one of these rare coins.

My prize.

I had a great time after the event was over going around Clarksville and finding a couple of caches I had not found yet. Woodwalker9 went with me and again the fellowship with him just topped off a great day.

I already look forward to the next geocaching event.

C ya on the trails...

paris1time

Geocaching on Thanksgiving with Family

2007-11-22T20:46:00.001-06:00

My wife, ddkds, the kids and I traveled to Van Buren today to spend Thanksgiving Day with the family.

We had filled up on the usual holiday foods and was sitting around beginning to nod off. I had to get outside and get some fresh air to keep me awake. I needed to be able to sleep tonight so I could get up early for some Christmas shopping on Black Friday.

We invited ddkds' brother, nephew and his wife along to go find a few caches. Of course the first thing they did was ask what geocaching was.

We loaded up in the cachemobile and headed out. I began to explain to them what geocaching was all about on our way to our first cache.

We first went to a micro cache, actually it turned out to be a nano cache located in the old downtown part of Van Buren. The cache was W and C's Tiny Cache (GCRVRY). We had no problems finding the nano cache and the three family members that tagged along with us were amazed at the small size of the log sheet. We signed the log, and decided to go ahead and log them finding it with a handle of 3-Stooges. I just thought it up at the spur of the moment since there were three of them and I could put one handle on the small log for all of them.

Next we went to try and find Main St. Memorial (GCNFHA). This cache is located in a memorial park. I even remember when this tragic accident occurred. I also remember how at that time it even drew some national media coverage.

We looked around a short time for this cache when two men came out of a door of the upstairs portion of a building next door. They saw me with my GPSr and said "It's not there". They went on to explain that several people had been there to try and find it but it was gone. We just gave up, thinking they knew where the cache was suppose to be and knew that it was actually gone. When I went to log a DNF I noticed that someone had found the cacher earlier in the day! I then realized that the cache was probably still there and we had given up too soon based on some comments from two people who we thought knew what they were talking about.

Coming up empty handed didn't damper the excitement of our family members that were tagging along.

We then headed for the nearby virtual cache Train Trex #7 (Van Buren Depot) (GC607B). I then explained to our tag a longs what a virtual cache was. We found what we needed to be able to claim a find and then had to leave and drop off ddkds' brother to head out to pick up his kids.

My wife's nephew and his wife were not ready to stop caching so we thought we would head for a couple of caches that were located in Springhill Park.

We first attempted to find the Golden Eagle Trail (GCXMXG) cache located on a bike trail in the park. We were unable to find the cache and also noticed a recent log that was also a DNF. We did enjoy the much needed walk on the trail to work off some of that Thanksgiving Day food.

We then headed to the other side of the park to find the Springhill West (GCXMXB) cache. We had no problems find the cache and because of a different cache size that what we had already found I was able to explain the different cache sizes used in geocacing to my wife's nephew and his wife.

We were going to head back to the house, but my wife's nephew's wife had taken notice when we had mentioned earlier that there was a cache located in a cemetery near the old downtown part of Van Buren and wanted to go there and find the cache. We then made the drive back over to that area and went to find Steven's First Cache (GCNPZ0). I gave my GPSr to my wife's nephew's wife and let her lead us toward the cache.

On our way there we took note of an interesting grave with a plaque that said that legend had it that the grave was one of DeSoto's men. I took a photo of it and it is published with this post. This also allowed me to share with the others how geocaching has caused us to go places we would never have gone to if it had not been for geocaching and how we always run across interesting things while geocaching.

We then continued to the cache and found it pretty quick. I pulled two log sheets out of the cache container and showed them to ddkds' nephew and wife. We noticed that someone had already been there the same day! They were amazed at that and at the number of logs showing those who had found the cache in the past.

We left talking about geocaching all the way back to the house. It was a great day of caching with family and sharing our love of the sport with them.

They had never heard of geoaching before today and now they are talking about getting a GPSr to go caching themselves.

Another great geocaching adventure!

Our 200th find...

