Desert Messenger

January 20, 2016 www.DesertMessenger.com 49 Desert Rally in Quartzsite Teaches How to Geocache Submitted by Judy Rinehimer Escapees RV Club Geocachers Have you been bitten by the GEO- CACHING bug? According to the www.Geocaching.com website: "Geocaching is the real-world trea- sure hunt that's happening right now, all around you. There are 2,768,603 active geocaches and over 15 million geocachers worldwide." Geocaching is a high-tech scaven- ger hunt that uses GPS devices or Smartphones with caching software to find hidden containers based on their GPS coordinates that have been posted online. In the Quartzsite area, for example, there are nearly a thousand hidden containers that can take searchers to locations through- out the town and around the desert in hopes of declaring their success in making the find by signing a small log sheet and posting their "find" on the Internet. Locations for the hidden contain- ers are identified by their GPS coordi- nates and the descriptions and hints found on Geocaching.com. A search of the website www.geocaching.com can actually map locations. If you enter "Quartzsite" in the search box then you can also see the MAP IT op- tion. (https://www.geocaching.com/ play/search/@33.66391,-114.22995? origin=Quartzsite,+Arizona&ot=3&g =327741&radius=15mi#Content) The containers might be large enough to contain simple "SWAG" (stuff we all get) – simple toys or items of little value – or small enough to only contain a very small log sheet. The fun of the game is not the items found but in doing the hunting. While anyone can find out about this "hide and seek" game on the www.geocaching.com website, Quartzsite area visitors can find out all about this fun traveler's hobby during a four day, hands-on instructional rally conducted by members of the Escapees RV Geo- caching Club immediately following the closing of the Big Tent. The Escapees Geocaching 7th an- nual rally will be held starting Mon- day, January 25 through January 28, 2016 past mile marker 99 in the Roadrunner BLM area south of the Big Tent in Q. The coordinates for the planned rally will be N 33 34.972 W114 13.787. Directional signs for the exact location for the rally will be posted from the turnoff on N. 53rd St. Participants can dry-camp on site during the rally and attend classes and discussion groups in the morn- ings and go out buddy-caching in the afternoons and evenings. Special at- tention is given to "NEWBIES. Reg- istration fee is $3.00 per person. A special activity during this rally will be a very complex "puzzle cache" called the "Around Town Challenge" that will take cachers to a variety of Quartzsite locations to get clues and additional numbers to fill in mystery coordinates to answer questions to prove they were actually at each site. Searchers will have four days to gather the answers to complete the puzzles and awards will be present- ed on Thursday, January 28. Wednesday, January 27, has also been announced as a spe- cial free Geocaching.com Event, "GC67ONE", and will feature an af- ternoon guided outing called "Cach- ing Q History Tour." Last year's special tour was to a local mine and a talk with the miner. More than 100 rally attendees were invited to bring plastic flowers which still remain in a unique display of vari- ous porcelain toilets called "Parade of Toilets". To read details about this cache and to see photos go to: http://www.geocaching.com/geo- cache/GC4YRBG_parade-of-toilets Flyers with the seminar schedule will be available around town and at the Escapees Booth in the Big Tent. For more information, contact Judy Rinehimer coolrvers@gmail.com. Geocaching Want to learn something new? Want to meet new people? The "Rock Club" may be it! We teach 30 classes/week. Lapidary, Silversmithing, Facet- ing, Opal Cutting, Wire Wrapping, Knapping, Knife Making, Leather Tooling, Beading, Desert Trips, Casting, Copper Jewelry... the list goes on and on. Come to our club meeting at the QIA on Thursdays at 2pm for information on what we are doing and when. Coffee and cookies afterwards. Visit us at the Club from 9am-noon Monday thru Friday for a tour. Quartzsite Road- runner Gem & Mineral Club, is lo- cated at 65 Ironwood (behind La Mesa RV) www.qrgmc.org Gem club ROCKS! Friday, January 22, 2016 7pm, Quarzsite Community Center 295 Chandler If you enjoy spending time in Quartzsite during the winter months, and you ride your ATV or off road vehicle during that time, then you must attend the ALAA meeting. The American Lands Access Association (ALAA) Informational Meeting will be held on Friday, January 22, 2016, at 7:00 PM SMT at the New Quartzsite Community Center. 295 Chan- dler Street, Quartzsite, AZ. The featured keynote speaker is recenlly retired from the US Forest Service and his presentation is going to be very informative. www.amlands.org CLEANUP : The American Lands Access Association Forth Annual BLM Clean-up is 10 am to 12 noon local time, Sunday, January 24, 2016 at Dome Rock exit west of Quartzsite. All Rockhounds and concerned citi- zens are welcome. See you there. American Land Access Assoc. meets "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." ~ Christopher Reeve The Main Event cancels BBQ Fest Quartzsite - Just prior to Christ- mas, 2015, Ron Cates, CEO Cates & Company Creative, and pro- moter of Smoke on the Water BBQ Productions, issued an email to his competing BBQ chefs, which quickly was shared online. In the email, Cates stated, "it is with heavy heart, after much discus- sion, we have decided to cancel the Quartzsite, AZ Event." The event was scheduled for January 22-24, 2016 at the Main Event Show Place in Quartzsite. The Main Event Show Place is located at the corner of W. Main and Quartzsite Blvd. For more information, visit http:// maineventshowplace.com or call the number listed on the website, 562- 716-6044.

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