GeoWoodstock or Bust! Going GIGA

They did it! With over 5,000 Will Attends, GeoWoodstock went GIGA this year and members of Team Free Range Lobsters were there in Cincinnati!

TaGeez, scrapcat, WikidKriket, and SnakeyLicks

We headed down to Cincinnati, the Queen City, on Friday. Can you believe it? All those magical stops like Shawnee Look-out, the Earth Cache tour, new Virtuals in Louisville, and we managed just ONE CACHE on the way down! Luckily it was a hoot!

Ah, I can't compliment the staff and volunteers enough. We headed right to registration and didn't even stand in line! Quick in & out and off to the hotel. I heard rumors in past events the line could've taken hours.

As a special treat we reserved a table at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse. It's a double-decker restaurant that overlooks the Ohio River.  Sitting at our table next to the windows we watched riverboats and loaded barges meander up and down the waterway. 

I can see Kentucky from here!

The next morning the view was another classic instance of Americana. Alongside 7,500 other cars we pulled into Coney Island for the largest geocaching event in North America!

The weatherman had predicted thunderstorms all day, and yet we found plenty of sunshine (and humidity) until almost 3 pm. That gave us plenty of time to explore and pose with friends!

Mr and Mrs Yellowjeeperman

ProBob, A2QueenCacher, Lincoln's Aunt and ACL

GeoConsumer, ProBob, Detour, ACL and Lincoln's Aunt

Along the way we enjoyed vendor booths and Lab Caches. 

There were vendors from as far as Norway.

Reps from several GeoTours and Mega Events.

Special tables for Vloggers and Podcasters.

There were 30 Lab caches around the grounds.

10 Augmented Reality like the one below.

10 Coney Island History

10 Gadget caches

Continue down the midway and there were more geocaching delights. One geocacher recreated Cincinnati landmarks in Legos. We walked around snapping pics of Lego brick trackables on many of the buildings.

Across the way was a Lego landscape. I was most moved by the recreated historic cemeteries including Arlington.

No major geocaching event is complete without the appearance of the Original Can of Beans! Hey, did you know it has it's own Facebook page???? What a hoot!

AND SIGNAL!  Why does a grown adult go ga-ga over a fake-furred, 6-foot frog? Because he's cute!

It was an amazing day! Coney Island was a brilliant choice with amusement rides and wave pools for all ages. Friends, snow cones, geocaches and geotours, giveaways, swag bags, and photo booths. Top it with a Giga icon and a virtual souvenir. 

Da Finns, SnakeyLicks, Prong and WikidKriket

Rumor has it that 5,000 Will Attends and 7,500 parked cars could actually turn out to be 10,000 geocachers in attendance. Let's do this again next year!

Do you see us????

Pain in the Bison

CACHING TIP: When handling this type of bison tube, the log goes into the lid and then you screw on the body. If you place it in the body first, you will mangle the log and smush it down into the container - making it much harder for the next person to retrieve/sign. Not that we've personally experienced this several times today. 😊

I See a Ducktale in My Future!

I received the hoped-for email today - I was selected to receive a #ducktalescache promotional trackable! Rumor has it some of our friends are already receiving them. 

So, who do you think I will be? Huey, Louie, Dewey or Webby?

HBUSA Geocoin Drawing

Time to up the fun level while geocaching in Michigan!

As many of you have already heard, TaGeez and I are promoting a little "fun time in the sunshine" Happy Birthday USA (HBUSA) geocaching series to be released on July 4th. This is an opportunity to finally put Winter to bed and freshen up our geocaching gaming map for both locals and visitors alike. What are we asking? Anyone willing to hide caches:
1. Any container-type cache (Puzzle, Traditional, Wherigo, Multi, Letterbox). 2. Hidden anywhere in the state of Michigan 3. With the prefix of HBUSA 4. To be released at any time on July 4h FOR EACH HBUSA cache that publishes on July 4th, the hider will have one entry into the HBUSA Geocoin Drawing for one of the unactivated Signal America GIGA coins seen below. Note: All caches must be submitted for review by June 20th at the latest. Drawing to be held on or around July 5th.

Geocachers Do It In Cemeteries

Look at my nifty souvenir from GeoWoodstock! 

It's trackable - I bought it from Red Hat Geocaching supplies.

More about GeoWoodstock tomorrow!

May Odin Watch Over You

So geeked about the newest coin in my collection! Tevjen, the designer from Norway, was at GeoWoodstock! #gigastock

UPDATE: Yes, I see the typo now, but I still love this coin! Remember, Odin was a trickster so it's very fitting!

Shore to Shore Adventure

Do you hear it? The sound of road under our wheels? TIME FOR ADVENTURE!

Just in the nick of time TaGeez, ShelleyJean and I escaped our daily grind and headed for water. This past weekend was the Michigan Shore to Shore Series created and maintained by the TasmanianDevils.

Great Lakes - Lake Huron GC127DA

15 caches running the width of lower Michigan with 14 traditionals plus 1 puzzle final. Gather info from each container to solve the mystery while gaining smilies. Cache hides are sizable containers at varying interesting stops: nature preserves, a cemetery, a train depot, a lighthouse, rails-to-trails. 

