Blog | Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization | Caching the Capital Region and Beyond

Spotlighting Accessible Caches

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Heather

Spotlighting Accessible Caches Henderson House and Meister’s Mystifying Box National Disability Independence Day #NationalDisabilityIndependenceDay (July 26, 2023) #spotlightcache Today we are spotlighting two caches that are great examples of placing caches with accessibility in mind; in Falls Church, Henderson House – FCCRH (GC3EFEQ) and in Winchester, Meister’s Mystifying Box @ Jim Barnett Park (GC5115R). Read on, to find out what makes these caches great. Henderson House – FCCRH (GC3EFEQ) According to Atlas Obscura, the Henderson House is a Sears Catalog kit home built in 1913. Its owners, Dr. E.B. Henderson and his wife, Mary Ellen Meriwether, were both notable civil rights activists. In front of the little house is a marker noting the historic significance of Henderson’s contributions. The cache page tells more history than can fit on a marker. What makes this cache by cacher zgrav special is the unique way that a regular size container is hidden in … Continue reading →

Spotlight Cache: “Animal Crossing” Series

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Heather

#NationalVideoGameDay (July 8) Spotlight Cache: “Animal Crossing” Series Today we are celebrating America’s love of video games by spotlighting three caches by CWillyPngn. The Animal Crossing Series is three caches. Together they have been nominated in eight categories for the NoVAGO annual cache awards for 2020. One cache, Nook’s Valley, stood above the rest and was voted as Best Kids Cache of 2020. The vilebooty crew finished the series in December, 2020 Animal Crossing: Nook’s Valley – cache award winner, Best Kids Cache Animal Crossing received the following nominations: Animal Crossing – Best Series Animal Crossing: Fossil Hunt – Best Multi-Stage Cache Animal Crossing: Hidden Pond Island – Best Letterbox Cache Animal Crossing: Nook’s Valley – Best Mystery/Puzzle Cache Animal Crossing: Nook’s Valley – Most Outstanding Location/Scenery Animal Crossing: Nook’s Valley – Most Creative Cache Animal Crossing: Nook’s Valley – Cache of the Year … Continue reading →

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Get the 2023 Hider Souvenir

We are about half-way through the year now. Time to consider how you’re doing on your geocaching goals. Did you want to hide a new cache this year? If you hide a cache before December 31st, you’ll get the 2023 Hider Souvenir.

Geocaching ABCs – A Guide for Beginners

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Heather

A – Attributes – know what to expect before you look for a cache. Full list of attributes on geocaching.com. B – Bison Tube – the ubiquitous little pill holder used in many micro hides. The log should be rolled up and placed in the cap, not in the bottom. C – Cache-in-Trash-Out (CITO) – this follows the geocacher’s creed of leaving a place cleaner than when you found it. Join an official CITO event for group clean ups. You can find this special kind of event on your geocaching map or by checking out the local listings on NoVAGO.org D – DNF – this means ‘Did Not Find.’ It is appropriate to log a DNF after you’ve made a good effort to find a cache. It might feel like a defeat, but it can be helpful to other geocachers and the owner to know that it might be missing. … Continue reading →

2023 NoVAGO Spring Picnic

Posted on May 9, 2023 by ThompsonKickers

On Saturday, May 6th 2023 from 10am-3pm, NoVAGO held their annual Spring Picnic. This year the location was at the quite spacious James S. Long Regional Park in Haymarket VA. The park was beautiful and the pavilion was HUGE. Plenty of room with tables to sit at and stage the massive buffet of munchies. Cherokee3 was our lucky host this year and did an amazing job monitoring the cache page and updating the schedule, food list and parking situation. We got quite lucky with the weather today which can be challenging in Northern VA. Sunny, a little breezy with light clouds and temperature in the 70’s. Several board members arrived early and started prepping for fellow geocachers to arrive. Some guests arrived early and started pitching in to help or chatting about. With the charcoal lit, welcome corner ready with name tags, pens & the log book open, the event … Continue reading →

NOVAGO’s 2022 Geocache Award Winners

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Heather

Winners of NOVAGO’s 2022 Geocache Awards Thanks to all those who took the time to send in nominations and also to those who voted. MrPsyduck and Schwandt graciously formed an awards committee and together did the bulk of the work to get the nominations narrowed down and run a ballot. Thank you fellas! At the encouragement of the NoVAGO president, ThompsonKickers, our PR officer whipped up some extra gifts for our winner to go along with the traditional trackable tags. We gathered in James S. Long Regional Park on May 6th, 2023 to find out who would bring home the prizes as well as get to display the special winner’s SWAG on their cache pages. Drum roll, please . . . . And the winners are Best Traditional Cache Kindness Rocks TB Hotel (GC9RXFB) by HyperactiveGirl Best Mystery/Puzzle Cache NoVAGO U: Chemistry 100 & 101 (GC9ZZH5) by hrothroc Best Multi-Cache … Continue reading →

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Photos of the Year (2022)

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Heather

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Spotlight Cache: The Lorton Jazz Festival

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Heather

#InternationalJazzDay (April 30, 2023) Nation’s Most Unusual Jazz Fesival Did you know that for over a decade, some of the greatest names in jazz performed for free right here in Northern Virginia? Even more amazing is that these performances were inside the gates of a federal prison. The names of jazz legends who performed at this festival include Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Charlie Byrd, Oscar Peterson Trio, Count Basie Band, Nancy Wilson, Duke Ellington, Bobby Timmons, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and many more. An unusual aspect of the festival was that little was pre-arranged or pre-staged. Although Father Breitfeller, the Catholic chaplain of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, was the chief organizer of the event, he was more like a talent scout. Father Breitfeller was highly esteemed among the inmates for his years of selfless service. The festival is not … Continue reading →

2022 Special Volunteer Recognition

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Heather

Each spring, NoVAGO recognizes outstanding caches and cachers for their contributions to our game during the previous year. Included in those honors is recognition of the Volunteer of the Year. This year, the Officers and Board of Directors have voted to add a Special Volunteer Recognition. The organization will select a separate Volunteer of the Year from the finalists nominated by the membership. NoVAGO is pleased to announce the 2022 Special Volunteer Recognition for Serrabou and Zippy Finn. These two special members volunteered their time and talents for the 2022 NoVAGO-sponsored NoVAGO U. cache series. They went above and beyond the caching to deliver entertaining games, puzzles, events, and experiences for the participants – and the on-looking caching community. 2022 is not the first year they have wowed northern Virginia – and we hope it will not be the last. When the awards ballot is released in April, the voting … Continue reading →

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SAVE THE DATE! NoVAGO Spring Picnic & Awards

Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization invites you to join our spring picnic. In addition to eating burgers, hot dogs, and potluck sides, there will lots of opportunities to meet nice folks and trade geocaching stories. The award winners for the 2022 Best of NoVAGO will be announced at the picnic as well. Where: James S. Long Regional Park, 4603 James Madison Highway, Haymarket, VA 20169 When: Saturday, May 6, 2022, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Please RSVP on the Event Page.