Yuma Mega Event #10 - Hundreds of TB To Log

I am of mixed feelings about this.  I kinda like the whole 'discovery' ability on Geocaching.com.  It feels great to open up a cache and find that you can log your find and then there's the bonus of adding some 'discoveries' of TBs.  Or when going to an event with a 'discovery' table, where you can view, touch and log, other's TB's.  But what was at the Yuma Mega Event #10 was a bit different.

I did my deed and paid my dues with the TB table.  I stood there with many others and jotted down numbers from many amazing TBs that were there to be discovered or adopted to move on to exciting new locations.  For myself, holding and appreciating the effort put into some of these little pieces of art by the makers is really fun.

But what about getting your finds, or should I say discoveries, just by reading the numbers off a list.  Literally, you can add hundreds of 'discovered' number just by looking at a list.  I sort of don't feel like this is 'playing fair' when it comes to caching.

I don't judge others who found this a good way to up their numbers.  I bet a lot of people do this.  For me, it isn't about the numbers that I can add, by challenging myself to actually get out there and enjoy the hunt.

What do you think?

 I believe this guy was a bit doubtful about this process also. 

Yuma Mega Event #10 - Need To Knows

 Just a couple of bits of info that you may want to know -

This is such a great deal.  The Yuma Mega Event #10 Geocoin is now available on Ebay.  This is such a great collectible since this is the first ever Mega event in Arizona.  After all, there can never be another 'First'.  So - go to Ebay and check out SWAG Geocoins.  or just click here for the direct connect.

Also -

The Podcacher show from the event is now available on line.  Check this out.

 Yuma Mega Event #10 Podcacher Show 408.
Just click here for the direct connect to listen to this great hour long show.  Also - check out some great links and past shows. 

Yuma Mega Event #10 - Fun and Games

On a weekend filled with violence on the news, how great was it to be in the mist of over 1,000 happy and friendly people.  The Yuma Mega Event #10 was all about great feelings and smiling faces.  S*W*A*G* really pulled off an amazing event.

Games were great this year.  A couple of new ones for those of us who have attended in the past, and of course the good old faithful Poker Run.  Then there was the food and auction and drawings and the CITO - and did i mention amazing food.  If you were not there, you may not be able to wrap your head around the fact that all of this could fit into less then 6 hours.

These two young teens are brand new cachers.  This was not only their first event but their first week of caching.  Can you imagine what a thrill it is, or will be when they are old enough to really get a grasp on the fact, that their first event was a MEGA event.  Arizona's very first.

The Poker Run was pretty typical.  The spots were spread out so that they were not too difficult to get to and yet we did get in a bit of exercise to retrieve them.  Since this part of the event started at 8:30, it was a perfect way to warm up while waiting for the sun to do it's job.

A few stairs, a small hill, and a hike around the park - all fun.


 From what I hear, the $100 prize went to the proud owners
of 4 nines. 

There were new games this year that helped pass the morning and were pretty neat too.

 The CITO Makes Cents Challenge looked like a simple bit of fun.  But only until you tried it.  I felt like those little pennies must have been oiled up, but it was only my serious lack of ability.  One of the best parts of this game was that it was great for any age.

 

And what about the 'G Spot' Challenge.  This was a blast.  Not that the search for the area to stick you flag was difficult in any way but the conversations that were shared while in the area were funny and had a whole new bunch of strangers talking and bonding.  

Handing out flags and giving instructions on how to find the
'G Spot'.
 
Ya know - some body's gotta do it.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to find the area.  Sort of pretty - all those flags. 

 

There were a few cachers who got very close to the mark but Greesepot took the prize.  It's the closest flag.  It's no mistake that this car was sitting on the spot.  Thanks to Gideon-X for supplying the base and windshield wipers to hold flags in place.


Can't forget the drawings, raffles, Podcacher and TB table.  More on that will follow soon.  

