Geocaching Turns 25 [Detroit Puzzle Series]

What a lovely surprise to wake up on May 12th to discover that STNolan has published 28 puzzles in downtown Detroit for our enjoyment! Creating a geoart in the Detroit River, it was his way to celebrate Geocaching turning 25 this year. 

This series ran the gamut between obviously-so-easy to let-me-come-back-and-think-about-it. I scored 10 FTF's as I competed with HookedOnYou in a race to these finals.

My favorite one is this fiendishly clever #3: GCB47VQ. 

I love how much I learned from this series! If you want to get started, here's #1:  Geocaching Turns 25 #1

Puzzle Happy In Clarkston

No matter how crazy the world is, a little geocaching goes a long way!

TaGeez and I are still working on our "solved but not found" cache list - we're at about 45% found since New Years! Today we knocked off 7 more in the Clarkston area. 

Hard to believe there is such beauty alongside the very busy, very noisy Dixie Highway.

Michigan State Parks GeoTour 2: New Caches have published!

Yesterday was a glorious day! Not only was I off work, but the Michigan State Park GeoTour caches published! It's not one but three geotours spanning upper and lower Michigan!

• MSPGT2 Southern Lower Peninsula Edition (GT4F6)
• MSPGT2 Northern Lower Peninsula Edition (GT4F7)
• MSPGT2 Upper Peninsula Edition (GT4F8)

Complete the series for a Geocoin, geocoin inserts, and virtual souvenirs. But, more importantly, complete the series to see some of the most beautiful views Michigan has to offer!

Official Passport

So, when the caches published, I had hoped for one first-to-find (FTF), but we were able to score three!

MSPGT2-SL: Milliken SP and Harbor GCAPW53

I love downtown Detroit, and I was lucky enough to get FTF on the Detroit cache in the first series. After dropping off TaGeez at work, I headed south for the adventure. 

Ferry, Ambassador Bridge, and Ren Cen

This is the first time all gloomy week the sun was out so I made sure to enjoy my time on the Riverwalk. I'm so glad this series will bring more visitors here. 

The Detroit Riverwalk has been voted the best riverwalk in America by USA Today for the third year in a row.

Detroit Riverwalk

This cache was an easy multi and a nice, well-hidden container at the end. Don't overthink it! This was my first FTF for the day! What a view, eh? 

Lighthouse and Freighter

Afterwards, make sure you visit the nearby harbor, Michigan Outdoor Adventure, carousel, and Belle Isle for a full-day adventure!

MSPGT2-SL: Maybury SP GCAPW50

I picked up TaGeez from work, and I told him I was itching for an adventure. It's the beginning of a holiday weekend, and I feel like I had been working all my week off. He suggested a nice leisurely stroll through Maybury State Park as that cache had been unfound to date. 

Turns out it was a lovely day, and the park wasn't very busy. We parked close to the trailhead, and we decided (FTF or not) that we were going to take our time and enjoy the experience. Now, we did a similar puzzle like this before - with these very same signs in this very park - so we knew what to expect. It was a pleasant walk with passerbies smiling at us, birds making a racket, and squirrels darting underfoot. It wasn't long before we had the final solution in hand. Then, an easy walk to the final.

Second FTF for the day!

MSPGT2-SL: Highland RA GCAPW4P

"Hey, did you know that Highland hasn't been found yet?" We're assuming it's because many of our friends are either vacationing out of town or at GeoWoodstock.

We detoured this way (OMG! The traffic!), and we were resigned to the idea that someone most definitely will get here before we can reach the park. We pulled in, though, and the park was very quiet & peaceful. I spied Sandhill Cranes, nuthatches, Bluejays, ducks, and Canadian Geese. 

I was enjoying its bucolic beauty as we strolled to the cache (engulfed by the amazing smell of the Autumn Olive bushes) until TaGeez exclaimed, "Oh, look! A 🐍!” Then I stepped up my game to this fabulous cache.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it is this type of care in cache creation that sets this geotour apart from many others we completed. LOVED this container! Even better? The clean log inside that made for our third FTF for the day!

☼

Thank you to everyone who had a hand at the creation of the cache and the MSPGT2 series - we really look forward to all the future finds!

Spring CITO Season

With all the pain and strife in the world, geocaching is the perfect escapism. And, as Mr Rogers said, "Always look for the volunteers." So TaGeez and I took CITO season as the perfect opportunity to get out and give back. We not only did one but four! 

Spring Pool Party 2025 GCB2Y1W

Ah, the annual pool party outside of Kensington Metropark. It was a park & ride that had a pretty rough winter. Beforehand, we headed to the Nature Center and spent some fabulous reprieve watching the swans and herons.

CITO Great Lakes National Cemetery Stone Cleaning GCB4Z76

This was a unique experience! GLC hosted a CITO at the Great Lakes National Cemetery outside Holly where we went to clean headstones! How humbling cleaning headstones in Section 4! I was so impressed with the number of volunteers! After we earned our volunteer patches, we headed over towards Independence Township for a challenge cache trail.

NOMAG spring CITO 2025 GCB4Y1D

You can always count on Syfun to host a fun event. This one was a roadside clean-up that spanned about a mile and a half outside of Pine Knob. For as often as we cache it, it was time to show it some love. As with all the CITO spots, there was so much winter debris.

Belle Isle Spring CITO GCB525M

We attended the last one today, and, for the first time, we had rain. We have been so lucky with weather these last 2 weeks! As per usual, TaGeez and I trekked several miles down the backroad behind the Nature Center. Collectively, we filled 6 bags, mostly of bottles versus trash. 

It was so great seeing old friends and getting fresh air after this long winter! Now that we've cleaned up our gameboard, time to get back to working on our puzzle lists! We have found 25% of our solved puzzles since the new year!

The Wormholes have Published!

April 1st is big in Southeastern Michigan! The annual wormhole puzzle caches published promptly at 8am! 

Wormhole Cache List

The first generation of wormhole caches were published in 2010, the series started with three caches. Fast forward to now, and a tradition continues to carry on. We hope you enjoy this April Fool's Day prank!

Basically, it is a variety of puzzle caches that span our little corner of the mitten. Each one contains a picture that, when you click it, will navigate you to the next one in the series.

Check it out! I always make mine easily solvable to attract newer caches. 🔍

I headed out early yesterday and scored 3 first-to-finds! ❤️

Treasure Hunt

Anyone hunting for treasure? The new geocaching.com game-in-a-game? It is kind of fun getting back to basics. We've completed the first collection but low difficulty caches are running a little scarce around here.

Piney Adventures with TaGeez

It's in there somewhere! Keep looking!