Category Archives: General

General Announcements

Presidents Favorite Points ❤️

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A new year.. Read below or WATCH here –> Video of Presidents Favorite Points Jan 2024 January is the time of year where many people make new year’s resolutions for their health, family, finances, and social gatherings.  For those of us who enjoy geocaching, we probably come up with a few extra resolutions or goals.  Could be to attend more events, host events, find or even publish more geocaches.  There are those who like to keep up with streaks or stats, filling the calendar or their grids.  If you don’t have a resolution yet, or are just starting with geocaching and are unsure what goals you should make, stick around and I’ll give you some hints. Events are Social: If you have never been to an event, I definitely suggest you attend one.  They are the red dots on your groundspeak geocaching app and there’s got to be one relatively … Continue reading →

Aside

Collecting Souvenirs

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Collecting Souvenirs Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art displayed on your public profile. You can earn souvenirs in several different ways. Here is a link to help you to identify the many types available: Profile and Dashboard (geocaching.com) Some cachers are highly motivated by collecting Souvenirs while others pay little attention to these “badges”. Personally, I like this aspect of geocaching almost as much as I like working on Challenge (mystery) caches! Both encourage me to get out there frequently and provide a nice sense of accomplishment. Here are the upcoming new souvenirs for this year that have been announced so far: 2024 hider: January 1–December 31 Leap Day 2024: February 29 Cache In Trash Out®, Season 1: March 1–May 31 Blue Switch Day: May 2–4 June Solstice: June 19–21 International Geocaching Day: August 17 Cache In Trash Out®, Season 2: September 1–November 30 World Postcard Day: October 1 International EarthCache … Continue reading →


Spotlight Cache: Jeopardy! Series

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#NationalTriviaDay (January 4) Spotlight Cache Series: Jeopardy! Today we are celebrating National Trivia Day with a series of caches placed in honor of the late Alex Trebek, host of the long-running TV game show, Jeopardy. This Jeopardy! Cache Series by TheColdedge and his TrustyNavigator will reward your knowledge and sometimes out-of-the-box thinking with coordinates for twenty-one mystery type geocaches. Winter is a great time to solve these at home and wait for a fair weather day to head out to the Winchester, Virginia area (and slightly beyond) to make the finds. I asked TheColdege a little about what went into creating this series. Q: What inspired you to chose Jeopardy as a theme? A: Alex Trebeck had recently died and I enjoyed the show as a kid. I also wanted to fit some strange trivia categories into a mystery cache. Q: How did you come up with the questions/answers? A: … Continue reading →

Presidents Favorite Points ❤️

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Giving Thanks to everyone. As this year comes to a close with all the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, festivities, decorating and love I wanted to share my own little bit of love and appreciation.  Read on but don’t forget to join us on January 21, 2024 for our official NoVAGO Thanks Event GCAHRY9!   Geocachers, NEW Geocachers, COs & the Young or just Young at Heart I have mentioned before, that it’s just not one person, nor is it just the officers or directors who make Northern Virginia an enjoyable place to cache and socialize.  It truly takes all of us for it to be fun and geocachers who find and hide caches are the driving force of NoVAGO.  In 2023 so far there have been 414 geocaches placed by fellow cachers in NoVAGO jurisdictions as of December 18th.  These have overall been found 8832 times!  The time … Continue reading →

Happy 123sDay Trackable – have arrived!

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8:11 PM Cachers who pre-ordered by November 15th: The 123123 Trackables will be available for pick up at the MGS and NoVAGO 123123 events: GCAGDZ4: MGS 123123sday 11:30 – 12:30  Pike Kitchen, 1066 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD GCAGCH0: NoVAGO 123sDAY: 12/31/23 New Year’s Eve Event 2:00 – 3:00 Ledo’s, 8324 Old Keene Mill Rd, West Springfield, VA Log your Will Attend! NoVAGO Cachers may message Monica Lynch, TrexM8s if you would like to arrange for payment in advance. Reminder: 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 … Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →