The Go Day press release from 2009 stated that today’s kids are more likely to live shorter lives due to their parents inactive indoor lifestyles and evidenced by the obesity epidemic in children we are seeing grow with each passing year. A disturbing thought to say the least. In an effort to combat this problem GO Day events “will offer a mix of information centers and “active fun” areas – places where guests, and especially kids, can use a fishing pole, go geocaching, help pitch a tent and more. The sites will provide photo opportunities with characters like Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl and other interesting creatures. Many sites also feature areas that focus on other aspects of healthy living, including sustainability and good nutrition. In addition to the GO Day events, participants will be invited to nearby follow-up activities called EchO events occurring throughout the summer, which include introductions to mountain biking and fly-fishing, hikes with rangers to see wildlife, kayaking and rafting and much more.” according to the National Get Outdoors website. Each partner in this effort deserves a massive round of thanks for attempting to combat the current epidemic of obesity in this country.

David Sikes of Texas in his recent article on caller.com entitled Key to happy, healthy child might be in the woods, references a book by Richard Louv, The Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Sikes states, “Louv suggests that children with a more intimate relationship with nature are less likely to suffer from obesity, attention disorders and depression. I further contend that hunting, fishing, paddling, camping and other wilderness activities provide children with a lasting perspective on life that cannot be found on a television or computer screen.” I have to agree with him on this, but not just for children.

Whatever our age, an active lifestyle has massive benefits including reduced stress, improved sleep, better muscle tone, improved posture which helps ease back pain and healthier immune systems. Additional benefits are seemingly side effects, but are actually just as important as the physical benefits already mentioned. By being outdoors and interacting with nature, seeing wildlife in it’s own habitat as opposed to a zoo or computer screen, cements within us a bond to the land and it’s creatures that is lasting. We come to realize that we are not just observers of an eco-system; we are a participants of “the eco-system”. What we do matters. I can’t think of a better way to actually feel the truth of this, than by being outside in a space that is bigger than us. A space that is still mostly wild. A place where we as humans are not the main focus of the spaces existence. So this Saturday, June 12, 2010, drag yourself away from the screens in your life and got to a local GO Day event or visit a State or National Park with your kids. You won’t regret a minute of it.

I feel compelled to attend geocaching events. I really appreciate the time and effort the hosts put in to make them fun and enjoyable. By attending I feel like I am saying “great job” and “thanks” for creating an opportunity for me to get to know more great people and just visit with folks who enjoy the things that I do.

An Event is a fixed time and place and if you miss it, there is no tomorrow. A geocache? Well, that will be there next week when I’ll have more time. At least that is what I tell myself. (But really when do any of us really ever have more time?)

It seems like I need to have a mountainside fall on me to get me to actually step away from all of the little things that seem so important, like laundry, housecleaning and oh yeah, work, to get me to go outside and caching. Going caching alone is often just the ticket I need to sooth my soul. I get a great sense of peace just hanging out in the nature that surrounds me on a mountainside or in a great park. Other times, I just have more fun caching with friends. And Geocaching Events are the place to make Geocaching Friends.

So, thank you to all my geocaching friends, old and new, for brightening so many of my days this last week. Which brings me to my icons!

I was lucky enough to attend three “10 Years!” geocaching anniversary events last weekend.

10 Years! – Tacoma, WA (GC26TQB) 10 Years! – Seattle, WA (GC25617) 10 Years! – Olympia, WA (GC273T6)

I had a blast at each and every one!

Picked up a webcam cache while out running errands.

Phatboyz…Go dogz (GCH3NT)

And finally was able to do my first Earthcache!

It’s the Water…and a Parking Lot, Too! (GC1B9WN)

Not a bad geocaching week! Enjoy your weekend and Happy Caching!

When I first learned about geocaching one of the things that galvanized it in my being was the fact that “Cache In Trash Out” was part of it’s philosophy. This year will be the first year since I started geocaching that I will not be working on a CITO weekend. I’m really looking forward to being able to attend my first CITO event. Along the Cache In Trash Out lines, a couple of news stories have recently caught my eye and raised my concerns about geocacher saftey during CITO events this year.

The first one was a story in the “Tacoma News Tribune” by John Dodge entitled Beach cleanup April 17 – watch for bad pesticide canisters. Expended 1-liter aluminum canisters containing Aluminum Phosphide, a fumigant used on ships to kill insects and pests in the cargo holds, are washing ashore along the Washington coastline. So far, all of the canisters found have had the the caps on. When a cap is removed and the contents exposed to air, the result is Toxic Phosphide Gas. The gas has a strong garlic odor. I’m not sure which bothers me more: the fact that closed canisters are arriving on shore, or that, open ones, may be sunk just offshore. Either way, anyone doing cleanup along the coast should know about the dangers involved. Make sure to read the news article “here” for information on what to do if you find one of these canisters and who to contact when you do.

Kalamazoo Enforcement Team

The latest and increasingly popular way to make meth requires little space, common household ingredients, a few plastic water or soda bottles, some tubing, duct tape and just a few tablets of pseudoephedrine found in cold and allergy medications. Everything fits nicely into a little cooler to make them easily transportable, usually riding around in the car with the user. These little mobil labs can make about 8 grams of meth in a shot. Not a lot, but enough to make this method of “cooking” viable for the meth user. When the process is complete, the toxic chemical waste product leftovers are simply wrapped in a plastic bag and tossed out the car window. More often than not landing on a roadside near you and me.

