Candidate Question: Favorite Point

[BigJimParticipant]

I’ve got a bunch of accumulated favorite points, 286 to be exact. I really should give them out more freely. That got me thinking. If you had only one favorite point to give for all of the caches you have found, or caching experiences you have had, which one would you award your favorite point to and why?

All opinions, comments, and useless drivel I post are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of the WGA BOD.

[MavWittParticipant]

Good question Big Jim,

There are many quality caches in Wisconsin. A lot of which I have yet to find. Of those I have found there are two that really stand out in my mind.

Flower GC2Z442 and The Doctor Is In! GC6YDR6. Since The Doctor Is In! is temporarily disabled I would give the favorite point to Flower.

[jodibeeModerator]

Now that’s just a cruel question…like asking someone which is their favorite child/grandchild/niece or nephew!  I will admit that periodically I have had to wait to award a favorite point to a great cache, because I am out of accumulated points.  If I enjoy a cache due to location, experience or creativity, I like to give a fave point.

I love cemetery caches, so I will give a nod to WSQ: Old Stockholm Cemetery GC1PFEP (archived) which had some very unique features including a metal gate with pineapple finials (“welcome” in a cemetery???), a metal obelisk headstone, and a memorial rock that the grandchildren dedicated to their grandpa where he “sat…and read stories to his children in the early 1900’s”.  Plus, it was an adventure trek with my mom, muddajay!

Another option would be many of the caches I’ve found while traveling outside of the US.  As one friend pointed out, you can pretty much plan a trip to a country by aiming for oldest and top favorite point caches…those generally cover everything you ought to see.  I’ve visited Mayan ruins, Viennese subterranean restrooms, castles, Galapagos islands…everything unique, everything interesting, and it always amuses me when they are hidden basically in plain sight!

But, if I had to pick just one top favorite point, I have to admit that when anyone from my area who is new to caching asks me for a recommendation, I tell them to go for The Sword In The Stone GC27N0W.  It is simple in execution, but brilliant in concept.  While doing it, muddajay asked “are you closing your eyes?”.  Yes, I was.  I was “becoming one with the sword”!  Again, half the fun of the adventure was sharing it with Mom.

Thanks for the question, and the stroll down memory lane!

jodibee

Views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA Board of Directors.

[jks1033Moderator]

Well, I do have to agree with MavWitt that The Doctor Is In! (GC6YDR6) is an awesome cache if you are a Doctor Who fan (we are), but there are so many cache owners out there who have placed creative caches, caches with scenic views and caches that appreciate the beauty of an area.  It’s not fair to their hard work to just narrow it down to one cache.

So, I am going to go to the experience instead.  One of the great things about geocaching is you go caching solo, you can go as part of a group at an event and meet other cachers, or you can cache with other geocaching friends.

 If I only had one favorite point to give, it would be to our epic geocaching road trip with swpickett in August 2020.  It included crossing Lake Michigan on the SS Badger, chartering Captain Mike’s boat to get to Power Island where the oldest cache in Michigan is located, the “off road” road to the second oldest cache in Michigan, zig zagging through various Michigan counties finding caches and Adventure Labs along the way, stopping at the Time for Breakfast with Friends-3 Event in Three Rivers, Michigan to meet other cachers, caching through 17 counties in one day (even catching a cache in Ohio where it boarders Michigan and Indiana, finding the oldest cache in Indiana, zig zagging through a bunch of Indiana counties (and almost running out of gas in the middle of nowhere),  attending a work meeting on my phone while hiking to another old cache (yes, I was on vacation, but it was an important meeting for a large project I was leading), making to Illinois where we stopped in Casey, IL where we saw the biggest Mail Box, Bird Cage, Pencil, Rocking Chair, Key Fob, etc… and found a cache on Dave, the Minion, (GC6QXA6) who had walked off from his previous spot to another spot in town (not at his listed coordinates) where we finally stumbled upon to him (swpickett provided the cache owner with updated coordinates a few blocks away).  If you have kids (or like to see big things) stop by Casey when you pass by on I-70.  It was an adventure we will never forget and embodied what geocaching is all about.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[plevajtModerator]

Greetings BigJim!

That’s a great, however very tough question to answer! If there’s one caching adventure that comes to mind, I would have to say it was the trip to Seattle to GC Headquarters. I was on a trip for work to a week long conference in Seattle with a co-worker/friend. He vaguely knew what Geocaching was so I explained it, and decided to drag him across the city in an Uber to Headquarters. The fun part was explaining to the Uber driver to stop randomly in the middle of the road because “the coordinates say stop here”. Then, the next difficult part was walking into the very nondescript building hoping we were in the correct place. Being the total nerds we are, we luckily passed by a Google office in the same building, which was neat to see as well. Once we arrived, we talked with the staff member at the counter who oddly was also a Wisconsin Native!

As for a Wisconsin specific cache/adventure, I would have to say my favorite find thus far is “Holy Hill What A View (GC7B9H2)”. This cache in the fall provides some spectacular views of the surrounding area.

The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA Board of Directors

[jmj-wiModerator]

Hi Big Jim,

Now that my rotational work weekend is over, I can now think about this tough question.  I’ve given so many favorite points over time because of creativity, unique, location, and experience.  When I was up in Fargo/Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Gilby, ND., I quickly ran out of favorites due to so many worthy ones to give to. 

To the question at hand, about one favorite point, to which cache, and why.  

To keep it in Wisconsin, I will give it to “Pike Power Hike” GC3B1.  This is Wisconsin’s Oldest Active Cache.  Why you ask?  I love a good hike, and this was definitely a challenge for me at the date and time of going after it.  I was breathing hard (also have asthma), my body was tired, and I had a ton of fun with the experience and adventure.  The view was amazing as well.   It was a well earned favorite point from me.

 

 

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