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Written by Robert Klemme

Published: October 13 2025

Last Updated: October 13 2025

Hits: 128

It's that time again! Let's check in to see how our race participants are going!

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Written by Robert Klemme

Published: September 08 2025

Last Updated: September 08 2025

Hits: 244

It's time once again for another TB race update! How are things stacking up?

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Written by Robert Klemme

Published: August 11 2025

Last Updated: August 11 2025

Hits: 361

Much like the weather, the travel bug race is heating up! Let's check in and see how things stand as of the end of July

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: August 11 2025

Last Updated: August 16 2025

Hits: 401

The heat was on during the 'Red, White, Blue, Stars, Stripes and Flags' month of Adventure Awaits, and SLAGA's repeat winner was no stranger to conquering that heat and the challenge. Robert Klemme, aka GeoKid12, aka original FTF events and Family Game Night host, SLAGA board V.P., and current Father Cachemas is the July 2025 winner. His qualifying geocaches for his win include: 

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Cache 1: GCB7KX4 Starry Penguin Event

Cache 2: GCB9NH4 Red Stripe, Blue Flag, White Stars 

Cache 3: GCB7KXD Red, white, and blue Penguin event

Cache 4: GCB9V1N Tougher Kids Come in Many Stripes Too - Challenge

Event Cache: GCB99BC NoCo Game Night Pre-Summer Picnic Edition

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When he last won in December 2023, Robert had just over 10,800 geocache finds.  Currently he has nearly 14,400! That's due partially to his daily caching streak of 2121 consecutive days since 10/26/2019.  It is also due to his numerous caching trips to various events around the country, including this year's MOGA in Abilene, KS in March, where he placed in the individual and 2-person team competitions, and his first GIGA attendance at GeoWoodstock XXI in Morgantown, West Virgina in May.  Besides these two high cache-count events plus a county run in Mississippi ealier this year, where he completed the state, some of his recent and future plans are upping his finds numbers significantly as well.

From the last week in July continuing through September, Robert's calendar includes Geocaching trips every other week.

• MWGB July 23rd - 27th
• West Bend Cache Ba$h August 7th - 10th
• New England County Run August 19th - 24th
• Grand Canyon & 4 Corners August 30th - September 7th

As of this win, he has already succeeded in acquiring his first block party icon, and will continue to accomplish goals of obtaining caches in many new counties, new states, and one new province, as well as finding 18 Cache Odyssey Caches by the end of his travels this year. 

 

When Robert provided pictures for this article, during his interview for the July win, one particular one stood out with that OMG factor!  This journalist, knowing he enjoys camping during his geotravels, had to get this story. 

 

 

"It's Saturday night after everything has wound down from the West Bend $1000 Cache Ba$h 2025 event, and it's looking like rain is moving in, so I decide to turn in early. I'm hanging out in my tent and eventually the rain does start. No problem, I've been up here when it's rained before. With that I go to sleep. At some point overnight my camping fan, hanging overhead, ran out of power.  I moved it to my bucket seat and plugged it in to the electric box at the rear of the site with a green extension cord, so I could continue using it. Early in the morning I'm awoken by the fan tipping over. Curious as to why, I looked over and saw my bucket seat was at a slight angle, having been raised up on one side by a water bubble underneath the tent. Checking on the conditions of everything else, I discovered a few inches of water in the corner of my tent. Taking a peek out the window I was immediately alerted as to why! Turns out I was actually surrounded by water, since it had rained around 10" overnight. Fortunately I had packed up the majority of my stuff last night so there was nothing directly on the floor of my tent...except for the electrical power strip, yikes!  Glad I got that de-energized before it was submerged. Everything else I consolidated onto my cot as I threw on my shower shoes and began the process of packing up while slogging through over a foot of water. Oh and it's still raining. Some things ended up quite waterlogged by the end, but ultimately it was all in the car and I could begin my journey home where they could be set out to dry off later."

 

So glad Robert didn't heat up himself during that 'electrifying' experience. But congratulations from all of SLAGAland to GeoKid12 for his July 2025 win.  Adventure Awaits on every geotrip he plans.  

 

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: July 14 2025

Last Updated: July 22 2025

Hits: 441

June in Slaga-Land brought unseasonably warm weather especially during the second half of the month where temperatures were above 90*F nearly everyday.  But this did not deter Treasure Isle, Susan Adams, from getting outdoors and geocaching with friends. Her efforts won her the Adventure Awaits Challenge for the month! 

(Photo from a road trip last summer 2024 with JanS03 and jasjaq)

Susan has been participating in the Monthly Challenge incentive since it's inception in October 2023.  Since she enjoys and finds numerous 'challenge' caches, Susan considers Adventure Awaits another type of challenge. She mentioned her qualifying F-A-T-H-E-R geocaches in reply, when asked why she chose the particular caches this month. "I found two of the caches, Fire Truck (GCB0XDM) and Hope (GC3X36X), on a day trip with swelgus and JanS03 to initially find a cache there with a D/T rating that I needed to complete my second fizzy grid.  But these two caches were in the area and I knew they would help me qualify for Adventure Awaits.  I found the 'A' cache, Abandoned (GCAA35H), in Barnhart because it was celebrating its second birthday, and I've been doing birthday caches for several years now.  Trek to the Top of the Hill (GCB7QRN) cache was a new puzzle cache for which I was fortunate enough to be the first to find.  And I try to make the events at Bobby's Place, because it's fairly close to home and I can get there quickly, so my event cache was SW STL Happy Hour - Hello June Edition (GCB7CEB).  I usually only stay briefly, but it gives me the opportunity to catch up a bit with many caching friends."  

Susan began geocaching while on a family vacation in Berlin, Germany in 2012.  Her caching sister, kusunflower, invited her to join in a cache hunt near their hotel, then obviously had to explain the game of geocaching to Susan.  And guess who made the find?  As it often goes, the first-time cacher spotted the container. So now Susan was encouraged to sign up and choose a geocaching name.  That's when Treasure Isle was 'born.'  But Susan wasn't sold on the game yet and was a faily desultory cacher finding four or five caches a year, as she only cached when she was with her sister who lives in Virginia. But in 2019, after retiring from her pediatric practice, the HQ Mystery of the Museum game posted and it piqued her interest.  After that...she was hooked!

Since that transitional phase in her geocaching history, Susan has found over 7000 caches, has completed a double Fizzy grid and a triple 366-day Calendar grid, mostly because she enjoys finding 'birthday caches.' Currently she has found 1134 birthdays on 366 days of the year. Her Jasmer grid is well within reach too, as she only needs a September 2000 cache to qualify. (How's that for a suggested geotrip incentive, Susan?)  As mentioned, Susan also loves challenge caches and delights in working puzzles. She's cached in 37 United States already, as well as in 11 other countries.  And for those that enjoy caching streaks, Susan  accomplished an impressive 500-day find streak between May '23 and Sept. '24!

When asked about any memorable geocachng experience, Susan shared that, "Definitely the scariest experience while geocaching occurred last fall.  I was driving down IL-3 and slowing down to go into a nature area when a truck behind me plowed into the back of my car at full speed.  There were skid marks for about 10 feet, so I'm sure he was on his phone or paying no attention to the road for some other reason.  My car took out a guardrail and was totaled, but my passenger and I were able to walk away essentially unscathed."  The SLAGA family is awfully happy to hear that Susan and friend were unharmed.