2020 Leap Day Flash Mob
SLAGA at Ted Drewes - 2021
Summer Picnic 2022
Rich & Charlotte - a couple of the founding members
Grilling Meat for the 2022 Fall Picnic
2022 Fall Picnic
Checking for new cache notifications
Bellefontaine CITO November 2022
2022 SLAGA Christmas Party
Cachemas 2022 Bonus Day
SLAGA at GeoWoodstock 2023
Geocaching 101 Class at Maplewood Library
GeoGolf 2023
2024 New Years Day Hike
Choking the life out of our president
2024 SLAGA Spring Picnic
February 29 – This Day in Geocaching History
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by Eric Schudiske, Groundspeak Lackey
In the 11 years and 9 months since the first geocache was placed, there is single date on which only a small fraction of geocachers have ever logged a cache. We suspect that’s because this particular date has only happened twice in geocaching history; it’s February 29, also known as leap day.
Given our penchant for all things that leap (frogs, horses, excited geocachers), we wanted to mark the third leap day in geocaching history — February 29, 2012 — by seeing how many accounts can log a cache that day.
Last February 29, way back in 2008, 36,696 distinct accounts logged an “Attended” or “Found it” on a cache. Given the growth of the geocaching community since then, we think we can double that number this year. But 73,392 distinct accounts logging a cache is a lofty goal; it’s the second highest number of accounts to log a cache in a single day. The current record, 78,313, was set on 10/10/10. Considering that 10/10/10 was a Sunday and February 29 will be a Wednesday, it is going to require a huge push to reach our goal.
So, talk to your fellow geocachers, your friends, and your co-workers about going geocaching (and logging their find) on February 29. In order to count toward the goal, people only have to log a single cache.
Everyone who logs a “Found it” or “Attended” this February 29 will receive the Leap Day Souvenir on their profile. As an added bonus, Premium Members who love to look at their “finds by date” statistics most likely see a blank square on the calendar on February 29. This is your chance to fill in the square —the 366th day of geocaching!
Local Leap Day Events:
GC3BY21 Leap Day (City Folk Edition) - St. Louis MO
GC3BXVT Happy (hour) Leap Day! - St. Charles MO
GC3C98C Meet, Greet, Eat and Leap - Salem MO
GC3B5X3 Leap Day in Columbia - Columbia MO
SLAGA Winter Potluck and Cabin Fever
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- Written by Denmother
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Bring your favorite food to share as we get together for a meet-and-greet on Saturday, January 28th, at Jefferson Barracks Park to focus on getting to know each other and the many new cachers in the area. Starting at 11:00 am, we will have a silent auction, games, good food, geocaching milestone awards, and will swap caching stories inside the heated Grant Pavilion. The winners of the 2011 SLAGA Travel Bug Race will be announced at this event. This is also a good opportunity to invite local land managers that you have personally worked with. Please contact your local land manager or parks department and invite them to come out. We will also have a drop-off spot for those wanting to donate canned goods to a local food pantry. Sign up by logging your "Will Attend" on the cache page.
Move Over Geocaching; Make Room for Edu-caching
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Written by Ravi Kumar
Whatever happened to that nerd-tastic hobby called Geocaching? The high-tech game of hide and seek still has around 5 million users worldwide if Wikipedia is accurate. But some education start-ups are looking at ways to use the same GPS technology as a way to make learning fun by linking GPS devices to curriculum. The timing is right, given that GPS apps like Google Maps and others now often come standard on smart phones and readers like iPads.
Recently, Apisphere, Inc., the company behind Geomate. jr, an easy to use GPS-based geocaching device collaborated with SDG Creations, Ltd. to enable teachers and students to actively learn through what they call “geocaching.”
Educaching, a GPS based curriculum for Educators would like you to believe that learning is like treasure hunting or geocaching.
"The curriculum combined with the Geomate.jr guides teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) based, GPS scavenger hunts that engage students in teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking and exercise in a fun learning environment," said Jason Hubbard, teacher and author of the Educaching GPS based curriculum.
Read the entire article at www.wiredacademic.com.
Group Caching as It Ought to Be
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- Written by twolpert
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Pictured: L Frank, Denmother, Mikeinmo, Crowesfeat30, Repmul, Strider, Quailman2 (both of them), twolpert, javapgmr
On Saturday, November 19, ten SLAGA members went on a group hunt. A power trail? Reliving the glory of MOGAs past? Not so much. Most of us drove 190 miles each way - and one of us came from Iowa - to find a single cache. And it was worth it!
