Category Archives: Spotlight

Spotlight Cache: The Loaner

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#National Name Your Car Day (October 2, 2024) Going down the list of fun/bizarre holidays you will find that October 2, 2024 is National Name Your Car Day!  There are plenty of famous cars out there like Herbie, Christine, Eleanor, and the General Lee.  Studies have shown that when people name inanimate objects like cars, they assign almost human-like attributes to it, and feel more in control. There are a few car related geocaches in NoVAGO territory (Just ask Joey-Jo), but one stands out as having a name assigned to it in the cache title. That car is The Loaner (GC493RZ). Placed in 2013 by mobywv, it is a letterbox where you follow a map through the woods to a 1976 Mercury Bobcat Villager. I am sure that there is good story behind a very old wrecked car that is rusting away in the forest, and that every geocacher who … Continue reading →

Spotlight Cache: NoVAGO U: Geology 101

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#NationalRockDay (July 13) Today we’re celebrating #NationalRockDay by spotlighting a wherigo cache from the 2022 NoVAGO annual series. Placed by kiisikwa, NoVAGO U: Geology 101 will take you on an adventure through different rock samples. You will be challenged on your knowledge before you can get the coordinates to where the cache is hidden. “I learned something at each of the stages. Thanks Dr for the lesson and placing this cache!” ~923Graham “This class rocks!” ~02Hooson “This was a unique wherigo experience. The lesson was enjoyable, and the geology examples where top notch.” ~Awesnap “This was a very enjoyable Wherigo! I not only learned something, but I admired how it was set up. I had never done a Wherigo where I had to find cache at each stage.” ~Team_Palazzo If you were making a geocache cocktail and threw in a little bit of multi-stage cache, a little earthcache, and a … Continue reading →

Spotlighting DC Boundary Stones in Virginia

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Spotlighting DC Boundary Stones in Virginia International Day For Monuments and Sites (April 18, 2024) #spotlightcache Today we are spotlighting geocaches placed along the DC Boundary Stones in Virginia. They are listed in this article from north to south. The country’s first federal monuments were stone markers placed in 1791 on the original boundary of the new capital city. These boundary stones were the brainchild of George Washington to mark out the border. There were originally 40 markers, one for each mile of the 10 x 10-mile diamond plat of land. As you go through these geocache pages, you’ll learn a little more about the unique history of these federal markers, as many of these cache owners have really done their homework. DC Cornerstone (GC6781) The most northern of Virginia’s boundary stones that is accessible to the public, “DC Cornerstone” is one of the four cornerstones. When you are in … 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 →

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 →

Spotlighting Accessible Caches

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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

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#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 →

Spotlight Cache: The Lorton Jazz Festival

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#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 →

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 →

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 →