Say Hello to The New Year

 Happy Holidays Mission 2023

So at the beginning of November I saw this on the Geocaching Forums:

HO HO HO... Time as come to think about the Happy Holidays mission....

Happy Holidays Mission 2023
You only need to send one non-activated trackable geocoin (no micros and no travel tags) and a nice Christmas card. I'm sure a lot of you will be very happy with that simple mission 

 

So, everyone who is interested, please e-mail me your caching name, your real name, your address and your e-mail addy. I will choose by random who sends a coin to who. The person you send the coin to is not the person you receive your coin from unless I make a mistake.  You may have to send overseas but it's only a card and a coin so, it shouldn't be that expensive. It's Christmas time after all so, who cares 

 

If you want to add some tags, trinkets, stickers, chocolate, it's up to you but it's not mandatory. Just keep in mind that shipping can get expensive if you send a large package 

You can participate more than once if you want to.

Happy Holidays 

Laval-K9

Apparently she has been setting this up for several years now.

I decided to participate as it sounded like fun, and in the Christmas spirit of giving!! You are given a random name and address, and you send some stuff to them. And someone gets your name and address and you receive stuff from them.

I sent out a cool coin from a past Geowoodstock, some pins, a TB tag, stickers, and some other cool swag. 

The pictures below were all the goodies I received!! 

Some statistic's on this years mission:
 
There are 98 geocachers participating this year for a total of 118 missions 
 
USA 80
Canada 23
The Netherlands 7
Portugal 2
Spain 2
Norway 2
Denmark 1
England 1

This was such a cool coin I received, It is a steampunk Eagle. The tracking code is SP1Z37.

Please feel free to Discover it, as I will not be sending it out, it will go into my collection.

I will be participating next year for sure!!!

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!!!

New Year's Eve show

I booked a show on New Year's Eve at the Quil Ceda Creek Casino in Tulalip, Washington. On the way down we grabbed several caches as well as on the 1st day of the year coming back home. On the way down we found 7 traditional caches, 3 multi's, 2 Adventure Labs, and 4 puzzles caches with 2 of them being Challenge caches. One of the challenges I got, I finished the challenge on this trip.

The challenge I completed was to find 50 caches that started with "Welcome to" 

Before the trip I only had 48, so I got two more on this trip to complete the challenge in Arlington.

Just chillin' with my rock!!

These little rock movers were a stage of an Adventure Lab.

V.I.P. New Years Eve Party at Quil Ceda Creek Casino

This was the stage in the Venue I performed at on New Years Eve. It was a private VIP event in the Casino.

On the way back towards the border we got 8 more Traditional's, 1 more multi and 2 puzzles with one of them being a challenge cache, and 2 more AL's.

Mountlake Terrace Trip

Had another show across the border and was able to grab several caches

We visited the Marysville water tower twice when we were here for New Years eve, as there was a cache here, so we grabbed it. And then we had to come back as it was a stage of an Adventure lab.

I swung by here again during this trip, as I grabbed a challenge cache nearby, and spotted the tower all lit up, so stopped to grab a 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!!!

I was able to grab 1 adventure labs plus a bonus cache. 2 Traditional caches, and 2 Challenge caches.

Geocaching Charted 2023 Earlier this year, we charted a course towards success for our 2023 geocaching goals. Now, we’ve finally reached our destination and made many great geocaching memories along the way!   Let’s take a look back at your geocaching stats for the full year. Whether you were all about the numbers or just here to make memories, this email will show you where you’ve been and maybe just help you plan where you want to go in 2024.   Without further ado, let’s get charted… 717   This is your total number of finds in 2023. We bet you found some pretty cool caches along the way! 8   This is the number of distinct cache types you logged during the year. You really aimed for variety! Traditional Cache   Traditional Caches were your top cache type this year! They’re popular for a reason, and the backbone of the great hobby we call geocaching. Way to stay true to yourself! 4         This is the total number of DNF (Did Not Find) logs you posted this year. Way to log your DNF’s! This is the best way to inform cache owners and other finders that a cache may be extra difficult to find or is possibly missing. 2   This is the total number of countries you cached in this year. You explored geocaches far and wide! GC7B7E3 567 Favorite points This is the highest Favorited cache that you found in 2023. Take a walk down memory lane and revisit what made this cache so special! 13   This is the number of Events you attended this year. Oh, the places you’ve been and the geocachers you’ve met! GC7932   This is the oldest placed cache you found this year. This cache has been waiting for that special moment when you logged it! This is the first image you posted in 2023. Aww, do you remember that moment? This is the last image you posted in 2023. It’s like it happened yesterday! 2023-07-09 48 finds This was your busiest caching day of 2023. You were on a mission! 119   This is the total number of days you geocached in 2023. Way to fill in that calendar! 17   This is the number of Favorite points you awarded to geocaches. You had lots of love to give and you didn’t hold back! 6   This is the number of geocaches you hid this year. Thank you for contributing to your geocaching community!

