This Week On Michigan Magazine TV - Show 1602: Gregory Madden/Carver & Andy Smith Geo-Travelers

You can see MMTV on the RFDTV Network

Recorded on 1/12/2011 Join Michigan Magazine's Barry Stutesman for visit with Alger, Michigan backwoods carver Gregory Madden as he shares his love of carving, wood, bone, antler and horns, into keepsake masterpieces.

Then we review the Michigan Book: LADIES OF THE LIGHTS. A book documenting the Lady Lighthouse keepers on the Great Lakes.

Then Andy Smith discusses Geo-travelers on today's GEOSNIPPITS



If you cannot see the viewer above please click the link below to see the entire episode:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11968733

You can see Michigan Magazine Television twice each week on the RFDTV Network. We are 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

GeoSnippits - Make Your Own Geocaching Travel Bug

Pete The Parrot is a real party animal travel bug.

It never fails, not that it is a bad thing mind you. I have a tentative list of all the GeoSnippits videos that I want to do in the near future. Hundreds of them actually but I usually keep a list of about thirty near me at all times. I was just about to start the next on the list and suddenly I get a bunch of requests from our viewers that pertain to a subject I had no intention of doing right now but how can I let down my peeps? So that is why out of the blue I created this latest GeoSnippits - Make Your Own Geocaching Travel Bug. I literally received five requests from different viewers in the same week. So why not?

This is actually a really informative and fun video to watch. Filmed almost entirely in green screen we show you how to make your own travel bug, register it on geocaching.com, package it so it is ready to go into the wild and finally actually show you it's placement into a nearby travel bug hotel.

By the way I don't actually note in the video that you can purchase travel bug id tags just about anywhere online. There are tons of online stores that sell them and they cost about $5.00US.

Hope you enjoy this informative GeoSnippits geocaching video and keep those suggestions coming cus yours might be the next one.

-HHH



If the video player does not show the video you can get a direct link here at you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiSdML5aigI

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

Travel Bug Wolfgang Von PitterPat is now in Europe

On an April day in 2008. I believe the sun was shining and the air smelled of honeysuckle. My then 11 year old daughter looked at me with her crystal blue eyes and said, "Daddy, Wolfgang Von PitterPat is going to be okay, right?"

I smiled at my child and said, "Why sure darling, this little travel bug will see the world and go places you might want to visit some day. It will be just fine."

So we took little Wolfgang (a Chinstrap Penguin) to it's first drop off point which was one of my nearby geocaches and it disappeared into the wild.

Little did I know then of the life expectancies of a Travel Bug or Geocoin in the geocaching world. For many, the fates cause them to be lost, stolen, destroyed and just plain misplaced for years at a time. I know of several geocachers who have put out hundreds of travel bugs only to have just a few still in circulation. Then there are the others who chug along happily as they get picked up from one geocache and dropped back into another as they attempt to reach some goal. As far as Wolfgang goes he is on one crazy ride to Antarctica where he wants to meet up with some of his real time buddies.

Until recently Wolfgang has stayed in the United States traveling from one coast to the next. He made it big when his travels included being with the Subaru Leave No Trace gang for a month or two and was given a whole new set of bling.

They took him all over the place on the west coast and even wrote a couple of articles about him in their newsletters.

You can check them out here.

http://headhardhat-geocache.blogspot.com/2009/10/update-to-tb-wolfgang-von-pitterpat.html

Now after 10510+ miles Wolfgang Von PitterPat finds himself in the United Kingdom. Who knows what adventures await him overseas? What I can tell you is every time I give my now 14 year old daughter updates about it. Her eyes sparkle just a little more blue than usual. Sure bad things can happen to these travelers but the fun of watching them go over the years is worth the risk.

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

TB Pete The Parrot Back To His Partying Ways

Okay this one falls under the category of "never expected this, now what?".

Pete the Parrot is a real party animal. He is a travel bug that went into the wild way back in April of 2008. Since then Pete left the United States in August,2008 in search of the companionship with geocachers abroad.

Pete has partied in Turkey, Oppland, Sweden, Islas Baleares and over a year ago landed in Nordrhein-Westfalen. He has seen more of the world and hung out in more interesting places than I can only dream of.

Then suddenly around September of last year Pete stopped moving. I didn't really notice until recently and sent out an email to the last person who recorded having him. The response that came back sort of bugged me a bit.

Apparently the geocacher who had found Pete in September had died. The email was from his wife who said she had found Pete with the geocaching stuff left by her husband and that she would get him back in circulation soon. I wrote back and gave my condolences and thanked her for getting Pete back into the wild.

Now how many times does something like that happen? I have heard of travel bugs being lost, stolen or abandonded by noob geocachers who lost interest in the game but to loose a travel bug due to a geocachers death? Hit me odd for some reason.

Has anyone heard of this happening before? Let me know.

-HHH


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

Travel Bug Farmers Daughter Makes Goal To Germany

If you read my blogs on a regular basis you most likely have come across posts (FD Background Post) about the adventures of a special travel bug known as Farmers Daughter. It is a memorial to my first wife Sharon who lost her battle with cancer in 2001. To pay tribute to her and to help bring cancer awareness to others I sent this TB out into the wild.

It had achieved it's primary goal almost immediately as I have received logs, emails and other messages stating how important this travel bug has been to so many people touched by cancer. It will continue to do so for as long and where ever it may lead.

On a happier note it has met it's second goal. Sharon had always loved the six months she spent in Germany and always wanted to go back. In a sense, she now has. Farmers Daughter has just recently moved from the United States into Europe and is now in a geocache residing in Baden-Württemberg. It currently has 6511.5 miles and I hope for many more.

There is so many ways that geocaching can effect our lives. Much more than the healthy walking and the fresh air. Sometimes it can touch our soul.

