[GeoStL] Re: Curious and I am sure controversial (MOGA story)
- From: Jeff the Blue Bead Man <bluebeadman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2006 22:24:27 -0600 (GMT-06:00)
-
Jen and others- I know that this newsgroup is watched by very active experi=
enced cachers. While most of us really enjoy MOGA and work very hard for i=
ts success, some of the cachers who subscribe to this newsgroup are tired o=
f constantly hearing about MOGA. I can, and do, understand their frustrati=
on. Honestly, no one wants to irritate and annoy anybody else=E2=80=94real=
ly! But I think this newsgroup is the ideal place to talk about and build =
up this event. Mike had a very good point a few days back about some inact=
ive cachers. Some of these cachers wrote about =E2=80=9Chaving an awesome =
time=E2=80=9D and that they were =E2=80=9Chooked on the sport.=E2=80=9D Un=
fortunately, many of those cachers stopped caching, or at least took a VERY=
long hiatus, soon after typing up their logs. I am sure there are a varie=
ty of reasons why they stopped caching. I would bet that one of the top re=
asons involves the frustration experienced when one cannot find a cache. I=
t can be embarrassing, frustrating, and downright no fun to look for and fa=
il to find a cache. Of course, we all know that=E2=80=94it happens to all =
of us. But I think that what separates a cacher with lots of finds from so=
meone who finds 22 and then quits is how we handle that =E2=80=9Cno find=E2=
=80=9D situation. I love caching by myself at times. Most of my finds are=
solo finds, but I feel more comfortable knowing that if I cannot find a ca=
che, then I can make a call to Strider or Lancelot or a host of other SLAGA=
folks and get a helpful hint. How does one make those types of connection=
s? Well, attending and socializing at an event like MOGA is one of the key=
s. Heck, just finding SLAGA and the website is a major step, but then we a=
ll know that.
At the risk of annoying even more people, I am posting a story I wrote abou=
t a year ago. It=E2=80=99s in the newsgroup archives=E2=80=94somewhere in =
the March 2005 listing=E2=80=94but I think it is appropriate to dust it off=
, update it, and post it again. I apologize in advance if it annoys anyone=
=E2=80=94that is really not my purpose. It was originally written to answe=
r one of Nancy=E2=80=99s (tklnhl & kyd) questions about last year=E2=80=99s=
MOGA event. She wanted to know stories about the 2004 event at Hawn. Her=
e was my answer: =20
Here's my "MOGA" story from Hawn and I'm sticking to it. :-)
As you know, I started caching back in Feb, 2004 at your "Generally a Cache=
Here-Now" cache at the Gen. Bissell House. What you might or might not kn=
ow is that my 2nd (or maybe 3rd) cache was the older Tanglewood cache by Is=
land-Dave. That older Tanglewood cache directly led me to SLAGA. I rememb=
er I wrote on my gc.com log something like this: "I wonder if there is a St=
. Louis Geocacher's Association. I'll have to check it out." After I fini=
shed typing up that log, I googled for SLAGA. Sure enough, I found the www=
.geostl.com web site. Now this was just a month before last year's Hawn ev=
ent, and the web site really promoted the event well--just like it is doing=
this year. I decided to go despite the fact that names like Brawny Bear, =
Bridge with a T, RGS, Strider, Thunder Monk, and Myotis were simply just ca=
ching names to me. I knew NO ONE associated with the sport. I was a bit i=
ntimidated to think that I might be "competing" against all these experienc=
ed folks. I didn't want to make a fool out of myself. So I registered for=
the event with some hesitation. To my surprise, Hawn State Park still had=
a few camping vacanies. I doubt it will be that way this year at Meramec.=
(2006 edit: now at Pere Marquette) Ok, I would go and camp out in my truc=
k--I thought it would be too cold to stay in a tent and it would only be a =
night or two. I was all set and ready to go.
The big night arrived and I had trouble getting to the park. I didn't arri=
ve until the next morning--nuts! I thought I would miss something good. W=
ell, it couldn't be helped so I got up VERY early on Saturday morning and d=
rove to Hawn. I got there in time to check-in for the competition and get =
my packet. Because I registered very late, I did not have a registration p=
acket waiting for me. The SLAGA folks were VERY helpful and pulled togethe=
r all of the essential stuff. I found my "camping" site and set up everyth=
ing I needed for the day. Then I wandered off to go find the competition. =
Well, my last minute packet didn't have EVERYTHING I needed. I figured on=
e area was the starting location and it turned out to just be the main dini=
ng area. I still had to climb this MAJOR hill just to get to the starting =
location. NUTS!!! I remember thinking to myself "Do I go home now or what?=
I'm not even going to get to START on time because I can't find the start=
ing line WITH my GPS!" Well, to make a LONG story shorter, I stuck around =
long enough to climb the hill where I met Tim of Tim, Pam, and Molly, Rich =
who was RGS, and Bridget, the famed Bridge with a T. They gladly fixed me =
up with a start time and even some much needed help. I kept thinking that =
I looked like a fool, yet they kept offering help. "Creating and using way=
points? Easy...Here's how." Maybe this would be good after all.
