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On our geocaching podcast today, we take you back with us to Kentucky, as we explore Mammoth Cave, do some very cool earthcaches, and visit another special site with even more caches to grab.
We also have info on a new geocaching magazine, a travel bug that has made it home twice, some advice for our listener with a streaking problem, London caches being archived and more. Please Note: We will have full WWFM IX coverage on next week's show!!
Listen To The Show (1:02:33)
Show Discussion: PodCacher Forums AND Facebook Fan Page
Show Images: Go to the Flickr set
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Links mentioned in the show
Geocaching Wiki for the UK - Olympics info
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave, The World's Longest Earthcache
Mammoth Creation Earthcache (Kentucky's 1st EC)
AL's Story
Sinking Spring
UK Cache Mag - a new geocaching magazine
Stashpix iPhone App
Geocaching in the NorthWest Episode 14 (discussing the Stashpix App)
Geocaching marble puzzle box
Tahu TB - successful travel bug
The Official WWFM Website - info, resources, stats, photos, video, etc.
WWFM IX official bookmark list
WWFM IX Prize Drawing for Attendees
Shop Amazon's GPS and Navigation Deals
Shop at PodCacher Amazon Stores for The USA or The UK or Germany - and help support the show
Put the number for the PodCacher Hotline on your speed dial! (206) A CACHER (206-222-2437)
Call us with your rants, raves and as a roving reporter
I Hosted my very first official caching event, and WWFM IX was it. Not only was it an exercise in creative thinking, and hours of preperation, it put me on to the best geocaching tool out there. This is the fourth podcacher.com show my family has listened to in the past four hours, and only sleep will make us take a break. 🙂
I’m Cache Slinger, and currently hailing from Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada.
I’ve helped out with events before, but GC3KRTG (WWFM IX 2012 – “LakeLand LandLocked Fishing Derby”) was my first solo planning and execution of an event, and now I’m addicted.
I’m not sure if they’ll publish it, but I wrote a short article about the Event experience for the local paper and emailed it off to them last night. There’s photos on the Cache page, but here’s what I submitted:
WORLD WIDE FLASH MOB TAKES COLD LAKE BY STORM
by Brian D. Watters
There were a few raised eyebrows Saturday morning on the 9th of June in Cold Lakes Tri-City Mall at 11:00am sharp, when 12 year old Kelsey Watters let loose with three shrilling blows of the whistle inside the main entrance.
What happened next can only be described as a storm of unexpected activity, as seemingly unrelated visitors of all ages dawned toques and quickly converged around a child’s inflatable swimming pool which appeared suddenly in front of the malls food court.
A bucket of fifty numbered paper fish with paperclip mouths were dumped into the pool, and those who gathered were handed fishing poles sporting magnets instead of hooks. Each visitor dropped an index card sporting odd names such as Kid-K; Team G&V; geofunbmsw; or TheGunNuts into a tin can, then began fishing.
As each fish made its way out of the pool, the odd assortment of spontaneous fisher persons moved to a nearby table and exchanged their numbered catch for a like numbered prize bag, then went back to fishing, repeating the process until the pool was empty.
A quick group photo was organized, and at exactly 11:15am, the whistle blew again, signaling the group and pool to disperse without a trace as quickly as they had arrived.
This flurry of bizarre activity is called a GeoCaching Event, know to GeoCachers as a Flash Mob. What was particularly special about this Flash Mob event is that it was one of 312 synchronized events spanning 31 countries worldwide.
GeoCaching is a generally considered an outdoor recreational activity embraced by regular people of all ages and walks of life. A high tech treasure hunt game played the world over; geocaching is free and can be indulged by individuals or teams. All that is required to become a GeoCacher is a Free online account, creating a cacher name that suits your taste, and either a GPS, Smart Phone, Mobile device like a tablet, or even a map and compass. Some people can find Caches just by looking at google maps and following the clues.
There are several types of Caches, the most common being the Traditional Cache, which may be a container of any size, usually ranging from the size of a pencil erasure to something larger than an ammo box. The one thing that all GeoCaches have in common is that they must contain a log sheet that the GeoCacher can either write their Caching Name, or initials and the Date that they found the cache.
On returning from a geocache, the cacher signed onto their account, and Logs their experience, even uploading photos if they like. All sorts of statistics are generated under their caching profile, so caches can track their process.
The Flash Mob hosted at the Tri-City Mall is an Event Cache which is designed to have cachers gather together in a specific place, to take part in some sort of activity, such as the Flash Mob, maybe a Potluck, or even a Fun Bowling event.
There are over 500 Traditional GeoCaches physically hidden within 25km of the City of Cold Lake just waiting to be discovered by new and veteran GeoCachers alike.
GeoCaching is a great tool for team building activities, and promotes CITO, (Cache In Trash Out), leaving an area cleaner than how you found it.
To view or join the Lakeland Geocachers Group on FaceBook, just search for “Lakeland Geocachers”, or to find out more about geocaching or create an account, visit the http://www.geocaching.com site.