2007-11-19T21:52:00.001-06:00

On November 3rd, 2007 my wife and daughter and I traveled to Morrilton, Arkansas to attend a geoaching event Meet and Greet - MORRILTON (GC16CX6). We had set aside the entire day to have fellowship with other cachers and to do some caching in the Morrilton area.

We left out early and when we arrived at the location of the event obtained the coordinates for the temporary caches for the Poker Run contest.
We headed out and found all of the caches for the poker run which gave us the final coordinates to the temporary cache that contained the cards for the game.

After we completed the poker run and before we returned to the event we found a couple of caches.

We returned to the event and had a good time talking with other cachers and taking part in all the contests. I even won a geocoin to add to my collection.

When the event was over we headed out to find some more caches. We were zeroing in on find number 200 and were set on finding it before heading home for the day.

We decided to make the cache hide Anti-Ammo (GC12EJH) our 200th find. It was almost not to be. The hide is rated a 4 1/2 difficulty level out of 5. We looked, and looked, and looked, and looked, and...you get the picture. We were about to give up and make another cache our 200th find when we ran into some other cachers that were kind enough to give us just enough hint to put us back on track.

We finally found number 200 which also turned out to be find number 100 for our daughter. It might be a while before we are able to coordinate finding a milestone cache at the same time.

When the day was over we had attended a geocaching event, found our 200th cache, and had also found 17 caches for the day which was a new personal record for the number of finds in a single day for us.

Our 150th find...

2007-11-19T20:28:00.001-06:00

On the weekend of April 21st, 2007 my wife and I attended the geocaching event in Clarksville, Arkansas (GC11AEA Clarksville or Cacheville You be the Judge). We had a great time at the event and enjoyed getting to meet other geoachers. It was great to put faces with the handles of those cachers we had not yet met and to finally put faces with the handles of those we hadn't had the chance to meet yet.

We left the event and headed off to Southhaven, Mississippi. We had already purchased tickets to see MercyMe in concert in Southhaven before the Clarksville event and decided to make a whole weekend of geocaching and the concert.

On April 22nd, before the concert we did some geocaching in the area of Southhaven and also made our way north toward Memphis. The last cache we found for the day was also our 15oth cache find.

The cache also happened to be the oldest cache we had found so far.

The cache was Jailhouse Rock (GC3F7) that is placed at Graceland. We have been to Graceland before, but we just couldn't help going back since we were so close. No matter when you were born or what kind of music you like everyone knows the name Elvis. We have enjoyed tours of Graceland in the past and this cache find let us do both. Another tourist was kind enough to take a picture of us by the historical marker near the gates of Graceland (see above).

Later that night we went to the concert and was able to see the Christian Rock group Audio Adrenaline preform there very last concert in the 48 states. They did preform one more concert a couple of nights later at their farewell concert in Hawaii.

We also got to see MercyMe for the first of two times that we would see them in 2007.

We had a great weekend of meeting geocachers, traveling, finding our 150th cache, and hearing some Christian Rock.

It just doesn't get much better than this.

paris1time

Our 100th find...

2007-11-19T12:22:00.001-06:00

In November 2006 the entire family went on a trip to Dallas, Texas. The trip was to celebrate the kids' birthdays. We were going to take them to see Hannah Montana in Concert.

On our way to Dallas we did some geocaching along the way. We found the first caches we had found outside of Arkansas.

We traveled down 31 in Oklahoma and were getting some caches as we approached McAlester, OK.

I was turning onto a road where my GPSr was pointing toward a cache ( GCZ0T0 Catfish Cache) and noticed that another vehicle coming from the other direction was pulling in also.

My mobile phone rang at about that time and I was paying more attention to my phone call than those would be "muggles" that pulled in and were following me.

I finally just pulled over and finished my call real fast.

I noticed that the truck that pulled in just stopped behind me.

I was about to wave those muggles (what geocachers call non-cachers) on by hoping they would move along and I would get out and look for the cache.

I was looking in my rearview mirror when I noticed that the front license plate appeared to say "Whitson Morgan" from Clarksville. I took a closer look as the vehicle began to pull by and it was none other than rklmbl!

We had a good laugh about what one was thinking about the other as we both showed up near the cache at the same time. It was really great that we were both in another state and a ways from home when we ran into each other.

