I’ve been in a geocaching placing mood lately.

I’m a believer that most geocaches run their course in time. That’s not so with every one (especially historical ones, ones with a lot of favorite points or some others), but many do. When that times, archive them and search for new spots.

A few of my hides fall under that category. Reasons I’ll archive a cache include:

• Finding a better spot in the same area
• Wanting to make a different size hide nearby
• The cache has been out there for a few years and doesn’t get many hides anymore

There are other reasons, of course, but those are the main ones.

See, I’ve been re-thinking my geocaching philosophy lately. Though I don’t mind the occasional micro, I do like seeing bigger caches. It’s not that I trade items (it’s rare, unless there are signature items), but it’s still nice to find a regular-sized cache with a decent log book in it and all.

I have a lot of caches I want to hide!

So, I’m attempting to make it so most of my caches are at least small in size. That’s going to mean I will be archiving a few of my caches. In turn, that will open up areas for new caches. Though parks in my area aren’t huge, it’s nice to do different spots. That way, it’s not the same thing over an over.

About the only cache I don’t plan to archive is the first one I ever placed. I’ve had to replace it once or twice and will continue to do so if needed. I placed that one on on April 26, 2008. If I had realized it was the fifth year of this cache, I likely would have posted something about it.

Instead, I’ll just mention a few things.

First, it’s a nano. It went a few days before being found when I first placed it. I know there were several DNFs that weren’t logged before it was found. It has 58 finds and 24DNFs. So, it’s a pesky little bugger. But I love it.

And it shall stay!

Those numbers also show something else — not a lot of people travel through this area geocaching. There can be so many caches, but there’s no interstate highways or anything like that. So there are a few winding roads and such. That isn’t fun to some people. So I like to try and put out decent caches so when people do come, they enjoy them.

I’m taking extra special care lately.

Whether it just be a good-sized cache or a cool spot or a tough puzzle, I want people to enjoy the find. I recently placed an order at a place to get some swag to put into caches. I’ve found 5-7 places for new caches and am hoping to have them all placed by the time an event I am hosting in town happens over Memorial Day Weekend.

That also means some caches that have been out there are going to have to be archived. Eventually, these caches I’m placing will likely follow in the same fate. They all run their course. And in the end, it’s about trying to keep things fresh.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

This is going to be one busy weekend.

Today is supposed to be one of my book review posts for the challenge I am in. Alas, it’s not written. I’m going to have to do something I hate to do and be late with it. I haven’t finished the artwork and just am not in the mood to write a review. I should have done it weeks ago when I finished the book. Alas, I slacked.

I’ve, unfortunately, slacked a little too much in that challenge. I haven’t commented enough on other reviews and I’m mad at myself about that. I plan on rectifying that for this month’s selections.

Anyway, back to the weekend.

It starts today with the Relay for Life. I’ve blogged a bit about that, so I’m sure most readers know about it. I won’t go into the full plea, but you still have time to give and have a chance to win a super sweet quilt. The Relay is a really good event and many people in the community come out for it. But it’s also a little smaller than in the past. Things go in cycles, though.

I relay in the memory and honor of those close to me who have passed or have battled cancer. And to raise money, which is what it’s all about.

Our local one runs quite long (more than 14 hours), so many people don’t stay the full night anymore. I know I won’t be able to do it as I have plans for the rest of the weekend. The few years I tried to pull the all-night thing, I ended up being so exhausted, my whole weekend was ruined. I realize we’re doing a good thing, but my feeling is this — we raise money. That’s the good deed. Walking around a track all night or playing games isn’t what it’s about.

And our team — of seven people — has raised more than $2,200 for the cause. Hopefully we’ll be beyond the $2,500 mark by tomorrow night. In the end, that’s what I’m most proud of. Raising money.

****

Saturday is going to be a geocaching day.

Two of us are heading down toward the Kingston area to do a newer “power” trail. In all, I have made a list of more than 65 caches. On that list are mainly traditional caches, but a few mystery ones are thrown in. One of those is a night cache.

OK, let me explain a couple of things. A power trail is one where it’s set up for people to get a higher count of finds on a certain stretch of a trail or road. This trail is about 30 caches in about a 12-mile stretch of road. There are a lot of different things and, apparently, some really nice scenery. So I look forward to taking the camera and maybe getting some good shots.

At a night cache a few years ago.

The other thing is the night cache. For those who are casual cachers or don’t cache, a night geocache is set up where you have coordinates to the beginning. Then you follow fire tacks to the cache. It’s really quite cool. This one is supposed to be pretty nice, so I’m looking forward to getting out and finding it. It should be a nice cap to the day/night.

I haven’t had a “big” caching day in a while, so I’m excited about this one. We’ll be all over as the list, as of now, is just shy of 70 caches. We might not get them all, but we’ll give it a go. The fun part will be dropping one geocoin in a place to help its journey. I look forward to the overall day and fun that it should bring.

****

On Sunday, I’ll be heading to Pennsylvania for some disc golf. That is, as long as nothing else comes up. It’s not as far as it might sound as the back roads will get me there quicker. It’s actually only 68 miles.

