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Fall ColorCome back to Columbia IL for the SLAGA Fall Potluck Picnic.

The date is Saturday September 29th, 2012;
10:30 til whenever we've done it all.
Meet at  Bohm-Schuhkraft Park for caching fun and games. Enjoy the potluck lunch (we'll provide burgers, brats and hot dogs), log a few finds, move some travel bugs, say hi to old and new friends and have an awesome day caching.


SLAGA will provide hot dogs, hamburgers and brats along with the buns, condiments, paperware and utensils. Bring your own drinks and a dish to share. Let us know your meat preferences and what you'd like to share (salads, sides and desserts) when you sign up. We always need non-dessert items. Want to help out the day of the event? Sign up for that too.
Prices: ADULTS $5; KIDS 5-12 $2; dogs and kids under 5 are free.

Schedule of events:
Set up 9:30
Registration 10:30
Lunch begins at 1:00; ends when the food's gone
SLAGA business meeting and awards 1:45.
SLAGA members who have logged their 100th, 500th, 1000th, and 5000th caches will be honored with Milestone Awards. Notify This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. OR on the SLAGA webpage by August 25th!
Games and Silent Auction begin when you register and auction items are placed on the table. The Auction table will close at 3pm SHARP. Game and auction winners will be announced at 3:30pm.
50-50 drawing: be there to win!

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SLAGA Members Take on Tower Rock

Special to SLAGA

On Saturday, August 4, several SLAGA members and other local cachers took on Tower Rock by kayak. Your reporter is a little fuzzy on just how this amazing adventure came to pass. The logs, pictures and professional video (yes, really!) tell only part of the story. What we do know is that Gone2theDogs, Quailman2, McRob&the2Hero's and 60CGarsee invaded Tower Rock using kayaks provided by Gone2theDogs. Apparently Mr. Gone2theDogs made the trip out and back multiple times in order to individually accompany each of the other cachers - none of whom had previous kayaking experience.

We have it on good authority that Mrs. Quailman2 was feerless in the face of the climb up the vertical face of Tower Rock.  We can believe that ;)

All of the cachers successfully found the traditional cache, La Roche de la Croix, on the top of tower rock. At the same time, the others also snagged Gone2theDogs' Earth cache, Tower Rock. Local historian, photographer and videographer Ken Steinhoff was on hand to record the proceedings for posterity. You can view his video and pictures on his web site.

Congratulations to all the cachers who made it to the top. And thanks  to Ken Steinhoff for his coverage!

Really folks, you have to see this rock to believe it!

 

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columbiamissourian.com

BY Justin Yang

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI— At dusk Tuesday, eight adventurers set out to Rhett's Run Mountain Bike Trail at Cosmopolitan Park in search of a green box.
The group, which varies in age from about 30 to 60, is all male except for one woman. They're wearing bucket hats and carrying walking sticks and flashlights. Each has applied a liberal dose of bug spray to his or her clothes and skin.
The Internet description of what they are seeking said to look for trail marker reflectors – small shiny cubes stuck to trees along the steep, narrow trail.
The group is geocaching, a modern-day searching game that uses GPS technology, the Internet and nature. Geocaching usually requires solving riddles, puzzles or simply following descriptions from Internet posts that can be found at websites like Geocaching.com. The goal is to find caches, usually army surplus ammo boxes, that other geocachers have hidden.
According to Geocaching.com, more than 4 million people geocache globally.

Read the entire article at www.columbiamissourian.com.

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As published in the Sacramento Bee

Treasure Hunters Lured to Tourist Destinations with Geocaching

By JOHANNA SOMERS
The Seattle Times

SEATTLE - Historical sightseeing may never be the same again. Now parents can tell their children to bring their smartphones with them for a nature walk, and national parks may want tourists to leave something behind. Geocaching, a form of high-tech treasure hunting that utilizes clues from a GPS device, is being harnessed by tourist destinations as a new way to draw visitors and encourage them to explore.

Five locations from Washington, D.C., to Park County, Colo., recently launched tours created by Seattle-based company Groundspeak, which runs the Geocaching.com website.

The nearest geocaching tour is centered on Cache Creek, British Columbia; it weaves through the region's Gold Rush country and will have 144 caches by the end of the summer. Several more tour locations are in the works.

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EventSummer is upon us, and it is time to leave behind the hustle and bustle of the city and commune with nature. On Saturday, July 21, join hosts Cribbage Witch and Hobbit Taz for a relaxed summer get-together at Indian Camp Creek in St. Charles County, Missouri. Bring your own picnic lunch. We will light a grill with a charcoal fire for those who wish to cook their fare. The picnic starts at 10:00 am, until everyone leaves or we get tossed out! Please respect park regulations which prohibit glass containers and alcoholic beverages. See you there!

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USDAPOTOSI, Missouri. Travis and Cindy were on a mission.
After parking their minivan in front of Mark Twain National Forest's Potosi Ranger Station, they turned on their GPS unit and stepped out of their vehicle.
They weren't there to purchase a map, or to inquire about camping, or to buy a firewood permit. They were searching for something…something that they knew was very close by. And if they found it, it would be momentous because never yet had they been the "First To Find."
Time was of the essence, and even the damp and chilly air of that October 2011 morning was not enough to deter them. They had to find it, and find it first.
They walked down the sidewalk, past the Pollinator Garden, across the parking lot, and headed into the woods. As they approached a small vernal pool, they suddenly stopped. Did they see something? Maybe a bird flushing from a bush? Or a frog jumping into the pool? No, they saw something much less obvious.
Travis walked a few steps further, stopped again, turned around, then kicked some leaves and exclaimed "I found it!" Pulling an old ammo box out from behind a tree, they both grinned from ear to ear. This was what they were looking for. This was the geocache!
Travis and Cindy represent hundreds of people who participate in geocaching, or treasure hunting on Mark Twain National Forest.
This particular geocache was put there by Mark Twain National Forest Employee Marge VanPraag.
A geocacher herself, Marge has enjoyed encouraging others to participate in this recreational pastime.

  1. Beware of Ticks!
  2. There's Money in the Terra?
  3. Fire up for MOGA 2012!
  4. Howl with the Wolves
  5. February 29 – This Day in Geocaching History
  6. SLAGA Winter Potluck and Cabin Fever
  7. Move Over Geocaching; Make Room for Edu-caching
  8. Group Caching as It Ought to Be
  9. Join Ranger Rick and His Pals on Their Geocaching Adventure
  10. Took Nothing Left Nothing, Thanks For The Cache