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Geocaching with CIGA

CIGA Facebook Hits Milestone
CIGA on Facebook has reached 600 followers. It is a unique milestone considering the COVID restrictions.  There has been a recent surge in new cachers asking to join.  While most followers are from central Illinois, there are also some from elsewhere in Illinois along with Missouri and Iowa.

Adventure Labs Added to Geocaching App
A long time wish granted, the geocaching app now shows adventure lab caches.  To apply the recent update, you will have to log out and log back in.  An icon pin appears at the starting point.  If you have the separate lab cache app, tapping the icon opens the adventure in the lab app.

GIFF Returns for 2021
In a sign that things are getting back to normal, the Geocaching International Film Festival is back.  The amateur videos are returning after a skip year in 2020.

GPSr Review Updated
Looking to buy a GPS receiver?  The GPSr review has been updated on the Resources page.  

Tremont Gets Lab Adventure
Claystalker has added a 
 lab cache adventure called Tremont History Tour.  It tours five locations at Tremont in Tazewell County.

Seattle Celebration Postponed to 2022
Geocaching HQ has postponed the Geocaching 20th Anniversary celebration in Seattle until 2022.  Also postponed is GeoWoodstock planned nearby in Canada.  At the same time, HQ sent a health advisory to holders of community celebration events.

Peoria Area Lab Caches Reach 14
Peoria and nearby cities have become a center for lab cache adventures with the count growing to 14.  Because they require a phone app to discover and log, most of the them have been listed in articles below to let cachers know.  The latest are these.

Steppin' Back in Time by KatzQueen, historical theme



Rock Island Greenway by sold-rock-seekwells, on the the Rock Island Bike Trail


Kids at Play by Varofharken, kid friendly, pinned at Morton

Things you've seen but never stopped to look at by dragon master1, easy to miss discoveries

Lab Cache Added to Park Trail
Ma n Pa published an adventure lab cache on a hiking trail at Parkland Preserve north of Bloomington, called Flora & Fauna.


Souvenirs 2021
Geocaching HQ has announced a preliminary list of 2021 souvenirs.  The events column on this site has been updated for those announced so far.

Peoria Featured in Podcost
Geocache Adventures has featured Lee Katz and his Hidden History series of Peoria caches.  While it is mainly a podcast, more information can be found on the Facebook page.

New Fizzy Feature
Geocaching HQ has launched a new feature for cachers who want to complete the Difficulty/Terrain Grid, also known as the Fizzy Grid.  In the statistics section of a premium member profile, click on a D/T combination to get a list of caches that meet the criteria.

More Lab Caches in Central Illinois
CIGA area cachers continue to add new adventure lab caches.  Use the phone app to search an area to find available adventures.
PEORIA:  Springdale - Tales of the Dead, by Smiley Guy, tours gravesites at Springdale Cemetery.
BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL:  Burgers, Tacos, Pizza, Wings and Ice Cream  Oh My!, by DireWolf821, tours eateries.
CHAMPAIGN:  POIs near U of I  by adilts1257 and Racer2814 tours the University of Illinois.

Geocaching HQ Urges Health Safety
Because of the pandemic, community events in central Illinois have been on hold.  Geocaching HQ sent a message to event hosts to prioritize safety and follow local guidelines, likely in response to the fall uptick in cases.  The events can be hosted until December 31, 2021.

MOGA Going to Kentucky
MOGA 2021 is moving from its Missouri base and going to be held at Owensboro, KY. The event, GC91061, will be held Memorial Day weekend, May 28-31 with a theme of looking for Bigfoot.

New Lab Cache at LeRoy
Cacher extrex96 has added an adventure lab cache called LeRoy, IL - A Downtown Stroll.  It is one of the few than can be done by walking ... five blocks.
Geocaching Adds Four New Attributes
Geocaching HQ has added four new attributes, the supplemental description icons on a cache page.  The new ones are challenge cache, bonus cache, power trail and solution checker.  Premium members now are able to search on attributes. 

Shelter Cache Archived
The famous shelter cache (A Real Challenge GC1764C) has been archived.  Owner FuzzyB, who regularly painted the shelter and did not other repairs, said the reason was the maintenance required.  Located at Jubilee College State Park, the cache had 998 followers, because it went most of its 13 years rarely being found.  With recent logs, the find count ended at ten.  The hiding place remains a secret.


Urbana Gets New Lab Cache
Urbana has a new adventure lab cache, Wandell Sculpture Garden.  The cache, by racer 2814, goes past 16 statues with finds at five of them.

Peoria Area Gets More Lab Caches
Peoria and nearby towns have four more adventure lab caches.  Tazewell County War Memorial Tour by Claystalker visits five towns and can be found by searching at Morton. 