These little mobile labs can also easily be set up on public lands and in large woodland parks. The toxic waste products are just left to contaminate the soil and groundwater and become a serious danger to animal and human alike. If and when they are found, a Hazmat team must be called to “clean” the site.

The “trash labs” trash, blends in well with the “normal” carelessly discarded items and it is easy to mistake a soda bottle full of toxic chemicals for old discarded bottles of soda. The difference is the the explosion factor.

In Saulny’s NY Times article, Paul G. Matyas, the undersherriff in Kalamazoo County, Michigan states: “Well, that’s not pop. You pick it up, and it could explode. Acid could spill and burn you. At one of the sites about a week ago, we found a dead deer, and I know exactly what happened.”

So make sure you know what it is that you are picking up this CITO season. If you are unsure what you are looking at, err on the side of caution. If you find anything suspicious, please contact your local authorities to have the items removed and disposed of properly. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt and at the same time, we want to make sure that soda bottles full of toxic chemicals don’t accidentaly end up in the recycling or trash bins.

This year is also a big milestone for Earth Day and the EPA. They both turn 40. You can learn more about their history here: Earth Day Turns 40.

It’s hard to believe that 40 years have passed since my first Earth Day. I was 5 at the time and my kindergarten teacher made sure it was a memorable event for all of us. (Thank you for that Ms. Jenkins!) I remember to this day being so excited to think that I, as a child, could help make the world a better place! It was my first CITO really, even though it was just picking up liter around the school campus, I felt like I was part of something bigger that was happening in the world for the very first time. I’ve never lost that feeling. It changed me.

Now 40 years later, I am still part of something bigger. Only the number of bigger things has changed; Earth Day, Geocaching and CITO. From 1970 to 2010 I can see that the world is indeed a much cleaner and healthier place. We have gotten smarter about our envirnoment and our impact on it. And while I am still picking up other peoples trash 40 years later, some of it much more dangerous than the gum wrappers from you childhood days, I can see a difference. So I’ll keep going. Doing what I can, where I can, and as smartly as I can this CITO season. At the end of the day I’ll feel good about what was accomplished and my part in it. I hope you will too.

Note: If you have any other warning or information on things to watch for during cleanups, please post in here in the comments section. Thanks~

The Groundspeak Geocaching, CITO and 10years Logo are registered trademarks of Groundspeak, Inc. Used with permission.

Help Us Get the Word Out!!

To do my part in helping to spread awareness for Gewoodstock VIII, I created a little folded flyer called a Zine. I chose this format instead of a regular old piece of paper just because they are fun to find and fun to give. The finished size is 2.75 x 4.25 inches and two of them fit nicely into a 4 x 5 zip-lock bag.

I put two in a bag so there is one for someone to keep and one for them to place in another cache to keep the message moving. There is a space on the back for you to fill in your caching name and I leave the other one blank for the finder to fill when they drop it into the next cache.

It’s a two page PDF file. The first page is the flyer and the second is the folding directions for those who are new to the format.

PRINTING SUGGETIONS: Please make sure that your print settings are set to “NO SCALING” when printing this document. If they are not, you will have a very hard time folding the flyer and having it line up correctly.

New Puzzle Caches

Not that Washington doesn’t already have more than enough ammo cans stashed in the woods, but 13 local cachers have been very busy making sure that your visit here to Geowodstock will be caching heaven. The most recent series of caches definitely caught my eye!

The “PEACE SIGN SERIES” uses 42 separate puzzle caches to create this lovely array. Now, here’s the kicker… 21 of the 42 caches contain a clue to the final cache in the series: PEACE SIGN SERIES #43: THE FINAL – GC24NBA. This should keep all puzzle lovers very happy come July! I know it has tickled my fancy quite a bit!

New Event Listing

Another recent Geowoodstock related event was published recently. The Lost & Found Celebration – GC24GYW – Hosted by the Groundspeak Lackeys. It’s July 4th, the day after Geowoodstock. They are asking for will attend logs before finalizing arrangements for the event so be sure to visit the page as soon as you can.

Well, that’s enough for now. It’s Tuesday and ya’ll know what that means. And today… I’m thinkin’… Road Trip!

Happy Caching!

One of the things I love about caching is geocoins. I got a surprise at the registration table for the event… A “Groundspeak Lackeys 2009″ Geocoin! It’s little surprises such as this that make going to events so worthwhile for me. It seems someone always has a coin for sale or a signature item to give. So, not only do I get to meet the actual person that goes with the names I see in the logbooks, I often get a memento as well. The other coin I procured from the PacSci Gift shop is a beauty. I knew this one was going to be available at the event thanks to my twitter and facebook friends. (Thanks guys!) This one was a bit pricey as coins go, at $14.99, but who can resist Signal the Frog! If you are interested in having one of these coins, it is available online at the Pacific Science Center’s Online Store.

Other than the event which was spectacular, my favorite part of my visit to the Center itself, was the Butterfly exhibit. What a beautiful collection of those magical creatures! I’ll definitely make more than one visit to this exhibit next year! Visit pacsci.org for a listing of current events and exhibits. It’s a great place to take the kids, and yes, you are a big kid too, and spend the day imagining, exploring and experiencing!

My first visit to Seattle was a good one. A great event shared with fellow geocachers and friends, the iconic sights of Seattle (the Space Needle is a few hundred yards away from the Science Center) and butterflies! Who could ask for more?! I think a huge “Thank You” is in order to the Minotaur Mazes Crew, Groundspeak and Lackeys, Trimble, The Washington State Geocaching Association, and especially to the staff at the Pacific Science Center for letting us geocachers over-run their facility and for being so helpful while we were doing it!