Author Archives: whereabouts

Caching Name:      Joe Wessels
Real Name:            Joe Wessels

1. How did you become involved in geocaching?   It began in 2005 while researching for a GPS receiver I could use to navigate with when flying my ultra-light powered paraglider (PPG).  I had taken a longer than usual flight one day from an airport in Maryland, flying over into Delaware and (luckily) returning back to the airport.  The scenery below while flying over into Delaware captivated my attention so much that when I turned around to fly back I didn’t notice I had wandered a few miles north of my original route.  I realized this once I encountered the high-tension power lines that run north – South near where the airport was supposed to be.  The power lines were there, but the airport wasn’t.  It took me a few minutes of flying circles to spot the airport which was South of me and fly back to it.  The experience made me realize the possibility of landing somewhere where I didn’t want to and I needed something to keep that from happening.  During my research I discovered references to geo-caching and my curiosity led me to the Geocaching.com website where I learned about geo-caching and saw several caches on the map not far from my home.  After finding the first cache, I was hooked.

2.  How did you choose your caching name?  Lack of imagination – the account was free and I thought it would be a short term affair.  That was almost 9 years ago.

3.  What type of cache do you prefer seeking – traditional, multi, and puzzle, virtual?    Traditional is currently my first choice, as time is usually a factor.  Virtual caches would be my 2^nd pick, because they show me places and information I would not normally pay attention too.  It was definitely a memory making and mind-growing experience.  But, I find I am tiring of the easy traditional finds and am slowly warming up to puzzle caches.  Ask me again in another 9 years.

4.  Which caches were the most challenging, either physically/mentally?     There have been several caches that have caused me to exert myself, but none as much as “GEOCACHE” (GC1NGQ1), in New Jersey (now archived).  We found in April of 2009 as part of Jamie’s Birthday celebration geocaching excursion.  It was a bugger to get (between making a bridge to get over the water causeway and getting pricked by the holly tree stickers), but we got it.

Mentally challenging ~ most rehobch and hostanut geocaches have been responsible for my staying up late at night and giving me migraine headaches.

5. What are your current geocaching goals?  Get at least one cache anytime we travel.  Life in general and other interests compete for available time.  It would be nice to fill the 5×5 square of difficulty and terrain grid someday, but I’m not in a hurry.

6.  Where have you always wanted to go caching but haven’t?    The remaining 23 States

7.  What is your most memorable caching experience?     The Alaska Geo-caching cruise vacation Jamie and I took last summer (June/July 2013).  We discovered the geo-caching cruise while making plans to celebrate our 5^th wedding anniversary.  The cruise ship left out of Vancouver Canada, and we were able to make some stops along the way before leaving to visit the Groundspeak Geo-Caching Headquarters in Seattle Washington and also the site of the first geo-cache placed in Oregon.   The Geo-caching cruise itself was a terrifically enjoyable experience!  Over 70 geo-cachers from ten states attended.  And we also converted several other passengers and crew members on the ship into geo-cachers during the cruise.  Four Events, a flash mob dance with bubbles, geo-caching stories, on-ship geo-caching, and meeting a lot of really great people, in addition to finding a lot of neat caches in Alaska made for a vacation only exceeded by our honeymoon.  Oh, and the cruise itself and all that comes with that put the whole thing in the category of Great Value for an even Greater Time!

8.  What do you like about geocaching?  Golly, where to start?!  Geocaching takes me outside of myself, making me look for and see things I would not normally pay attention to.  How the angle of the sun will either highlight a well hidden cache or help to conceal it.  The need develop situational awareness to help me stay aware of my environment and what may be there that could harm me, like a snake hiding in the crook of a tree, or how wet the side of a hill is I am climbing.  And the never- ending lesson of learning to not let my assumptions of where I think the cache may be hidden cloud my vision of what I am actually seeing at the cache site.  Geocaching has done so much to enhance my life that it’s not possible to list it all here.  But I’m always more than happy to share my thoughts over a cup of coffee with anyone that wants to listen.

9.  Do you have some favorite caches in the area?   By in the area, I think of the whole state of Delaware.  Some of my early favorites were caches placed by Hart612, who is no longer around.  He had some great hides that would make me scratch my head and sometimes use sailor language.  A couple of current caches that readily come to mind are “Joe the Plumber” (GC2QEM8) and “Springfield” (GC25FT5).  Of the 2,577 caches I have found in Delaware, I know there are many more that I am forgetting now that would qualify as favorite, but age takes its toll in the memory department.  If we got together and started talking about caching in Delaware and comparing notes, I would remember many, many more caches that I would call a favorite.