Another is Peoria's Surprise Statues by CachingCubmaster.  It features five creations described as unique statues.  In the app, find it south of downtown Peoria.

Another, titled Once, There Were Giants, visits monuments and memorials in the Peoria area.  It is Peoria Bill's second lab cache. 


Varofharken added a sequel to a history lab cache with More No-So Hidden History of Peoria, five locations in and near Peoria.
NavMike placed a five stage adventure at Pekin, called Mineral Springs Park, Pekin, Illinois.  It can be completed by walking or driiving.

TWINKofEP added IscreamUscream, a tour of five ice cream shops in the Peoria area.  Its map maker starts in East Peoria.

Bloomington Gets New Adventure Lab Cache
A new five cache adventure lab has gone live in Bloomington.  It is The GeoSnatcher by DireWolf821.  Playing the adventure gives clues to a mystery cache (GC8RHTK).

Peoria Makes Cover of FTF Magazine
The May, 2020, cover of FTF Magazine has a picture of Peoria.  It shows downtown's large version of Grant Wood's American Gothic with the farmer wearing a face mask, subtitled  quarantine geocaching.  The picture was submitted by Lee Katz (Varofharken).

Peoria Gets Two More Adventure Lab Caches
Cachers have added two Adventure Lab caches in Peoria.  With the existing one, all three begin in or near the downtown area.   Planet Quest by Smiley Guy is a tour of the Central Illinois Community Solar System.  The Not-So Hidden History of Peoria by KatzQueen tours historical structures.  


Each has five locations or finds.  Use the
Adventure Lab app to find and play them. Here is the QR code for Planet Quest.

Seattle 20 Year Celebration Moves to 2021
Due to the pandemic, Geocaching HQ has rescheduled its 20th anniversary celebration (GC896PK) in Seattle to next year, August 21, 2021.  Also, GeoWoodstock (GC86VDF) in British Columbia is postponed to August 28, 2021.

Community Celebration Extends Into 2021
Several cachers have been awarded a community celebration event.  But the coronavirus is hampering their ability to hold an event, especially in May, June and maybe beyond.  So, Geocaching HQ extended the deadline to hold an event by one year, through all of 2021.

GIFF 2019 Winners Announced
The winners for GIFF 2019 have been announced.  The People's Choice award is "Looking for a New Love," no surprise to those who attended the CIGA events at East Peoria and Shelbyville.  Link here for the list of all winners and a link to the full GIFF video. 

CIGA Hosts Successful GIFF Events
44 people attended CIGA-hosted events in Shelbyville and East Peoria for the 2019 Geocaching International Film Festival.  The turnout was higher this year at both locations.  The films had a good mix of humor and information.
East Peoria GIFF
Inventory of 2018 Shirts Running Low
The Merchandise page has been updated for the remaining supply of 2018 CIGA shirts.  While some color/size combinations are still available, some shirts are down to only one or two remaining.

FTF Magazine Features Peoria Geocache
A Peoria landmark known as Vanna Whitewall is a retail promotion used by a tire store.

It also has a geocache (GC35073).  Thanks to  a submission from cacher DireWolf821, FTF Magazine recognized it as a fun discovery.


CIGA Adds Lab Caches on Route 66
                                        
Ten Adventure Lab caches have been placed along Route 66, from Towanda to Springfield.  Groundspeak awarded the caches to CIGA as a club.  Board member Racer2814 combined them into a lab adventure called Route 66 - Central Illinois.




In order to play and post finds, download the free phone app called Geocaching Adventure Lab, iOS and Android.  Find the adventure by searching on the app or scanning the QR code with your phone.

Lab Caches Play in Peoria
Peoria has five new experimental lab caches.   They are visible and playable only with the phone app Geocaching Adventure Lab, iOS and Android.  They are not visible otherwise, but each location counts towards total finds.  

Groundspeak awarded five locations to Peoria Bill, CIGA board member.  Each location is a virtual find.  They are combined into an adventure called Playing in Peoria.  



The QR code takes the app to the description page.
Record a find by finding the location and answering a question.  See the CIGA Resources page for help getting started with the app.

Group Photo Updated for 2019
The group photo at the top has been updated for the 2019 picnic . . . picnic #13, year #15 for the club.

Peoria Magazine Features Geocaching
The June issue of Peoria Magazine has an article on geocaching.  Written by local cacher Lee Katz, it recognizes the strong activity around Peoria, 1000 caches and three active clubs.

New Cache Across America near Decatur

The Cache Across America series has one geocache in each state.  When the Illinois cache became available, CIGA volunteered to move it to central Illinois.  GC82Z45 is located near Decatur in Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park, the site of Abraham Lincoln's first home in Illinois. 

