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On our geocaching podcast today, we have an awesome chat with scottberks about Law Enforcement Officer encounters while geocaching as well as two pieces of breaking news from Geocaching HQ. We also share a geocaching book release, exciting news about the new PodCacher Geocoin, contest winners, a banana geocache bomb scare and much more.
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Links mentioned in the show
Cats vs Bananas video
Emergency services, bomb technician, determine that 'banana' in pine tree is harmless geocache
2015 Geocaching Block Party Cache Page and Event website
Geocaching book release: 200 things any geocacher must do sooner or later
Profile for scottberks of the Chicago Geocacher Podcast
Cache Crate by Cache-Advance (listen to the show for special coupons!)
2014 PodCacher Geocoin Introduction Video
2014 PodCacher Geocoin Sale Page
Wetland Treasure - in California
A place for bunnies (Canterbury) - in New Zealand
Geocaching with DS8300
Cuckoo Rock - in Virginia
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Thank you for the show.
You’re welcome Mike!
Interesting show. I have had a variety of encounters with law enforcement here in the Netherlands. Including one with a police officer last Sunday. I was doing a cache in Purmerend and I was looking for the cache of puzzle underneath a large advertising sign. That was in a very quiet business area and the cache was located in front of a car store. The area was quiet because it was a Sunday afternoon. Wide streets, empty parking lots and no muggle to see. I hear a sound and a police officer on a motorbike had stopped behind me. “What are you doing”. I have learned from my first encounters that it is best just not to be secretive but to tell about geocaching. This officer had never heard of it but when I explained it to him and showed the cache on the screen of my gps (Galaxy S4) he found it interesting and exciting. He contacted the local police headquarters to tell his colleagues about it. So while he was chatting with his collegues, I turned to the cache and he called me: “please wait, this is exciting, I want to join you’. He had parked the motor bike on a standard. But I had the cache in hand before he had stepped off. I showed it to him and and I howed the logbook. “What now?”. I showed it was a game, I answerd the obvious question: can you earn money or a prize?. I signed the logbook under his nose and put it back under this large advertising sign.
So I guess he had an interesting Sunday afternoon patrol after all.
This was better than the previous encounters before but I have learned too.
Thank you for the podcast.
Great way to introduce a muggle / LEO!
Great podcast. What I found extremely funny is that on Sunday, 2/15, while out looking for my 16th cache (GC1J7B8) in Owasso Oklahoma, I came back from the field, and a Sheriff was parked behind my car.
I had left my car parked where i had stopped when I picked up GC5ATV6.
He’d never heard of Geocaching before. Once I explained what I was doing, there was no problem, and we both happily went on our separate ways.
I loved the idea of the sign that says I’m out geocaching. Call me, don’t tow my car!
Ya, the sign in the car is a great idea!
Loved the LEO Encounters with scottberks segment. With only 152 cashes logged, I don’t have anywhere near the experience with LEOs while geocaching as I’m sure many have. My only encounter was very early in my geocaching experience while in Atlanta. I was caching in Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. As I approached GZ the area was occupied by 20+ motorcycle police who had parked their cycles on the sidewalk and were standing around talking. I nearly just walked away, but as I was about ready to turn around, I spotted the small magnetic container attached to the back of a sign. Try being stealthy and yet not suspicious. I don’t know how successful I was or if the policemen knew what I was doing and just let me proceed or maybe didn’t even notice what I was doing. But I got the log signed and the container replaced. I was glad I was able to walk away without any questions asked. Now I think I would be less likely to just go ahead and look for a cache even if I was aware of the presence of LEOs.
Very stealthy!
Here is my crazy LEO experience – In Crockett County, TN: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=d476efc2-a388-47d7-80ee-9244a22a4957
Thanks for sharing your experience!
That was a good episode but on the 500th episode you did snippets of older tapes and I heard that you guys had talked to the man who started it all was wondering if you guys were still in touch with him and wondered if he is still GeoCaching today?
P.S. Sorry for commenting a few episodes later but I just started listening like a week ago but I’m in love with the show
Hey Bryab_brye, welcome aboard! No, not in contact with him. He was a real down to earth guy!
Came out to San Diego to listen to the show – it’s cheaper that way. OK, no it isn’t, and I’m out here for a conference. Hoping to get the Doctor Who cache in the morning before I go to the conference. So far only 1 DNF – on a cache everyone has said was easy and a hint wasn’t needed.
Hey great that you’re out here! Enjoy!
Great show. Keep on Cachin’
I’ve had a few LEO experiences too – 1 with a machine gun pointed at me when searching for a cache during the Gulf Heads of State conference near Abu Dhabi – and another when a high ranking policeman tracked me down to my office after seeing my car near a cache during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in South Africa.
Here’s my LEO story. On Black Friday 2009 I received a notification of a new geocache not far from where I was. Since the store was already out of what I wanted, I dashed off, hoping for an FTF. I had to climb up a hill and right at ground zero was a lamppost. (sorry Sonny). When I got about 10 yards away from the lamppost, a police officer came out of the woods that was right near by. I stopped and froze. He stopped and looked at me. After a few seconds, I said “Ummm, I was just going to look for something over there.” pointing at the lamppost. The police officer said “Happy Thanksgiving” and handed me a small turkey with a bison tube coming out of its butt. Yep, I met Smokiewolf for the first time, and he beat me to the FTF! http://coord.info/GL36HDEJ
I had a LEO show up at my front door after a night of geocaching. Had been doing a new cache series a few miles north of home. This was out on a country road, there was two of the caches about 400 feet or so on either side of a group of houses. I was on my way back to my car from one of the two when one of the home owners came home. I guess they called the LEO and must have got my plate number.
After my dad told them that I was Geocaching they said be careful and left.
Loved the Sean Update. My son Christopher (9) has developed a similar obsession – sharks. He’s held onto this interest since he was 4 ot 5. When he was 7, we let him watch Jaws for the first time (with us). At the scene where they have the shark on the dock & everyone’s posing for the newspaper pic Christopher announced BEFORE Richard Dryfuss’ did that it was a Tiger Shark, not a Great White. 🙂
Loved the out-take of the bleeped segment.
And had to try the sweetCaptcha. 🙂