Nominees for NOVAGO’s 2022 Geocache Awards

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Nominees for NOVAGO’s 2022 Geocache Awards Thanks to all those who took the time to send in nominations. While not all nominations were able to make the final cut, we were impressed with every suggestion. The hardworking awards committee have compiled the caches on this list from the very best of 2022. We invite all geocachers to go out and find as many of these wonderful caches as possible. For a geocaching friendly list, CLICK HERE. Click Here to Vote Voting is scheduled to be open for ALL categories April 1-15, 2023. Winners will be announced at our NoVAGO 2023 Spring Picnic and Awards Event on May 6, 2023. Details of the event are in another post. Without further ado, here are the nominees: Best Traditional Cache Gods of Fairfax – Apollo (GC9VQ57) by Djglitterbunz Kindness Rocks TB Hotel (GC9RXFB) by HyperactiveGirl TB Hotel The Green Lodge (GC9K3ZN) by TheWanderesss … Continue reading →

Spotlight Cache: “Name That Tune” Series

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#WorldRadioDay (February 13) Spotlight Cache: “Name That Tune” Series I’d sit alone and watch your lightMy only friend through teenage nightsAnd everything I had to knowI heard it on my radio Radio Ga Ga by Queen, 1984 Nothing brings back the nostalgia of singing along with the radio than a musical quiz of some great pop hits. Today is World Radio Day and we are spotlighting the Wherigo geocache series, “Name That Tune” by MJBinski. This fun series of ten caches was the winner of 2021 Cache Awards for Best Series. The caches themselves are mostly easy finds, but in order to know where to look, you will have to challenge your knowledge of 80s & 90s radio favorites. The best part is that you can download the cartridges to your wherigo app and play them at home. “My wife and I enjoyed remembering all these old songs, so thanks … Continue reading →

Award Categories

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Important! The awards categories have changed. For the nominations and awards being given out in 2024 (for the 2023 caching year) please read the most current post. Each year NoVAGO honors some of the best caches that were placed in Northern Virginia. Nominations are an opportunity for you to recognize the efforts of your fellow NoVAGO cachers who have placed hides that you have enjoyed. This list is meant to help you think of some of the best geocaches you found last year. Best Traditional – The familiar green box on the map, which one made an impression on you? Best Mystery/Puzzle Cache – Whether the puzzle or the mystery was creative, innovative, obscure, devious, difficult, head-banging hard, unbelievably easy in hindsight – or all of those, which mystery or puzzle cache are you still talking about? Best Other (Multicache, Earthcache, Letterbox Hybrid, Wherigo, or Virtual) – These non-traditional cache … Continue reading →

GeoWoodstock XIX – 2023 (GC89GMX)

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GeoWoodstock XIX – 2023 (GC89GMX) is scheduled for May 27th 2023 (Memorial Day weekend) in Owensboro, Kentucky. That’s between Louisville and Evansville on the Ohio River and is 700+ miles driving from our area.  The Event posting says: “GeoWoodstock has been the paramount Mega Event of the year in North America. Come and celebrate as we build a new chapter with rich history in the land of Bar-B-Que, Bourbon, and Bluegrass Music in Owensboro, Kentucky, just 1 hour from where it all began in 2003.” More information is available on GeoWoodstock XIX 2023 – Geocaching Owensboro Kentucky although the registration isn’t open yet and most of the detailed activities haven’t yet been loaded. However there are links to various hotels in the area, and rooms are still available at not too exorbitant rates. Unfortunately there is no camping available at the event but there are sites that may have space about 15 … Continue reading →

Cache Awards Nominations are Coming!

