Know Future Posted February 22, 2004 Posted February 22, 2004 I'm helping with the field work for this event. Yesterday was our third day of laying out courses and hiding caches throughout Hawn State Park, near Farmington, Missouri. A dozen dedicated geocachers hiking hill and dale with GPSs, maps, and radios - working our tails off and having a great time. The weather was great, for a change. Our previous outings have been in snow, ice and subfreezing temps. Still fun, though. Yesterday was the turning point, for me at least. Up to now, it seemed like we were never going to get it all done in time. But now, I'm confident that everything will be ready. There's lots more to be done, but it's mostly finishing up. No more big projects that we haven't even started yet. Even though I've been to Hawn State Park many times over the years (I live only 8 miles away), this project has taken me to parts of the park I've never seen. Hawn is a diamond in the rough. Ancient water-carved cliffs of granite and sandstone provide a spectacular backdrop for this event. Crystal clear spring-fed streams run through every valley. Great hiking trails throughout the park, range from very easy to quite challenging. Don't be put off if competition is not your thing. There will be twenty or more noncompetitive traditional caches located throughout the park, for those who want to enjoy the weekend, log some finds and visit with friends. So mark your calendar: March 19-21, 2004. Hope to see you there! Quote
+*gln Posted February 22, 2004 Posted February 22, 2004 http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...10-a102ed90edc4 This is the event page that was set up. I think that this is going to be a great event. I think it can add a different dimension to geocaching, the sporting and competition side of geocaching. Even if folks don't want to compete, It will still be fun to show up, walk the courses, see how the event was done, find the 20 additional caches and take all this information back home and set up more events like it. Who knows, teams and leagues could be next, prizes, play-offs, ect.... this is gonna be big. MARCH 1st is the deadline for pre-registeration and odrering food from the event planners. glenn Quote
JoA Posted February 22, 2004 Posted February 22, 2004 I am glad to see that this is still on. I cant wait to come down. I see that there is some team things available. How many teams are getting together. How about a team challenge? Ladies against the guys, Texas against Oklahoma, East vs. West...... bring it on..... JoAnna Quote
Dorkus&Co. Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 I'm planning on going! 20 caches in one weekend, that might be a challenge in it self. I hope to get some pointers for hiding some of my own caches too. I have been to the park before too with the Boy Scouts and it is one of the prettiest areas in the state, which makes it a perfect choice for the event. Lots of terrain types, rocky, hilly, flat, wooded, etc. Makes for lots of hiding places. Jim Quote
+Tim, Pam & Molly Posted February 25, 2004 Posted February 25, 2004 Well the weather is starting to warm up here in Missouri. The event is really starting to come together. If the competition weekend turns out to be half as much fun as setting it up has been it’s going to be a blast! It’s been a lot of hard work with a lot of hiking and head scratching, but it’s been worth it because we have some very good courses set up. I hope we get a good turn out so it was worth all of the hard work and long days. We will have at least twenty-one caches to be found and we are working on setting up a nighttime cache that should be a lot of fun. If you find all of the caches you will have twenty-three finds for the weekend. Plus there are two other caches in the park. There will be several milestones achieved during the event including at least one hitting number 1,000! We hope to see you all there! It’s going to be a fun filled weekend! Quote
+Brawny Bear Posted February 28, 2004 Posted February 28, 2004 I see that more women are signed up than the men. Could it be that geocaching is a sport for the ladies? I can't believe that more men don't sign up as teams. It looks bad guys... Really bad, letting the women show you up like that.. It tells me that they can handle the extreme stuff and the men are just Sunday cachers.. Well, we will see who takes the trophy when it's all said and done.. Hate to think the 1st annual will be on the mantle in between the Martha Stewart flower arrangement and the scented candles.. Come on guys, lets take this one home! The Brawny Bear Quote
+T-storm Posted February 28, 2004 Posted February 28, 2004 This sounds really cool... I wish I could attend! But I'm having a baby a couple of weeks before this and just can't see myself travelling, much less competing! The 2004 Texas State Geocaching Extravaganza event is kinda similar to this... Hey, Brawny, you were at that one last year, weren't you... and I REALLY enjoyed it! If events like this are still being turned out in a couple of years when my kiddo is old enough grandma will keep the 2 little ones for a weekend, I will DEFINITELY attend! Y'all have a GREAT time! Quote
+Brawny Bear Posted February 28, 2004 Posted February 28, 2004 This sounds really cool... I wish I could attend! But I'm having a baby a couple of weeks before this and just can't see myself travelling, much less competing! The 2004 Texas State Geocaching Extravaganza event is kinda similar to this... Hey, Brawny, you were at that one last year, weren't you... and I REALLY enjoyed it! If events like this are still being turned out in a couple of years when my kiddo is old enough grandma will keep the 2 little ones for a weekend, I will DEFINITELY attend! Y'all have a GREAT time! I remember the last Extravaganza in Texas.. That is what inspired this one.. I wish I could make it to Texas this time but it is so close to this one.. Perhaps you can join us at Geo-Woodstock in Tennessee in July.. Good luck with the Baby! The Brawny Bear Quote
Know Future Posted March 24, 2004 Author Posted March 24, 2004 Well, it's over now. IMHO it was a resounding success. Everyone I talked to had a great time. Also got a lot of good feedback on some things we can do to make it even better next year. The event staff is tired, but happy. Be sure to visit the event cache page to read the comments and view the neat photos that are posted there. As for myself, I had a great time, made lots of new friends and still got to log some caches. The weather was great. What more could you ask for? My thanks to everyone who worked their tails off to make this a blockbuster event. Quote
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