IGO NEWSLETTER 2008

ISSUE #01

I would like to start off the newsletter by extending a thank you to 3AMT on behalf of the Iowa Geocachers Organization Board of Directors for his time serving as IGO President. 3AMT has recently resigned. During the last IGO Board of Directors (BOD) meeting, Vice-President Welch was promoted to the office of IGO President and the office of Vice-President will remain vacant until the next scheduled election in June/July. The IGO BOD also extends a thank you to 3AMT for starting the IGO Newsletter back in 2006 and for maintaining it the past two years.

Their are two new successors now at the helm of the IGO newsletter. :) We (AB-n-AP) have decided to take over the reigns from 3AMT and would also like to personally thank him for handing over the keys and making it a smooth transition. We'll carry on some of the same traits and also add some of our own to the newsletter. Our plan is to publish a monthly newsletter with a goal of having it uploaded during the first week of each new month. We may also publish extra newsletters (perhaps called micro-newsletters) during the course of the month as time and content permits. Please send ANYTHING you've got to say to newsletter@iowageocachers.org

Upcoming Events

Woodpecker Winter Picnic	02/16/2008	Woodpecker Lodge at Pinicon Ridge Park near Central City, Iowa
Caching with My Peeps!	04/19/2008	Oak Grove State Park, north of Hawarden, Iowa
Chichaqua Cache Bash	04/19/2008	Chichaqua Longhouse, in Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt Park
CITO at Brushy Creek State Park	04/19/2008	South Day Use Area at Brushy Creek State Park

Upcoming Mega-Events Near Iowa

MOGA 2008	04/04/2008 - 04/06/2008	Mark Twain Lake - John F. Spalding Rec. Area
Midwest GeoBash 2008	08/07/2008 - 08/10/2008	Kendallville, Indiana

Cacher Milestones

lizs - 500 on Jan 20, 2008
welch - 700 on Jan 27, 2008
BLOODLUST - 500 on Jan 29, 2008
JeepSer - 600 on Jan 21, 2008
3amt - 1100 on Jan 21, 2008
plumberbutt - 100 on Jan 21, 2008
bjcheryl - 600 on Jan 26, 2008
bellcurve - 800 on Jan 28, 2008
Parabola - 1200 on Jan 30, 2008
BriLaura - 700 on Jan 30, 2008
Blue Grass Tom - 2000 on Feb 02, 2008
bucknuts - 1100 on Feb 03, 2008
Iowa Copper - 1600 on Feb 03, 2008
fishpounder - 2600 on Feb 03, 2008

Cacher Profile

PLEASE send your cacher profiles, caching stories, caching tips, etc to newsletter@iowageocachers.org. We currently have no cacher profiles and are in great need of help. Please send in your cacher profiles, even if you've done one before, and we'll get them published as we believe people really enjoy them. You can write as much or as little as you want and if you need examples on what to write in your cacher profile, below are some questions to help get you started. You can also look at past cacher profiles in past newsletters for more examples.

What is your Geocaching name?
How did you get your geocaching name?
How long have you been geocaching?
How did you first learn about geocaching and why have you continued to geocache?
What is (are) your favorite geocache(s)?
What are your favorite types of geocaches?
What is your least favorite geocache?
What is your least favorite type of geocache?
Why do you like or dislike geocoins and how many do you have in your personal collection?
Which do you prefer more: finding geocaches or hiding geocaches? WHY?
If money and time were no object, what & where are the cache(s) you would love to find?
How do you prepare for a full day of geocaching?
What is the furthest distance you've traveled for a specific single geocache? (maybe for FTF, maybe for the oldest active cache in Iowa, maybe for the Iowa DeLorme Challenge, etc)
Where & how far away is the farthest geocache you've ever found from your home coordinates?
Etc

You don't need to answer every single one of the questions, you can pick and choose which ones to answer and/or come up with your own.

New Feature Added!!

A new feature we hope to add to each monthly newsletter are interesting cache videos. We haven't quite decided what to call this portion yet, maybe "video of the month," but it's not a contest. It'll just be a video pertaining to geocaching that we find interesting. If anyone has video posted on a website out there please email the link to us. Also please be sure to tag your videos with "Iowa" and "Geocaching" so they pop up in searches for "Iowa Geocaches." The video below shows a geocache called the "Eternal Flame Falls Earthcache" GC10VMY. An excerpt from the cache page reads: "Upon entering the gorge and approaching the base of Eternal Flame Falls, cachers will notice a change in the ambient aroma. What you smell is the natural gas that leaks from between the shale layers. At the base of the waterfall you will find a small grotto that emits natural gas which can be lit to produce a small flame." You can see the flame in the video. COOL!

There is another video on YouTube of this cache that shows a bit more of the surrounding terrain if interested. Just type in "Eternal Flame Fall"

Another New Feature Added!!

Another new feature available for the newsletter are mini-podcasts. Everybody is welcome to submit a short podcast (0:10 - 2:00) to newsletter@iowageocachers.org and can talk about any aspect of caching. The mini-podcast will be totally reliant on reader submissions so don't be shy! :) To start it off, here is a special message from Sonny and Sandy the hosts of PodCacher!

Special Message from Podcacher

Geocache Helps in Rescue Mission

A geocache in Oregon helped locate two lost hikers who planned a day hike to the summit of Mount Hood, an 11,239-foot mountain. Here's a link to the story:

Burlington Free Press
Last Updated January 16, 2008
Former Burlington residents spend night on frigid Mount Hood

We would love to receive any personal caching stories you would like to share. If you hid or found a geocache that you would like to highlight, please share your experience. If anybody would like to submit an article(s) for the IGO Newsletter please feel free! The next time you go on a trip, vacation, event, etc keep a journal or take notes and then feel free to send your geocaching experience to the IGO Newsletter to share with others.

If you have a great idea you'd like to see added to the IGO Newsletter please do not hesitate to contact us at newsletter@iowageocachers.org or through our profile on geocaching.com. If you have something "off the wall" that you're unsure if it may or may not be suitable for the IGO Newsletter please feel free to contact us and we'll be happy to discuss.
All user/member submissions will be subject to approval before being published in the IGO Newsletter.

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to the next IGO Newsletter!
AB-n-AP