Scrumptious Summer Send Off

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: August 31 2025

Last Updated: August 31 2025

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For 17 years, SLAGA has hosted an August Meet-n-Greet Event at the infamous Ted Drewes Frozen Custard shop. This shop has been setting the standard of frozen custard (concretes, malts, sundaes and more) for over 95 years and four generations now and is a beloved spot for St. Louisans. 

For SLAGA, it's a scrumptious summer send off event spot that is always well attended by the greatest geo-folks around. It's a relaxing time to meet fellow members, where caching adventures and plans are shared, and good ole 'catch-up' conversations are held among friends.

This year's event was on Saturday, August 30th in gorgeous summer weather. It was hosted again by our President Michael Smith (cootie_man), and attended by more than 30 members, including the long-time host Steve Bromley (javapgmr), who pleasantly surprised all by his attendance. 

This August Meet-n-Greet was another tasty treat for SLAGA folks!  If you missed out, there are several events scheduled in the month of September.  Just check out the SLAGA calendar, then 'concrete' your plans to join in some fun. 

2025 SLAGA Travel Bug Race July Update

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Written by Robert Klemme

Published: August 11 2025

Last Updated: August 11 2025

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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

The Heat Is On...to Win in July!

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: August 11 2025

Last Updated: August 16 2025

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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.  

 

Summer Sauna at Klondike Park

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: July 22 2025

Last Updated: July 22 2025

Hits: 666

More than 45 St. Louis area geocachers attended the SLAGA Summer Picnic this past weekend. As is typical for the weather in SLAGAland, the morning started overcast but already 84*F, then a 15 min downpour briefly cooled the air slightly. After the rain, that miserable Missouri humidity hit and the sun heated the air making the afternoon feel like a sauna, with bugs! Although many picnickers were sweaty and sticky in the latter part of the day, the portable fans set up in the shelter made lunch and gathering a bit more tolerable.  The SLAGA Summer Picnic 2025 and Community Celebration Event was hosted by SWAseeker and was held on July 19th at the beautiful Klondike Park in the shelter adjacent to the lake.  

With over 4 miles of walking trails, a few shelters, a playground and a campground onsite, Klondike park is a must-see place near St. Louis. The lake with its rocky shores and white sandy beach areas was once a silica sand quarry and is popular for catch and release fishing, sunbathing on the shore, and even some non-motor water sports at times, but no swimming or wading is allowed.  The park also offers a visitors and meeting facility and a boat ramp to acces the river.  The park bluff Overlook, above the visitors center, offers views of the Missouri River.  The Katy Trail can be accessed from the park and runs along the river shore down below the Klondike park bluffs. 

The SLAGA "bring your own lunch," meet and greet type summer picnic delivered a fun social atmosphere and beautiful scenery, but also a new 'customizable' milestone/FIND # sign introduced by the SLAGA board.  As simple as it was, this was an enjoyable new addition for geocaching fun.  Speaking of geocaching, five recently published geocaches, by RecklessYeti, had most attendees traversing the park gathering these new smileys too. While the Yeti was not spotted, some think it was in disguise at the picnic.

For all those that came out, including stregazahra and husband who attended their first SLAGA event, the picnic host and SLAGA board extend their many thanks for the time to meet, chat, cache, and picnic with you all.  The next big SLAGA event will be the Fall Picnic usually held in October, so keep a look out for information on that event and plan to attend.  As for now, stay hydrated and as cool as possible in the St. Louis summer sauna, until we meet again. 

Warm Weather Winner

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: July 14 2025

Last Updated: July 22 2025

Hits: 716

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.