Souvenirs & GeoTours

[+SEMY]

G'day,

 

Worth reading is this topic on the GC-blog:
https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2018/05/hq-geotour-completed-souvenir-earned/

I'm happy with an extra souvenir but also curious what will be next.
Any thoughts on this?

[+Max and 99]

I like Brian's suggestion of each Geotour deciding on the criteria for getting the souvenir.

I don't like the current policy of having to find all active (even disabled) caches because some are simply not being taken care of. Months of problems and the cache is not being maintained so no one who does the available caches on the tour can get the souvenir. 

On the other hand, determining what was available when could be a coder's nightmare. So I understand the need to simplify the requirement. But still... It's not my fault they won't fix the dang cache! 

[+Wet Pancake Touring Club]

I want to point out a bit of confusion I had with the blog. It revolves around the word 'completed'. GeoTour sponsors have their definition of completed, and the blog implies that GS has a different definition. (And, a sponsor may have several 'levels' of completion.) I would like to have souvenirs that match the sponsor's criteria for completion. I have several random thoughts and suggestions below.

 

The WA State Parks GeoTour had a silver level (50), and a gold level (100), with a total of 103 caches. The Spokane GeoTours used a point system, that included select purchases made in the Spokane area. Specific caches had different point values, spending the night in a Spokane area hotel was worth some points. The Spokane GeoTour also had a complete change of theme during its second year, and list of caches completely changed at the same time. I haven't looked at every GeoTour, there may be other criteria that I am unaware of.

IMO, a simplistic souvenir award system that only awards based on finding all (or a fixed number) of the GeoTours caches is not the way to go. First, GeoTours are generally put on by tourism groups that are using it to attract geocachers to their area. I live near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. My first four GeoTours were based out of Eugene, Oregon, some 500 miles away. So, I spent a bunch of money to do the GeoTour. Of course, some of the caches were unavailable when I was in town because of a variety of factors, including temp disabled, road closures, and being covered by 2 feet of snow. With the WA State Parks GeoTour, I logged several thousand miles to get 102 out of 103 of the caches. That last cache had a high terrain rating, and I have bad knees. I physically could not do it safely, but I did meet the sponsor's Gold Level requirements. In both of these cases, I would have liked to get a souvenir so that I can show off, but I was never going to be able to find all of the caches. Therefore, a souvenir for finding ALL of the caches has no value for me, and therefore adds no value to the GeoTour sponsor.

 

I couldn't put together an easy algorithm that could be used to automatically assign a souvenir that was based on a sponsor's requirement. My suggestion is to allow GeoTour sponsors to create souvenirs, and give them a web page where they could assign their souvenirs to a cacher. If they are going to have different levels of completion, or multiple themes, the sponsor should be able to have multiple souvenirs that they could assign. This way, the definition of completion matches between the sponsor and GS.

 

On the other hand, if GS implements the souvenir in an automated way, I would suggest that GS not use the word 'completed' when talking about the souvenir. Maybe say that every GeoTour has a bonus souvenir for finding every cache of the GeoTour. That way, there is no ambiguity about the definition of completed. That might cut down on the number of queries that GS would get asking where their souvenir is when they have completed the sponsor's requirements.

 

 

 

[+MissJenn]

Our fingers are crossed for good luck during this testing phase. Are your fingers crossed, too?

[+Wet Pancake Touring Club]

On 5/12/2018 at 9:43 AM, MissJenn said:

Our fingers are crossed for good luck during this testing phase. Are your fingers crossed, too?

Yep, my fingers are crossed.

 

Another question that I have is what will be done about already closed GeoTours. I 'completed' the Lane County GeoTours out of Eugene, OR, but did not get all of the caches. I took several multi-day vacations to get them, and at the time, not all were available. Many of them no longer exist. Therefore, I cannot get them all, even if I went back.

 

Personally, I don't care much about souvenirs. However, if I did, I would want to get credit for all of my completed GeoTours. My OCD doesn't allow any other option.  So, I think GS should address what they are planning to do with past GeoTours.

 

As a simple algorithm, I think that a percentage complete (Lane County: 24 out of 36, WA State Parks: 100 out of 103, HQ: 9 out of 9, Spokane: 80%) would be fairly accurate, and satisfy a large number of GeoTour participants.

