How Geocachers Spend NYE & NYD

This year Geocaching Headquarters announced two virtual souvenirs would be given for finding a geocache or attending an event on December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2018. Well, we couldn't pass up a deal like that! We attended an event in Tempe on Sunday afternoon, hosted by another geocacher.

location of the event

my first bacon donut

probably my last as there are so may other options

lots of humor on this truck

I like this place for a couple of reasons. Besides delicious donuts, the shop bakes fresh donuts every night for the next day. They give away whatever is left in the case at the end of each day, feeding the homeless.

NYE souvenir

And then on New Year's Day, I hosted an event at a new city park in Apache Junction at 8:45 in the morning. It just so happened there was a geo-hiking event nearby at 10:00 hosted by other geocachers.

we furnished donuts & OJ

more than 55 geocachers attended

there were 4 glazed donuts left of the 6 dozen I ordered

NYD souvenir

Second Half of December or Family Christmas

The time spent is SD included doctor appointments for both of us and our family Christmas. Just an FYI, the temperatures were so nice before Christmas, we were comfortable in fleece jackets. That changed drastically the week of Christmas; below zero temps and some snow.

The highlight of course was our family Christmas, the weekend prior to Christmas. It started with bowling:

the only proof that I bowled

The K & C family got presents from Germany:

a hat for Mcbe

a doll for Miss W

beer stein for OFS

a nutcracker for OFDIL

books for the kiddos of the visit to the Black Hills

Auntie helping Mcbe with his new activity book

a beautiful, delicious cranberry pie for dessert

The church Christmas program on Sunday:

thanks to Liz, the other grandma, for this photo

Mcbe in the white sweater

Miss W is the white top

December 29th

time to head back to AZ

We were able to see my brothers and my mother and one of Hubby's sisters. It was good to be back home and just as good to head back to our winter home. 

The First Half of December

December could be divided into two parts: the first half which we spent in AZ and the second half which was spent in SD. This will cover the AZ part. More sunsets, hummers and geocaching.

December 1st sunset

December 5th sunset

December 6th was a full day of geocaching activities. It started with a Cache In Trash Out event hosted by John at 8:30 AM. We picked up trash along a half-mile stretch of a road and did some caching and walking in the desert. John and some of the other local cachers had placed new geocaches which were to be released that morning. John's CITO event, the dozen or so newly released caches and an event later in the day would bring geocachers to Apache Junction for the day. And it did. 

John loves to build gadget caches

this was one of his new ones

it took four of us to 'solve' it

another cacher had donated a geocaching-themed

Christmas tree as a door prize for my event later that day

some of those attending the December 6th event

This was the day I knew my hip was in need of some major attention. I think I had made the appointment after the last caching day in November. You all know the result of the right hip's medical attention during the second half of December. So What Did You Do Over the Holiday?

Hummer visitor

I spent a lot of time studying the hummers

more on that later

and another beautiful AZ sunset on December 11th

Second half of December and Christmas next.

Catch-Up in November

I'm not certain why I did not blog in November. I guess I thought nothing much happened. We arrived at our winter home. We set up and organized. We geocached some. I looked at the sunsets. I watched the hummingbirds. Same old. Same old. So here is the same old in photos.

 We spent a night in Tucson before arriving at our winter home and met Hubby's niece for dinner at Guadalajaras. She was in Tucson for a conference and it happened to work for the 3 of us to catch up.

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We did some geocaching. One of the first caches we collected was GCED Senda de Tonto. This was an important geocache because it was placed in December 2000.

Hubby had gotten this cache a couple of years ago, but it has been on my radar ever since I realized how close we were to completing the Jasmer: finding a geocache each month since the beginning of geocaching.

I have two months left to fill; August 2000 and January 2001. (Hubby has just one month to fill 'cause he climbed a mountain and I won't be able to do that.) I am hoping to fill one of those months this winter in AZ.

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There was the Veteran's Day Parade and luncheon at the resort. The Combs High School Band adds so much to the parade and honoring the day.

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the AZ sunset

the hummers found the feeders

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We drove south of Florence, almost to Tucson to complete a geoart that had been placed in the last year. Typical desert geoart...we followed high line roads to find the caches. In other words, not the smoothest roads around. The geocaches were not hard to find.

a C1 30 airplane was doing some practicing

the entrance to a desert rat nest

our only animal sighting on the ranch land

contrails and sunset on the way home

Jeep Wave Geoart

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And the last geocaching of November; some urban caching in Apache Junction, along the roads and streets and in the desert.

it was a very smoggy/foggy morning

painted rock

one of the many geocaches

the trinkets (swag) left by other geocachers

this is horse country

we ended that warm day with adult refreshments

with our Italian dinner

As I said at the beginning of this post, same old. Same old. Nothing very exciting or different. Catch up on December is next.