Special Day For Some Cachers

Regan Smith and Fido Downs Smith, Team Evil Fish, is known by most Arizona cachers by the large number of events that they attend and host.  Today, being it's Valentine's Day, I think it would be fun to recognize them as a couple that actually met through geocaching.  A true Geocaching couple.

I asked Fido Downs if she would mind sharing a bit of a story with us about how these two cachers became the ultimate caching couple.  Here is what she had to say.

 

My mom and I had just started geocaching and were looking forward to attending our first event. I, being the self-proclaimed "information officer", read all of the logs several times before going to the event. In the logs there was some discussion about how the event would go and I decided that I would probably like the host because they seemed to have a good sense of humor. I knew nothing about the host except what was said in the logs.

At the event my mom and I met some really nice cachers, got some very helpful information and, as we were leaving, met the host - Team Evil Fish. He and a friend of his dared us to leave a large travel bug at some one's front door and then ding-dong-ditch. If we completed the task successfully, they would buy us dinner at the next monthly event.

My mom almost never passes on a dare. Under cover of darkness, my mom and I delivered the trackable just as they had described.

At the next month's event, my mom and I got free dinner and we ended up having a fairly long conversation with Team Evil Fish and some others. I was still liking this Team Evil Fish guy and his good sense of humor.
After that my mom and I attended all of Team Evil Fish's monthly events, making friends, finding difficult caches and learning some of the finer points of geocaching.

One day, out of the blue, TEF invited us on a road trip for an event in cooler climes (during summer) and caching all the way home. Looking for any and every excuse to escape the heat and find more caches, we went with him and had lots of fun. Since that trip, I have been in contact with TEF almost every day.

Roughly six months after we first met, TEF and I were married. We had the kind of wedding I've always wanted - last minute, in a courthouse, with only the judge and our witnesses in attendance. It was perfect.

Geocaching has always been part of our relationship... TEF was hosting an event one week after our wedding and that's when we announced to the caching world that we were married. After we moved into our apartment we had a "house warming" geocaching event. Every year we celebrate the anniversary of our first meeting by hosting an event at the same location.

And now we are a caching family. We have a little boy named Stuart (a.k.a. FidoFish) who was born in January. His baby shower was a geocaching event. When some friends came to visit him in the hospital, they hid a cache nearby in his honor. He was also the youngest person at Arizona's first Mega event!

We are, very definitely, a geocaching family.
Our son is pretty much the very definition of a geobaby.
I wouldn't want it any other way.

I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't mention one other couple from Arizona.   This is one of those couples where the 'guy' is a cacher and the 'wife' is not.  But you wouldn't know it most of the time because she is so supportive of his adventures and goes along often.  I think she must really like this guy.

I don't know that there is a cacher in the area that does not know Adventure Mike, aka Mike Carey.  If you follow Mike on Facebook you also know of Julie.  What I found on facebook this morning is a bit of info about
 this couple that are so truly in love.

This Valentine's Day is their 32nd wedding              anniversary.  Amazing! 

If you want to see what an amazing couple this is, just check out this little goody that Mike posted on Facebook. You may want to grab a tissue first.


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2860110599246&set=vb.1754125956&type=2&theater

Yuma Mega Event #10 - Warm Up Before The Warm UP

When I heard about this event, my first thought was - What is this all about?  A second warm up event?  Who on earth would think of doing a Warm Up Before the Warm UP, of the Yuma Mega Event #10 ?!  Then I saw that Just Hike was hosting - OK - nuf said.

Well - I will give him credit for this being a good idea.  Even a great idea.  There are a lot of cachers who come into Yuma to make it an entire weekend of fun and games.  So why not get them together in one place to kick off the weekend - right?  When I think about it, there may be some reasons NOT to have a bunch of crazy cachers, gathered in a contained area, crazy excited about the very first Mega Geocaching event Arizona has ever seen.  Joe Highley must have known that there is a need for this event.  Thus - The Warm Up Before the Warm UP.

