The H.A.G.

Looking for the H.A.G Caches

Susan and I decided to make our way over to Vancouver Island and the Victoria area to grab some H.A.G. caches. The H.A.G. is a yearly event that takes place the first weekend of February. Hundreds of caches are hidden starting in November and are all published on the first Saturday in February. This year there was roughly 400 new caches published for the HAG up and down Vancouver Island.

On the Friday after we got to the island we went and grabbed a few cool local caches. We started with a Virtual downtown Victoria in Chinatown called "Fan Tan Alley"

Welcome to Fan Tan Alley - the narrowest street in North America and a portal into Canada's oldest Chinatown, first settled in 1858! At its narrowest point the street is only 0.9 meters (35 inches) wide, so that a child can place a hand on the brick walls on either side. Fan Tan Alley is 73 meters (240 feet) long, running between Fisgard Street and Pandora Avenue. This street is so unique that it's been featured in Hollywood movies and children's books.

Although today Fan Tan Alley is a tourist destination, it wasn't always the kind of place you would want to go for a casual stroll with the family. Back in the mid-1800's the street was a popular place for a variety of less-than-legal activities, with gambling and opium dens common. In fact, the street drew its name from the Chinese gambling game "Fan-Tan". In the late 1970's a revitalization project turned the alley into the popular tourist spot that is it today. It may be so busy on the day you visit that you'll be forced to turn sideways to squeeze through the route.

Most of the doors here are like this one where the address is a half number like 23 1/2 (This is NOT the one you need for the answer on the cache page)

We then headed across the Johnston Street Bridge. I used to live in Victoria for several years, and the last time I was here it was blue and very ugly looking(See pic)

But not today, this is what the new bridge looks like!!!

We made our way to the "Landsharkz Store" where they sell all things geocaching. It is run by some friends of mine. If you are in town, check them out, or if you need to order some geocaching supplies,  check out their website at the link above. They even have a very cool cache out front called "Geocaching News - Read all about it!'

Susan opening up the cache

We then made our way over to Ogden Point Breakwater, to do a virtual cache.

It was a nice walk out to the end of it and we even saw some seals playing.

 

On Saturday we were up at 4:30am (Maybe from the excitement of knowing a few hundred caches where going to pop up near us. We got ready and headed out by 5:30am. We headed over to East Sooke Park as I had a hunch several would be published there. As we sat and waited, a cache was published a few km's away from us. We took a chance and drove over to the spot. We parked and it was only 100 metres away. We headed into the trail and then we realized it was up a steep hill. We started climbing up, we didn't realize at the time it was not only 100 metres away, but it was about 80 metres up. We got to the spot and also noticed, now caches were being published in the park where we were just 10 minutes ago. We got our first FTF of the day at 8:36AM. A quick sign of the blank log and head back down. Sprint to the car and head back to our spot, still an empty parking lot...YAY!! As we were gearing up to head down the trail, another cacher drove into the parking lot. We decided to all go together. We did the entire loop in the wind and rain, and partway thru the hunt my geocaching app crapped out. Good thing Susan had her phone. We got back to the parking lot after 3 hours of hiking on hilly, rocky, slippery terrain, and we said goodbye to our new caching friend Erniert and then headed down the road. We were heading towards the Ferry terminal, when I noticed there was a couple of new caches near Langford Lake that had not been logged yet. Yup...you guessed it, off we went.

We got there and started looking when all of a sudden another cacher was coming up the trail....It was Erniert again. lol

We finally spotted it and realized it was up the tree about 30 feet above us.

Can you see it???

 

Ernie said his partner was on her way there with an extending pole with a hook. We waited a short time and then she arrived as well as other cachers. By now there was about 8-10 of us that would share the FTF!!! We looked for another one nearby but with about 13 people looking and spending a good 30 mins, we decided to head out. 

 Here is a closer look!! Of the 20 caches we did today, this was the coolest for sure as all the others were just micro's or smalls with a basic hide.

Not a bad day after all that, About 5-6 km's of walking and getting soaked, but fun was had.