We went and found the cache together and had a nice talk then went on our way. rklmbl went the way we had came and we went the way they had came. We found a couple of more caches that I noticed that they had signed just before us.

rklmbl was some of the first geocachers that my wife and I had the chance to meet and this really added to the geocaching experience.

We continued on to Dallas and the next day we headed toward the arena where the Hannah Montana concert would be held. We also went to find a couple of "Virtual" caches. Virtual cache exists in the form of a location. There will not be a cache container to find. There may be some type of question or code word to e-mail to the owner of the virtual cache to verify and log your find online.

We were approaching 100 finds and we made the virtual cache (GC755C) Rush Hour our 100th find. It was located in a really great park area near the arena. We all enjoyed looking around at the interesting metal statues. I had seen Pioneer Park shown coming back from commercials during Dallas Cowboy football games, but had never been there. We took some photos (including the one at the top of this post) and then headed off to see Hannah.

paris1time

Our first find...

2007-11-18T22:07:00.000-06:00

I first discovered geocaching while taking a look at the Arkansas State Park web site for Mt. Magazine State Park. I was looking at the list of things to do at the park when I saw something that said "geocaching".

I had never heard of this before and first thought that "geo" might have something to do with geology. There was a link on the page to Geocaching.com and I went and visited the site.

After learning about the sport I found it very interesting. I also thought that it was a sport or hobby that my wife and I could do together and with the kids at times too.

I shared the web site with my wife who also found it interesting.

I joined as a member of Geocaching.com on Monday, March 27th, 2007 and ordered a GPSr from Wal-Mart. A few days later I received my GPSr (Garmin eTrex Legend) in the mail.

My wife and I had both taken some time off of work in April to do some cleaning out of our outbuilding. The City of Paris has a clean up week in the Spring and the Fall where they will pick up items at the curb at no additional cost other than the normal trash pick up fee. We spent one full day getting the building cleaned out and on the second day (April 13th, 2006) with the kids in school and day care we decided to take off in search of our first find.

The closet cache listed on Geocaching.com at the time was Sunset From A Short Mountain (GCTXGW).

I loaded the GPSr with the coordinates to the closet cache as well as some others in the area and we headed off on our first geocaching adventure.

This first cache actually achieved a couple of milestones. My wife Denise (who goes by the handle ddkds) is afraid of heights and our first cache was located atop of Short Mountain.

We arrived at the top of the dirt road that leads to the top of Short Mountain and parked. We got out and began to let the GPSr point us in the direction of the cache. We looked for a while with no luck. My first thoughts was "Maybe this hobby isn't for us".

I decided to take a second look at the coordinates in my GPSr and found that for some reason they were not the same as those published on the web site listing for the cache. I then manually re-entered the correct coordinates and the search was on again.

In no time we had found our first cache. We were excited as we looked through the contents of the container and found the log book to sign. Denise decided to take a hand made bracelet that someone had left that also had a card with their Geocaching.com handle on it. She later put the bracelet in a scrapbook she gave me to record some of our first finds.

We spent some time taking photos from the scenic spot and then were off to find two other caches that day.

Denise took a photo of me holding the cache container and I have been using that photo for my avatar on many geocaching related sites including this one.

We have been caching ever since .....

paris1time

This one time in Paris...

2006-11-01T12:53:00.000-06:00

"This one time in Paris" is a play on words with my Geocaching.com screen name (paris1time). My screen name is actually a combination of two things that have nothing to do with starting off a story with "This one time in Paris".

I am in law enforcement and of course there are many nicknames for the police. Here are a few: (The Law, The Po Po, Pigs, The Fuzz, Cops, and others). There was a nickname I learned once while at a gang seminar. It was "One Time". It appears that gangs in large cities refer the the police as the "One Time" because the police in those areas tend to patrol through their neighborhood "One Time" during a shift.

I am a law enforcement officer in Paris, Arkansas so I added my home town to the nickname to create my geocaching nickname/screen name/handle of paris1time.

I hope to use this blog site primarily for my geocaching adventures, but from time to time will post other things significant at the time.

paris1time