Virtual Rewards

In 2023 I did all the requirements to have an opportunity to receive a Virtual Reward and get the chance to place a virtual cache:

This was the message I received from Groundspeak HQ:

You were randomly selected to receive a Virtual Reward Cache from Geocaching HQ. We selected your account from those that had a geocache published in 2023 with four or more Favorite points. Thanks for hiding a quality cache in 2023!

Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. 

I've already come up with a placement for it in Las Vegas, but I have a year to place it, so I may try to find something closer to home.

Heading to Seattle at the end of the month for a show, and will grab several caches on the way down and when in Seattle. But more about that in next month's blog.

Well that's it for this month!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

I love to Travel

Bella Bella Trip

This Christmas Season I got to do a fair bit of travelling to shows. I flew up to Bella Bella for a show. It is 145km North of the top of Vancouver Island, which is about 480km away from me.

 If you recall from last months blog I was sad as I looked on geocaching and there was no caches in Bella Bella. 

After a quick flight, I got picked up at the airport, and got a quick tour of the town.

This was the actual plane I flew up in, not the one above. lol

Water Taxi

Well as it turns out, after flying there, and after my tour of Bella Bella, I hopped on this boat and it took me on a 9 minute ride over to the community of Shear Water, which is on a different Island.

This was were I would spend the night and do my show.

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!!!

And since my show was over on the Shear water side of the community, there was 4 caches in the area close to where I was staying. I went and grabbed one that was nearby. Yay!!!

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!!!

Silver Reef Casino Magic Trip 

Had a show at the Silver Reef Casino in the Ferndale, Washington area and Susan came with me. We grabbed several caches including an earthcache about Tsunami's at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Building.

I used to have an earthcache in Victoria about Tsunami's but had to archive it when the sign got taken down after being vandalized.

Bellevue, Washington Magic trip

Had a Corporate show in Bellevue at "Mox" in a speak easy inside the restaurant. 

Was able to get this awesome cache before the show called "Lesson for Urban Geocaching"

As you can see it was a Newspaper box but on the front window there was a FTF Magazine cover. This was no ordinary Newspaper box.

It needed a 9 Volt battery to open the electronic lock. Luckily for me there was one in a small box magnetized to the side of the Newspaper box.

Redmond and Woodinville Trip

I got to do a show one morning for Microsoft and my second show in the evening was for Google employees.

I grabbed 2 caches in between shows.

Prince George Trip

Just like this statue at the Vancouver airport, I have been rushing from show to show, and although this month has been a hectic month and very busy with lots of shows and lots of travelling, I enjoy it when it is busy and can only hope to be busier in the future!!

I only got one cache while in Prince George. It was a virtual cache called "Mr. P,G."

Mr. PG is a mascot for and monument in Prince George, British Columbia. He was first constructed in 1960 as a symbol of the importance of the forestry industry to the city. He currently stands at the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 16. He is 8.138 m (26.70 ft) tall and his head is 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) in diameter. The original was constructed out of wood but the current replacement is made mostly of painted metal. For both versions his head was, and is currently, fabricated from a spherical plastic septic tank.

Mr. PG's first appearance occurred on May 8, 1960, at a Rotary International conference taking place at the Simon Fraser Inn. Later that year, he took part in the Prince George May Day parade and could speak and bow. In 1961, he was entered in the Kelowna Regatta and the Vancouver PNE Parade, and also travelled to Smithers. Two years later, he appeared in the 1963 Grey Cup parade. In 1970, he was installed at his current location, the intersection of Highways 16 and 97.

Mr. PG was trademarked by the City in 1985. In 1997, children's performer Al Simmons, wrote a song about him titled Mr. PG. In 2009, Canada Post featured him on a stamp.

Despite his forest industry roots, Mr. PG echoes a resounding commitment to supporting a brighter tomorrow through various initiatives, proudly showcased through his distinctive clothing and fluttering flags.

At the end of this month on New Year's Eve, I will be doing a show in Tulalip at the Casino there. Susan is gonna come with me and we will head down early to grab some cool caches as well as on the way home on New Years day, but more about that and more in next month's blog..........

Well that's it for this month!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65