Ten years ago: I hosted a 10 year Community Celebration Event on May 3rd, the 10th anniversary of the official start date of geocaching.
Last year: I was awarded a 20 year Community Celebration Event and thought I would duplicate the 10 year event.
As we all know, that didn't/couldn't happen. Along came "COVID-19" with quarantining, closed parks, and no events. (Trivia - Did you know that The World Health Organization (WHO) named the disease "COVID-19" referring CO for corona, VI for virus, D for disease, and 19 for the year the outbreak was first recognized, late in 2019?)
This year - only traditional outdoor events may be held; Community Celebration Events are still on hold. As a result, I thought we should have a local event celebrating geocaching's 21st birthday. I will still duplicate a few things from the 10 year Community Celebration Event.
Please read the following carefully if you will be attending the event.
The location: It will once again be held in Priest Point Park. The sign-in log will be in the same location under the shelter next to the Rose Garden.
The date: This is the actual 21st anniversary date of the first geocache. See below for geocaching origins.
Critical: Within 50 feet of the shelter, everyone must wear a mask completely covering mouth and nose, including children and those who have been vaccinated. Remember to stay 6 feet away from those not in your household.
The log book: It will be on a table in the shelter. Please bring your own pen for signing. There will be a pen there, although not sanitized between uses, unless you do that for yourself. I will sit at a different table to greet you from a distance.
After signing the log: Please move away from the sign-in area. There is a lot of space for visiting in the general area, or take a walk to find caches located in the park.
Sanitizer: Bring your own if you will feel the need for it.
Bad weather: Bring an umbrella or make it a short visit.
Food: Bring your own beverages and snacks if needed.
Parking: You may have to drive a bit away from the main location and walk to the shelter. Drive around the loop and use the first vacant spot you see.
Greeting each other: I suggest namaste - hands raised with palms together.
Other activities: There may be one new cache in the park with coordinates available at the event. The are many other caches to be found in the park. A new nearby Adventure Lab will become active during the event.
Travel bugs: Only by direct handing off from one person to another, at your discretion, avoiding potential touching by many others.
Visiting: With the current state guidelines limiting groups to 50, it would be wise to keep our group even smaller by heading off to get involved with one off the activities mentioned above.
Geocaching History
May 1, 2000 - an announcement was made that Selective Availability would be lifted.
May 2, 2000 - at approximately midnight, EST Selective Availability lifted and the accuracy of GPS technology was greatly improved.
May 3, 2000 - Dave Ulmer hid a black bucket at N 45° 17.460 W 122° 24.800, filled with videos, books, software, and a slingshot as well as a logbook and pencil. He called it the First GPS Stash. He shared the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav.
Within three days two different people read about his stash on the Internet, used their own GPS receivers to find the container and shared their experiences online. The sport of geocaching was born!