This Week On Michigan Magazine - Show 1623 Grand Hotel on Mackinaw + Geocaching Holland Michigan

Recorded on 6/8/2011 Join us for a visit with VP Anthony Smith of the GRAND HOTEL on Mackinaw Island Michigan. Then we head to Michigan's West coast for some exciting Geocaching at Holland, Michigan with Andy, HHH, Smith!


If the player above is not available you can see the entire episode here:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15241649

GeoSnippits are seen each and every week on Michigan Magazine (RFDTV Network).

GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?
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This Week On Michigan Magazine: Show 1610 Art Reach of Mid-Michigan & Geocaching Algonac Michigan

Recorded on 3/9/2011 Join us for the ribbon cutting of expansion of an organization whose mission is to bring the arts to and provide an outlet for Michigan artists. Art Reach of Mid-Michigan headquartered in Mt. Pleasant celebrates over 3 decades of service with expansion and bright future. Then join us as we head to Algonac with Geosnippit's host Andy Smith for Geocaching fun "on the boardwalk".



If the player above is not available please use this link to see the entire episode.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13196748

You can see GeoSnippits on Michigan Magazine TV each and every week on the RFDTV network.


GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?
http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/
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@headhardhat

Friend me at Facebook
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Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at
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Show #1604 Fritz's Family Restaurant & Geocaching in Frankenmuth

Michigan Magazine is the home
of GeoSnippits

Recorded on 1/26/2011 Join us as we discover Fritz's Family Restaurant of Richville, Michigan. The restaurant has been serving the Saginaw Valley for over 125 years. We talk with the Deidrich family who takes us on a personal tour and prepare fresh pan fried perch to the Mi. Mag Crew...then we head a bit south for some Geocaching fun with Andy, Head Hard Hat, Smith and his Geosnippits!






If you cannot see the viewer above please use this link here to see the entire Michigan Magazine episode:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12256631




You can see GeoSnippits each and every week on Michigan Magazine (RFDTV Network). Seen in all 50 states.


GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?
http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------
Twitter me at
@headhardhat

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at
http://www.geosnippits.com

This Week on Michigan Magazine TV Featuring GeoSnippits Geocaching Videos

Did you know that you can see our GeoSnippits geocaching segment on Michigan Magazine TV (RFDTV) on your computer? MMTV is now being shown on Ustream.tv check out below for more details.

This week on Michigan Magazine featured an episode about the Big Foot Bash that was held earlier this year on the Michigan Magazine grounds. Plus HeadHardHat's GeoSnippits segment is a  Geocaching Michigan Montage featuring finds all around the Great Lake State.

Check it out here:


If the video viewer is not shown above you can see it directly here:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/10450606


GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?
http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------
Twitter me at
@headhardhat

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at
http://www.geosnippits.com

HeadHardHat Appearing at Cachercon 2010 Metro Detroit

HeadHardHat is heading to Troy, Michigan for the Cachercon 2010 Metro Detroit on Saturday, February 6th, 2010!

That's right the host of GeoSnippits Geocaching Videos seen on You Tube and weekly on Michigan Magazine TV (RFDTV Network) will be discussing Geocaching in the Media: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Besides HHH there are no less than eight other geocaching speakers sharing their passion and wisdom about the game, sport, okay obsession known as geocaching.

This is going to be held at the Detroit Holiday Inn in Troy, Michigan. We really want to see a great turn out so set your calendars and above all be there for the fun!

Check out http://www.motorcitycachemachine.com/cachercon-2010 and/or GC2158P at geocaching.com for all the details.

GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?
http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------
Twitter me at @headhardhat

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at http://www.geosnippits.com

GeoSnippits - Taking The Family Geocaching

Recently when I visited the Great Lake State of Michigan I had an opportunity to take my brothers Scott and David plus my nephews Zachary, Aaron and Noah geocaching. It was really a thrill because I do not get that many chances to have everybody together at one time let alone doing something as cool as geocaching.

We went to the Holly Recreation Area and ventured down one of the State Park's many nature trails. The trail itself was almost ten miles long and had around 60 caches sprinkled all away around. We ended doing about 4.5 miles of the trail and had an absolute blast with each and every find.