My starting time arrived for the course. I received my first waypoint and =
away I went--off into the wilderness. At the first waypoint, I met GEO*Tra=
ilblazer1 (from Southern Missouri) and Phantom491 (from Arkansas). We exch=
anged hellos and then we departed somewhat seperately. I started to hunt w=
aypoint #2. Now understand, this is one point which will be different this=
year at Meramec(2006 edit: And very different this year at Pere Marquette)=
. Last year's (2004) course was linear--that is, you found the first point=
and then moved to the second waypoint and so on. Meramec (and Pere Marque=
tte) is NOT set up that way. So GEO*Trailblazer1, Phantom491, and myself a=
ll converged on the second waypoint at more or less the same time. At that=
point, we decided to hunt the course as a team. That was the end of the I=
NDIVIDUAL competition for me. For the rest of the weekend, I was part of t=
he "A Team." We called ourselves the "A Team" because we were working on t=
he A Course and we were operating as a team. Now, some of the best memorie=
s I have of Hawn were being a part of that team. I would HIGHLY recommend =
anyone thinking of doing the courses to think about getting a team together=
. Group caching is ALWAYS a blast, and depending on how your team is set u=
p, the team approach can make mincemeat out of any course.
The individual competition was held in the morning. Couples and "real" tea=
ms competed in the afternoon. Well, since I really didn't know anyone befo=
re the competition, I didn't set up or join any "official" team. Instead, =
I went caching for the event caches on Saturday afternoon. I got deep in t=
he park looking for some of the event caches and I run into a group of geoc=
achers! It turned out to be just most (not all!) of the "MOGA" event staff=
. They were, uh, hmmm, uh, course monitoring--yea, yea, that's the ticket.=
Of course, if their course monitoring duties just happened to take them b=
y an event cache, well then, they might as well log it. I think their cour=
se monitoring duties took them by oh, say, maybe half of the event caches. =
We didn't even see one single competitor during that whole time. Well, ok=
, I WAS a competitor, but I was not competing at the time. I guess I COULD=
name names but I wouldn't. I think I would get shot if I did! LOL! Besi=
des, this is one of the things that got changed for this year's event: staf=
f are NOT allowed to hunt event caches DURING the event. But the greatest =
point of this story was the connections I made with LOTS of SLAGA folks. T=
hese were the movers and shakers of the association. The people you read a=
bout and hear about. They are the names on the newsgroup, on the top of th=
e cache pages as cache owners, on the bottom of the cache pages as cache fi=
nders. They set up the events. They return your phone calls and email mes=
sages AND give you hints about finding any particular cache. These were, a=
nd are, good people to know. I gained SO MUCH information from these peopl=
e that I immediately knew that I would be a part of this year's staff. I k=
new I would get back to St. Louis and go nuts with this sport. I knew I wa=
s hooked.
I got back from the event on a geocaching high. Some people may say I neve=
r came down from that high. My students think I'm nuts. Well, whatever. =
It was fun weekend. I look back at that moment on that Saturday morning wh=
en I thought about leaving and I cringe. I would have missed out on quite =
a bit. I would have missed an entire year (now a couple years) of fun. I =
would have missed making new friends and connections. I would have missed =
out on seeing some places I never knew existed. I would have missed out on=
the opportunity to become involved in this sport. Certainly, I could have=
attended a different event and experienced the same rush and could have be=
come just as involved as I am now, but for me, the event WAS the MOGA-type =
event last year at Hawn. So the event was special to me.
I dunno know--maybe I'm just way too sappy and sentimental, but as I help p=
lan and work on this year's event, I keep hoping that this event will spark=
just SOME of the emotion, some of the excitement, some of the passion, for=
some of the cachers who attend the event just like it did for me last year=
(2004). I guess time will tell if it will or not, but I HOPE it will! Un=
til then, I keep on working to try to make it a success. (2006 note: Time=
has proven that MOGA 2005 was a success. At least four staff members were=
participants last year at Meramec and decided it was so much fun that they=
decided to step up and help staff the event this year!)
Now, for anyone thinking about attending MOGA, here are some things I would=
encourage you to do:
1) DO IT!!! Plan to attend--even if you can only attend for part of one day=
! I was nervous and scared and knew NOBODY when I decided to attend last y=
ear. I left with LOTS of new friends and GREAT memories.
REMEMBER: Every cache is loggable and YOU DO NOT need to compete to hunt an=
d log the caches!
2) Register early--to insure you get ALL the stuff coming to you. T-shirts=
, lanyards, starting locations... :-) It is WELL WORTH the admission price=
...
3) Reserve your camping site, cabin, or hotel room--the park will be packed=
with people. If not with geocachers, then with campers and other guests. =
Think spring: red buds and pink dogwoods in bloom again. Everyone, not j=
ust geocachers, will want to see the earth's grand yearly reawakening.
4) Bring your friends, relatives, and spouses--Work as a team if possible. =
You will learn something about them you never knew--trust me--you will!
5) Get involved--say hi to everyone you meet! You'll leave with so many fr=
iends and connections--wow! There will be GPS and geocaching educational w=
orkshops on Sunday morning. There WILL be Cracker barrels both Friday and =
Saturday nights. Everyone is invited to attend those...AND join one of the=
groups to do the event caches--it will be a blast if you do!
6) And the most important: HAVE FUN!!! This WILL be a great experience fo=
r you and those around you. Leave your troubles back at home for the weeke=
nd, and let yourself go for the fun of it. You will have the time of your =
life!
Ok, I've rambled on long enough. I have just one more thing to say to ALL =
of you (besides "Thank you for reading such a LONG message"):
SEE YOU AT MOGA 2006 at PERE MARQUETTE STATE PARK!!!
-Jeff, the Blue Bead Man
-Jeff, the Blue Bead Man
****************************************
For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this
list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching
Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw
Other related posts:
