Tim Clark –"What’s Next?" — Late to the party

[Whats Next]

Carole and I began caching in November of 2002 after a coworker (Educ8ors) introduced me to the website. Being a bit of a geography geek, I’d always wanted a GPS, and the idea of finding treasure in the woods really excited my bride. We found our first cache, a Steve Bukowsky virtual, and were hooked.

We’ve seen all sorts of places because of this sport. Some of our favorite places in Green Bay were found in part due to caching, and we love letting strangers provide us with local highlights when we travel.

Our caching experience has changed many times. When we began, there were seven caches in the Green Bay area. It was about the journey, adventure, and discovery. When we wanted to find a bunch of caches, we’d visit the Milwaukee area. As geocaching became more popular, we enjoyed seeing more caches pop up around us. We spent time as numbers people, setting goals for ourselves and seeing what we could accomplish. As with most things, the pendulum swung back. One of my favorite caching times was the three weekends one November that we spent hunting down a 17 part multi with our friends. It might have been the only cache we found that month, but it was an adventure.

Where are we now? We found fewer caches in the last year than ever before. But, we have a wonderful little micro cacher now. We’re definitely selective about what we go out after now. It’s a lot easier to tote the little babe around on the backpack in search of a three part multi than it is to strap her in and out for three separate city park finds. Not that we wouldn’t mind heading out with friends to knock out a dozen finds on a Saturday.

Friends are the important part. Geocaching has introduced us to a lot of fanatastic people, many of whom we feel fortunate to call friends. In September of 04 we hosted our Picnic on the Tundra event, and logged one of our most important finds, meeting our very good friends My_Ashke. The following January we attended the Great Northwoods Gathering and we shared a cabin with a bunch we’d casually known. A lot of finds were logged that weekend, but again the permanent friendships were the highlight.

I don’t believe I bring a specific agenda with my candidacy, but this is something that is important to me. Therefore, I have a responsibility to serve if able, asked, and elected.

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