Please take a gander at our fun filled adventure and enjoy some helpful hints and wondrous expressions of my nephews. It's very much worth the watch.

If the embedded player does not show above please use this link to see the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmmWhdLcRmA

GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?
http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------
Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at http://www.geosnippits.com

Finally in the Great Lake State and Ready To Geocache

Well it's noon the day after the big road trip to Michigan. Yes I had a late start but after driving for 17 hours Miss Geoness and I were pretty worn out. You know how it goes when you think you are going to be completely exhausted but are so wired up from driving you simply cannot sleep. I didn't konk out until around 12:30 or so. Anywho, I am currently enjoying myself at one of my old hang outs for breakfast, the Uptown Coney Island near Ann Arbor, MI. Absolute favorite dish, the Greek Skillet - complete yumminess; but I digress.

I hope you enjoyed following Miss Geoness and I as we travelled across North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and finally in Michigan. The meter read 954 miles when we finally reached our home base of Chelsea, MI. We ended up with a dozen geocache finds and wanted more but the overall trip just was too draining. The great news though is that we were able to pick up several geocaches in each state and added Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana to our geocache stats - W00t!

Next on the agenda is to drive up to Michigan Magazine Museum for tomorrows interview with Michigan Magazine TV Host Barry to discuss the new geocaching project that will be featured on their show. I am hoping the weather will cooperate enough to take Barry out to a few nearby finds and to discuss all the details. Then it is more road travel as I go to every Michigan town I can doing the video needed. Very exciting.

Also on the agenda will be going around with my brothers and their kids to do some geocaching. If I am lucky I might be able to make a GeoSnippits video with them in it. I heard that my nephews especially are big fans and I want to make them geocaching stars.. Will report the details as we go.

Well that's it for now. I will be updating the blog as I go so keep coming back from time to time and see what I am up to. It's going to be a whole lot of fun. Now that I am full of skillet and coffee it's time to get some geocaching in... Woo-hoo...

See ya out on the Michigan trails...

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at http://www.geosnippits.com

Geocaching Road Trip to Michigan Almost Here

Can't wait... Can't wait... Can't wait...

Sure leaving at 4:30 am on Saturday is going to suck but the road trip to Michigan is going to be a blast. Miss Geoness and I will be adding three more states to our geocaching stats and hopefully the extra four or five hours will be worth it. I usually take the NC, VA, WV, OH then MI route. Been there, done that too many times. This time we are going NC, TN, KY, IN, OH, MI route. Hey when it comes to geocaching there is never a direct path.

I completely expect some pretty sites and some fun time geocaching. That is just getting there. I will be stomping all over Michigan for Michigan Magazine TV and out GeoSnippits segments for them. Can't wait.

More to come and check often because I will be updating this blog, my twitter account and Loopt accounts showing my last known gps coords. that will be going on all next week. Stay tuned.

You can find my latest tweets and loopt statuses on the lower right side of my blog. See you there.

My main blog: http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at http://www.geosnippits.com

Busy, Busy Busy....

At first it didn't seem like it was going to be much more than a happy go lucky road trip to Michigan. I initially was going to be dropping my daughter and GeoSnippits film crew Miss Geoness off at her grandparents and then do some geocaching there and on the way home. Wrongo!

I am very pleased to say that I will be spending a week in the Great Lake State to be doing a host of things. For example I am planning to meet up with Barry Stutesman host of Michigan Magazine TV where they will be doing an interview with me about our upcoming geocaching project with the show. We may even be looking and hiding some geocaches while I am up there.

I will also be filming all around Michigan which will be turned into segments for the show and future GeoSnippits videos.

If my luck holds out I also will be hooking up with Darryl Wattenberg from the Cache-A-Maniacs podcast fame. Who knows what craziness that may ensue. Best case we both end up interviewing each other, worse case we go out for beer and pizza. Stay tuned.

All that and so much more. Will be keeping the blog posted as I go so keep checking in hokay?

Anyone else wanna join the party? Email me.

All for now... -HHH

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at http://www.geosnippits.com

Keeping It In The Family - Smith Brother's Geocaching

The family that caches together, stays together... Okay well maybe I'm 900 miles away but my spirit sure is with my two brothers who started geocaching recently. Scott and David both live in Michigan with the rest of my family whilst I reside in Raleigh, North Carolina.


