The REAL Virtual "WOW factor"

[+Snoogans]

So virtual listing has gone the way of the Dodo. So what. This isn't a thread to mourn lost choices.

 

Toward the end they were only approving virtual caches on wow factor which proved to be tedius, I'm sure. BUT, a very few virts actually DO deliver.

 

This past week, The Snoogstress and I visited a virtual that blew every other virtual I've visited away and most other caches I've logged as well hands down.

 

Stingray City - Grand Caymen Islands

 

I'm going to title that shot, "Human Shield."

 

 

These rays have been hand fed in this remote spot for over 20 years. They are very gentle and fun to interact with. It was quite a moving experience that was over far too quickly. If we had time, we would have liked to go out there again. I think, if Steve Irwin had gotten his stingray footage here, he'd still be alive.

 

I can think of only a few other virts that I've visited that had even a little wow factor, but nothing at all that even approached this level of WOW.

 

So, please give a link to some virts you've visited that you feel had REAL "WOW factor."

Edited May 1, 2007 by Snoogans

[+Isonzo Karst]

Dark Skies

[+Arrow One]

"Chimney Rock" in NC. The WOW was looking down!

[Dinoprophet]

Stingray City - Grand Caymen Islands

We were supposed to go there on our honeymoon but it was too windy -- they wouldn't let us.

 

M Cubed Museum is a local favorite. Years after I logged it, I meet people who ought to have heard of it but haven't, and they're thrilled when they go to see it.

 

The web page doesn't have many details, and I don't want to spoil the location. But it is easy to find on Google with a few simple words from the cache page. Here's a hint: it makes space invaders look young.

 

Great thread idea, BTW. I've thought about a similar thread for cool micros.

Edited May 1, 2007 by Dinoprophet

[+BlueDeuce]

Stingray City - Grand Caymen Islands

 

Sweet! I'll be down there this January.

 

I've always enjoyed this virt. It's somewhere down in Florida.

 

photo by hitecrednek

[+Kit Fox]

Can I post a few virtuals that I haven't found yet, but are high on my wishlist?

 

Anasazi Ruins

 

OPERATION HIGH DESERT ADVENTURE (3 finds in 5 years)

 

OPERATION HIGH DESERT ADVENTURE NO.2 (1 find in four years, two pending finds)

Edited May 1, 2007 by Kit Fox

[+OzGuff]

The Devil's Courthouse (GCG28M) off of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville NC has some great views! (And it takes some effort to get there!)

[+wimseyguy]

A couple come to mind:

Rush Hour we came at it from above, and at night and had a defininte whoa! moment when we saw the full scope of the artwork. The gallery doesn't do this one justice.

I never would have discovered an oasis full of penguins, flamingos, and other exotic birds living behind the Flamingo Hotel if I hadn't gone looking for this cache on my first trip to Las Vegas. I stop in for a refresher every time I visit the city.

MLF5 Choo Choo proves that other people are as obsessed about their interests as some of us are about caching.

[+mtn-man]

I have my favorites perma-linked in my signature line in a bookmark list. Here is the link again.

 

My Favorite Virtual Caches

 

All of the top 6 are incredible.

 

I think my "1B" choice may actually be my favorite. Delicate Arch in Arches National Park was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We cannot wait to go back and make that hike in the evening. Ironically, we were just talking about it again last night.

 

Edited to add my favorite photo of me of all time.

 

Edited May 1, 2007 by mtn-man

[+BiT]

Guadalupe Peak is my all fime favorite cache and it is a virtual.

[+Harry Dolphin]

True. WOW factor is tough. Of the 54 Virtuals that I've done, 4 stand out as WOW. Problem is that I'd been to two of them before so I knew what to expect. (Yes, I've been to Delicate Arch. When I went to Arches, WOW! But been there, done that.)

My favorites?

I Love Lucy

Lake of the Clouds Hut

Last stop for a weary traveler

The Empire Strikes Back

With honorable mentions for the unexpected:

Busman's Holiday

Central Park Guardian

[+StarBrand]

Thought about this for a few days and remembered this one. Whitney Pockets is in the middle of the desert. A stone and concrete dam out in the desert with no water source nearby - Built by folks that speculated it would fill with rare but occasional downpours. It does but all too rarely.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...92-41c1f7f9de56

 

Check out the gallery.

[n0wae]

Swetsville Zoo

[+GPX Navigators]

Have to agree with mtnman - without a doubt - so far - Delicate Arch.

 

Worth the effort to hike up there and then an emotional turn around the corner to see probably the most famous arch in the US.

 

 

Other virtuals in Arches Natl. Park are wonderful too including The Bowl which requires a climb up one of the fins to find the deep hole at the top. This is the view across the park from the top.

 

 

And this is the climb. Delicate we would have done regardless. The Bowl - nope- never would have climbed the fin but for the cache.

 

 

For us the beauty of the National Parks coupled with some great virtual caches makes an all around great family vacation and learning experience for the kids. We're off the CA in a few weeks. Hoping the virtuals in the parks there are as wonderful as others we have seen.

