50 States of Memory

In my geocaching history, TaGeez and I have enjoyed many fabulous road trips. Trips with ShelleyJean in Ohio, Ratspazum in Pennsylvania, AstroEric in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Can't forget the annual trips to Ohio with WikidKriket, SnakeyLicks and 3inaTree. Now we have a wonderful way to remember them.

Thunder Bunny Labs sell this amazing 50 State Map on their website and Etsy.com for a very unique collage.

Look at all the states we've visited together! If we added the states we've visited individually we'd have most of the continental US covered!

It's so simple to format your pictures! Go to their free Map Maker tool, click on the state, upload a picture, reposition it so it fits fabulously, and download for printing. Too cool!

Everything is on order so I'll share when it's assembled. When TaGeez saw it, he said, "Uh oh!" He knows this'll spark more trips West!

Favorite Point and Photo Notifications

Oh, the joys of modern technology! Heard a fabulous tip on the GCPC Episode 534 – Useful Apps for Geocaching episode for Project-GC.com and have been reaping the benefits for two months!

Project-GC.com is the easiest way to view your geocaching stats, upload trackable “Discover” logs in bulk, and check if you qualify for local challenges. It has two memberships: free and paid. Admittedly, I’m a big fan, but the $30USD annually does add up. (Makes me chuckle to myself when I see geocaching is touted on all the summer-fun lists as a free past time for spending time with your loved ones. I’m sure that could be done but not by me 😊 THAT’S a topic for another blog post).

These tips are for Paid Project-GC Membership Only - Sorry.

With these two new features, though, I’m hooked even more! As a geocache hider (proud owner of 162 geocaches to date), I will often miss pictures or Favorite Points posted to my cache page unless someone mentions it in their logs. You can’t be everywhere every time, and I wish Geocaching.com had a mechanism to share this info in their “Found It” emails to me.

With a few clicks in your Settings, you can receive email notifications when Favorite Points have been added/removed from your cache, pictures uploaded to a log or if a log has been edited.

GOOD TO KNOW: ShortyKnits from GCPC made a great point about that last one if you are a Challenge Cache owner – Cachers logging a note on Challenge Caches saying they will update it to a Found It log after they qualify. This will catch those who log the note and then return immediately to change it to a Found It log – thinking they’ve slipped something past you as Geocaching.com doesn’t notify you when logs have been edited. Sneaky sneaky!

For paid members of Project-GC, go to Project-GC.com, click the Account Profile drop-down (1) and then click Settings (2).

In the next window, scroll down to the Notifiers section. Check the boxes next to the notification types. As I receive Event notifications from multiple sources in Michigan, I’ve elected to leave that one be. After making your selections, click Update Settings.

Then sit back and wait for the emails! That easy! My first Photo Notification email included all the photos, grouped by geocache, to date. It was a hoot scrolling through them! After that, you only receive emails when someone adds a new photo to one of your caches.

And here’s an example of a Favorite Point notification. This one is a double-edged sword because I’ve watched (with great sadness) some of my friends remove Favorite Points from my caches after they have been archived. If my cache deserved a Fave when you logged it, it still deserved it after I archived it. It earned it, and it messes with my stats (sorry, off my soapbox now).

Never miss a photo or Favorite Point again!

Time for Winter Streaking

Ah, snow. The bane of geocaching cache-a-day streaking. According to the Weatherman (who is a Geocacher and should’ve ordered better weather), Michigan is about to get hit over the next 24 hours. 

Several years ago, I wrote a post about Top Tips for Winter Streaking. Today, I will employ two of them listed below. Now that I think about it, these are excellent tips for caching during high heat, too.

PLANNING

Snow is supposed to start around 4 am tomorrow and continue through Sunday. So, TaGeez and I will grab tomorrow’s cache after midnight – before going to bed – so we can settle in for the rest of the day. If we plan to leave early enough, we can grab today’s cache before midnight, saving two trips.

[Yes, in answer to your thoughts, we don’t cheat. We will physically grab one before the Witching Hour and one after it]

POCKET QUERY – Premium Members Only

This has helped SO many times! Setup a pocket query for geocaches found in the last 7 days [Thank you, Mr. Grundalow!]. Nothing worse than driving from one lamp post to a pine tree cache trying to find one not buried in a mound of snow. If there’s a storm and need your geocaching fix, you will have better luck with a cache found within the last week to target.

Pocket Queries are custom geocache queries that can be downloaded from the website. They are in a format you can bring along with you on cache hunts on your GPS and/or smartphone. [Source: Geocaching.com]

I run the following Pocket Query and save it to an offline file within my geocaching app. I’ll include links to larger images for easier viewing.

To start a Pocket Query, go to Geocaching.com and click the Play button (1). From the drop-down menu, select Pocket queries (2). When the Pocket Queries window opens, click the Create a New Query button (3). Click this link for easier viewing.

Complete the form based on your preferences and geographic location. I’ve highlighted a few key points, but this is not all inclusive. Click this link for easier viewing.

Days to Generate	I picked Monday to include the heavier caching traffic over the weekend. I also check the box to run weekly until Winter is over.
Selected Type	Pick and choose based on the types of caches you mind find at -26° F
That (And)	I’m looking for enabled caches I haven’t found or don’t own that have been found in the last 7 days.
Terrain	Let’s face it – I don’t normally do 5 Terrain in summer. Why would I hunt for them in winter?
Output	Check the Include Pocket Query name in download file name box. When it appears in your email Inbox you will know which file it is and update your offline folder on your geocaching app.

Hopefully you will find this a useful guide. Happy Winter Caching!

Thank You, Eliza Howell

TaGeez and I finally cleared Eliza Howell Park in Brightmoor one Cache-a-day at a time! Great series of caches, and we completed them before the first real snow.

The Rogue was a moody witch.

Thank you, SCOOK and CITOcacher, too!

Travelers Risen from the Dead!

You won't believe the emails I received today from Geocaching HQ. Not one but TWO of my duckie trackables have risen from the dead! 

"Good news! Your original duckie has resurfaced! Apparently it was retrieved from Dinosaur Train Corythosaurus Cache on 10 August 2012 and was never logged online. It has been returned to Geocaching HQ. I see you have an active proxy for this TB traveling now, so what would you like to see happen with the original?"

Both Drake-o Malfoy and Moby Duck we're in races against WikidKriket's ducks, with a goal of reaching Tacoma, WA. Both of my duckies arrived within 18 miles of Tacoma within the first week! And then POOF! They went missing! And now they are back 7 years later!

UPDATE: I posted this online and several others had the same experience today! Did HQ get their hands on a super secret stash?!?

MSP100: Talk About Service!

I ordered my centennial t-shirt and sticker on Monday afternoon, and they were delivered Tuesday afternoon by the USPS! Wow!

All the State Park names are on the back of the shirt - so cool! I'm feeling good vibes for this Geotour!

#statepark100

This is Why I Geocache

#mysterysolved