Earlier in the year I had a great time taking Scott (shown left with a considerable amount less of grey hairs) caching around the east side of the Great Lake State. There is nothing that brings out the competitive side in us when it is one sibling against another, all in good fun of course. Can we say bragging rights?!? It really was a fun afternoon and he will be becoming a full blown member soon.



Then there is my youngest brother David. Not only did he just get a new GPS but started caching a few weeks back. He and his family are going out and about having a complete blast. David who goes by TurtleExpress liked my blog so much decided to start one up of his own. The title say it all: Geocaching with Turtleexpress. You can see the smiles on my nephew's faces as they proudly show off their finds. Makes me a bit home sick and then I remember that I did not have to shovel once last winter. Plus I can cache here all year round.. Oh well so much for sentament.. They can always come here for a week and play in the back woods and swamps...


Feel Free to check out TurtleExpress's blog here or in my list of blogs on the right side of the page. Click --> Geocaching With TurtleExpress.

Hopefully sometime next year we can all get together for a Geocache Weekend. That mini Flash Mob will be something to see. Hope where ever we go is ready for all three Smith Brother's in one spot. Lord knows other areas are still recovering from past get togethers.

Help Keep The Spirit Alive By Adopting A Cache

It's so true when they say your first 100 caches are the most fun, enjoy the adventure and the secrets they bestow you. I personally started geocaching in early 2008 and I still can feel the incredible newness of it all. The anticipation of the hunt and the promise of the mystery it would reveal. Caching pushed every one of my geek buttons and I could not wait for what lie ahead. Though in hind sight, I did have to get past a phobia or two.

My second caching find ever was a Hippopotamama cache known as “Welcome To Wake 8”. It was a grand total of two miles from my house and partially in a wooded area. At the time it might as well have been buried treasure stashed deep in an impenetrable forest. My imagination ran wild as I chased the arrow on my GPS screen into the darkening seclusion of trees. “There could be things out there”, I thought as the first bit of pine needles crunched under my feet. Growing up in Michigan the worse I had to worry about was an enraged squirrel or maybe a very rare pygmy rattler but nothing really serious. Here in North Carolina there are tons of things just waiting to make their presence known and I read about each and every one of them. Snakes, spiders, ticks – oh my, but even those were not going to keep me from finding my goal. So ever so carefully I headed towards ground zero. A rustle of leaves to my left gave me a start as a banded skink dashed away with it's turquoise blue tail flashing in a patch of sun. “Whew, that was close”, thought I as I learned to watch the GPS and my direction at the same time. Moments later I was standing at ground zero and remembering in my head about the description of the cache and of course the hint. Looking behind trees and around stumps then before my widening eyes there it was – the cache. Sure it was just a blue Tupperware lock top but at the time to me it was my treasure find. Excitedly I wrote my name into the logbook. Making sure it was dated so everyone could see that I was actually there. Adding to my delight was a couple of swag trinkets that I was able to trade for and the extra bonus of my first travel bug find, JACKPOT! Holy cow this was cool and there it was a Diabetes Travel Bug for me to record on the website. Pictures, must take some pictures, quickly I snapped some off from the digital camera I remembered to bring. With it now time for me to leave I carefully made sure everything was put back in place, locked tight and hidden just as I found it. How magical is an experience like that? Though now with hundreds of caches under my belt I can hit a dozen spots in a shot but they rarely have the same “Umph!” like the first ones gave me.

So why the trip down memory lane? What is so important to me now after I have already recorded my smiley? A month or so back a host of caches in my area went up for adoption. The reason for it is becoming more common place. With the price of gas and the abilities of the owner to keep a cache in shape changes over time. When these particular caches became available I was glad to give a hand and adopt some. It was even more meaningful to me when I saw Welcome to Wake 8 was one of them.

The adoption process is extremely easy. The cache owner puts the cache up for adoption by telling geocaching.com the name of the cache and who they wish to adopt it. An email is sent to the adopted owner and they simply accept the offer; ownership is then transferred. Once ownership is in your name it is up to you to find the cache and make sure it is in proper shape. Several of my new adoptions needed maintenance including WTW8. According to the logs the cache was soaked and the items inside were pretty much mush. This was not a problem for me mainly for the surplus of caches I keep in the back of my car. I remembered the approximate size of WTW8 and had a very nice lock 'n lock container that could be used if needed. Time to take a quick road trip up the street.