[+CaracalShan]

I like the souvenirs, so I was looking forward to getting one for the only GeoTour I did. It has been archived recently though, and there is another difficulty with this one: I finished the GeoTour a short while after it was published, but a few weeks later, one of the caches (a multi) was archived and changed by a traditional. When I now take a look at the GeoTour-page, it only shows the traditional cache, and not the multi (which was part of the GeoTour when I did it, it even has the same name as the traditional by which it was replaced). Makes it quite complicated to retrospectively add a souvenir, looks like a certain percentage would be a good solution for these kind of problems too :-)

[+purplepotter51]

We did the Butler County Donut Geotour in Ohio already, do we.get credit for it? Please advise. Thanks.

[+CAVinoGal]

At each location fill in your Passport with the official GeoTour code word. Complete all of the caches and code words, log your caches at Geocaching.com and we’ll reward you with a SWEET Donut Trail GeoTour coin.*

 

* Stop by or mail completed Passport to: Butler County Visitors Bureau 8756 Union Centre Blvd. West Chester, OH 45069

Limit one coin per team. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. For more information, call 513-860-4194 or visit GetToTheBC.com/GeoTour

 

Found this info on a simple Google search.  Although I wasn't there, my son, daughter in law, grandson, and a good friend of theirs was there, and sent us a photo that they had done it.  They are traveling back today home to Arizona today - I can find out if they applied for or got the coin for completing it.  Did you complete the passport and apply for the coin?

 

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by CAVinoGal

[+Max and 99]

6 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

At each location fill in your Passport with the official GeoTour code word. Complete all of the caches and code words, log your caches at Geocaching.com and we’ll reward you with a SWEET Donut Trail GeoTour coin.*

 

* Stop by or mail completed Passport to: Butler County Visitors Bureau 8756 Union Centre Blvd. West Chester, OH 45069

Limit one coin per team. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. For more information, call 513-860-4194 or visit GetToTheBC.com/GeoTour

 

Found this info on a simple Google search.  Although I wasn't there, my son, daughter in law, grandson, and a good friend of theirs was there, and sent us a photo that they had done it.  THey are traveling back today home to Arizona today - I can find out if they applied for or got the coin for completing it.  Did you complete the assport and apply for the coin?

 

 

 

I thought this thread was about the souvenir, not coin.

[+CAVinoGal]

Right now the only GeoTour (as I read it) that results in a virtual souvenir is the HQ GeoTour, and it's a test.  purplepotter51 asked about "credit" for completing the Butler County Donut GeoTour, so I was answering that.  It doesn't look like there is a virtual souvenir at this point for anything other than the HQ GeoTour.

 

What about the physical prizes?
Some GeoTours offer geocoins and/or other prizes. Those are unrelated to the completion souvenir.

[+Max and 99]

11 minutes ago, CAVinoGal said:

It doesn't look like there is a virtual souvenir at this point for anything other than the HQ GeoTour.

 

 

That is incorrect.

[+CAVinoGal]

2 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

2 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

It doesn't look like there is a virtual souvenir at this point for anything other than the HQ GeoTour.

 

That is incorrect.

 

Ahhh, I see now... https://www.geocaching.com/play/geotours  I stand corrected!

 

 

[+Twinklekitkat]

If caches are still available that were once part of an official Geo-Tour but now are no longer  part of an official Geo-Tour do you still get the souvenir if you complete them all?  Or would you have had to have found all of them  prior to this program going live and souvenirs were awarded retroactively to those that met the criteria?  Therefore, any new completions of the tour, because it is no longer "official", will not get the souvenir.   Anyone have any experience with this?  

[+MissJenn]

SEMY opened this topic with the blog post from May 8. Thanks SEMY.

On May 21, we published a follow-up blog post that includes news about GeoTours beyond just the HQ GeoTour in Seattle: 

https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2018/05/geotour-completed-souvenir-earned/

 

Twinklelitkat posted:

Quote

If caches are still available that were once part of an official Geo-Tour but now are no longer  part of an official Geo-Tour do you still get the souvenir if you complete them all? 

