Caching south of the Border

States Trip

Booked some shows down in the states. I originally had one booked in Ellensburg, Wash.,

but then decided may as well do some more shows to make the trip longer and more profitable, so I booked a couple more shows. Ended up making it a 3 day tour to Ferndale,

 then Ellensburg, and end back up this way in Bellingham before coming back across the border back into BC.

I built a list of 47 52 63 caches that I may want to get while down that way. As you can see by the numbers, I kept adding more caches to the list. I have many puzzles that I worked out as I am trying to get 14 puzzle caches in 3 days for a new souvenir that Groundspeak is giving out.

I ended up not getting as many caches as I wanted to get. Several were in areas that there was so much snow. The Pass(Steven's Pass) that I had to go over to get to Ellensburg which is in the Snoqualmie Mountain area(Home of the A.P.E. Cache and the Snoqualmie Tunnel) was shut down the night before I had to cross it. Luckily they had plows working all night to get it clear. I made it to Ellensburg early and was able to set up and check into my hotel.

I found a cache in Ellensburg called "Kleinberg Caboose" with 106 favorite points. It was a big huge electrical box

and it had a lock on it and they gave you the four digits but they didn’t say what the four digits order was so you had to figure it out yourself. When I first got there, I started to monkey around with it a little bit, trying a few different combinations out of random order, and didn’t seem like it was going too fast for me so I went back to the vehicle and asked Google for all the combinations using those four numbers, and it’s spat out 24 different combinations. I went back and systematically went through them one by one and when I got to the 17th code, the cache box opened. If I would’ve started from the back end of the numbers, It would’ve been way faster. LOL

This was the container opened, after figuring out the Combination. Full of swag!!!

The next day I headed back to Bellingham for my 3rd show in the states, and was able to find many more Puzzle caches to complete the 14 that I needed. In total I only found 14 puzzles, 3 Traditional's, 1 Wherigo cache, and 1 Adventure Lab with 5 stages. 23 total finds out of the 63 I had on my list. lol. 

That's OK though as I go down to the states often, and will get more next time.

PS: On the right hand side of this webpage is where you can find my YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

Blue Switch day, AKA the day Geocaching was born!!!

Have you ever thought about what makes GPS possible?
With the flip of the “Blue Switch,” or Selective Availability, GPS became dramatically more accurate, and a new kind of adventure known as geocaching became possible, turning the whole planet into a playground.
Before Selective Availability was discontinued, the U.S. government made GPS less accurate for everyone except the military, for national security reasons.
On May 2, 2000, the decision was made to discontinue Selective Availability, ending the intentional restriction on civilian GPS accuracy and significantly improving GPS technology for public use. This date is recognized by geocachers as “Blue Switch Day.”
The first geocache was hidden on May 3, 2000, marking the beginning of geocaching—a journey full of innovation and experimentation. Today, there are 3.4 million geocaches in 191 countries.

NOTE: The highlighted or underlined words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!! Also if you click on any of the pictures they become BIGGER!!!

Puzzle Event

Went to an event called puzzles: lets put our heads together

It was a 2 hour event which was attended by about 12 people helping each other figure out puzzle caches they have been working on. Always nice to get some insight into puzzle caches. I was given a few hints to help solve 2 caches I've been wanting to get just beyond Blaine, Washington. They are a part of a 25 puzzle series called the X-Men series. I have figured out and found all but the last 2.

Next month, I will be heading to the States a couple of times for a few shows.....But more about that in Next months Blog....

Well that's it for this month!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

The Shortest Caching Month!!

 More Traveling!!

Went to Semiahmoo Resort and Spa just past Blaine, Wash. on Jan. 27th for a Walkaround Gig. I did some walkaround for this same company 2 years ago. I love weekday gigs and repeat clients.

Went down early of course so I could grab a few caches.

Susan and I were here back in 2022 so most of the caches here, I have already found.

From several of the caches in the area you could see Canada. Here is a picture of White Rock from one of the caches I got.

This was a cool cache. Took me a little bit to find it. I eventually picked it up to see if the caches was hidden under it and saw that it was inside the piece of driftwood

You can see the underside in the next picture.

NOTE: The highlighted or underlined words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!! Also if you click on any of the pictures they become BIGGER!!!

PS: On the right hand side of this webpage is where you can find my YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

Ucluelet Trip

Booked a gig over on the island in Ucluelet on the west side of the island. 

Went out there early to do some caching and meet up with a couple other magicians in Nanaimo on my way thru for a chat.

