All sorts of NEWS!!!

The Lost Treasure of Mary Hyde

If you attended an event on July 15th or 16th

you should have already received your 1st souvenir.

If your Friend League earned at least 30 coins, and you yourself

earned at least 5 gold coins; you should receive your 2nd souvenir

on Wednesday July 26th.

For Week #2 which runs from Monday July 24th through the 30th

you need to earn at least 10 gold coins.  Here is the scoring for week #2

• Find and log a geocache* = 5 gold coins.
• Find and log a geocache with 10 or more Favorite points = 7 gold coins.
• Attend and log an event cache = 7 gold coins.
• Retrieve a trackable from a cache = 5 gold coins.
• Drop a trackable into a cache = 10 gold coins.

*Excludes lab caches and web cam caches.

Good LUCK!!!

Only 7 more days until the GCHR Picnic store closes!!!

Yes - hurry on by and place your orders for merchandise, meals, etc.

The store closes at Midnight July 31, 2017!!!

Click HERE for the link to the site

 

Only 70 more days until the SNAP!!!-land

Geo-art is archived!!!

This has been scheduled and re-scheduled more than once.

Delayed time and time again when my in box fills up with

out-of-town requests so a big group can come complete the art.

Virginia's largest geo-art.

Click HERE for the SNAP!!!-land #001.

Something new on the SNAP!!! schedule

I was contacted by Sewwatt - a cacher in NORTON, VA.

They have some big plans for the weekend AFTER the GCHR picnic!!!

There will also be a 50 cache geoart published on Sept. 8th. 

There will be a big event on September 9th at Flag Rock in Norton VA

for the new Woodbooger Geotrail 2017 which includes

a custom made geocoin you can receive after

completing all 20 geocaches in the trail.

Here are the events scheduled around Norton:

GC76XPR - 9/8 from 6 till 8PM

GC723NJ - 9/8 from 9 till 10PM

GC71X25 - 9/9 from 9AM till 5PM

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Events in Hampton Roads

 Mark your calendars – hope to see you at some of these events!

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OFFICIAL EVENT – GC????? 

NOT SCHEDULED YET

Tuesday – August 15, 2017 – ?????, VA

Third Tuesday Event

Unknown

6 till ? PM

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OFFICIAL EVENT – GC793MW 

Monday – August 21, 2017 – Chesapeake, VA

Don't Stare at the Sun! Event

Chesapeake City Park

1:30 till 4 PM

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OFFICIAL EVENT – GC790T6 

Saturday – August 24, 2017 – Chesapeake, VA

AACC #101

Chesapeake City Park

4 till 6 PM

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OFFICIAL EVENT – GC6WWBC 

Saturday – September 2, 2017 – Chesapeake, VA

15th Annual Geocaching Hampton Roads Picnic

Chesapeake City Park

9 AM till 5 PM

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Also on the horizon are:

CITO Week - September 2017 - Attend a CITO event

between 23 September and 1 October to earn a souvenir!

That's All for Now!

Till next time...

Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!

Suffolk Nana & Papa - - - or just plain ol' - - - -  SNAP!!!  

On Twitter at: @SNAPgeocaching

On Instagram at: snap_geocaching

Top 10 Caches in Portsmouth

Portsmouth Top 10 Caches by Favorite Points

 With the 13th Annual GCHR Picnic fast approaching, I figured I would put together several lists detailing the best caches around the area.  Today's list will be the best caches, based on favorite points, in the city of Portsmouth.

The red dot (next to the "Y" in York) is the approximate location of the picnic.

For more information on the picnic - click here

Here is the list for Portsmouth – top 10 caches based on favorite points earned:

Note: Portsmouth is small city but it will take about 1.5 to 2 hours to reach different parts of the city.

1.    GCH83K – Cannon of the Presbyterian Church – 44 favorite points

 - hidden by ATLAS Carya.  This virtual cache is located in the downtown

 area of Portsmouth.
Note from SNAP!!!: A great historical virtual

2.    GC2Z3RY – The Meatless Steak – 26 favorite points - hidden by
Carole & Tucky.  This neat little cache is located where
it should be a park n grab.

Note from SNAP!!!: Loved this cache!

