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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

asp geobash

A return to ASP Geobash provides an excellent time

June 20, 2014

My first Mega geocaching event was the Allegany State Park Geobash . It was the fourth year of the event in 2009 and it was quest to get that Mega icon.

More than 500 people were at the event and 413 geocachers logged an online find. It was quite cool to see so many geocachers in one place. There were vendors and trading of pathtags/coins and everything else you could think of It was quite cool.

I attended the fifth and sixth years of the event as well, but then unemployment hit and heading out for those two years would have been hard to pull off. Instead, I stuck closer to home and hit the first two Berkshire Geobash Mega events, which were held in Massachusetts, but at the same time much closer.

Found it!

This year, ASP was back on my schedule (along with Berkshire and the hopeful NYC/NJ area one in November). I am glad I had the chance to get back to ASP as I’ve always enjoyed the event. It’s in a nice area and it’s not a bad drive. In fact, for the second, time, I went down and back in one day, sandwiching some geocaching in between.

The weather this year wasn’t a lot of fun, though. It was chilly and rainy, but that’s what can happen in the middle of May in the Northeast.

Still, it was nice to head out there.

It’s always nice to meet a Groundspeak Lackey, and it was neat to do some of the lab caches, which are apparently only at Mega events. They actually count on your statistics, but are not permanent caches.

The only crappy thing is I was just at the end of a cold, so I wasn’t in the mood to do any longer hikes. It was still OK as we did some fun caches on the way down and on the way back from the event.

With everything, though, there are good and bad things. One on the negative side of this event is the lack of vendors. This year there were like five. And while they were all decent, it doesn’t give people a good choice of things to look at. Especially when you consider only one of the vendors was a true geocaching “store.” The other vendors had connections to geocaching, but not the type where you could get coins, or pathtags, or containers etc.

Talking to some in charge, then note they try to get more there. It doesn’t seem like it would be a cost issue, outside of getting to Allegany State Park. But these vendors travel to other places. Do they fear those at this event won’t buy enough to make it worthwhile? I have no answer. But it seems to me that if you have a spot with more than 500-750 people, and all in your niche, it would be smart to try and get there. I had gone down with the hopes of buying a few things, but didn’t find what I had been looking for. That is part of life, though.

I do enjoy the event and next year is the 10th anniversary of the ASP Geobash, so I plan on being there. My hope is to hit 3-4 Megas, including GeoWoodstock next year. I’ve been to one GeoWoodstock and have wanted to go again I plan on trying to find some hotels soon (it’s in Maryland) so I can start planning accordingly.

But no matter what, ASP Geobash will always be a special event for me and as long as they keep having it and as long as I can get there, I plan on going. Hopefully the event will continue to grow and vendors will realize there are geocachers there who would be looking to spend some money, so it would be worth the coming and setting up a mobile shop. I can hope, anyway.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Geocaching, My world Tagged With: allegany state park, allegany state park geobash, asp, asp geobash, caching, caching events, geocaching, geocaching events, geocaching mega events, mega event, mega events

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Geocaching history: Getting to see the Original Can of Beans

May 20, 2014

It’s likely the most famous trackable in geocaching history.

The original can of beans.

For those who aren’t geocachers, the original can of beans is one of the most historical pieces of the game.

The first geocache was placed on May 3, 2000 in Oregon by Dave Ulmer. The original contents included in the black plastic bucket were software, videos, books, food, money and a slingshot. The food included a can of beans.

OCB.

The OCB as it is called among geocachers, is the last remaining piece of that original cache. It was unearthed by Team 360 when the original cache tribute plaque was being installed. According to the travel bug page for the OCB, Ulmer was present during the placing of the plaque and confirmed the item as authentic.

The can was quite damaged as it was partially buried and exposed to the weather, it was carefully straightened out and cleaned. It was also treated with rust stopper and UV-resistant polyurethane, the website notes.

Now, it is taken around to certain events throughout the world so people can see the history. The can is in a clear display case.

I am a pretty big history buff when it comes to hobbies and such I am involved in. Geocaching is no different. I had never had the chance to see the OCB, but it was at the Allegany State Park GeoBash this past weekend and I had the chance to see it, as well as chat with the owner of the item for a bit.

For those of you who aren’t geocachers, it’s understandable to not understand the significance of this item. While it’s true that it’s just an old can of beans – and not in the best shape after the wear and tear of being in the elements of the Pacific Northwest – it’s still a cool piece of history to see.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again, but it’s nice to check it off the “bucket list” of geocaching things to see or do. It’s definitely a cool item to log and to be able to have seen it up close and personal.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Geocaching, My world, Photography Tagged With: allegany state park geobash, asp geobash, dave ulmer, geocache, geocaching, groundspeak, o.c.b., OCB, original can of beans, team 360, trackable, travel bug

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hoohaa29

Writer who loves images just as much as words! In search of perfectly poured pints of Guinness and great hot dogs. Find me on twitter @softball29.

Couldn’t resist stopping on the way to work too Couldn’t resist stopping on the way to work too quickly snap some photos of this scene. Hamden Covered Bridge. #bridge #coveredbridge #hamden #snow #winter #instagood #photooftheday #happy #picoftheday #fun #igers #bestoftheday #life #photo #iphonesia #igdaily #iphoneonly #love #beautiful #photography
A nice day to get out for a hike, grab a #geocache A nice day to get out for a hike, grab a #geocache and place a few. Felt good abs here’s hoping for a much better year!
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