Join Ranger Rick and His Pals on Their Geocaching Adventure
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- Written by Denmother
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The National Wildlife Federation and Ranger Rick magazine want to encourage families to spend more time having fun in the great outdoors.
Ranger Rick’s Geocache Trails are a great new way to inspire curiosity and learning about the natural world, while providing the satisfaction of seeking and finding hidden “treasure.” The program is designed to be fun for first-time or experienced geocachers.
Geocache trails allow land managers to provide a well-rounded experience for the geocacher. Hosting a Ranger Rick’s Geocache Trail can help attract new audiences, connect people with nature, offer a new kind of adventure at your facility, and show off your property!
- Ranger Rick’s Geocache Trails contain either 3, 5, or 8 geocaches to be hidden around your property, for geocachers to find.
- Each geocache on your trail will have its own web page on geocaching.com.
- Before setting out for their adventure, kids and parents will download your trail's coordinates to a GPS unit or smartphone from geocaching.com. There they will also download a Ranger Rick’s passport. When geocachers find one of your caches, they will sign Ranger Rick’s log book, found inside. Each geocache also features a Ranger Rick mystery. Cachers are asked to solve the mystery by stamping their passport. Additional “More to Explore” activities are included in each cache, as well as opportunities for trading.
- Geocachers can fill their passports by finding all of the geocaches along your trail.
- At the end of the adventure, kids and parents will log on to geocaching.com, post their finds, and share their experiences. Answers to the mysteries can be found online at RangerRickTrails.com.
Find an existing trail near you...
Took Nothing Left Nothing, Thanks For The Cache
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By Chris Short
Sociocachephilitis
Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs appeared in 1954's "Motivation and Personality." In his preliminary study of the human psyche and the demands and desires for self-fulfillment, Maslow compartmentalized needs into five stages: biological/physiological, safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualization. If we start at the beginning of his pyramid by ensuring we have nutrition, shelter, sleep, etc., we are capable of addressing the "higher order" needs. And according to Maslow, destruction of the basic need fulfillment renders humans incapable of addressing their personal growth, status, or reputation. At the most basic explanation, when you can survive physically, you can focus on social order, spheres of influence, personal development and ultimately achieving self-realization.
We determine our self-worth based upon our achievements, status and social connections. Our hobbies and activities are often in direct response to the higher level "needs." And many times we seek altruistic expressions to fulfill a basic desire to support others with the lower "needs." But in this age of hyper-connectivity, our understanding of social connection is skewed by Tweets, Facebook status updates and SMS/text messaging. Thankfully, there are still opportunities to connect our hobbies with our need to be connected beyond sound bites or txt-ese messages: LOL, OMG! TTYL! OK, maybe there are some special terms and phrases that only geocachers understand, but we also talk like ol' fashioned folk.
This past March, geocachers from around the country -- and a few dedicated players from Canada -- gathered at Rend Lake for an event designated as the Midwest Open Geocaching Adventure, or MOGA. It is theoretically the world's largest weekend competition for individuals and teams. The "mega-event" spans three days, but it is far from simply being a marathon of finding geocaches. Maslow's Hierarchy is present at every level and in very distinct examples of the human condition. Imagine a Trekkie -- pardon me, Trekkers -- convention for people who like to find Tupperware in the woods. And it is themed. So imagine a Trekker convention for people who like to find Tupperware. Dressed as pirates.
The global community of geocachers is as diverse as any community. It spans a wide breadth of economic, education and intelligence factors. And it has a vast array of social acceptability and accessibility. There are the party animals, the social butterflies and the wall flowers. And they all dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow or wenches. But it provides an opportunity for people who share a common bond -- Tupperware hunting -- to gather, share and enjoy community. Geocaching.com provides the sense of stability and order through the definition of the game and its guidelines. The venue ensured food and shelter. And the geocachers participate to establish their own higher needs: Comparing geocache hides? Gloating over numbers? Pride? A sense of learning from others?
MOGA only comes around once a year. In the meantime, local geocachers gather on a regular basis to talk shop, brag a little and enjoy each others' company in a celebration of sociocachephiltis: the love of social caching. Bring your ego, your sense of achievement, and your willingness to grow. We can't guarantee the cake.
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