The Geocaching Blog always has some great post and this is just one of them.  Check this out.

6 Tips for Finding a Geocache in an Environmentally Friendly Way

In Geocaching in Harmony with Nature (Part 1), we gave you tips and tricks on how to hide an environmentally friendly geocache. A wise geocacher once said: “If you hide a geocache, someone will come and find it.” So this time we want to take a look at how to be a Nature Lover when hunting for a geocache.

We asked the geocaching community, Geocaching HQ-ers and Volunteer Reviewers for their tip-top tips on being kind to nature when searching for a geocache. Then we combined all the great answers into this list: 

Come prepared. When planning for a geocaching trip, make sure to read the geocache description carefully. This way you’ll know the regulations and concerns for the area before you visit. Be informed about the seasonal changes in your area. Do not visit caves in which bears or bats hibernate during autumn and winter and do not disturb breeding habitats. Before searching for a night cache in the woods, check in with park rangers or land management to make sure that this is safe for you and for the natural area.

Stay on track. Stick to designated trails and don’t cut across switchbacks when navigating to the geocache. Doing so might disturb flora and fauna along the way.

Bring garbage bags. Geocacher Cindi Lee G. says: “We cache in and trash out every time we go geocaching or hiking.” We think that’s grand! Next time you go geocaching, include a few garbage bags with your geocaching gear. This way you can pick up litter on the way to and from the geocache. And here is something we think is genius: there are some geocaches with an extra compartment for trash bags geocachers can use to Cache In Trash Out (CITO) on their way back out.

Leave the car at home. If possible, bike or walk to the geocache location. This is not only great for your health and good for the environment, the slower pace might even make you notice things along the way you would have never seen speeding by in your car. bear 
  Keep geocache owners informed. Let the geocache owner know if their geocache is damaged and could potentially be dangerous to animals or vegetation.

Respect wildlife and plants. Observe wild animals from afar. Never feed or try to touch them. Be conscious where you are stepping so you don’t destroy fragile plants and mushrooms. Pro-Tip from Geocacher Sarah H.: “Please clean your footwear and gear when hiking in various places. Footwear caked in mud and plant material is a good way to spread invasive species.” 

It is OK to DNF. You have searched in all the obvious places. You took a good look at the geocache description and the hint, but you still couldn’t find it. Log your DNF (Did Not Find) online to let the geocache owner know that you did not find the geocache. Don’t keep on searching, turning over every stone, and potentially ravaging the area. Keep in mind: A DNF is not admission to failure, it is just honest communication.

We hope these tips will help you sharpen your nature senses and become a skilled environmentally friendly geocacher. Do you have another tip for environmentally friendly geocaching? Let us know in the comments below!

Find out how you can be a complete nature loving geocacher with our 6 Tips for Hiding an Environmentally Friendly Geocache!


These are some great tips.  To follow more of the great stories The Geocaching Blog share, just go to directly to their site.  Super stuffl 

Darn Those Cows - Caching Nurse Injured

Nurse in intensive care after being trampled by a herd of cows while taking part in hi-tech sat-nav treasure hunt

Sarah Leonard, 59, trampled by the animals in a Lincolnshire field.  She suffered horrific injuries, including multiple broken bones Amazingly, she stayed conscious and managed to call 999 on mobile Paramedics struggled to find her as she didn't know where she was

By Sam Webb
PUBLISHED: 07:56 EST, 21 November 2013 | UPDATED: 08:06 EST, 21 November 2013

A 59-year-old nurse has been left in intensive care after being trampled by a herd of cows - while taking part in a treasure hunt.

Sarah Leonard was walking in a field with her dog in North Scarle, Lincolnshire, when the group of animals charged, leaving her with life-threatening injuries. She suffered two broken arms, a broken collarbone, a broken jaw and several broken ribs in the terrifying stampede on Saturday afternoon.
Incredibly, Sarah bravely managed to dial 999 herself but it took paramedics 30 minutes to find her as she did not know where she was. She was rushed to Lincoln County Hospital where she today remained in a stable condition after several operations to save her life.

