The January 2013 WGA Caches of the Month have been announced. Each of the five regions of the state have again been well represented.

Northern Zone - A Moment of Zen by benjam76

Difficulty 4 - Terrain 5

Hidden in 2006, this cache has only been found 35 times. Several WGA members have recommended it in the forums.



Northeast Zone - Wiouwash Whisper For Lisa's 2K by Sagasu

Difficulty 2.5 -  Terrain 3.5

This tribute cache can be found two ways. It's a three part multi, but if you prefer night caches, you can follow the reflectors to a "glittering" ammo can final.



West Central Zone - Wisconsin Roadside Weirdness Challenge by Trekkin' and birdin'

Difficulty 3 - Terrain 1.5

A challenge cache that requires you to find some of the wierdest attractions in Wisconsin. You might find a 16 foot tall loon, or sculpture gardens or even the worlds largest letter "M".



South Central Zone - Last cache in town for me? by catm99

Difficulty 2 - Terrain 2

A three part mystery cache surrounded by letters and numbers. With 10 favorite points and only 16 finds, this looks like a fun one.



Southeast Zone - The Amazing Race Starting Line (Amazing Race #1) by Doctor Dolittle & The Goldie Diggers

Difficulty 4 - Terrain 3

The start of a series of 32 caches, you may need some special equipment to find this one.



Series of the Month - Casa Oro/G15 Amazing Race by The Goldie Diggers

Difficulty 1.5 -  Terrain 1.5

This cache was chosen to represent the entire Amazing Race series. With 32 caches by some very creative hiders, this looks like a must do series.

Nominations and voting is open for the February Cache of the Month

The WGA is accepting votes for the 2013 Board of Directors Election through February 10, 2013 at 12:00am CST. There are 4 open positions on the Board that will be filled in this election.

All WGA members can vote for up to 4 of the candidates that appear on the ballot. Click here to vote now. (These candidates received 2 nominations from fellow WGA members.)

A link is provided to each candidate's profile on the WGA website... click on the profile icon to the right of their username to view it.

We have also provided a link to the posts that the candidates have made in the Candidates Corner forum, and we encourage members to read these posts to learn more about the candidates before casting their votes.

At the conclusion of voting on February 10, 2013 at 12:00am CST, the votes will be tallied and the 4 candidates with the highest vote totals will be awarded the open positions on the Board. In the event of a tie, a run-off election will be held soon after voting ends.

As the nomination period for the Board of Directors election is in full swing and we already have a number of members who have accepted their nomination. Nominations will be open until January 27th.

Now is the time to get your questions in for the candidates!

Get to know who these folks are and see what their thoughts are for the goals and direction of the WGA. Post your questions to one or all the candidates. If for a single candidate, you may post on their Candidates Corner topic, for all candidates post a new topic in the Candidates Corner forum.

Please abide by the forum guidelines when posting.

Hello WGA!



As the calender year winds down, I find myself sitting at a hospital in Sheboygan, waiting for Linda to return from knee surgery. We are looking forward to her being able to get out and hunt caches again.



The end of the year means it's time for Board of Director nominations and elections. Watch for details in the WGA Forums for nomination/voting deadlines.



I've had many new cachers ask me over the years, "Can you geocache in winter?" ABSOLUTELY!! You can also do a bit of socializing at a few WGA sponsored Events, too.



The Lonely Cache Game Event will enjoy it's third year at the Horicon Marsh International Visitor Center near Horicon on February 2nd, 2013 (Ground Hogs Day). You don't need to play the LCG to come out and hear some of the wildest stories from the past year.



Mark Green Bay on your GPS and February 23rd on your calendar for the WGA Chili Feed/Bonfire Event, being held at the Bay Beach Nature Center. A great place to meet new cachers, wolf down some chili, and get some more winter caching in!



We are 3 months into the WGA TB Race! There are already 14 Travel Bugs with over 1000 miles on them, and 3 with over 7,000 miles! Some have been muggled, too. There's a lot of racing to be done yet, not to mention the fabulous prizes to be won!



A great group of attendees were seen at Pike Lake in September at the WGA GeoPicnic. If you think that was fun, wait until May 17-19 next year, when the WI/MN Joint Campout is held at Interstate Park near St. Croix Falls! An Event sure to create some new caching friends and lifetime memories.



Linda should be back to the hospital room soon. The doctor said everything went great. Here's hoping you have a great Holiday Season and good caching in the New Year.



Jim Bliefnick, President - WGA

The WGA Store is now open!

The 2012 WGA Geocoin is in! Available in antique gold or antique silver finish, the cost is $10.