Oh how things change, back when I started caching this adventure took me into the woods of North Carolina for the first time. Now after being in countless woods, swamps and forests within five states I didn't give a second thought as I stepped on the now familiar path. No need for the GPS really though the terrain was different in the late summer as to early Spring. Using my tracking pole to prod around the cache area I heard the resounding sound of my pole bouncing off of plastic. “Ah, there it is”, I said as I picked up my old treasure. Looking down I could not help but notice how small it now seemed to me. It was beat up quite a bit with a hole in the top and covered in mud. Inside was the remains of a homemade cross and the logbook in soggy tatters. I drained out as much water as I could and put the container in my backpack. Then replaced everything with the new cache I had brought with me. “Back in business”, I said as the last coverings were put in place and I walked back to my car then on towards home. Hopefully something could be salvaged from this trusty cache, but from first glance I pretty much thought it would be a total loss. Yet one thing I have learned and that is these caches are always full of surprises.

After getting home and pulling out all of my geo-stuff from the trunk of my car I started a little recovery project in the hopes to save some of the original log book. Welcome to Wake 8 had been placed back in late April of 2007 and if there was any chance of getting a few pictures of the logs then some of it's history could be saved. This was not an easy task, the log book consisted of two golden magnets as covers which held the log sheets together. A great idea but unfortunately when completely wet all of the paper sheets smooshed together. Surprisingly I was able to find my original signature pretty much in tact, date and all. The rest of the log book was unrecognizable except when I pealed away to the very first sheet. There was the buried treasure I was looking for. It showed the FTF who happened to be harley_hound, followed by horsegeeks, akinsclan, science_geek, we4ncs, geo13, hunster and a few more. I quickly snapped some pictures of the log book. I am glad I did that when I did for as the hot sun dried the sheets they quickly darkened and became so brittle they simply disintegrated. Fortunately I had what I wanted and I cleaned up the cache and the few trinkets that survived. I am happy to report that the first owner of the cache is getting the photos I had taken and it is my hope they enjoy this little keep sake to remember it by.

Currently I am still going down the list of adopted caches. There are another handful which need maintenance but I am getting to them. As I replace or repair each of them I have found a comfort knowing that I am helping to keep someone's essence alive. I realize that a lot of thought and down right creativity goes into cache placement and preserving it for others to enjoy means something to me and the original owner. For mine in particular the owner referred to them as their babies. To be looked after and maintained which only shows the attachment they can bring. Who am I to do any less than show the same respect I would want if I ever had to leave my caches in someone else's hands? To me as a member of the caching community it is important to help keep the spirit alive.

-HHH

Daughter Geoness Milestone of 100 Finds!

The second half of Team HHB miss Amanda aka Geoness hit the 100 find mark. Not bad for someone who just started a couple of months ago. She has already attended several events and has taken on Difficulty 3 / Terrain 3 caches. Like the one at the FlashMob Flower Hill caches in North Carolina.



Geoness has cache finds in five states including Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. Often seen with dad HeadHardHat in the Raleigh and many neighboring cities. Geoness competes with HHH to find the cache first so she can be the first to sign the log. She helps a lot when it comes to micros and small caches but her eyes light up the most when ammo boxes are the target.





Please help congratulate the better half of Team HHB, daughter Geoness on her latest find milestone.

Congrats Geoness!

Very Cool CITO (Cache In Trash Out) Idea

Saw this idea in Michigan last weekend and I thought I would pass the idea on to you.

In quite a few of the caches I noticed 35mm containers with grocery bags inside. On the outside was a label stating Cache In Trash Out. It went on to say that the enclosed grocery bag could be used to pick up trash on the way back to the car. Then you could replace the bag and place the container with a new bag into the next available cache.

What a very cool idea. Can't wait to make some of these myself.

North Carolina Five Day Road Trip To Michigan Summary

Fourth of July weekend.... What Fourth of July weekend?