Knowing that I couldn't make it to Lute's before their closing time, I didn't try to make it this year (next year will be different, if he host again), but I was able to borrow a few pictures from the event site to share with everyone.

 The host, Just Hike, with friends.

 I'll be looking for more info to share in the near future.  Hopefully with some numbers. Please check back for a post named Warm Up Before The Warm Up - Up date.

Yuma Mega Event - The Pre Game Show

The Yuma Mega Event 2013 was a super hit when it comes to geocaching events.  But we must not forget everything that leads to the BIGGY event day.  We had the The Warm Up Before The Warm UP, and then there was the Warm Up Event; what a super fun place Z Fun Factory is.

For this weekend, I was accompanied by two early teen boys.  Needless to say, a bunch of old farts, standing around talking about the biggest fish cache they had found, was just a bit worse than boring.  Next year I think I would like to plan a side event that is geared around this age of kid.  Anyway - thank goodness for game rooms and go carts.  I maintained Super Grandma rating, yet another day.

Someone was wise enough to place us in the rear of the park, putting a bit of space between this group and the 'normal' population.  I am not too sure what the final count was but the sign up sheet was pretty impressive.

 The wind was chilly but that didn't stop the crowds from gathering around the Buzzards Cove Cantina sharing stories and catching up on the events in their live over the past year, since the last Yuma Event.

 I always seem to get pics of other people taking pics.  And I don't even try. 

Geocachers excel at holding up walls, especially in windy conditions.  And here is the proof.  One guy here is multi-tasking; holding on his had while supporting the wall.  Such talent we had here today.

Now tell me something, please.  Is this little girl not going to be the most beautiful geocacher when she grows up?  We will have to keep track of her.

Daniel Hunt, better known to all geocachers as The Raven from Ravenland, may share stories of caching, but doesn't spill any secrets about his amazing caches.  The Raven is known for his unique talent of cache development.

Team Lookin Good are being true to their name.  Here they enjoy a few moments with SchnauzerQueen and sharing their path tags.  I was lucky enough to score one of them also!

One thing that was on my mind while I was looking around - and tell me that you didn't think about this also - what fun it would be to hide caches in this water park!

 

 Last but not least - a perfect gentleman to send us off to an evening of night caching.  

Yuma Mega Event #10 - With Warnings

The Yuma Mega Event #10 kicks off tonight with the Warm Up BEFORE The Warm Up Event.  This is going to be one amazing event.  But, in case you missed the post from S*W*A*G* from a couple of weeks ago, there are some possible dangers when caching.  Most of use from the deserts of Arizona know what I am getting to here.  If you don't, you may be interested in a few facts about the desert wildlife. 

Snakes DO NOT hibernate during the winter.  They are cold blooded creatures so they are not active and they move slowly, but they do not sleep.  When the temps hit in the 60's, they come out to eat.  SchnauzerQueen can attest to this.  She had a close encounter just a couple of weeks ago. Another fact about snakes that make them a bit more dangerous in the winter months is that they have not shed their winter skins so there could be skin over their eyes.  They will strike at anything since they can not see well.  So - be extra careful when in the desert and sticking your hands in bushes or under rocks.

Other dangers - bugs.  I, for one, don't mind bugs in the least.  But I am not crazy about the ones that have ugly attitudes.  Examples - scorpions, centipedes, and other spiders with a nasty bite.  All of these bugs
come out to sun on (or under) a rock or in the dirt, and hunt food in a bush.  Scorpions especially enjoy a warm wall and they can climb them quite easily. They won't chase you down so there is not reason to attack them but if you touch them or get too close, they will protect themselves.  It's best to kick over a rock before you pick it up.  Shake a limb of a bush before reaching in.  Just keep a keen eye on the area when enjoying this weekend.  

Enjoy the weekend.  Be safe. 
Happy hunting.