10. Do you have any other hobbies or interests?    While geo-caching ranks right up there in the fun category for me, I have to say flying my ultra-light Powered Para-glider really touches my soul and puts a smile on my face.  It’s a back-pack two-stroke motor with a four foot propeller and a harness seat connected to a paragliding wing.  I’ve been flying for 12 years now and have had the pleasure and joy to see the good earth in a unique way few others have.  I have taken a few thousand photos over the years, while flying, and uploaded some of them to geo-cache web-pages.  I am also a pretty fair Do-It-Yourselfer (DIYer), having completely remodeled our house over the course of a year and nine months.  My latest endeavor in trying to keep the brain cells from rotting away is learning to play the harp.  Coming up to the two-year mark on lessons and it’s actually starting to make sense (no previous musical experience).  I can play a well-recognized version of Happy Birthday to You and Old MacDonald for the granddaughter.

Thank you for the opportunity to chat about Geo-caching.

Caching Name: Millennium Mom
Real Name:  Jamie Wessels

1.     How did you become involved in geocaching?    Joe Wessels discovered the Geocaching website while researching information about his Forerunner wrist GPS.  We thought it looked interesting and tried to find a cache at Schutte Park in Dover but could not find it.  We let it go for a few days, and then Joe went out while I was at work and found a different one.  The next day, he showed me what he found. We tried a few more together and got hooked. Eventually, we went back to Schutte Park and found it!

2.     How did you choose your caching name?    I wrote a cookbook, ©1999 as part of my capstone completion project for my Master’s Degree.  The book was published in 2003 as an electronic book and won a National award in 2004.  The book was called ‘Millennium Moms, Cooking on the Run’ which started my nickname ‘Millennium Mom’ and I decided to use it for my caching name.

3.     What type of cache do you prefer seeking – traditional, multi, or puzzle, virtual?    Definitely traditional.  I cache for FUN and do not like all of the ‘homework’ and research associated with puzzles and earth caches.  I also like the immediate gratification of traditionals as opposed to multis which require multiple finds (stages) but you only get credit for one!

4.     Which caches were the most challenging, either physically/mentally?   We have had to climb a few trees and build a few bridges!  We also recently did the Thousand Steps Cache in Pennsylvania.  I had a sick day arranged for the day afterward in case I could not walk when we got back, but I was okay and did not need to use it!

5.     What are your current caching goals?    We spent a year completing our goal of the cache-a-day calendar grid and then another year completing a cache-a-day using only Delaware finds!  Next, I would like to finish the remaining United States, work on getting more of the oldest caches in each state, and then start adding more countries!

6.     Where have you always wanted to go caching but haven’t?    Japan and Australia are on my bucket list for travel and ALL travel includes geo-caching!

We were able to get Mexico while visiting my kids in San Diego and got Vancouver, Canada on our way to Alaska!

7.     What is your most memorable caching experience?   There are so many, but most have been associated with travel. We got a cache at the MSU chapel in full ‘mother-of-the bride’ formal wear in between family photographs at my daughter’s wedding! (Millennium Daughter was not impressed, but her bridesmaid/cacher was!)

Hawaii for our Honeymoon, Grand Canyon/Vegas, and most recently our Alaska Geocaching Cruise were all fabulous. We were able to include the Geocaching Headquarters in Seattle and drove to Oregon for the #1 geocache while we were on the west coast.

‘Runner Up’: We had an ‘interesting’ day of kayak caching…in low tide…with no water!

Then there was the ‘kayak cache’ that we tried without a kayak—just took the swim for it (gross)—only to find out that the cache was on the shore line and NOT in the water!

‘Winner’ of the most memorable caching experience…Joe in tighty-whiteys and bare feet running through HOLLY LEAVES (ouch) to get the cache…for me…and we weren’t even married then!

8.     What do you like about geocaching?  I like that it gets us outside, a little physical activity (unless there is a better parking place!) and the crazy experiences that have occurred while geocaching. We find so many places that we would never have known about if it was not for geocaching.  I also enjoy the Event caches and putting a face to a name from the log entries.  We have met so many great people via caching that I truly consider as friends now!

9.     Do you have some favorite caches in the area?      I tried looking through my list of 5000+ caches for some favorite memory joggers but I can’t even pick favorites!  The enjoyment is generally more about the experience of the day then the actual caches. We have had some ‘duh’ and memorable experiences at light pole caches as well as the long hikes and difficult hides everywhere we go.  It’s all good-if we find it!

10.  Do you have any other hobbies or interests?    Lots of interests!! Sometimes they get in the way of geocaching. Our family life keeps us busy-five adult children between us and a three year old granddaughter.  I like to cook and have gotten back into a previous hobby of cake decorating!  I made me daughter’s wedding cake in 2012 (with a lot of help and support from the family.) You can see from my profile that my caching numbers were very low that year due to stress and practicing!  I also took a drawing and painting class last year and have entered my painting of “Dad’s Farm” into the 2014 Art Exhibition for State of Delaware Employees!