Ready to play some disc golf.

This course is 12 holes and is supposed to be really good.

So my plan is to hopefully play it two — maybe three — times and then head home. On the way, I plan on picking up 5-10 geocaches, too. I’m not usually a fan of caching solo, but some of these caches are in the middle of no where or some older cemeteries, so I don’t mind as much.

With the weather looking good, I’m just excited to get out and throw some plastic and find a few treasures along the way.

****

A couple of weeks ago, I had a phone interview. It was for a job I would consider a “dream job.” I was pretty amped to get the interview (though, to be fair, phone interviews are so hard. You can’t read people and they can’t read you. I’d rather be face-to-face as it gives you a better chance to deal with things as they come along.)

In the end, it didn’t turn out so well.

In my own mind, there were parts I knew I didn’t do well on. But, at the same time, I thought I answered several questions well and thought my experiences were a perfect match. Alas, it didn’t work out. I didn’t make the final three and didn’t get a face-to-face interview.

The same day, however, I received a call for another job. While it would just be for the summer, it would be an enjoyable job where I can hopefully learn a few things. I have the interview (face-to-face) next weekend, so I’ll look forward to seeing if I fare better when I get to talk in person.

The first situation, though, is why I am excited to have a busy weekend. This job hunt — and as long as it’s been — takes a toll on you. It really taxes you mentally and physically, so sometimes you need a busy and fun weekend to let your mind wander in other places. Hopefully this weekend will help me clear my mind and get back at it next week.

Here’s to hoping you all have a great weekend as well!

One thing I’ll say about the game of geocachers is most people are genuine and are willing to give back.

And, as well, many of the people are willing to go the extra mile, too. Being outdoorsy people, they often like to see things in nice shape and all. That bodes well, for the most part, this weekend when Groundspeak (the company behind geocaching.com) holds its 11th annual International Cache In, Trash Out (CITO) weekend.

This year, the dates are April 20-22, with Monday the 22nd being Earth Day.

CITO is basically  an initiative in the geocaching community where cachers from around the world dedicate their time to improving parks and other cache-friendly places. Basically, we’ll go in as a group, clean things up, fix what can be fixed and try and help preserve the natural beauty of the outdoors.

The CITO weekend is when cachers host events so people can get together in an organized way and focus on a certain spot or spots. Depending on the event, the group may be picking up trash, doing some weeding, building trails, fixing walkways or whatever else.

In the end, the geocaching community, as a whole, has a positive impact on the area in which they focus.

And that’s a good thing.

In our area, these events have been few and far between. There was one before I was ever a cacher and was in 2006, when geocaching in this area was in its infancy. There were only two geocachers who logged they had been there. In 2008, another CITO was held. This time there were four logged cachers, though there were others there who attended and helped out.

That brings us to 2013.

I have to say our area parks, for the most part, are pretty clean. The parks in our main areas, such as Oneonta, are pretty decently groomed and well-kept being there are employees who watch for things like this.

The outer areas, it’s all depending. Especially because geocaching in our area is hit or miss when it comes to placed caches. Some areas don’t have any, so we might not, as a group, have seen certain parks.

Wanting to give back to my town, though, I’m hosting an event Saturday. It’s at a small park owned by the local school. It’s a nice little place with a pond, a few trails and a few geocaches. I honestly don’t know how dirty it is, but it can definitely use a good sweep through and tidying up. There’s a hope of a small disc golf course being placed here at some point, too, so it’s nice to have people see the beauty of the park.

So far, only a handful of people have signed up. Hopefully we’ll get a bunch of people who show up the morning of. But in the end, no matter who shows up, the goal is the same — to clean the park to the best of our abilities and maintain a positive image for geocachers.

If you are a geocacher, I hope you get out this weekend to a CITO event to help do some cleaning. And if you’re in this area, come help our CITO!

Fundraiser: I am, again, trying to raise money for the Relay For Life. If you donate to me — a minimum of $5– you will be entered to win a super-sweet quilted lap quilt or pillow. Click here for all the information!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Turns out there were more caching crazies than I thought!

Not too long ago, there was a weekday geocaching event held out in the middle of nowhere.

Being I was free, I headed over with another local cacher. After the event, we teamed up with another cacher and did a handful of geocaches. During that time, we came up with the idea of an even crazier event.

Having one in the middle of the night.

The idea was simple — see how many people were crazy enough to come out in the middle of the night for a no-frills event. In other words, no games, no food — nothing but an event.

That led me to figuring it out. What would be the best place to hold said event?

Wal-Mart!

For those of you who cache, you know that Wal-Mart parking lots are popular places for park-and-grab geocaches. So why not have an event at the spot?

The event log.

Originally, I was going to make the event at 3 a.m. Why? Just to see how crazy people really are. Then I realized that despite being a night owl, getting together at 3 a.m. for an event was not for me. So I made it 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning (or Saturday night, depending how you look at it). I figured that would give people the chance to get out, do some night caching, do a little shopping if they needed or hit up one of the nearby diners.

I also didn’t expect too many people to show up, so I figured it would be quick.

Turns out I was wrong.