You would have had to find them all when the GeoTour was active.

[+Max and 99]

I'm a dope! I just completed a fantastic 41 geocache Geotrail in my state, thinking I'd earn the souvenir. Then I figured out, since no one else got the souvenir, that it's for Official partnerships. Bummer. But the Geo Trail was so much fun!

[+Max and 99]

This Geotour GT9D only has one cache. So if I find that cache, I get the souvenir?

[+irisisleuk]

34 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

This Geotour GT9D only has one cache. So if I find that cache, I get the souvenir?

According to this website there will be 30 geocaches in this Geotour, to be published this month.

[+Max and 99]

4 minutes ago, irisisleuk said:

According to this website there will be 30 geocaches in this Geotour, to be published this month.

That one cache listed is five years old. Do you think it's a placeholder?

[+irisisleuk]

35 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

That one cache listed is five years old. Do you think it's a placeholder?

Or maybe they are waiting for it to get archived to be able to publish the cache for the Geotour since Connersville already has a lot of caches. ?

[+Max and 99]

1 hour ago, irisisleuk said:

Or maybe they are waiting for it to get archived to be able to publish the cache for the Geotour since Connersville already has a lot of caches. ?

You lost me. Why list it on the geotour if they are waiting for it to be archived?

[+MissJenn]

 GeoTour GT9D is not yet live so no souvenirs are being awarded yet. 

Coming very soon, though! ? 

Now you all have a sneak peak and can start planning a trip to Fayette County, Indiana. 

 

Who's planning on going?

[+MissJenn]

@SEMY wouldn't it be fun to have ☕ with one another again (in Indiana this time?) ?

[+Max and 99]

20 minutes ago, MissJenn said:

 GeoTour GT9D is not yet live so no souvenirs are being awarded yet. 

Coming very soon, though! ? 

Now you all have a sneak peak and can start planning a trip to Fayette County, Indiana. 

 

Who's planning on going?

Maybe me, if I get enough notice to book a flight!

[+SEMY]

On 5/15/2019 at 9:28 AM, MissJenn said:

@SEMY wouldn't it be fun to have ☕ with one another again (in Indiana this time?) ?

 

Well, @MissJenn just placed a will attend for geowoodstock 18 in 2020. The week before I’ll be in Seattle. Let grab some good coffee then. Looking forward to it!!

[+Max and 99]

I finally earned a Geotour souvenir! Woohoo! 

[+Max and 99]

It is so frustrating to have missing caches in a new geotour.  No one can earn the souvenir unless you live close by and can return. Or if  you log Found Its on caches that are clearly missing. If you are going to run a geo-tour you have to have a plan in place for maintenance! 

I've seen tours with caches collecting DNFs for many months, by numerous finders, and no action from the CO. Radio silence. It's very frustrating. 

[+Max and 99]

I'm hesitant to start a new thread for this question, but just curious if there are any new geotours in the works, for after the pandemic. 

[+Max and 99]

I was looking at a new GeoTour that might be fun to visit. Then I realized how complicated the requirements are, I can't access the caches without a pass that costs $9/day/person, and to buy the pass I need to give them my driver's license number and date of birth. Hard pass. Makes me appreciate the free tours I've done that were not complicated at all!

[+Max and 99]

Just out of curiosity, are organizations and groups that put on geotours made aware of the problems and frustrations that occur when the caches are not being maintained?

I recently got a log for a Geotour cache I had found. One cache on the tour had been disabled for way too long, many months, so someone who traveled a long distance brought a replacement with them because there is no way they were going to miss out on the souvenir because of one cache that wasn't being maintained. That got me wondering if the group that puts it on are made aware of why it's so important to maintain the caches. 

[+BG2015]

I know this is an old thread, but does the HQ GeoTour digital souvenir still exist? I’ve found all the caches but don’t have the souvenir.

[+Max and 99]

45 minutes ago, BG2015 said:

I know this is an old thread, but does the HQ GeoTour digital souvenir still exist? I’ve found all the caches but don’t have the souvenir.

A recent finder of the geotour earned that souvenir on November 2, 2023. So, yes, it seems to still be available. 

[+BG2015]

Thanks Max. Where were you able to see who recently got the souvenir?