3.    GC4WJJA – Restoring an Urban River – 15 favorite points – hidden
by steve-n-kim.  An Earthcache located in a very new park

Note from SNAP!!!: A fantastic Earth Cache

4.    GC36JHM – Are you kidding? – 13 favorite points – hidden by ny311fan.

A tricky little cache located in a neighborhood wooded area.

Note from SNAP!!!: tricky little devil

5.     GC5PZJP – Veterans of Cedar Groove Cemetery – 13 favorite points – hidden
by steve-n-kim.    A nice multi-cache located near downtown Portsmouth.

Note from SNAP!!!: a great multi

6.    GC8880 – Cradock Cache – 12 favorite points – hidden by Seth!

  A nice puzzle cache located in an area with a lot of history.

Note from SNAP!!!: Easy puzzle in a historic location

7.    GC5PZJF – Notables At Cedar Grove Cemetery – 11 favorite points

– hidden by steve-n-kim.  Another multi-cache located in a very historic

cemetery in downtown Portsmouth.

Note from SNAP!!!: Another great multi

8.    GC36J27 – Revenge for 302 – 11 favorite points – hidden by HuffinPuff.

This tough little cache is located in a neighborhood.

Note from SNAP!!!: another tricky one!

Note from SNAP!!!: a great multi

9.    GC3RRDW – Paper Palace – 9 favorite points – hidden by epat72 and

adopted by coastalgypsies.  A cute cache located in the downtown area Portsmouth.
Note from SNAP!!!: this is another tricky one!

10.  GC3BM6J – Light Foot – 9 favorite points – hidden by SeePaulGolf
 and adopted by everplaid.  A tricky little cache located near the Portsmouth waterfront.

Note from SNAP!!!: very nice cache

Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!

Suffolk Nana & Papa - - - or just plain ol' - - - -  SNAP!!!

Some more... Best Caches of GCHR

Are you coming to the 12th Annual Geocaching Hampton Roads Picnic ?

Do you plan on staying more than one day to do some caching in the area?

If so, then this list might help.

Here are the top 5 caches in every South-side city in the GCHR area

(based on percentage of favorite points to finds).

