What’s on YOUR geocaching Bucket List?

I was recently asked to provide a guest blog by Kevin over at CacheCrazy. So far I haven’t found a whole lot of blogs about geocaching and the guys over at CacheCrazy are doing a nice job. If you are interested in geocaching, you have to check out their information filled blog.

I am a chronic list maker, especially when it comes to geocaching. Some caches make a list because they are near an interesting or maybe a historical location. Some caches are hidden in a quirky way. Or maybe there is an interesting way of having to find them. Or they have a unique container. Or I have to swim, kayak, dive or climb to get them.

If you’re a Premium Member at Geocaching.com  one of the benefits is the ability to make up to 40 different bookmark lists. FYI - 40 is not nearly enough. I currently have 38 bookmarked lists, leaving 2 lists open at all times for a quick, last minute list of something special. I am beginning to think that I may need an intervention. Or maybe I need to join “Geocachers Anonymous.”

How do I find all these caches for my lists? It’s really quite easy. Other cachers are my biggest source for must-do caches. Any time you get a group of cachers together, they will talk about the latest and best caches they did. Many cachers put together their own lists of favorite caches and will post them on the official geocaching  site. (Apparently I am not the only one with a list making obsession) I will often click on these lists and peruse them, read through the cache pages and then add THOSE caches to MY own lists. I know, it’s an evil cycle.

Another great source of interesting caches around the country is through FTF magazine. You can visit their website here   Geocachers from around the country write in with their favorite caches. I look them up and then add them to my own “Out of State” list.

What other kinds of lists do I have? I’m glad you asked.  Let’s see…..
I have a list for the town I live in, lists for several different area suburbs, a Kentucky Lake list, a list for Wisconsin, a list for Sanibel Island, a list for nights when we have an hour and just want to grab a few quick caches, lists of “series” caches, a challenge list, upcoming events, lists by county or Forest Preserve, 1 list of caches we HAVE to do soon and 1 list of out-of-state caches. Phew!!!

Right now I have personally found over 1450 caches.  This is my mom and I celebrating our milestones at a breakfast event.. 

I’ve compiled a list of my favorites, and while it’s hard to pick my absolute favorite 10, I’ll give it my best shot!

GCGWN2 Aesop’s Villa by the Sea was the final cache in a 5 cache series. Loved the location, the story and the different caches. We did this with a great group of friends. I liked it so much that I went back and did the series again with my family.

(looking for a clue in the wall)

(Louie, Linda and Tom swimming out to find a clue at the end of the wall)

GC1XNNM Midnight Mellody is a night cache. You have to do it with flashlights and it takes you down trails in the woods. We took my parents, my sister and her husband along with us and they loved it.

GC232EV Out of Sight is a 10 stage cache series. We took on this challenge with another great group of friends. It took us 6.5 hours of continuous hiking through the woods, a marsh and over (and thru) a creek. Each stage had a different and unique puzzle to solve before we could continue on. Amazing series!

(one of the many puzzles we had to solve)

(At the final stage, which was a milestone cache for 2 of the cachers)

GC1294F Falcor and Bonobos is hidden in a tunnel underneath a silo. Had to crawl in and then back out.

(pardon my butt!)

GC28 Beverly is one of the oldest caches in the country and I believe it’s the oldest one east of the Mississippi. Not hard to do and it’s a nice hike for such an esteemed cache.

(The pine forest here was amazing)

(Signing the logbook)

(Papa and Nonny hiking back out)

GC3798 Covert Cache is hidden in a restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You can only access the restaurant through a secret panel that you have to locate and then you have to find the cache once you’re inside.

(There is a clue in the sign if you can figure it out)

(The cache container)

GC11CRG Fish Hook. We just did this one a few weeks ago in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Awesome climb over break water rocks out into Lake Michigan.

GC1YNB8 Illinois Spirit Quest is a multi step cache that takes you through a Chicago mausoleum where hundreds of Chicago notables have been laid to rest. Sounds kind of morbid but it’s really fascinating. Cache placed with permission. The first stage brought us to the final resting place of one of my former employers. Talk about getting chills!   (No pictures were allowed for this cache.)

GC217PN The Lonesome Bridge. We went back to this cache 3 times in the dead of winter before we found it.

(This is one of my favorite caching pictures of myself.  The temperature was about 6 degrees that day)

GC23WDH Selenite Crystals brought us to an actual crystal field in Iowa where we got to look for crystals.

(Can you see the crystals?)

(Louie & Barb holding up their crystals)

Ok, so that’s my top 10. I have many, many more that I could name, but I narrowed it down to these. If you have a chance to get to the Chicago area, most of them are within a 50 mile radius of the city.

MY BUCKET LIST

Well, of course I have a Bucket List of caches too. Most of them are out-of-state for me, so this is really a dream list to combine with a couple of trips. How can you beat that combination?

GCGV0P The Original Stash Tribute Plaque - in Oregon - The cache that started the whole craze!!

GCK25B Groundspeak Headquarters - in Washington. Need I say more???

GC29FFF Davey Jones’ Lockah - in Hawaii. You have to swim and dive to get to this one

GC2B034  Necropolis of Britannia Manor III -  An interesting puzzle/multi in Texas with over 150 Favorite votes to date.

GC1CHYK The DaVinci Cache - in Colorado. A mutli with some awesome steps.

GC8EA3 16,000,000 Bricks  - at Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas near Key West.

GC39  The Spot -  I’ve been told this cache in New York is the 2^nd oldest cache east of the Mississippi and it has over 125 favorite votes.

GCXVT9 The Stinton Family Lighthouse Cache - in New Jersey is near a lighthouse and on a beach with shells and sea glass. It’s just a great combination of fun stuff for me!

GC1KRCT The World’s Only Inland Cape - is in Missouri and the name says it all.

GC1CJMY Vertical Limit  - This is the one closest to home and you have to do some serious tree climbing to get it!

So that is my dream “Wish List!” Totally doable at some point in the near future. The biggest problem advantage to a wish list is that it keeps prodding me on and gives me new goals of things to do, places to see, new accomplishments to achieve. That’s the beauty of geocaching. It’s not just about finding a piece of Tupperware in the woods. It’s about making and achieving personal goals and broadening your horizons.

“Hike, Climb, Explore” is my personal mantra. What’s yours?

I’d like to throw out a big THANK YOU to the folks over at CacheCrazy  for asking me to supply a guest post. Don’t forget to check them out - Happy caching!