I got a total of 5 caches on Friday evening, and 20 caches on Saturday, 18 of which were FTF's, 1 STF(Second to Find) and one older existing cache. And we also DNF'd 5 caches

The cool thing is the 18 FTF's in one day is a new record for me!! YAY!!!

 

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!!!

Locationless Cache

A new Locationless cache was published by Groundspeak. Its here for the rest of the year, but get it soon!! Check it out at: "Lets improve the outdoors-Locationless Cache"

At the time of writing this, there has been over 4000 logs so far and its only been live for 6 days

Join geocachers around the world to improve the outdoors, celebrate 20 years of geocaching, and log a rare cache type in 2021! This HQ-owned cache provides a unique opportunity to contribute to environmental improvement and protection efforts in a way that’s most meaningful and safe for you.

How to participate:

Participate individually or with a small group (after checking the current guidance from public health authorities). The possibilities are endless, but could include:

• Clean up garbage in your neighborhood or favorite walking path.
• Join an existing community effort to remove invasive species, plant trees, and improve parks.

YouTube channel

So for a little while now, Oliver and I have been doing videos while caching and I have loaded a few up onto our NEW YouTube channel so far. He wanted to start a YouTube channel of his own for caching videos, so I have set one up for us. If you want to check out our progress so far and give us some feedback that would greatly be appreciated. Here are links to 2 of the videos:

"December Geochallenge of the Month"(I wrote about this challenge in last months blog)

"Magicman65 finds his 5000th cache"

Please check these out and our new YouTube channel, and comment on the videos, and subscribe to our channel. As I get better with editing, they will look a little nicer. lol

Wanna get lots of FTF's???

Many people have been asking the question how to set up to receive notifications of newly published caches via text. The information from Geocaching blog and myself below will help you do this. 

How do I set up instant notifications to let me know when a new geocache is published (only applicable to Premium Members)?

You can custom build notifications under Premium Member features.

1. Go to the Add Instant Notification page
2. Name the notification
3. Choose a cache type to monitor (e.g. Traditionals, Events, etc.)
4. Choose the types of logs you want to see (if you are just looking for newly published caches, choose “Publish Listing”)
5. Set the location (central point) and distance (around that point) you want to watch. This is the area you want to cache, I have found New caches in other city's and provinces, and places like Las Vegas. (I make notifications whenever I travel) 
6. Check the email listed in the “Send to” drop-down menu. (If you would like to send Instant Notifications to an alternate email, you will need to manage your email addresses first.) (You can also send the notification to you via a text (SMS) message. See below how to set this up)
7. Check “Enable Notifications”.
8. Select “Create Notification” and you are set!

Text message Notification: To find the email address associated with your phone number:

1. Go to your text messages app and click on new message.

2. Type in your email address as the person you wish to text.

3. Type "Test" or literally anything into the text message.

4. Hit send.

5. Check your email address and you will have the email address associated with your phone number.

 The address will typically include your phone number and the name of your provider: ##########@MobileCarrierName.com

6. Set up a notification exactly like above but instead of your normal email address, use this new one you have.

7. Go get all the FTF's!!! PS...Save some for Me!!!

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!!!

The day after getting back from the Island and HAG Caching, Susan and I went out to grab a few caches, We did 5 caches and all were different types. We did a Traditional, a Multi, A Letterbox, A Locationless cache(1st one I've ever done) and a Cool Earthcache about an Erratic. I have always wanted to create an Erratic Earthcache. I will write more about this in next months blog. Until then, Stay Safe, Wear your Mask, and Wash your Hands!!

Well that's it for this month,

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

California and Nevada caching

So within a 3 week period, I will be traveling to Bellingham, Washington to fly to Los Angeles, California to drive to Carlsbad, California, to play at LEGOLAND with my little boy for 3 days, back to Los Angeles, then fly back to Bellingham, and back into BC, then turn around and head back to Bellingham the next day, then fly to Las Vegas, Nevada. Enjoy Magic Live and Vegas for all its worth for 8 days, then fly back to Bellingham, and back into BC. Then a couple days later, I will fly to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for 3 days, and then back to BC. Whew, I'm tired just writing that. lol
I think I should be able to grab some cool geocaches during all those trips!!

