SLAGA Welcomes Its New Board of Directors

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Written by Denmother

Published: October 22 2012

Last Updated: August 25 2014

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SLAGA's new Board of Directors was installed at the SLAGA Fall Picnic on September 29, 2012. Congratulations to:

President  -  Wendee Scott-Dells (DELLSF4M)
Vice President - Michael Allison (sgtmta)    
Vice President - Nathan Rover (NateDawgCC)    
Treasurer - Jim Nelson (Quailman2)    
Secretary - Kathy Dewitt (Team_State)

Thanks to all the SLAGA members who voted! You've chosen a talented Board of Directors, and we're looking forward to a great year ahead!

2025 ENDINGS and 2026 BEGINNINGS!

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: January 21 2026

Last Updated: January 21 2026

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The 2025 holiday season was an active one for our SLAGA community. The first weekend in December kicked off the season with the spirit of giving at the 2025 Community Christmas Celebration Event (GCATM25) hosted by nan-d1955/Nan. This memorable and very fun event included, not only great food and conversation, but also the generosity of the 42 members in attendance, through food, toiletry and toy donations. These were collected for the local food pantry and Birthday Club of ‘Circle of Concern’ in Valley Park. Over 250 pounds of food and nearly 70 toys were donated. This yearly event is always a great way to start the season. 

CO Nan said that spending time with her fellow geocachers at this family time of year warms her heart. “I get so much joy out of being with my friends at this event that I stop and wonder how many others there feel the same joy. If even one, that makes me happy."

Next came Santa Cachemas (GeoKid12) and his many elves hiding caches all around SLAGAland for 12 straight days, while geocachers practically dropped everything in their personal lives to try for a coveted First-to-Find honor and ornament. This past season the caches were all letterbox hybrid type with cute stamps that ended up being the clues for the bonus day. Having participated every day of 2025 Cachemas, this writer can attest to the great quality and variety of caches in this whole series!  While the excitement of the hunt has always been a Cachemas high, the gathering of geofriends throughout and the tailgate festivities sure add to the joy of the Cachemas season!  

GeoKid12/Robert/Santa always does an amazing job organizing the series and hiding some caches himself.  The other hider elves definitely put effort into their choice of locations and caches too this year.  Then there's toy-maker elf, LFrank, who provided all the FTF ornaments. Over the years, this 2-week long Cachemas experience has turned into a holiday social favorite for many who not only get outdoors and earn a smiley, but really enjoy holiday time with friends too.

There were other fun events held in the month of December, including happy hours and game nights and Christmas Day lunch. But the Holiday season and 2025 came to an end and the new year began with the official SLAGA New Year's Day Hike on January 1st!

The 2026 hike, hosted by Treasure Isle/Susan, took place at 1 pm in the beautiful Laumeier Sculpture Park, which happens to be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. "Laumeier is a place where art and nature come together to spark curiosity, creativity, and connection." More than 50 SLAGA members gathered on the back patio of the office building to enjoy a warm beverage and  holiday chats during the 30-minute meet-n-greet portion of the event. Then all cachers were invited to hike with the larger group or break off themselves to enjoy the many areas of the park. There were several old and new geocaches that could be found, so many hikers departed not only with smiles but smilies too. CO Susan hosted a terrific event and thanked all who attended as stated in her Attended Log. "Thanks to everyone who made this a successful start to the new year. Special thanks to cootie_man who provided drinks, cookies, and cups, etc. Also special thanks to Geokid12 for the huge variety of cookies and to Strider for placing a cache in the last available spot in Laumeier. Here's to another amazing year of geocaching!" 

SLAGA's 2025 was magnificent with new members joining, new geocaches hidden, numerous events and CITOS conducted, as well as activities like Cachemas and the year-long Adventure Awaits Challenges!  On that topic, the December challenge winner will be announced and honored in their own article soon.

But this is a great opportunity to announce the 2025 GRAND PRIZE WINNER, drawn from all participants from each month.  Drum Roll please......The Adventure Awaits Grand Prize Winner for 2025 is SWASEEKER/BILL! Congratulations and enjoy your $25 gift card prize!  
  

