4 Podcast Giveaway - WitzEnd's Favourite Freemont Spot

You've waited so patiently, it's time you were rewarded!

In order to be entered into the drawing for the 2015 Block Party "4 Podcast Giveaway" contest you'll need to listen to four different podcasts and hear the favourite Freemont spot from the four hosts who met up at The 2015 Block Party.

Well, here's the answer from Caching in the Northwest host, WitzEnd!



Now remember, to be entered into the contest, Listen to this week's episodes (starting Aug 30) of
PodCacher, GeoGearHeads, LANMonkey's Geocaching Adventures and Caching in the NorthWest

to find out which iconic Fremont, Washington landmark each host found to be the most interesting.

Yes, you must listen to all 4 shows!
Title an email "Fremont Landmarks" and in the body of the email, write all four landmarks and who chose it.
Address your email to feedback@cachingnw.com
Deadline: September 6th, 2015 at midnight (PST)
Winners to be chosen at random from all correct entries.

We Want To Give You Prizes!

We really do - if your name is on this list below, you ARE a winner from the #GeocacheRoadTrip contest.  If you haven't claimed your prize yet that's a tragedy! So check the winners list below. 

If your name is on that list, look at the list below THAT, of "available prizes remaining" and email us at GeocachingRoadTripContest@gmail.com with your first and second choice of prize, and we'll get back to you to arrange delivery.

It's just that easy to claim your awesome prizes!

WINNERS!

Most Creative Use of Hashtag - Donners

Most Aesthetically Pleasing - Scruffster 

Wildest Adventure - Airrooster

Lackey's Favourite - Dora Mor

Honourable mentions:

• Alarobic
• Retro
• Cacheikers
• m-Eazy
• Subwaymark
• PeppermintPatti53

Prizes to be claimed:

• "How to Puzzle Cache" book by ChildofAtom
• Munzee.com MunzPack
• Munzee.com MunzPack
• CoinsAndPins.com Travel Boobie
• OpenCaching.NA water bottle
• Landsharkz.ca $15 Gift Certificate
• Landsharkz.ca $15 Gift Certificate
• WorldCaching.com $15 Gift Certificate
• CoinsAndPins.com geoachievement coins
• CoinsAndPins.com geo-achievement patches

Helena Geotour #1

Hi and thanks for stopping by again - or if it's your first visit to LMGA, welcome!

This week we're sharing the first half of our adventures from our #GeocacheRoadTrip when we checked out the amazing #HelenaMT Geotour.  While we were there we also checked out the Helena Selfie-Tour which is another amazing way to make sure you catch some cool sights around the city.

And when you are in Reeder's Alley, stop in at the Geotourism office and say hi to the awesome folks working there - make sure to tell them that the LANMonkeys sent you!



Please remember to "subscribe" to our YouTube channel and not miss any of the amazing places we take you when we go Geocaching - and share your adventures and milestones with us on our Twitter and Facebook feeds!

Stay tuned next Tuesday for a special announcement from Caching in the Northwest right here on our blog to help you win the "Groovalicious 4 Podcasters" Contest!

Until next time,

"Cache safely, and cache often!"
The LANMonkeys

It's the 4-Podcast Giveaway!

Welcome to a brand new prize giveaway sponsored by four podcasts / video blogs. 

When podcasters get together, harebrained ideas ensue. 

And, as we've said, we kind of just do what we want anyhow. So when Sonny, Sandy, TheBadCop, WitzEnd, and LANMonkey all joined forces at the 2015 Block Party, it was no exception!  

At the Final Geocaching Block Party, four podcasts got together and came up with a harebrained idea, in which you can win some fabulous prizes! Watch the hilarious video here!
Listen to next week's episodes (starting Aug 30) of 
PodCacher, GeoGearHeads, LANMonkey's Geocaching Adventures and Caching in the NorthWest
 
to find out which iconic Fremont, Washington landmark each host found to be the most interesting. 

Yes, you must listen to all 4 shows!
Title an email "Fremont Landmarks" and in the body of the email, write all four landmarks and who chose it.
Address your email to feedback@cachingnw.com
Deadline: September 6th, 2015 at midnight (PST)
Winners to be chosen at random from all correct entries.

#GeocacheRoadTrip to Yellowstone Park - Leg 1

On the first leg of our summer #GeocacheRoadTrip we traveled from our home near Vancouver, BC Canada through Washington and Idaho, checking out some cool sights along the way. 

We took the "northern route" through Washington which allowed us to visit the North Cascades National Park.

On our way we visited a few virtual caches and Earthcaches, and had a number of amazing stops all of which we were able to capture in episode 84 of LMGA.

Take a look at that episode, and let us know about your summer #GeocacheRoadTrip adventures - we'd love to hear about what you've discovered this summer!

 

Soaring Over Hope - Birds Eye View of Geocaching Country

This past Sunday Mrs. LANMonkey sprung a surprise on me - it was one of those "bucket list" items for me that it turns out she's been arranging for about a year, and she was able to turn it into a Father's Day gift that I'll never forget.

Sunday morning we got up bright and early, and headed East up the Fraser Valley. As we neared the town of Hope, she routed me off the highway and eventually we ended up at the quaint Hope Regional Airpark. Now my curiosity was really up!

Well, then we walked into the clubhouse for the Vancouver Soaring Association and I knew what was going on - and my excitement continued to grow!

The folks who run the association are friendly and professional - they take the safety of their hobby very seriously, but are so welcoming to anyone who wants to learn more about gliding (or soaring, choose your term!) and go for a birds-eye tour of the area.

After the safety briefing, and some orientation, we helped get the gliders down to the end of the field, and folks started getting pulled up by the tow plane.