[+Max and 99]

1 minute ago, BG2015 said:

Thanks Max. Where were you able to see who recently got the souvenir?

I looked at the people who recently logged some of the tour caches and then went to their profile to see what souvenirs they had.

[+Tungstène]

A friend of mine didn't receive the HQ Geotour souvenir until we compared their finds with mine... They forgot to log the virtual as found! (Receiving the automated confirmation email doesn't register a Found it).

[+Max and 99]

I checked, and all 6 tour caches were logged. 

As we know from these forums, this definitely happens!

[+Max and 99]

On 11/7/2023 at 3:13 PM, BG2015 said:

I know this is an old thread, but does the HQ GeoTour digital souvenir still exist? I’ve found all the caches but don’t have the souvenir.

Awarded yesterday. Congrats!

[+NLBokkie]

Just so you know: If you finished a GeoTour and got a coin for that (so fulfilled the GeoTour owner's definition of finished), you can send a photo of the coin to headquarters as proof you've finished the GeoTour and then request the accompanying souvenir. HQ may ask for additional details, but in my case they accepted that for finishing two separate GeoTours and added the missing souvenirs to my account. So with a bit of work you can have them added this way.

Edited November 13, 2023 by NLBokkie

[+Max and 99]

2 hours ago, NLBokkie said:

Just so you know: If you finished a GeoTour and got a coin for that (so fulfilled the GeoTour owner's definition of finished), you can send a photo of the coin to headquarters as proof you've finished the GeoTour and then request the accompanying souvenir. HQ may ask for additional details, but in my case they accepted that for finishing two separate GeoTours and added the missing souvenirs to my account. So with a bit of work you can have them added this way.

No, no, no. I don't think proof of an award from a Geotour is proof that you have completed the geotour! Like you said, Geo tours can have different criteria for giving an award. And I've seen awards given out even when the Geotour hasn't been completed, even though that is a requirement. 

I'd be careful about expecting this to be the proof you have completed a geotour.

I'm glad it worked out in your case, though.

I think the easiest way for HQ to verify you have completed a geotour is check that you have logged all of the geocaches.

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Max and 99

[+NLBokkie]

On 11/13/2023 at 7:47 PM, Max and 99 said:

No, no, no. I don't think proof of an award from a Geotour is proof that you have completed the geotour! Like you said, Geo tours can have different criteria for giving an award. And I've seen awards given out even when the Geotour hasn't been completed, even though that is a requirement. 

I'd be careful about expecting this to be the proof you have completed a geotour.

I'm glad it worked out in your case, though.

I think the easiest way for HQ to verify you have completed a geotour is check that you have logged all of the geocaches.

 

Logging all the caches would only be possible if the list of caches for the GeoTour is static, doesn't change over time and all maintenance would be executed immediately. In my experience, none of this is the case. I've seen the number of caches change over time within the same GeoTour and caches being replaced by new ones. Also, it can take weeks if not months for maintenance to be carried out. If you're lucky enough to be in the (possibly far away - most GeoTours are targeted towards tourists) region to do the GeoTour, but happen to run into caches being offline because of maintenance, you will probably never be able to finish each and every cache of the GeoTour, even while you (usually) have fulfilled the requirements for the GeoTour bonus from the owner's perspective. Don't forget that GeoTours are usually a commercial tool for tourist development - they really don't care if you find each and every cache that is or was ever involved in the GeoTour, as long as you fulfill their requirement to spend time and money in the region. Since there are so many factors you have no say in that decide if you can find all the caches in a GeoTour, I don't think that is a good norm to use for handing out the souvenir.

Edited November 19, 2023 by NLBokkie

[+Max and 99]

24 minutes ago, NLBokkie said:

Since there are so many factors you have no say in that decide if you can find all the caches in a GeoTour, I don't think that is a good norm to use for handing out the souvenir.

I agree, but that is irrelevant to the criteria for earning a souvenir.

 

I too am very frustrated when a cache is not being maintained and therefore I cannot complete the geotour. I've mentioned that many times on these forums. There have also been numerous discussions, suggestions that the souvenir criteria should match the geotour criteria, but it doesn't.