Presidents Favorite Points ❤️

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2023 @ a Glance (Back)!What happened this year in NoVAGO? Wow, the year has flown right by! I can’t believe the cold weather is upon us. Every winter I want the warm weather, until the green grows in, then I want the cold, then the leaves hide all the caches I want to find. Hopefully everyone had time while the weather was “perfect” to grab some caches this year, there certainly were a lot of great ones published. Before I was elected as NoVAGO President last year I started a list of goals I would love to see happen for us. Our Officers and Directors group also had items on this year’s agenda and I’m happy to say we have accomplished many of those goals and have opened the doors to more! From the outside it may be hard to tell, but we have had many discussions, changes and growth … Continue reading →

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Happy 123sDay Trackable

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To help you celebrate this New Year’s Eve and its doubly cool date – 12/31/23, NoVAGO and MGS are pursuing a joint fundraiser for area cachers. The two groups are working with Oakcoins/GeoSwag to produce three customized versions of the World Wide Group Project Happy 123sDay trackable (https://geoswag.com/product/123123-world-wide-group-project/). The MGS version will feature colors from the Maryland state flag. In the NoVAGO version, the trackable will highlight the blues and greens of the great Virginia outdoors. There will also be an American version featuring red, white and blue. These fundraisers will only be available through MGS and NoVAGO. You can purchase one trackable for $15, two trackables for $25 or three trackables for $35. Your trackables will be delivered during NoVAGO and MGS caching events on New Year’s Eve. By November 13, please share your purchase plans with NoVAGO or MGS. Payments will not be due until after the trackables are delivered in December. If you have questions, please … Continue reading →


Accepting Nominations for 2024 NoVAGO Officers

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NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN! All the events and activities you enjoy throughout the year are the result of a very dedicated team, also known as your board! Nominations for the following NoVAGO Officer positions are now being accepted through November 30: PresidentVice PresidentSecretaryTreasurerPublic Relations The terms for these positions start January 1, 2024 and last for the full year. Directors will be selected by the Officers during the first part of 2024 to serve during the year. You can (and should) check out the job descriptions below to see what is involved. You can find the official descriptions in the NoVAGO By-laws. Currently serving Officers are listed in our About NoVAGO section. As current President Gina Thompson (thompsonkickers) mentioned recently in her monthly NoVAGO message, we especially encourage local cachers with NoVAGO volunteer experience to give consideration to being nominated. If you are interested, or know someone who is interested, in … Continue reading →

2023 NoVAGO Fall Picnic

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On Sunday, October 22, 2023, NoVAGO held its annual Fall Picnic. The event was held in Lorton on the new Laurel Hill Central Green. Prior to the event there was a CITO event, also on the Central Green. During the event, several geocaches published around the park. There was also a silent auction which took place during the event. This year’s NoVAGO board is a high functioning team and while all the members contributed advice the following were there in person to make the 2023 NoVAGO Fall event as success! TrexM8s compared locations and found one big enough for our group. She worked with the park managers to make the event a success, including getting permission for the CITO and the caches hidden in the park. In addition, she helped organize the silent auction. ThompsonKickers provided a new twist to the icebreaker, decorations, several donations and her positive energy. Hrothroc promoted the event … Continue reading →

Mooviepalooza! Intermission

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We are half way through the roll out of the 2023 Northern Virginia geocache series, Mooviepalooza. Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to find some of the wonderful caches based on some really cheesy movies. There are more yet to come and plenty of time to find them all. But first, time for a break. Join our cache series “producers” for a meet and greet. Date: Sunday, November 12 Location: Santini’s New York Style Deli, 12300 Costco Plaza Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030 Time: 1:30-3:00pm Be sure to let the hostess know that you are coming. Please RSVP on the event page: NoVAGO Moviepalooza: The Intermission (GCAFV3Y) … Continue reading →