Virginia Beach

1.  GC4TABG - The Nose Knows - hidden by steve-n-kim - 81% (Multi)

2.  GC4JXYB - Signals  - hidden by drakeotemy - 78% (Puzzle)

3. GC389YR - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - hidden by southtexas - 74% (night cache)

4. GC4TTGR - The KEY to Happiness - hidden by steve-n-kim - 72% (puzzle)

5. GC4R264 - B.Y.O.B. #2 Connect Two - hidden by CachinCousinz - 71%

Chesapeake

1. GC190EK - EVIL - hidden by Frogman83 - 68%

2. GC37AQ2 - The Dark Side  - hidden by southtexas - 67%

3. GC4R8BR - Frankencache - hidden by The Mad Scientist - 66%

4. GC2C7GF - A Cryptex Trading Cache - hidden by ARONK76 - 62% (Puzzle)

5. GC4XVBD - OGL 1.5 Mile Run - hidden by Prytz+1 - 59% (Wherigo)

Norfolk

1. GC51KMT - Forest Lawn: Meet the Residents - hidden by cameramoose - 74% (Wherigo)

2. GC44DXW - NFWC  - hidden by drakeotemy - 72% (Puzzle)

3. GC4Z6KA - Escape from Norfolk - hidden by Prytz+1 - 68% (Wherigo)

4. GC4XD7M - The Hermitage Gardens: A Walking Tour - hidden by Prytz+1 - 60% (Wherigo)

5. GC360WK - In Plain Sight: 15 to 51 for Litech - hidden by Willcoje and Xckarebear - 57%

Portsmouth

1. GC36J27 - Revenge for 302 - hidden by HuffinPuff - 52% (Premium)

2. GC36JHM - Are you kidding?  - hidden by ny311fan - 43% (Premium)

3. GC2Z3RY - The Meatless Steak - hidden by Carole & Tucky - 31%

4. GC8880 - Cradock Cache - hidden by Seth! - 15% (Multi)

5. GCH83K - Cannon of the Presbyterian Church - hidden by ATLas Carva - 9% (Virtual)

Suffolk

1. GC44PNY - I Can't Find My Finger - hidden by southtexas - 70% (Puzzle)

2. GC4FR3R - SNAP 108 - $m@rt Phone Video Cache  - hidden by SNAP!!! - 70%

3. GC44PQW - Something to Chew On - hidden by steve-n-kim - 59% (Puzzle)

4. GC302K3 - Usta B #13 - No Dumping Allowed - hidden by kan1stv- 54% (Multi & Premium)

5. GC3611F - Log It! - hidden by toystory2 - 50%

Isle of Wight

1. GC3PTB0 - Smithfield's Porcine Parade - hidden by chihuahuak94me - 72% (Puzzle)

2. GC47DE8 - Head To The Point - hidden by Ioannes Cornu, Muskrat1337 & Holliehp  - 39%

3. GC3ETZ9 - Historic Fort Huger - hidden by GreatScott - 35%  (Multi)

4. GC1WQAD - Bronze Statues Hold The Key - hidden by chihuahuak94me - 33% (Puzzle)

5. GC2NYVE - Off The Beaten Path - hidden by muskrat 1337 - 28%

Portsmouth Top Caches by Favorite Points

Planning your caching around the picnic?  Coming in from out of town, and want to make sure you don’t miss some of the best caches?  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be generating several lists to help with this.

Each list will detail the best geocaches in each city in the Hampton Roads and surrounding areas based on the number of favorite points these caches have earned.

 Here is the list for Portsmouth – top 12 caches based on favorite points earned:

1.    GCH83K – Cannon of the Presbyterian Church – 23 favorite points - hidden by ATLAS Carya.  This virtual cache is located in the downtown area of Portsmouth just over 27 miles from Newport News Park.

2.    GC2Z3RY – The Meatless Steak – 19 favorite points - hidden by Carole & Tucky.  This neat little cache is located about 27 miles from Newport News Park. 

3.    GC36JHM – Are you kidding? – 13 favorite points – hidden by ny311fan.  A tricky little cache located about 27 miles from Newport News Park.

4.    GC8880 – Cradock Cache – 11 favorite points – hidden by Seth!.  A puzzle cache located in an area with a lot of history.  Located almost 29 miles from Newport News Park.

5.    GC36J27 – Revenge for 302 – 11 favorite points – hidden by HuffinPuff.  This nice little cache is located about 27 miles from Newport News Park.

6.    GC3MC3F – B8 – GCHR Battleship – 7 favorite points – hidden by GCHR Fleet Command.  This cache about 25 miles from Newport News Park.

7.    GC35N4K – I Will Cache With You – 5 favorite points – hidden by litechs_wife.  This is a puzzle cache in the downtown area of Portsmouth.

8.    GC1YCF1 – Spoils of War Revived – 5 favorite points – hidden by JDGood1.  Annother cache located in the downtown area of Portsmouth.

9.    GC1JVHB – HR History #5 – High St – 4 favorite points – hidden by DMB4Life.  A puzzle cache located somewhere in Portsmouth.

10.  GC1JT94 – HR History #4 – Frederick – 4 favorite points – hidden by DMB4Life.  Another puzzle cache located somewhere in Portsmouth.

11.  GC22AQX – SSB – Hoffler Creek Wildlife Foundation & Preserve – 4 favorite points – hidden by Star-Spangled Banner.  Located in a very scenic wildlife preserve near the James River.

12.  GC2NCRZ – what a gun – 4 favorite points – hidden by turnersrugs.  A micro cache located in a very historic area of Portsmouth.

GCHR 11th Annual Picnic - August 31st, 2013 - GC42NJJ - A MEGA-event

Every Labor Day Weekend for the 11 years GCHR (GeoCaching Hampton Roads) has held their Annual Picnic.  Last year (2012), the event became a MEGA-event making the picnic Virginia's first ever Mega-event.  This year, 2013, GCHR once again is planning another great event, hopefully, to meet and exceed last year's totals of fun, excitement and attendance.  Vendors are returning again, and new vendors are planning on attending.  The staff and volunteers of GCHR are deep into planning and if the planning meeting that I attended yesterday is any indication - fun will be had by all!!!