We had 16 geocaching names — and an extra person or two — at the event. There was a couple of dogs, too. And a lot of cars parking all in a close area. There were a lot of RVs parking/camping in the lot that night and I have to wonder if they got a wake-up call from people chatting and laughing or dogs barking.

Such is the life of “camping” in a Wal-Mart parking lot, I guess.

Anyway, as some local geocachers know, I always try and figure something different for event logs. I think it’s a little more fun when it’s not just a piece of paper or log book. Over the years, I’ve used baseballs, softballs, a canoe paddle, Wiffleball bat, and a Christmas ornament among other things. I’ve been told people enjoy these logs, so I keep trying to find unique and fun logs to use.

This event might be one of my favorite logs.

What I did was replicate a Wal-Mart receipt, listing items a geocacher might purchase. The receipt was pretty close to real ones — even to adding a bar code. I also listed a few “details” that I was hoping people would pick up on.

I also asked people who weren’t going to make the event to post a note on the geocache page — explaining why they wouldn’t be there. I have to be honest that I usually find when people post they won’t attend events to be pointless. The idea is to post you will attend, hence why there’s not a “will not attend” option.

For this event, I thought it would be funny.

One local cacher said:

1AM!! I’m not that crazy. Us old people need our beauty sleep. I’ll take a pass.

Another said:

Cool idea and I’m sorely tempted. But I just don’t think so.

In the end, those who showed up seemed to share in the humor of the event. It was quite fun and funny. It had a different feel than a normal meet-and-greet, but that’s to be expected at 1 a.m.!

What got me more, however, were how far people traveled.

I figured, honestly, we’d get mainly local people with one or two others coming from closer distances. But we got people who came from much longer distances.

One New York City cacher was even there — though he was staying about an hour away. He said he didn’t even know about the event, but ran into another set of geocachers who told him about the event. So he came!

People traveled from the Kingston area (a couple of hours away), Binghamton (an hour or so), Cobleskill area (35-45 minutes), and Utica (an hour-plus, give or take). The locals came from surrounding areas, such as the Cooperstown area and New Berlin, which can be about a 30-minute drive.

So besides being at an event at 1 a.m., they then had to drive home!

Thankfully, we got semi-decent weather. It was chilly, but no rain or snow or anything major!

In the end, I think the event was decently received and I also got some ideas for future ideas. Hopefully, they’ll go over just as well. Now to start thinking about how to pull them off and come up with unique log books!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Not too long ago, I posted about the bad side of geocaching and the reality that geocaches, sometimes, get stolen.

I guess it’s more of an unfortunate side.

Either way, there is a lot of good with the game and I wanted to share those things in this post.

The morning of the event was a magnificent, fall day.

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted an event at a local park. For those of you who are not geocachers, among the types of caches you can find are events. It’s basically where a group of geocachers gather for chat, food and whatever else. Some events are in-depth with other things to do, while some are low-key and just meet-and-greets.

Both can be fun, but the meet-and-greets really allow you to chat and visit with people.

I’ve been to events all over. I really enjoy the atmosphere and meeting new people. I’ve met a lot of people I call friends today through these caching events and I’ll look forward to many more of them in the future.

A few years ago, a small group of us headed to Canada for an event and a weekend of caching. It was something different. We met some cool people and I have some great memories from the event.

A couple of weeks before my event, one of the people posting a will-attend was one of the Canadian cachers we had met. Two of them were going to attempt to come for the weekend. That was quite cool. We had met with the two cachers the day after the event to chat and they gave us each a large ammo can to bring back.

The one I had received, I painted and was set to place. But it was a special cache, so I waited for a good time to place it.

Morning fog and fall colors made for a wonderful surprise before the event.

This was the perfect time with our Canadian friends coming to the area.

More on that in a moment.

When hosting an event, I always try and get there a little early with the idea of being in the spot when people come. With it being morning, there was still a bit of fog out. The sun was out at that point and was trying to cut through the layers of fog. That led to a few excellent photo opportunities.

The event was a success. We had nearly 20 geocachers there, some great food choices and a lot of great chatter. It’s times like this when I realize how much I love this game, especially events. There are people I never would have met if not for this game and for that, I’m thankful.

Following the event, a slew of us went on a caching day, taking our Canadian friends out and about to show them the area.

That was a good time.

Geogranny and Binrat with the new cache.

One of the caches was a new one I placed — with the container I mentioned earlier in this post. It’s all decorated and is a fun little multi cache in a nice area.

The two visitors, of course, made the find.

It was loaded with many carabiners that were gifted to us on that Canadian trip, too. I’ve had this cache all ready to roll for several years and it’s nice to get it out there for people to find. The duo from North of us also dropped a whole heap of Canadian goodies in the cache, which seems fitting considering the container!

In the end, I truly enjoyed this day of caching. It’s times like this when I truly realize that geocaching isn’t about how many finds one can get, a race for a first to find, or getting all upset because somebody might do things slightly different with the game. It’s about the journey and the people you meet along the way.

And that’s why this game is good. Despite there being bad things when dealing with geocaching, the good outnumbers it. And it’s that reason why it’s continually something I look forward to doing.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!