We also have WGA shirts, sweat shirts and hoodies in several styles, as well as other items. The WGA Store is only open for a short time, so stop in soon!

Hello WGA!



I hope everyone got a taste of geocaching during the drought of '12. With winter and road construction as the 2 official Wisconsin seasons, the "dry heat" added a new dimension to the fun!



Congratulations to jjcool719 for submitting the winning design for the WGA 10th Anniversary geocoin. The coin was made available during the West Bend Cache Ba$h and more than 100 were sold! You can order your 2012 WGA Geocoing in antique silver or antique gold finish from the WGA Store!



Are you ready for a picnic? Pike Lake near Hartford is the location for the WGA GeoPicnic. This will close out the 10th anniversary celebration of the WGA. You wouldn't want to miss the dessert, would you?



For those that are looking to 2013, we have been in contact with the Minnesota Geocaching Association to co-host the Campout in northwest Wisconsin next year. That should make for an interesting T-shirt design!



It was good to see many of you stop by the WGA Booth at the West Bend Cache Ba$h. A big thank you to all 9 Board Members for their time helping and the other member volunteers that assisteded during the 3 day Mega Event. Your purchases of WGA merchandise helps support this great organization, as does eating pancakes and sausage on Sunday morning!



The football season is upon us. If your favorite team isn't playing up to par, grab the GPS and do something productive! The score will be the same, whether your watching or not!



See you in the woods!

On your marks!!!

The WGA Picnic committee will be hosting the very first WGA Travelbug Race. This race will start at the 2012 WGA Fall Picnic at Pike Lake on September 22, and continue for a full year; ending at the 2013 picnic event. The travel bug that travels the most miles during that time will be the winner.

Get Set!!!

The details are still being worked out, but the basic rules are as follows:

1. All travel bugs must be present at the 2012 WGA Picnic event. Travel Bug tags will be available for sale at the event if needed.

2. The first stop for your traveler should be the picnic event. You can either take it with you to place in a cache of your choice, or leave it with the event staff to be dropped in one of several undisclosed caches around the state.

3. Only the FIRST move by a single cacher will be counted for miles. (No "dipping" for miles.)

4. The main reason for this race is to have fun. Please don't spoil it by trying to find a way to "beat the system".

5. Bragging in the WGA website forums is allowed and encouraged.

The race will be tracked on tb-run.com. This is not a public race, so check the forums for the link and password. Registration is required, but it's easy and free.

Watch for more details in the Fall Picnic threads in the WGA Forums. (Click Here)

Another WGA Campout event is in the books! We brought the event back to the location of the very first WGA Geo-Campout, held in 2001 at Governor Dodge State Park. More than 170 geocachers checked in during the weekend. Dozens of campers took advantage of the whole Geo-Campout experience and joined the fun at the group campsites. There was a lot of chatting, trash talking and storytelling as the campfires burned late into the night. Several more cachers camped in the more comfortable (but less fun) individual campsites on the other end of the park.

With everything that the campout committee had planned for the weekend, the weather couldn't have been better. The fish were not being very cooperative for the fishing contest, but nobody complained since a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work (or school)! The CITO event was was very well attended and got a lot of cachers back out on the trails for a couple of hours. The park staff now knows where all of their benches are.

Young cachers were treated to a treasure hunt, complete with an authentic looking treasure map. Finding the map was the hardest part for a few kids, but what could be better than finding a real treasure chest filled with candy and swag?

The "pig guy" showed up Saturday morning and started preparing the feast for the pig roast. WGA board members served up plates of pork, beans and potato salad to a bunch of hungry geocachers. Our sincere apologies to anyone that missed out.

It looked like the night caches were going to be a non-event, but Team Kauai showed up at the last minute and set up a great cache with sound, motion sensors, lights and an angler fish. They are already planning to have several night caches set up at the 2013 campout event.

The Sunday morning pancake breakfast is a long standing tradition at the WGA campout events, and is still going strong. Some old pros and a few rookies served up pancakes and sausages while cachers from across the state took advantage of the opportunity for a little more chatting and goodbyes.

Planning is well under way for the next WGA campout event. A potential site has been picked, and something special is in the works. Keep an eye out for more details and make your own plans to attend the 2013 WGA Campout event!

Voting for the WGA Spring Photo Contest is now open! Vote for the photos that you think best represent Springtime Geocaching is Wisconsin. WGA members may vote for as many photos as they like by clicking on the ratings stars under each photo.

Voting is open until June 25th. Winning photos will be displayed on the front page of the WGA website, and winners will recieve a $40 gas card or a WGA Geocoin. Vote by going to the Spring Photo Contest album in the Photo Gallery. You can check out past photo contest entries here.