Edited May 3, 2007 by GPX Navigators

[+Snoogans]

Thought about this for a few days and remembered this one. Whitney Pockets is in the middle of the desert. A stone and concrete dam out in the desert with no water source nearby - Built by folks that speculated it would fill with rare but occasional downpours. It does but all too rarely.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...92-41c1f7f9de56

 

Check out the gallery.

 

 

Dr. Webe & The Ski Bum put out some great caches. I've done several of theirs. (Their NASA Tracking Station cache is a favorite of mine.) I've considered doing that virt a time or two, but never had the time when I was in the area.

Edited May 3, 2007 by Snoogans

[+Stunod]

Cload Gate aka The Bean

 

What made this one fun and a "wow" for me was the logging requirement. There are some pretty cool photos posted for this virt.

[+res2100]

We've found lots of neat virtuals, but in my opinion the only virtual that had a real WOW factor and made us go WOW was The Echo Chamber in Savannah, Georgia. When we first got there, we didn't think much of it and thought it was pretty lame, until we overheard someone explaining it there and actually tried it ourselves and it was a truely unexpected and magnificant WOW! Nothing else has compared since.

[+Gamaliel]

The only one I've been impressed with so far is the Big Lake North Virtual Cache, which brings you to a stunning view of Lake Okeechobee.

[+j2d2]

Haven't done it yet, but:

 

Wilcox Cap

[+9Key]

One Man's Castle in Houston is my favorite so far.

[+Dew Crew]

My favorite has to be Virtual New Mexico #4 Capulin Volcano

 

Other inlcude:

Meteor Crater

 

Pike Never Made It!

[+Miragee]

For a Scenic Virtual, "Canyon de Chelly -- Spider Rock Overlook" was fantastic. Seeing awesome scenery and Indian cliff dwellings was incredible.

 

For a different kind of Scenic Virtual, I liked "Got Your Buggy" at the Great Sand Dunes National Monument in Colorado.

 

For a Historical Virtual, I really liked "SD Historical 1890." I learned a lot and saw some neat stuff.

 

The most moving Virtual cache was the "Manzanar Virtual" where the Japanese Internment camp was during WWII.

 

For one that is just a "WOW," you can hardly beat the amazing "Salvation Mountain."

[+BlueDeuce]

Cload Gate aka The Bean

 

What made this one fun and a "wow" for me was the logging requirement. There are some pretty cool photos posted for this virt.

 

I thought about listing this one as well.

 

I actually visited this virtual without logging it. (or posting a DNF ) I was on a 'special date' with my non-caching wife (I couldn't afford to bring the caching one as well. ) and on the way to the restaurant I mentioned that I'd like to stop by this virtual. Once we got there she said 'Okay you've seen it, let's go.'

 

But, but, but…! (sigh) Yes, dear.

 

I did find it, I just couldn't log it.

[+Dew Crew]

Cload Gate aka The Bean

 

What made this one fun and a "wow" for me was the logging requirement. There are some pretty cool photos posted for this virt.

 

I thought about listing this one as well.

 

I actually visited this virtual without logging it. (or posting a DNF ) I was on a 'special date' with my non-caching wife (I couldn't afford to bring the caching one as well. ) and on the way to the restaurant I mentioned that I'd like to stop by this virtual. Once we got there she said 'Okay you've seen it, let's go.'

 

But, but, but…! (sigh) Yes, dear.

 

I did find it, I just couldn't log it.

 

Wow, I didn't even know this was a virtual! I saw this during the summer. I still have those pics somewhere... I'll have to log this.

[+TrailGators]

The most moving Virtual cache was the "Manzanar Virtual" where the Japanese Internment camp was during WWII.

I was going to say this one too. I'll bet I'll remember that one forever.

I also really enjoyed the Delicate Arch which has already been mentioned as well.

Edited May 4, 2007 by TrailGators

[+Snoogans]

One Man's Castle in Houston is my favorite so far.

 

 

I guess that one would have meant more to me if I was a beer drinker.

 

[+Snoogans]

Meteor Crater

 

 

That's one. I was sure someone else would list it.

 

 

 

 

There is only one other virt that I have visited had real WOW factor for me. I'll wait to see if someone else lists it.

 

 

Thanks for all the replies so far. Many of those virts interest me.

[+ePeterso2]

7 and 8 is a quick-n-dirty urban virtual, but don't let that stop you. You would NEVER believe that they're the real things ... but they are. Wish I could say more, but that would spoil it and then y'all would go log it ;-)

[+Big Max]

Been up on Capulin a couple of times, back before I knew about Geocaching. The view is awesome. Planning on doing 'Stingray City' this summer when the wife and I go a cruise for our 20th. Hillside Cache near Silverton, CO is beautiful. But again, it was before I knew about Geocaching.

 

Other than that, I haven't done a virtual with any wow factor. Historical significance yes but no wow factor.