After waiting patiently for a chance, it was finally my turn!

Into the cockpit I climbed with my expert pilot who had cinched me up safely with the parachute and then down snugly into the front seat of the cockpit. A few quick photos, and before you know it we were being pulled along the grass airfield and we were aloft!


The tow plane climbed us up to ~2,500 feet at which point we released, and then circled around above Hope before heading East to check out the entrance to the Coquihalla area, and catch some updrafts and gain more altitude. 


The sensation of gently spiraling upwards in such a tiny aircraft is at once exhilarating and just a little unnerving, but the confidence and expertise of the pilot helped me relax and enjoy it.

 

Here are some of the photos I took during the amazing ride, before we glided back in for a landing. If you are interested in trying out gliding/soaring, I strongly recommend you check out the Vancouver Soaring Association's Intro Flight - a reasonable price for an unforgettable experience.

And once we wrapped up at the VSA clubhouse, we checked out some of the Geocaching around Hope. Turns out, the town loves encouraging the hobby - check out the Geocaching section on their website! 

An amazing day, and I am so thankful to Mrs. LANMonkey and the great people at the VSA for an awesome day!

#GeocacheRoadTrip Contest

This summer, from July 01, 2015 to July 31, 2015, Geocachers* have an opportunity to win cool prizes by submitting photos of themselves out geocaching and tagging them creatively with #GeocacheRoadTrip.

What do we mean by “tagging them creatively?” We want you to incorporate the #GeocacheRoadTrip hashtag into your photo, in whatever manner you deem best. Perhaps holding up a sign with the hashtag on it? Maybe photoshopping it in afterwards? Be creative, and have fun!

Submit up to three photos per Geocaching username, each including the hashtag #GeocacheRoadTrip by email to: geocachingroadtripcontest@gmail.com and ask everyone you know to vote online by “liking” the photos as we post them up on the CachingNW Facebook page. Be sure to include your Geocaching.com user name, return email address, and any story you wish to share about your photo in the body of the email.

The photo with the most votes by 9:00pm Pacific time August 12, 2015 will be the Best Overall #GeocacheRoadTrip Photo winner and have first choice of prizes from our awesome prize sponsors!

But if you don’t win that category, there’s even more chances to win! Ten other finalists will be chosen by our panel of celebrity judges for selection of three more winners on August 15, 2015 by Geocaching.com Lackeys live at the 2015 Geocaching Block Party.  

Online voting starts from July 1 (or whenever we get the first entry) and closes on Aug 12.

The top prizes will be for:

• Best Overall #GeocacheRoadTrip Photo - This will be the “audience favourite” and the one with the most Facebook votes. Whatever really got everyone’s attention.
• Most Creative Use of the Hashtag - how did you incorporate #GeocacheRoadTrip into your photo? Permanent marker on your forehead? Arranging your family into a “pound” sign?
• Most Aesthetically Pleasing - just the nicest most appealing photo overall; landscape, still life, chickens, whatever turns your crank.
• Wildest Adventure - however you determine what makes a wild #GeocacheRoadTrip share it with us; toddlers loaded up in the station wagon? T5 geocache success? Scuba gear power trail? Just cache safely, and cache often!

Prize Sponsors:

• WorldCaching
• OpenCaching NA
• Cache-Advance
• Coins & Pins.com
• LandSharkz
• “How to Puzzle Cache” author Cully Long (ChildofAtom)

*Rules:

• This contest is open to anyone in (meaning legal residents of) the USA or Canada, to a maximum of 3 photo submissions per contestant/geocaching username.
• Canadian winners will have to answer a (simple) skill testing question so that we don’t get in any trouble.
• Photos without the #GeocacheRoadTrip hashtag will not be eligible to win.
• Submissions will be accepted from July 01, 2015 to July 31, 2015
• Online voting starts from 08:00AM Pacific July 1, 2015 and closes at 9:00PM Pacific August 12, 2015
• Entries submitted without the Geocaching.com username and preferred return email address in the body of the email will not be possible to include in the contest.
• The on-line voted Best Overall #GeocacheRoadTrip Photo winner will not be elligible to compete in the August 15, 2015 selection by Geocaching.com Lackeys for the reamining three categories.
• One prize will be awarded for each winner of the four categories. Prizes will be selected by the winners on a first-come, first served basis.
• Winners will be announced on the “Caching in the Northwest” podcast & website, “Only Googlebot Reads This Blog”, and related Social Media channels.
• Physical prizes selected will require the winner to provide their physical mailing address to Caching in the Northwest or our prize sponsor in order to be able to send it to you. Your name/address will not be used for any other marketing purpose.
• The remaining three categories (Most Creative Use of the Hashtag, Most Aesthetically Pleasing, Wildest Adventure) will be judged by Geocaching.com Lackeys from the ten finalist photos provided to them by the CachingNW celebrity panel of judges, based on their personal opinions, on or during August 15, 2015 at the Geocaching.com 2015 Block Party event.
• Judges decisions for the ten finalists and top three overall winners are final.
• All photos submitted will be considered “public domain” (Creative Commons attribution) and must not be copyrighted or otherwise legally unable to be shared freely on the Internet.
• Any/all photo submissions may be kept online indefinitely. Winners will be posted on the CachingNW.com website for 1 year after the close of the contest.
• Prize sponsors will be entitled to promote the contest, winners, entrants, and their photos during the contest and for 1 year after the close of the contest.
• Caching in the Northwest and Dave DeBaermaker reserve the right to reject any submissions deemed offensive or otherwise inappropriate representations of the values of the show and hosts, and the principles of geocaching.