This blog post was written by geocaching veteran, Geocaching HQ employee, and purple enthusiast, MissJenn.
Since 1944, Smokey Bear has taught millions of Americans about their role in preventing wildfires. This year, Smokey is celebrating his 75th birthday. To honor him and his timeless message of wildfire prevention, Middle-Atlantic Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact is launching a new GeoTour—The Smokey Bear 75th Anniversary GeoTour (GT92).
Alabama’s first and only GeoTour, A Dash of the Unexpected, is home to 31 geocaches spread out along popular BBQ sites, graceful waterfalls, scenic state parks, and eight lakes. The foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the mighty Tennessee River highlight the nature of Northern Alabama, but the GeoTour doesn’t stop there. Many of the caches are in historical areas, small towns, and nature centers making it perfect for an epic road trip.
To kick this GeoTour off right, here’s three facts about Alabama that you likely didn’t expect:
Who knows, maybe you will stumble upon something that you’ve never experienced before or never knew about navigating around this GeoTour.
Ahoy, geocachers! The lost treasure of pirate Captain Dominique Youx is in Florida’s panhandle and yours for the plundering. Travel from cache to cache and collect the pieces of Captain Youx’s map. Only when you have all nine can you determine where the final resting place of his treasure is and where your booty awaits; a rare geocoin considered to be part of the treasure itself. The Pirates of the High Seas GeoTour is off the hook fun for everyone. They even have pirate clothing at several cache locations so you can develop your pirate persona along the way.
Panama City Beach is known for, well, their beaches. Regarded as some of the most beautiful sandy beaches in the world right on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, it’s no wonder it was a hot spot for pirates and treasure—and the perfect spot for a GeoTour!
Randers is Denmark’s sixth largest city and offers all the amenities of a modern city without losing the connection to its past. Its proximity to nature allows for an active holiday with biking, hiking, or kayaking in the beautiful surroundings. Where else in Scandinavia will you find a tropical zoo akin to a jungle with over 200 species of animals living freely under three geodesic domes representing South America, Africa, and Asia? Or find a replica of Elvis’ home Graceland where you can learn about his life, music and see the world’s 10th largest collection of his belongings?
What else can be found in Randers? Denmark’s only GeoTour, GeoTour Randers (GT81), which is as diverse as the city that hosts it. So, grab your passport (for travel and geocache logging purposes) as you discover the 67 caches on this GeoTour!
There isn’t a more explosive GeoTour on our planet than GeoTour Azores. Located roughly 850 miles west of mainland Europe, the Azores consists of 9 volcanic islands with a whopping 150 geocaches scattered across the lush, mountainous islands. The exotic nature of this group of islands has a global appeal and is part of a larger group of Atlantic Ocean islands called Macaronesia, or “fortunate islands,” because those who visit or live there are considered to be fortunate to see the beauty of the Azores.
