Little Treasures at Little Oak - The Interview with the CO

In March Mrs. LANMonkey & I finally found the geocache "Little Treasures at Little Oak" (GC3R8ER), and that made our 700^th cumulative find.  We did not complete this challenging and popular cache on our first or second attempt, nor without a little help.

Reading through the logs, we knew that others had gotten hints from the staff, so we made sure we visited during their business hours. Once at ground-zero we resumed our searching, and Mrs. LANMonkey asked if we should check for a hint with the fellow inside. Once she had done so, it confirmed for us that we were searching in the correct spot, we just needed to be more creative in how we searched… and we made the find. Immediately there-after the fellow came out to share in our post-find joy, and we discovered that he was, in fact, the Cache Owner (CO).

We had a great conversation, and I thought it would be nice for the caching community to learn a little bit more about the CO and his cache, which is one of the top five most favourite caches in the Langley area.

LM:        How did you first get interested in geocaching?

CO:         I was on vacation on the Shuswap with my family a couple years back. There was a booklet with the "99 Things to do in the Shuswap" and Geocaching was one of them.   I had heard about it in bits and pieces prior to that. I downloaded the iPhone app and within minutes my boys and I were off on an adventure. We were hooked instantly.

LM:        What prompted the idea to make the "Little Treasures at Little Oak" geocache?

CO:         I'm a fan of the "clever urban hide". The kind that has hundreds of people pass each day without a clue that it exists. When we chose this location for our new office I knew instantly that a cache would be part of it.

LM:        Could you share with us some of the most interesting or amusing stories you have of people visiting looking for that cache?

CO:         There are so many! The ones that are trying so hard to conceal what they are doing ... the ones that look forever and refuse even the most subtle hint.  It has been a ton of fun for everyone here at the office to watch people look for the "treasure."  I love the moment that the cache has been discovered after a good search … there usually is an audible expression of joy!

LM:        Have you ever had to explain this cache to "muggles" and if so, what kinds of responses have you gotten?

CO:         I thought we would be doing more of that. The cachers get a lot of strange looks as muggles pass by. Once again that is part of the fun for us in the office. A few times I thought it was a muggle getting curious only to find out it is a fellow cacher who has previously found the cache willing to lend a hint or two

LM:        What advice would you share for anyone considering hiding a cache at their business or residence?

CO:         We didn't do it for any other reason than to have a bit of fun. I really appreciate the effort that others have gone to just to give my boys a thrill when we are out caching.  We really just wanted to return the favour. I never thought it would result in so many great conversations with fellow cachers. I think the message this says about our business is that we love being part of the community and that we don't take ourselves too seriously.

Check out Episode 012 of “LANMonkey’sGeocaching Adventures” on YouTube for more footage and facts about the cache “Little Treasures at Little Oak” and as always; cache safely and cache often!

Thanks for reading,

Team LANMonkey