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Coming Soon: 2022 NoVAGO Awards Nominations! NoVAGO cachers, put your nominating caps on! In the next few days, NoVAGO will open nominations to recognize caches published in Northern Virginia during 2022 and to recognize cacher contributions during the year. Nominations will be accepted for a couple of weeks, you will have a few weeks to visit the nominees that you have not found yet, and then a couple of weeks to cast your ballots. Winners will be announced at the NoVAGO Spring Picnic. So, start reviewing your Favorites lists for the past year and be prepared to nominate caches in categories that will include physically challenging hides, devious hides, beautiful locations, nice hikes, and various types, including Adventure Labs. You can also nominate rookies, cachers and volunteers for their accomplishments. We will publish a link on the NoVAGO site and the NoVAGO Facebook pages. This link will take you to … Continue reading →

Spotlight Cache: Wetlands, A National Treasure

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#WorldWetlandsDay (February 2, 2023) Huntly Meadows Park Today, we’re celebrating #WorldWetlandsDay by spotlighting one of Northern Virginia’s favorite wetlands, Huntley Meadows, in Alexandria. This is the largest park operated by Fairfax County, encompassing 1,452 acres of land. The land has a pretty interesting history. In colonial times, it was owned by George Mason. His descendants continued ownership of the land into the 1900s. An entrepreneur purchased it with the intentions of building the world’s largest airport. That didn’t take off (pun intended,) and the federal government snatched up the land for all kinds of testing and experimenting. The Bureau of Public Roads tested asphalt road surfaces and the Navy conducted highly classified radio communication research here. In the 1970s, the federal government declared the land surplus and it was given to Fairfax County for use as a park. Not long after the feds left, the beavers returned, transforming the land and biodiversity. photo by … Continue reading →

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Help With Mystery Caches

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Sunday, January 29th is #NationalPuzzleDay Help With Mystery Caches Do you typically avoid those blue circles with question marks on the map? You may be missing a lot of fun solving the puzzles so here are a few tips that may assist you. If you can identify the type of puzzle, then “GeocachingToolbox.com. All geocaching tools a geocacher needs in one box.” can be a big help. For example, “what3words” is common in mysteries. This tool enables users to enter the 3 words that define the co-ordinates – and it even shows the location on a map. GC8MVT7 uses this technique, but can you find the 3 words? The Toolbox can also be used if you are asked to project a waypoint given the distance and angle (but be careful to use the correct units of measure!). It’s always a good idea when looking at a Mystery page to check … Continue reading →


Meet the New Board & Thank the Volunteers

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Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization is pleased to announce the 2023 board of officers and directors. PRESIDENT – ThompsonKickers VICE PRESIDENT – TheWanderesss SECRETARY – TrexM8s TREASURER – freddiecrs PUPLIC RELATIONS – hrothroc DIRECTORS – DePhogration, CherokeeThree, Pfenix, TheColdedge Every year, we host an event to let you meet our new officers (most of them will be there.) We also use this gathering to thank our outgoing board members, as well as volunteers who have helped make NoVAGO great in the previous year. If you’ve hosted an event in the Northern Virginia area in 2022, we thank you. Special thanks to Nothereeither, Effstop, Zippyfinn, Serrabou, Rufnredy, Awesnap, and most of the people listed above who are staying on from last year. 2022 Thanks! Event (GCA2WX8) January 22, 2023, 2:00-4:00 pm Santini’s New York Style Deli3980 Corsair CtChantilly, VA 20151 … Continue reading →

Spotlight Cache: Burke Lake Park

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#PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay (December 8) Today we’re going back in time to find the oldest cache in Virginia. Welcome to Burke Lake Park (GC175) — did you see how short that GC code is? This cache has been around since December 17th, 2000 – which makes it a favorite visit for those trying to fill in their Jasmer Challenge grid. There’s lots to love about this cache. It is a big ‘ol container. That makes it easier to find for beginners and means it has lots of room for SWAG items inside. It also isn’t too far from the parking and the trail, which means its an easy find on a day where long hikes aren’t possible. If you do want to go for a long hike, though, this is a beautiful park to do so. Burke Lake Park has lots of trails, disc golf, kayaking, picnicking, and more. At time of … Continue reading →