LEGOLAND Trip

My little boy and I headed to LEGOLAND in California for a small vacation. While there, I was hoping to grab several Virtual caches as well as a few traditional caches. One of the Virtuals was in LEGOLAND and you had to visit 9 different locations in the park to get answers. The first cache we went to when we got to LA was a cache called "Skinniest House in America". The Long Beach Historical Landmark that has been featured in the Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley's Believe It or Not. The 10' x 50' lot containing the house was acquired by Newton Rummond as payment for a $100 debt in 1931 during the Depression. Rummond designed and built the Skinny House in 1932 to win a bet that a habitable home could be build on such a small piece of land. This three-story English Tudor Revival house is 10' wide, has a living room that measures 9' x 21', features 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, and boasts 860 square feet of living space. The house is one room wide and has a deck on the third story.

I was excited to see this as there is a skinny house in Victoria, that I have been to, and my friend and fellow Magician owns the "World's Narrowest Freestanding Office Building". It is also in the Guinness World Records and Ripley's Believe it or not books.

Skinny House in Victoria, BC

This house in Victoria, BC is just nine feet wide it's one of the skinniest houses in Canada.

The "Jack Chow Building" at just six feet two inches deep, it is said by Guiness and Ripley to be the world’s narrowest freestanding office building.


We also did a virtual called "Simon Rodia's Dream" which was a very cool structure that was built out of cement, 11,000 pottery shards, 10,000 seashells, 6,000 pieces of colored glass, and 15,000 glazed tiles. It was built back in 1921 and was being restored when we visited.

 Getting some refurbishing.

 During the rest of the trip we grabbed several more caches including a total of 10 Traditional's, 14 Virtual caches, and 1 Multi cache. We spent 3 full days at LEGOLAND having fun or we would have found more.

Oliver and I had a blast at LEGOLAND and as you can see by the pictures, he still likes to pose on top of rocks or in trees. lol

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!!!

Las Vegas Trip

Got home from LEGOLAND, and then turned around and went to Las Vegas for Magic Live, which is a Magic Convention that I have been going to for several years now. There was a new cache in the parking lot of the Orleans Hotel and Casino, which is where we always stay. This was the only cache I was able to get while in town, as I was busy with magic stuff.
A week before we headed to Vegas, the city was overrun by millions of Grasshoppers. It was all over the news. The only grasshopper I saw when I was there actually happened to be at this cache I got. lol

Next months blog I will let you know how I did in Saskatoon, and the adventure that I had....

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

Well that's it for this month,

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

Upcoming Trips and Blogging

Deas Island Caching

On Fathers day, Oliver and I decided to go grab some caches on Deas Island. We started off with a puzzle cache where you needed to find 6 smaller caches with info and clues inside them to find the final. For some reason today we were having no luck and only found 1 of the 4 we went to. We decided to head over and find "NOW......This is FLY FISHING" 
It has over 200 fave points. Met up with 3 ladies on the way there. They were up here caching from Kansas City, Utah. We chatted a bit, and I am sure I will see them next year in Abbotsford at Geowoodstock XVIII.


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!!!

The Great Trail Treasure Hunt is back!!

Lace up your shoes and tune up your bike because the "2019 Great Trail Treasure Hunt" kicked off June 19 with more boxes to be found and more amazing prizes to be won!
Last year’s contest saw hundreds of Canadians from coast to coast to coast take to the 24,000-kilometre "Great Trail" network in pursuit of 100 hidden treasure boxes. This year, they’ve hidden 200 boxes, which means more to explore, and more chances to win. Read on to learn more! 

 This is a pic of me on the last Year's Great Trail Treasure hunt. I found one of the boxes first and won a $100 gift card from Mountain Equipment Co-op and a year long subscription to Canadian Geographic Magazine.

What is the Great Trail Treasure Hunt?