Well another road trip to Michigan from North Carolina is under my belt. Think that is about a dozen or so now but the important thing is daughter Amanda is back home. The weekend blew by like it was not even there and I currently feel like I was run over by a semi. Below is the complete summary and there are several phone-in articles showing mainly my adventures going from NC to Michigan. Coming back home was for the most part tiring, wet and storm drenched. Add in the multitudes of traffic and beyond belief gas prices and you get the gist. Here are the stats:

Days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday July 4 - 6, 2008

Miles: 1874 - including visits to my family on east side of Michigan

Average Price of Gas: $4.19 with highest in Michigan

Hours Coming and Going: 16 hours going to Michigan (add in caching)
15 hours coming back to NC (holiday traffic)



Caching States:
North Carolina
Virginia
West Virginia
Ohio
Michigan

Number of Caches Found: 18

Number of Travel Bugs/Coins Traded: 26

Number of police cars sighted: 48 - no kidding. Including one near my first cache near RDU airport.

Visited:
Four cemeteries including are really cool one from early 1800s in Virginia.
Multitudes of rest areas (some even to use the facilities).
Almost went crashing down two steep, wet, muddy, brier filled hills whilst caching.
Was interrupted by a small herd of hill climbing cattle (did not know they can do steep trails)
Found caching partner in the form of a large black snake who decided to be resting in a bush I was looking in. Did not see the business end but the side of it I did see was like a 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe.
Drove through numerous thunderstorms in West Virginia mountains and near home in Raleigh, North Carolina

Mutant Mantis and my micro GPS travel bugs logged 1095 miles on this trip.

All in all a fun but exhausting trip. Glad now to get back into the caching hunts of home.

Another Michigan Road Trip Coming Up This Weekend!

Just once I would like a holiday where I don't have to travel 800+ miles and can really enjoy a three day weekend. Ahh well, such as life.. Good news is I can add to my out of state scores!!!

Yes I am heading to Michigan this weekend to pick up my caching gal Daughter Geoness. Some school based scheduling difficulties came up and she has to be in town and in school next week or I'm in big doo-doo. Don't you just love year round school systems? NOT!

So I will be heading up to the Great Lake State and back again. The cool thing is daughter can get some out of state claims as well. I don't think there will be many. Trip or so back it turned a 12 hours ride to a 16 hour ride and I don't want to do that again. Though one or two in each state should be enough.

I will also be taking my new Travel Bug "Mutant Mantis" with me. I let my temporary TB go back into the wild and I liked him so much I created one for myself. As seen in the photo he looks quite happy hanging from my rear view mirror.

Stay tuned to all the find, thrills, chills and good time adventures starting this Friday - EARLY!

North Carolina to Michigan Road Trip Summary

Wow! What a road trip and I know I had fun cuz I feel like a truck ran over me...

Here is a quick summary of what I encountered in three days:

Visited States: North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan.

Number of miles: 1700 +

Caches Visited: 34

Caches Found: 29

New Caches I placed: 1 in Ohio and 2 in Virginia

New Travel Bugs Placed: 1 in Ohio and 1 in West Virginia


Photos of my sidekick TB Mantis taken: Lost count and it now has a rather big head about the whole thing.. See it's TB page here:
http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=35fe742e-fb4b-4fcf-9fec-3634553b0045









Cache Environments:

Hiked at least 1/2 a mile into three different wooded areas (Virginia and West Virginia). No I did not see any bears, darn.

Hiked 1 1/2 miles into a swamp land for two caches. Granted the trails were way above par and wood chipped through 90% of them. The photos are breathtaking. (Ohio)

Must have hit every rest stop and service plaza through route.

Did a bunch of scouring in the St. Clair Shores area of Michigan and found the urban way of caching quite different to what I am used to. Introduced Geocaching to Brother Scott who now is completely hooked. He suffers from the same "shiny toys" syndrome that I do. I expect that a Garmin will be in his stocking any day now (why wait for Christmas?).

All in all a really great time though when you plan a trip like this you have to be very careful of how much caching you are going to do. I did not realize and the next thing I knew the 12 hour normal trip turned into an 18 hour very long trip (each way). So a note to the wise is to plan some overnight stops instead of plowing straight through.


Oh and if you want to see every blow by blow of my road trip. Please check out below from April 15th thru the 17th. All of those entries were sent in via my cell phone. Isn't modern technology great (when it works). Enjoy!