MOGA 2020 Returning to Mark Twain Lake
MOGA announced plans for the event to return to Mark Twain Lake in northeast Missouri in 2020. No date was set at the time, although it usually occurs around early spring.

GSAK Now Free
Due to the health of the author, Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (GSAK) has become freeware.  GSAK is a popular tool for managing pocket queries and posting finds in volume. 

 Decatur TV Features Geocaching 
WAND TV in Decatur ran a video on geocaching using a CIGA caching family.  It was filmed in Decatur using an actual geocache.
 New CIGA Shirts Go On Sale 
CIGA is offering new shirts for 2018.  There is  something different this time --- three choices for colors -- safety yellow/green, safety orange and heather gray.  All are short sleeves at $15.  Plus, something else is new, the heather gray has a long sleeve version at $19.  The shirts are available at club events.  See the merchandise page for more pictures.

 New Illinois Star GeoArt  
Central Illinois has a new geoart, Illinois Star. It is Illinois' contribution to a project to put a star in each of the 50 states.  
There are 50 caches northwest of Canton, in a project carried out by the CIGA and PAC geocaching clubs.  They have state facts that help celebrate the state's bicentennial in 2018.  Star 01 is GC7MKPP.

 Cachers Celebrate The Shelter's 10th Birthday 
Nearly 70 cachers and family members visited Jubilee College State Park, Brimfield, to recognize the ten year history of the shetler geocache (GC17
64C) with only three finds.  Besides Illinois, attendees came from Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and the farthest traveled, Sweden. 
There were no lucky finders.  But there were FTFs elsewhere at the park, as more than 170 new caches were placed for the event.
             LEADERS IN GEOCACHING             
Two Cachers Hit 100K
Central Illinois is unique in geocaching. Two area cachers have reached 100,000 finds and were among the first ten to do so.  Cachers at this level come from various states and countries.  Only the specific central Illinois region has produced more than one.

   

CIGA sponsored a recognition event in Decatur for Racer2814 presenting custom art by Sixrows and giving everyone a commemorative souvenir tag.




Earlier, CIGA organized a recognition event for Fuzzy B in Peoria.  Those attending received a commemorative souvenir button courtesy of BoilMaw.

 Podcast Features Shelter Cache 
The Geocache Talk podcast featured Muther's Challenge shelter cache in its weekly program.  It included discussions with Fuzzy, the cache owner.
In case  you missed it, the program is on YouTube at this link. 

           WORLD CLASS GEOCACHING              
The Shelter Cache at Ten Years
It is one of the most watched geocaches in the world, 1040 watching.  It has its own Facebook page.  Commonly known as the shelter cache, the official name is A Real Challenge (Muther's Challenge), GC1764C.  

Back in 2007, Fuzzy B hid a cache at a picnic shelter at Jubilee College State Park, near Brimfield.  Since then, only three people have found it.  There have been more than 400 logged DNFs.  

"Muther" in the title is a challenge to caching friend MutherAndSun.

A ten year event will be November 4 at a different shelter nearby.  To help celebrate, Fuzzy will place 75 new caches at the park.

 Fairgrounds Lincoln Gets a Makeover 
Railsplitter Lincoln is a 30 foot figure that stands at the main entrance to the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.  After his right arm broke loose, he underwent repairs and repainting.  Here is the before and after.  
   
 Chicago Area Cachers Place Racer Tribute Cache 
CIGA friends in the Chicago area placed a 
tribute cache for racer2814 achieving 100K finds.  Matt Holley placed GC70KA1 in Romeoville.


 CIGA on Facebook 
For the latest news, visit the CIGA Facebook page and request access to join.  The page has 500 followers from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

Facebook Group
CIGA on Facebook
CIGA has been geocaching in Central Illlinois since 2004.

Announcements

  • Summer 2018 Updates Changes made to the Web pages in June and July, 2018.  New group photo added to the Home page.  Info about new shirts added to the Merchandise page.  New info ...
    Posted Jul 9, 2018, 8:52 AM by Al Payne
  • 2017 Group Photo The group photo on the home page has been updated from the 2017 picnic.
    Posted Jul 30, 2017, 7:41 AM by Al Payne
  • April Banner Photo April's banner photo at the top of the page is Lincoln at the entrance to New Salem.  March was the top of Jumbo #2, Toluca.  February was a bit ...
    Posted Apr 1, 2016, 1:30 PM by Al Payne
Showing posts 1 - 3 of 18. View more »
Board Members
gossamar
Peoria Bill
Racer2814
Wes_and_Tara  
geecmom
Smiley Guy

Subpages (1): Dummy
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