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

Where in the World is Pete the Parrot???

Well my loveable Travel Bug Pete the Parrot is being a true party animal in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. He has been doing the night life in that part of the world for over four months now. Before that he was trippin the light fantastic during some colder climate in Islas Baleares.

Currently he has 9897 miles under his birdie belt and is winging his way from one party to the next. He is waiting for his next ride in Katzenbusch@Night(GC1P7MG). It is a 3.5/4 multi but I am not worried. I know for a fact that in Germany multies and puzzle caches are a favorite. He will be on his way partying down in no time and to places unknown.

PTP UPDATE - Like I said, the very next day Pete was picked up and is now somewhere in Hungary!!! That is one well travelled party animal.

Please don't forget to visit our GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos Website at

GeoSnippits Website

HooHaa TB Race Cartoon - Week Seven - Just A Nut is Missing!

The HooHaa Travel Bug Racers received shocking news this week.

Just A Nut, a late bloomer in this race has officially gone missing. You can read all about it in this post here. In this week's cartoon Gunny's TB Electric Bug meets up with an old friend. The setting takes place in an ammo box somewhere in Japan.

You can visit all the weekly HooHaa Travel Bug Race Cartoons created by HeadHardHat found at the bottom right of his blog: GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?

How's es hängend, Peter?

Where In The World Is Pete The Parrot?

Pete my party animal of a travel bug has landed in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. After flying north 848 miles from Islas Baleares, Spain. My blue feathered buddy is spending the holidays in the area around Essen.

So far Pete has travelled 9878.4 miles and is not showing any signs of stopping.

You can follow Pete the Parrot by watching his travel bug page here : http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=1484152

GeoSnippits - Logging GeoCoins and TBs Tutorial

The latest and greatest GeoSnippits episode is now out on You Tube.

I frequently get asked by newer Geocaching members how Geocoins and Travel bugs work. Where do you log them, who own's them after you find them and other interesting questions. I try to answer these questions in my GeoSnippits video.

You can see this video and all the rest of the GeoSnippits tutorials on my You Tube Channel. Go to You Tube and put headhardhat or GeoSnippits in the search or click below. Much more videos to come so check back often.

HeadHardHat's You Tube Geocaching Channel

______________________________________________
Get The Latest From HeadHardHat's Blogs

GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?
and
HeadHardHat's Ingenious Cache Inventor

HooHaa TB Race Update: P.J.'s Quilt Covers Second Place

Well in a surprising change of pace our very own P.J. who came up with the HooHaa Travel Bug Race has now moved into second place. Apparently some action was required after recent rumors that the soft and cuddly "Quilt" just wasn't made of the right fluff. This left him in stitches and forced the move to sew up this race. We will have to wait a see if Quilt can continue to move it's fat quarters at a winning pace.

For all the information about the HooHaa TB Race including the latest standings, race cartoons and more, hurry on down to the bottom right of this blog.

HooHaa TB Race Cartoon - Week Four

It looks like all this time stuck at the Starting Line is beginning to take it's toll on the HooHaa TB Racers. Heck poor Gunny's TB was discovered yesterday. That means someone picked it up, marked down the number and put it back in it's hidey hole. I would be a bit frustrated too... Sorry Gunny.

WITW Is Pete The Parrot: ¿Cómo es el tiempo Pete?

Well Pete is a much happier and warmer Parrot. He is a bit tired after travelling from Sweden but the warm sunshine from Islas Baleares, Spain is putting him in much more of a party animal spirit. This very cool travel bug has now gone over the 9000 mile mark and still going strong. Let's see how much party action he can get into before moving on to his next destination.

HeadHardHat Graphic For HooHaa TB Race

Ya know, when you have a taste for doing graphics and about a billion pieces of clip art sometimes the results can be fun. Here is my first of what will be no doubt dozens of cartoons featuring our eight HooHaa TB Racers.

Shown is Just A Nut about to give the other racers a little bolt from the blue.

Please be sure to check out the race score board in the bottom right of my blog. Also there is an area to type in your favorite smackdowns.

WITW is Pete the Parrot - Haj Pete !

Just a quick note that my TB buddy Pete the Parrot has landed in Eda Glasbruk, Sweden. The cache is called Gamla Bron (GC1EAZF). Well they did say he was moving south and I guess from Norway.... that would be south.. Tropics, think tropics.... You can keep up with Pete by visiting his web page by using TB21K5T at geocaching.com or go here http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=1484152

The HooHaa TB Geo-Challenge Race Has Begun

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Travellers!

My Travel Bug "Just A Nut"(TB21K6E) is now active in the HooHaa Geo-Challenge Race. It waits to be picked up in my Oxford TB Hotel (GC1C8A2) and taken on it's TB Race for the most miles tracked within the next year. So from October 16, 2008 - October 16, 2009 eight racers are going to be talking smack and feeling the exhilaration of the adventure to come. We all have blogs, a passion for geocaching and of course smackdown events like this race. Each of us come from different lifestyles and parts of the world. One of us is a Marine, another a professional singer, some are into computers, others into sports writing and some we just can't tell right now. You will have to check out our blogs to figure out who's who. No matter which of us you want to find out more about you are guaranteed a good read.

Just A Nut is made for speed and actually comes from a race car. So it knows how to race and wants to see that checkered flag big time. It doesn't mind drafting behind it's next victim then without warning whips around and flies ahead for the lead. Nothing personal, just part of the game.

I think Just A Nut will continue to show that it is a front runner; a leader. No sitting back in the pack like the rest of the competition. It's pedal to the metal for this hunk of steel. For your convenience I have made a quick viewing section in the bottom right of this blog. You will be able to see all the key information of all the racers. Be sure to send in comments and root for your favorite travel bug. We love hearing from you.