As 2026 begins, you can already see new changes, like our SLAGA board's new Adventure Awaits Challenge plans that are in play for this year.  As for geocacher 'resolutions' ideas, consider planning new caching adventures, setting some caching goals, exploring interesting new places, or committing to attending more SLAGA events or volunteering at one.  And there's no better time or place to start that last idea, than at the upcoming SLAGA Winter Potluck and Cabin Fever-2026 Event (GCBEWXB), hosted by L Frank and Denmother on January 31, 2026. 

Cheers to a great 2025 and

to an adventurous, happy

and healthy 2026!

The Great St. Louis Tree Hunt

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Written by Denmother

Published: April 22 2011

Last Updated: August 25 2014

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The Missouri Botanical Garden invites the St. Louis community to join its celebration of trees by exploring the great outdoors! Join the Great St. Louis Tree Hunt to find at least 15 of 30 marked TREEmendous Trees throughout the metro region (including Missouri and Illinois).

At each tree location, you’ll find a TREEmendous sign that identifies the tree. A select number of the trees highlighted are also part of the TREEmendous Geocaching Series, coordinated by the St. Louis Area Geocachers Association. Whether you’re an experienced geocacher or a first-time novice, this is a great way to explore your world. Look for the “GC” symbol in the list of trees in the Tree Hunt Guide.

Silver Anniversary for FTF

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: September 20 2025

Last Updated: September 20 2025

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In geo-language, cachers know that FTF stands for First-To-Find, however in SLAGA-land it is also known for Food Truck Friday events hosted by Robert Klemme, aka Geokid12. This past Friday was the Silver Anniversary, or 25th FTF event, held at 9 Mile Garden in Affton, MO  

The 9 Mile Garden is "Affton's only outdoor event center and Missouri's first Food Truck Garden" (credit '9milegarden.com' website). It's a fun place for family and friends to gather and enjoy local food and drink, and sometimes live music or performances. Outdoor movies and other community events are also held there and notices posted on the Garden's Facebook page of upcoming events. Basically this was an ideal spot for a fun gathering and a geo-event, as Robert discovered a few years ago.

In April 2021, Geokid12 hosted the SLAGA Spring Picnic and chose the 9 Mile Garden as the location. There were 47 attendees at that picnic.  And while this was a bit different venue then the typical park shelters where the picnics were usually held, it turned out to be wise decision.  It wasn't an official FTF event, but it was the precurser to those fun events.  With Robert living just a couple miles from the Garden, and enjoying the atmosphere and food truck availabilities, as well as opportunities to meet up with geocachers, this venue was an easy choice for launching his now infamous events.  In April 2022 the very first FTF: Food Truck Friday (GC9QC4N) event was held, but being a cold damp day, the 13 attendees met inside the Garden's 'Canteen' center instead of outside, which is a plus for this outdoor venue.   

It only took a couple of months for the word to spread of this unique event and venue.  Robert reported that, "the highest attended FTF event was #3 (GC9TZ05), which was held on June 17th 2022, with 34 in attendance." 

He added that, "Another notable FTF event was the one that wasn’t even held at 9 Mile Garden, FTF #8 on March 31st 2023, the first one of that year.  It was moved to St Louis Bread Co at Grasso Plaza due to weather that was so bad that they actually closed 9 Mile Garden. Usually even if there is rain the Canteen is still open, but this was above and beyond. The 9 attendees who braved the weather were treated to a rainbow at the end of the event."  While there are, on the average, 14 to 15 attendees at Robert's FTF events, the smallest group was 5 cachers who showed up on a cool day in April 2024 for FTF XVII.

 FTF V: Food Truck Friday 5   FTF XXV: Silver Anniversary

As the months went by, Robert continued to host FTF events as the weather permitted, and this past Friday's event was the 25th, FTF XXV: Silver Anniversary (GCBC5J9). It also happened to be Oktoberfest celebration at the 9 Mile Garden, so FTF attendees not only enjoyed live music and food truck items, but there was beer tasting and craft tables to purchase unique items, like the Halloween earrings this reporter purchased. Twelve cachers attended this very lively event. This is a consistently enjoyable geocaching event and venue, and one worth attending at a future FTF.  Because when asked if he would continue to host his FTF events, Robert said, "As long as the few faithful continue to show up, I'll continue hosting them. This is a fun location and being an Affton resident, it's great that I can help support by patronizing this local establishment, which is quickly becoming an Affton icon."

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Some Group Photos From FTF Events