We set off early Saturday morning after watching the Royal Wedding on TV for TAZ 01 in Port Sanilac. Unfortunately, we were driving into the rain, and it didn't taper off as predicted so in a word... wet. We got very, very wet.  For the most part that's not a problem, but this nature trail in particular was under water. Levels in some places almost to the top of our wellies.

Shiawassee Bird Watching GC6X139

TaGeez took one for the team and practically swam the last 75 feet, but we needed that clue! Upon exiting we squished past this little bit of history along the way. ALWAYS READ THE PLAQUE!

As we were moving along swimmingly (ha ha ha) we decided a brief break from skeeter-land to grab a few virtuals, a webcam, some food. Heading East to West along M 46 driving in and out of rain was soothing, especially when you travel with peeps as easy going as SJ and TaGeez.

The series can be done in a day, but what is the fun in that? As we found ourselves running right on schedule, we added a few extra stops along the way. It wouldn't do to be on time, would it?  Caching time is 1.5x as long to get from point A to B as regular time.

Bethany Lutheran Indian Cemetery - this is such a sweet little spot. On a slight hill and along the curve of a country road, this cemetery is nestled in lush green vegetation and tucked behind an ornate fence. 

SQ Bethany Lutheran Indian Cemetery GC2R6P9

So sad to see so many of these stones. This is the type of cache you research after you've visited.

Our trip didn't lack for historical cemeteries. We found caches in 9 of them but stopped at several more. One even had a "security camera" attached. 

Twelve series caches done, and we are 3/4 the way across the state when SJ said she could really go for some 'comfort food' and LO! Jimmy's Roadhouse in Newaygo appeared alongside the road advertising comfort food! Oh, and it was good! Kudos to them, also, for not taking a second glance at our muddy wellies.

Jimmy's Roadhouse in Newaygo

One last series cache and then...

Grant Depot Historical Sites GC6XN83

... we arrived in Muskegon.  We had made no plans for stopping overnight, but this place was as good as any with a little West coast nightlife.

This cute downtown consisted mainly of bars with names like the Unruly Brewing Co, Rebel Pies (Rock 'n Roll Pizza), and the 18th Amendment Spirit Co.  All of which had their TV's turned to Prince Harry & Meghan Markle's wedding on repeat.

We slept well at the Holiday Inn, and we awoke to another overcast day. Luckily there were many fabulous caches along our paths to cheer us up! In addition to completing the S-2-S series, we were hoping to knock off a few counties today.

Grave of the Branded Hand - Okay, the local geocachers dropped the ball here. No cache?!?! A memorial to a branded hand and NO CACHE? Fascinating story about a "slave stealer" (abolitionist) in Evergreen Cemetery.

Evergreen Cemetery - Muskegon, MI

After a few Virtuals (and more rain), we turned north for the last Traditional cache in the series. Ah, the White River Lighthouse near Whitehall. Even in the gloomy weather it was picturesque on the hill and tucked behind the dunes. 

White River Lighthouse GC5X30M

After TaGeez found the cache we moseyed down to the beach and the pier to take pictures. Brrr. It's cold this morning.

Picture postcard perfect!

It was some of the unplanned stops that gave us the most joy. After leaving the lighthouse and heading to Whitehall for a Virtual for SJ, we passed this really cool bridge. I thought to myself, "There really needs to be a cache here" and there was! Great story, good hide, good location. And TaGeez made a new friend! Older gentleman pulled off the road to see what TaGeez was fishing for. Lucky for us today's catch was box-shaped!

Titus the Troll GC74PA5

The haunted Mouth Cemetery near White River Township. This stop is right up there with the neglected Lumber town cemetery discovered on our US 23 adventure. It's reputed to be haunted, and, no exaggeration, I had goosebumps while walking through here.

First, we had a problem accessing it as both avenues were questionably legal. And then to climb out of the car to such quietude. It's called Mouth Cemetery because it was founded at the mouth of the bay and several of the graves are resting right at the edge of a cliff.

Pushing Up Daisies GCGY0G

Imagine my shock when I spied this at the back of the cemetery. Creepy, eh?

To lighten the mood we detoured to Lake County for another county find and then onto a 20-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, MI

Hmmm... I thought it would be taller.

near White Pine Trail - Paris GC252C7

Speaking of oddities, no trip to the area would be complete without a stop at Newaygo State Park. In years past, this park played host to a very popular geocaching camping event. And, after experiencing several of its remaining caches, I can understand why.

Newaygo State Park's Kid Cache GC2X59T

How to Build a Better... Relocated GC29F60

Nothing says "Roadside America" like a Two story outhouse. If you ever find yourself in Cedar Lake, Michigan....

Two-story outhouse in Cedar Lake

Alas! The end of the road. Sunday evening found us in Alma, Michigan searching for the series final (and an open restaurant for dinner).

Shore to Shore Final GC6XN7

After making the find, the blue skies were out and the sun was shining down up on us.

It was a lovely end to a relaxing weekend, and now we look forward to receiving our commemorative path tags from TAZ.

Oh, and did I mention we nabbed a few more counties? Note to SJ: Yes, Van Buren county is going to drive me crazy!

Wishing all of you a safe Memorial weekend.  For those of you heading to Cincinnati, see you at GeoWoodstock! #gigastock