President’s Favorite Points ❤️ 

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Your NoVAGO, Your Choice, Your Chance to Nominate, Vote and be part of the action. Right now you could be thinking: What in the world are you talking about, Gina?   Don’t worry…I’ll tell you…sit back for just a moment. This month’s message will beshorter…For real.  If you are still reading this, you care about or are curious aboutNoVAGO and its goings-on. Here we go… How the NoVAGO Board Gets It Done NoVAGO has a group of dedicated officers, elected each fall by your geocaching peers,and directors, confirmed by the officers, who have volunteered to go above and beyondto keep our operations going, big and small.  Each month the NoVAGO board comestogether to make decisions and take actions on ideas to make geocaching fun in our areafor all cachers – both local and visiting. Working on your behalf, we decide on eventsand activities, find ways to raise and save money to … Continue reading →

Moviepalooza! 2023 Series Kick-off Event

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Announcing the start of the NoVAGO annual caching series! This year our theme is cheesy movies. We’ve named it Moviepalooza. Members of NoVAGO will be hiding geocaches around the area over the next few months. We are hoping to see at least twenty new, movie themed caches publish. Join the Moviepalooza Kick-off Event Bring a chair, grab some popcorn! Plan for fun! Saturday, September 30th, 2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Be sure to let the hostess know that you are coming. Please RSVP on the event page: NoVAGO Moviepalooza: Premiere (GCADRYW) … Continue reading →

Spotlight Cache: OLYMPIAD2020: Rhythmic Gymnastics (Adv. Lab Bonus)

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#NationalGymnasticsDay (September 19) Spotlight Cache: OLYMPIAD2020: Rhythmic Gymnastics (Adv. Lab Bonus) Today we are celebrating National Gymnastics Day with a cache that brought us out of pandemic hiding places and challenged us to to be our best gymnast. As one cacher said, “They rhythm is going to get you.” This cache by Serrabou and ZippyFinn, OLYMPIAD202: Rhythmic Gymnastics (Adv.Lab Bonus), is a mouthful to say so we’re just going to call it Rhythmic Gymnastics. It is the bonus to a fun Adventure Lab that you must complete first. It is located in Clifton, VA. Because the cache was part of NoVAGO’s annual series, OLYMPIAD2020, you will notice lots of fun photos in the early logs of competitors showing off their best Anna Bessonova. For those who don’t know, this cache series involved, among other things, participants submitting photos that would be judged in an effort to earn points for their … Continue reading →

President’s Favorite Points ❤️

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What’s been happening around NoVA? We all have seen those big yellow buses on the road and kiddies with backpacks and lunch boxes crowded on the corners.  That’s because it’s September and school is back in session. Seems too early doesn’t it?   Even though the last few days have been the hottest of the year, Summer is quickly ending.  We all know that the end of Summer turns into Autumn!  Seasonal events & activities are happenings all around & geocachers who have been waiting for the green to fade away, can hit the trail soon.   Autumn is also an exciting time of the year for NoVAGO.  The fall picnic is right around the corner; October 22, 2023.  This year’s picnic will be located at Laurel Hill Park Central Green, Pavilion B, Lorton VA  11AM – 2PM.  Event Cache – GCABN9Y; 2023 NoVAGO Fall Event: Laurel Hill Central Green.  A big … Continue reading →

Don’t be afraid to reach out to a cache owner.

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When and how to reach out to a CO and how it benefits the greater geocaching community.  Many years ago when I was training as an engineer, it was commonplace to see technical drawings stamped ‘If In Doubt Ask!‘. Most seasoned cachers believe in this adage and will message Cache Owners (CO’s) for advice and guidance when stuck on a puzzle or at a particularly evil cache hide. CO’s are usually very willing to provide a “nudge” and it isn’t uncommon for them to be so eager to help that they will jump in their car and race out to meet a cacher in distress! To contact the CO, go to the top of the caching page for that GC number and click “message this owner”. The Message Center page will open automatically and will start your message by showing the Title and GC number for that cache. Don’t forget … Continue reading →