I have been compiling lists of top caches in the area for the event.  So as an intro into The Hampton Roads area - here is some information that may assist you if you are planning on coming to the area for the picnic.

The Hampton Roads area

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia. Hampton Roads is notable for its large military presence and its year-round ice-free harbor, and hundreds of miles of waterfront property and beaches, all of which contribute to the diversity and stability of the region's economy.

The water area known as Hampton Roads is one of the world's largest natural harbors, and incorporates the mouths of the Elizabeth River and James River with several smaller rivers and itself empties into the Chesapeake Bay near its mouth leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

The land area includes dozens of cities, counties and towns on the Virginia Peninsula and in South Hampton Roads. Some of the more outlying areas from the harbor may or may not be included as part of "Hampton Roads", depending upon the organization or purpose. For a commonly used example, as defined for federal economic purposes, the Hampton Roads metropolitan statistical area (MSA) additionally includes two counties in northeastern North Carolina and two counties in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. Officially, the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA has a population of about 1.7 million, the 36th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

The area is steeped in 400 years of American history and hundreds of historical sites and attractions in the area draw visitors from around the world each year. The harbor was the key to the Hampton Roads area's growth, both on land and in water-related activities and events. The harbor and its tributary waterways were (and still are) both important transportation conduits and obstacles to other land-based commerce and travel. Creating and maintaining adequate infrastructure has long been a major challenge. The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) and the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel (MMMBT) are major harbor crossings of the Hampton Roads Beltway which links each of the largest population centers of Hampton Roads. In 2007, the new Hampton Roads Transportation Authority (HRTA) was formed under a controversial state law to levy various additional taxes to generate funding for major regional transportation projects, including a long-sought and costly third crossing of the harbor of Hampton Roads.

The MSA consists of these locations in Virginia:

• Gloucester County
• Isle of Wight County
• James City County
• Mathews County
• York County
• City of Chesapeake
• City of Hampton
• City of Newport News
• City of Norfolk
• City of Poquoson
• City of Portsmouth
• City of Suffolk
• City of Virginia Beach
• City of Williamsburg

The MSA also includes the following locations in North Carolina:

• Currituck County
• Gates County

The Best Geocaches in Hampton Roads

Over the next few weeks I will be generating several lists.  Each list will detail the best geocaches in each city in the Hampton Roads and surrounding areas based on the number of favorite points these caches have earned.  The main reason for these lists is to assist all visitors that may be coming to the area not only for the summer but also for the 11^th Annual Hampton Roads Picnic.  Of course all the local geocachers are more than welcome to use the lists also.

So I suppose the first question will be: How come my cache is not on the list?  I am creating these lists straight from Geocaching.com using GSAK to sort out only those caches in each city with the most favorite points.  I plan on putting out a list for each city in the area i.e., Newport News, Williamsburg, Gloucester, Hampton, etc plus a list for York county and one for within “X” miles of ground zero for the picnic.

Favorite Points, what are they?  If you are a premium member on geocaching.com you earn 1 favorite point for every 10 caches you find.  In turn, you can award these points back to those caches that strike you as interesting, or to just say “Thank You” to a cache owner who has placed a cache that you really like.  As some of you know, most days Nana & I go out caching we award a favorite point to each cache that take us some place interesting or teaches us something new.  It could be the scenery involved around the cache, it could be a historical cache, or it could be it made us fall on the ground laughing.  Whatever, you can award favorite points to any cache you have found.  Additionally, Nana & I usually pick one really outstanding cache for that day and award it the “COVETED” SNAP Cache of the Day Award.   Not only does it get a favorite point but all winners of the award are listed (by year) on our blog: SNAPgeocaching.blogspot.com

Another use for favorite points is you can filter for particular caches in an area.  Nana & I recently took a trip up to Harrisonburg, VA.  As I was getting our list of target caches ready for the trip, I searched a 20 miles radius of Harrisonburg and selected only those caches with 10 or more favorite points!  

By creating these lists I hope to help those coming to the area find the Best Caches in the Hampton Roads area!!!

Stay tuned…

As Always – Stay Safe & Keep caching!!!

SNAP!!! – Suffolk Nana & Papa