Yesterday her worried brother, Andrew Leonard, 62, said: 'She is now very slowly on the mend.'
Sarah, from Norton, Sheffield, had been 'geocaching' - an internet-based high-tech treasure hunt which uses GPS.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: 'We received a call from a woman saying she had been injured and was lying in a field. Although she didn’t know exactly where she was, within half-an-hour her car was located at North Scarle cemetery. And she was found in the field off Church Lane in the village soon after. The woman was in quite a bad way, with severe injuries including a broken jaw and other fractures.  Sarah’s pet King Charles spaniel Megs was uninjured after she ran off when around a dozen cows charged at them at around 3.25pm.

For more on this story, click here for Mail Online News.  And beware of those friendly looking cows next time you are out caching. 

Space Coast Geocaching Store Update

It's been a while since I have talked to the Space Coast Geocaching Guys but, they have a couple of exciting new things happening. 

First - Signal is hanging out in the store.  For those cachers who geocache as a family will understand how neat this will be for the little ones who come in the store.  And what about any muggles who happen by the area?  If this doesn't bring up some questions, I don't know what will.  Check with Space Coast and see if they are going to do a photo session with Signal soon.  I guess it would be helpful if you live or are visiting their neck of the woods.

And here's some exciting news that you will enjoy, even if you don't live in the area.  Here's their announcement from September 3, 2013 -

Ok fans here is the announcement you have all been waiting for....the trackable license plates have FINALLY arrived. We will begin processing all of the orders tomorrow and hope to have all orders shipped by Thursday. Thank you for your patience. They turned out fantastic. We believe everyone will be quite happy once they see them in person. So within the next week everyone should start to see them arrive. We will also add them to our online store once we have all the orders shipped. So if you did not get in on the presale they should be available starting Friday if all goes well. Again thanks to everyone that took advantage of the presale.

Is this exciting or what?  Trackable license plates.  

Go to the Space Coast site to get yours today and also check out their inventory of great supplies and swag.  

Thanks Space Coast for keeping us in the loop.  
 

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. 

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 #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.

January 2013 Geocacher of the Month

Special shout out goes to Tim Stewart, aka The Weasel, for being voted Geocacher of the Month.  Congrats Tim !

Here's how it all started for The Weasel, straight from the Tim's profile page on Geocaching.com.

Born and raised in Marion, IA. I originally started caching back in 2002 on a whim with a friend of mine. I instantly got hooked right away. My friend slowly got out of caching, so I carried on by myself. "Back in the day" as I call it, there were very few caches around and I was to a 20-30 mile radius that I had all the caches. I continued caching up until 2005 when I found out that my wife and I were expecting our first child. Well, a baby along with high gas prices and no near caches put caching on a back burner.

FORWARD TO 2008--I was up at Jon Gill park in Marion one October night with my wife and daughter and see somebody standing on the Gazebo railing. I thought to myself "He must be a cacher". I get home and check out the geocaching website, and sure enough there was a cache there. Well, I go to the back closet and dust off the caching equipment. I turned the power on my GPS and it was like it was saying "Welcome back old friend". Needless to say, "back in the day", we didn't have nano caches, so I was not sure what to look for. After contacting the owner (S K H), I found the cache and was instantly hooked again. I struck up an instant friendship with S K H and Ghöst after that, and Team Marion was created shortly after.

Some of the high points of The Weasel's caching career -

                           * Set a career high of 125 caches in a day (07/02/11)

* Completed my first 5-5 cache (FTF) (01/03/09)

* Was the first to complete Bellcurves 16 stage "Gift" series (4 FTF's)

* Found caches in 3 states (IA, WI, and IL) in one day (01/18/09) Thanks BB!!!!!

* Completed the ENTIRE Rock Island trail with SuperGoober (approx 122 caches) (3 trips to complete, finished on 09/12/09)

* Completed the Iowa Well Rounded Cacher (Fizzy Challenge) with SuperGoober (MANY miles and MANY caches. Completed on 03/06/10)

* Completed the Iowa "5-Terrain Challenge" with SuperGoober (ALL 9 difficulty 5 terrain caches on 05/15/10) 

Again - hooray to Tim for the big win.