Was able to find 8 Traditionals, 1 Puzzle Cache, and 1 Virtual cache

Kamloops Trip

Booked 2 shows in Kamloops on Saturday Feb. 21st

Headed out early of course so I could grab a few caches. 

This was a Gadget Cache in Merritt. There is a old road in Merritt that has several Gadget Caches along it.

If you are ever in the area, I suggest checking it out!!

This one was called "It's a Flush"

Inside the tiny Outhouse was the toilet, and gameboard to figure out the code to the lock.

Took me a bit longer to do this than I wanted to as there was snow in the area and a bit chilly in the shade

Also on the way home Sunday morning I swung thru Hope to grab several.

While looking for this one a couple of muggles walked up and showed me where it was. They said they were gonna get into caching, they just have to download the app.

This one is called "The Watcher of Hope"

He is staring at the cache, but the funny thing about this statue is the other side as you can see in the next picture

Found only a total of 7 caches only on the 2 day trip, but they were all cool caches. I am about the quality, not the quantity!!!

Next month, I will be heading to the States for a few shows.....But more about that in Next months Blog....

Well that's it for this month!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

Happy New Year

 Caching into the New Year!!

New Years Eve in the States!!!

Booked a NYE gig down in Bellingham, Wash.

Susan and I headed down early to grab several caches before my event. Susan is on crutches right now, so we had to just do some drive up and easy to get to caches.

We were able to get 1 Virtual, 1 Letterbox cache, 1 Whereigo, 1 puzzle cache and several Traditional caches for a total of 19 caches.

PS: On the right hand side of this webpage is where you can find my YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

The Year End Stats are in!!!

Every Year Groundspeak sends out a snapshot of your yearly stats, and it's always a cool thing to look at:

Here’s a look at some stats more specific to you and how you geocached in 2025:

644   This is your total number of finds in 2025. We bet you found some pretty cool caches along the way!

GCGA0N   This is the oldest placed cache you found in 2025. This cache was waiting for that special moment when you logged it!

Snapshot! Say Cheese! Did you share images in your logs? Take a walk down memory lane:

This is the first image you posted in 2025. Aww, do you remember that moment?

This is the last image you posted in 2025. It’s like it happened yesterday!

12   This is the number of distinct cache types you logged during the year. You really aimed for variety!

Adventure Lab® Cache   Adventure Lab® Caches were your top cache type in 2025! You don’t follow the status quo and aren’t afraid to try new things. Way to go on creating your own path!

2   This is the total number of countries you cached in 2025. You explored geocaches far and wide!

GCA2025 9044 Favorite points This is the most Favorited cache that you found in 2025. Take a walk down memory lane and revisit what made this cache so special!

7   This is the number of Events you attended in 2025. Oh, the places you’ve been and the geocachers you’ve met!

17   This is the number of souvenirs you received in 2025. There are more souvenirs out there! See a list of all the souvenirs you could earn.

10/9/2025 130 finds This was your busiest caching day of 2025. You were on a mission!

81   This is the total number of days you geocached in 2025. Way to fill in that calendar!

23   This is the number of Favorite points you awarded to geocaches. You had lots of love to give and you didn’t hold back!

46   You received this many Favorite points on your owned caches in 2025. The community really loves your geocaches!

56   This is the number of Treasures you collected in 2025. How many will you collect in 2026?

5   This is the number of geocaches you hid in 2025. Thank you for contributing to your geocaching community!

2025 wasn't too bad for caching. Found 644 finds this past year, not too bad. 

Oldest cache I found this past year was a Virtual in Santa Barbara, California when I got off the cruise ship for a few hours. 

12 different distinct cache types, Only 81 caching days though, that's not that many. Might need to get out more often this year. 

When I read on my 2025 stats from above that I did 130 finds in one day, I was like..."When did I do that??"

I then looked to see that it was the date I was flying back home from San Diego after my 5 days on a cruise ship, and I did 26 Adventure Labs at the Airport. The crazy part was I did all 130 finds in less than 30 minutes. Must be a record for sure!! Lol

Booked a private Party in Anacortes, Wash. this month, so I headed down early so I could grab a few caches. Took Susan with me as well.

Here is a pic of a cool looking downspout found near a cache called Gutters.

Found a total of 1 Puzzle cache, 1 multi, and 14 traditional caches

NOTE: The highlighted or underlined words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!! Also if you click on any of the pictures they become BIGGER!!!

Next month, I will be heading to Vancouver Island over to Ucluelet on the west side of the island for a show.....But more about that in Next months Blog....

Well that's it for this month!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65