Caching Name: Corpseplow

Real Name:  Rich Wiechecki

1. How did you become involved in geocaching?
   When I was in third grade my parents took me to Disney World, while on that trip they bought me a pretty sweet commemorative coin. About 2 years ago I was perusing EBay to see if it was worth anything (nope), and along with the search results for that coin, came something called a geocoin. I did a quick search into what a geocoin was when I saw the outrageous prices they were going for and voila! I discovered geocaching. I quickly downloaded the worst free gps app money could buy and was off!
2. How did you choose your caching name?
   I get this question a lot. Back when I was in high school, I would sit around with a few of my friends watching movies and listening to music. The music we listened to would range from rock to heavy metal. Every now and then we’d throw out names we’d come up with for bands if we were ever in one and that’s how the name Corpseplow came around. To someone who isn’t familiar with metal, that name would fit right in.

3. What type of cache do you prefer seeking – traditional, multi, puzzle, or virtual?
   I dig virtuals. Virtuals have a weird break down. I’d say a good 94% are historic locations or monuments of some type. 1% are generally a trash pile in a local’s backyard. The last 5% are what draw me in. That last 5% takes you some place that blows your mind.  Some great examples are GCJ8M8-Auto Art, GC15F1-“Awakening”, GCK12J-Last Stop For A Weary Traveler, and GC439D-1938. I’m not going to ruin anything here, but those were all super cool in my book.
4. Which caches were the most challenging, either physically/mentally?
   I’ve worked a couple of challenge caches that were real punishers. Two off the top of my head are: GC494WM-Not Your Traditional Challenge and GC2RFW5- ChocolateTown Challenge North: Baker’s Dozen++ (haven’t turned in, but finished qualifying back in August). Both put me out of my comfort zone when it comes to caching, but both were very rewarding in the end.
5. What are your current caching goals? 
   In a previous answer I talked about my love of virtuals. One of my recent goals was to finish every active virtual in New Jersey, which I accomplished on November 17th. This year I’d like to try to finish every virtual in Delaware and Maryland.
6. Where have you always wanted to go caching but haven’t?
   The Finger Lake area of New York. There are so many cool caches up there like The Spot and The Eternal Flame Earthcache. I’ve been up that way plenty of times but really never have the time to go hiking.
7. What is your most memorable caching experience?
   I’ve had so many great experiences within the last year it’s going to be hard to pick one. Whether it has been finding a thousand caches with Rynamon while doing power trails, hiking the Ramapo mountains with Billdavidsaurus and donut the cat grabbing Gerbil and nearly getting bitten by a rattlesnake, or hiking the DOD pond area with a cranky MikeOtt and Jeffs47 getting almost all of the challenge caches over that way. It’s hard to decide. The one memory that really sticks out to me as my favorite was a road trip Missy and I took this summer. Missy works for an insurance company and gets an amazing discount on rental cars, so one of the things we would do all summer was to get a car every weekend we had off, and just go somewhere unplanned. This led us to places like Centralia, West Virginia, and Washington DC. One weekend, I couldn’t nail down a place to go, so we just kind of sat around all morning. I had always wanted to do Auto Art up in North West Pa, but the six and a half hour drive put me off. I told Missy to just throw some bags in the car and let’s see where we ended up (of course I had that cache in my head all along!). After doing Auto Art we spent the rest of the day caching around Presque Island on Lake Erie. We spent the night in Buffalo, NY and headed up to Niagara Falls the next day. We saw some of the most beautiful sights that weekend, and it’ll be hard for me to ever replicate that.
8. What do you like about geocaching? 
   I really enjoy geocaching because the experience the player has is decided and ruled by the player. Whether you want to go on a 2 mile hike to find an ammo can, do brain melting puzzles, climb a 150 foot tall evergreen tree, or lift lamp post covers in a Wal-Mart parking lot, it’s up to you. I never feel obligated or forced to do any cache to maintain my status as a cacher.
9. Do you have some favorite caches in the area?
   Anybody who knows me well enough, knows I have a very loose understanding of the words “local” and “my area.” My absolute favorite cache that I’ve ever come across was GCDBCF-Echoes of the Past. It’s a virtual in the DC area that I didn’t read very well before taking on, so Missy and I had no clue what we were in for. When we pulled up in the parking lot, all that was really visible was the entrance to a nature trail (the Susan B. Anthony Trail I believe). As we walked back into the woods, all of a sudden we started seeing these really artsy huts, which opened up into a full scale old time amusement park! It had been completely restored, except for a few attractions, and had an amazing working carousel. Missy took a few rides while it was pouring out and I was able to just sit and take it all in. It’s definitely one of the places in my book that I would have never experienced if it weren’t for geocaching.
10. Do you have any other hobbies or interests? 
    Besides hanging out with our newborn son RJ, I’m into videogames and pathtags. I’ve been big into gaming for as long as I can remember and have a pretty massive collection by any standards. I really have gotten into pathtags within the past year. It’s a great way to meet people within caching both local and across the globe.