The Great Trail Treasure Hunt is a geocaching-inspired contest aimed at getting Canadians outdoors and discovering all the amazing wildlife, scenery and history to be found along the Great Trail network. As the longest recreational trail in the world, The Great Trail offers a wide range of activities through a variety of landscapes — urban, rural and wilderness, along greenways, waterways and roadways.

 Grabbed a couple of the new caches for the great trail treasure hunt. This year they are doing it a bit different, but still some cool prizes to be had.

Top 50 Geocaching Blogs

I found a site that lists the "Top 50 Geocaching Blogs" out of thousands of blogs, and as I looked thru it I found something cool, as you can see by these pics:

Number 1 spot went to The Geocaching Blog which is direct from Groundspeak.

Number 4 spot went to an Icon in Geocaching, "The Geocaching Vlogger"

Check out who made the 22nd spot. YAY, how cool is that!!! Please read my Blog and follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Google plus, and check out my blog every month!!!

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

Edmonton Trip

I headed to Edmonton, Alberta on July 4th for my Nephew's wedding, and while I was there I did some cool Virtual caches.

Papa, is this our new home?

 Here is the "Great One" and Wayne Gretzky. lol

World's Highest Streetcar Crossing

 Can you see the cache??

I also found a cache called "Ode on a Canadian Urn" which was a cache with just over 200 finds and had 154 Favorite Points, which also helped me achieve the July Geochallenge.

The "Canadian Urn"

 It was a quick 4 day trip, but I had fun.

In Magic News:

On June 15th I competed for the "Peter Reveen Memorial" Variety award out at the Opening Nite Theatre in Mission, BC. I did a couple of mentalism and subliminal bits that I have been working on but have not used on stage as of yet. I thought I would try them out and see how well they do. As you can see by the picture, I think they did just fine!!

2019 Variety performer of the Year

I am looking forward to my upcoming trips where I will be in Las Angeles and Carlsbad, California, then in Las Vegas, Nevada, and then in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan all within the same month!!! Lots of caching planned as well while there. Read about it next month right here!!

Well that's it for this month,

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

BIG NEWS!!!

BIG NEWS!!!

The news of where Geowoodstock XVIII will take place on August 22, 2020 is in!!!
It will be in Canada for the first time ever right here in BC, out in the Fraser Valley at the Abbotsford Trade-X centre. You can log your "will attend" on the cache page "Geowoodstock XVIII"
I went to Geowoodstock VIII back in 2010 and I am looking forward to going to next years Geowoodstock, right here in our backyard!! More exciting news will be added in the following months as the event gets nearer.

"Treasure"

So just recently a movie was released online and DVD about Geocaching. I purchased it immediately and you can check it out at: "Treasure"
Its a story about a girl who loses her way in life, but a new friendship based on the mutual love for Geo-caching and helping out at the local soup kitchen helps her find the meaning of life.
It also has several (at least 10) TB codes placed throughout the movie, for cachers to discover.

Gold Hunt Canada

Some company set up a modern day pirate treasure hunt in 3 cities, including Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver called "Gold Hunt Canada" where you had the chance to find $100,000 in gold and silver coins.
They were selling "Treasure Maps" (Actually a long riddle as you can see below in the first pic)
Plus you could also purchase extra clues (Second pic)

It sounds as if they will be doing the Treasure hunt again, and you can be sure I will be involved next time also. I mean who wouldn't want to take home $100,000!!!



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, Instagram, and Google Plus links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

In Magic News:

A couple of weekends ago I went over to Victoria and I competed in the Victoria Magic circle's competition for the Wansborough Award for Comedy Magic. (I still maintain my membership in the Victoria Magic Circle)
As you can see by the picture of the newest award on my wall, I did win!!!

YouTube channel

So recently Oliver and I have been doing videos while caching and I have loaded a few up onto our NEW YouTube channel so far. He wanted to start a YouTube channel of his own for caching videos, so I have set one up for us. If you want to check out our progress so far and give us some feedback that would greatly be appreciated.

Please check these out and our new YouTube channel at "Caching with Oliver and Chris", and comment on the videos, and subscribe to our channel. As I get better with editing, they will look a little nicer. lol

Well that's it for this month,

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65