2022 Fall Picnic
2022 SLAGA Christmas Party
Bellefontaine CITO November 2022
Cachemas 2022 Bonus Day
SLAGA at GeoWoodstock 2023
2024 SLAGA Spring Picnic
2025 New Year's Day Hike, Fort Bellefontaine
Cachetur 101 Class - March 2025
2025 Winter Potluck
2025 Spring Picnic
2025 Spring Picnic
2025 GigaStock in Morgantown WV
2025 GeoWoodstock, Morgantown, WV
SLAGA at Ted Drewes 2025
2025 Christmas Event
2026 NYD Hike
Crazy Beards!
2026 Winter Potluck
Modern Day Treasure Hunting
- Details
- Hits: 4076
by Heather Bodendieck, photos by David Stonner
I have a confession to make: I am GPS challenged. Still, when the opportunity came up for me to take my boys on a modern-day treasure hunt, I didn’t let that stop me. I had never heard of geocaching before, so I was surprised to find out just how popular it is. There aren’t many family activities that are diverse enough to accommodate a variety of budgets, activity levels and schedules. Geocaching fits the bill on all levels. All you need to participate is a sense of adventure and a GPS unit. Bug spray and sunscreen aren’t a bad idea, either.
In geocaching, participants hide objects to be found by others with the aid of a GPS unit. The latitude and longitude coordinates of the geocache are posted online, along with any additional clues. By typing the coordinates into a GPS device, geocachers are led to the hidden treasure, or “geocache.” Some geocaches are simple to find, while others involve multiple stages and activities such as rappelling or rock-climbing.
Digital Tips and Treasure Trails
First I looked at the Conservation Department’s geocaching page at mdc.mo.gov/node/3379, a good resource for basic information on the game, as well as regulations for conservation areas. Then I visited www.geocaching.com, which allows you to search for caches in your area. I discovered that there were dozens of treasures to be found in my community—and here I’d planned to drive a couple of hours for our adventure!
Armed with two sets of coordinates and a borrowed GPS, my family set out on our treasure hunt. Our first stop was Rockwoods Range, between Pacific and Eureka in western St. Louis County, a five-minute drive from our house. I pass both the range and the nearby Rockwoods Reservation, just north of the range, at least once a week, but I had yet to stop and check them out.
We parked our car at the range and piled out. Excited, a little nervous, and not quite sure what to expect, we entered our coordinates into our trusty GPS and were off on our adventure.
We walked down a pleasant trail, wondering why we had never visited the Rockwoods areas before. They were enchanting and so close to home. Then we reached a point in the trail where the GPS unit signaled for us to go off the trail. I paused, looking into the woods. I am constantly reminding my boys to stay on the path. I knew that I was allowed both on-trail and off-trail access to the area, but I’d spent so much time at parks that I had to give myself permission to break the “rules” in my own head. As silly as it seemed, it was exciting to treat this area as the wild space it was.
Busch Wildlife/Weldon Springs permit manager
- Details
- Written by Kathy DeWitt
- Hits: 3998
We have a new contact for geocache permits at Busch Wildlife/Weldon Springs.
Mr. Raenhard Wesselschmidt
email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
phone: 636-300-1953 ext. 4132.
We will try to get a blank permit to have posted in the permits section (lower left side of web site)
Summer 2017 has already been declared an especially bad season for ticks
- Details
- Written by From AOL News
- Hits: 3626
From AOL.com News
As the warm summer months draw dangerously near, experts have started warning the public about a tick-borne virus on the rise that can
have much deadlier consequences than Lyme disease.
The Powassan virus (POW) is a rare but serious disease that can be spread to humans by infected ticks quickly after the initial bite.
For comparison, while it takes a tick carrying Lyme disease nearly 24 hours to pass the infection on to a human host, a tick with POW can transfer the virus in as little as 15 minutes.
Once a human has contracted the disease, POW can cause severe inflammation of the brain and the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.
Due to the severe neurological impact of the disease, about 10 percent of all POW cases are fatal, with about 50 percent of cases resulting in permanent brain damage.
According to the CDC, only 75 cases of POW have been reported in the United States over the past 10 years, with most occurring in the northeastern and Great Lakes regions of the United States during the late spring, early summer and mid-fall when ticks are most active.
Although that may seem like a pretty limited scope, experts remain on high alert, considering summer 2017 has already been declared an especially bad season for ticks due to the mild winter and growing deer and mice populations.
"The bottom line is that we should be very scared of it because nobody is safe from it," said Dr. Jennifer Lyons, chief of the division of neurological and inflammatory diseases at the Brigham and Women's Hospital.
As there is currently no vaccine or cure for POW, the CDC recommends taking preventative measures to avoid contracting the potentially deadly virus, such as avoiding wooded and bushy areas and using insect repellent.
It also recommends conducting full-body tick checks after returning from such areas, and trying to remove any ticks immediately before they have a chance to bite..
Click here for a file from the CDC about tick bites and thier diseases.
Caching in the Cold 🥶
- Details
- Written by Terri Nealon
- Hits: 1834
There is nothing like bundling up head to toe for a hike in the crisp winter air, through a forest blanketed with snow. The beautiful scenery, lack of bugs, spotting animal tracks, and uncovering nearly frozen geocache containers, hidden under a foot of snow, makes caching in the cold a worthwhile and fun adventure. But being prepared for winter caching is a must, because you leave behind the warmth, shelter, food, water and other comforts of home.
Before you head out for a hike and geocache find, in this beautiful cold world, keep in mind several winter hiking and geocaching tips and essentials. Obviously the longer the adventure and more intense the winter bushwhack, the more of the following information will apply, but it's good information regardless.
Begin at home by checking the weather conditions during your trip outdoors. Then see if the geocaches you're interested in finding are actually available and able to be found. Check the cache page attributes and recent logs. Remember too that some trails are closed in winter, or not marked and maintained. so route-finding skills are important. Plan and know your route because snow-covered landscapes look very different than in those warm dry months. If creek crossings are required, remember thin layers of ice on water can be decieving and dangerous, so don't count on walking across unless you know the freeze is over a long period of time and the ice is indeed thick.
WTWWTW's Signature Micro Container
- Details
- Hits: 4625
Page 36 of 39