I was very happy that Signal made an appearance at 2011 MOGA thanks to SLB4U and friends
By: Jessie, Foxfire
This past weekend it was my privilege to attend the 2011 MOGA event in Rend Lake, IL. I don’t think I could have asked for a more interesting and fun weekend.
I was able to fly into St. Louis Airport Thursday afternoon to pick up my rental car and start on the 2 ½ hour drive to Rend Lake. I have never been anywhere near Illinois so I was excited to see a little of the state on my way. This included a lot of amazing architecture, “little” Nashville and my first glimpse of an actual swamp. I was born and raised in Seattle so yes, seeing a swamp was exciting. I spent my first night relaxing and doing some work on my laptop before turning in for the night.
On Friday, I woke up to a sunny and very brisk day and the strange sight of snow on my car. I decided I needed a good cup of coffee and better shoes for the weather, so I headed off on a mission into the small town of Benton. I soon figured out that there were no coffee shops but I was able to find a very large Wal-Mart where I could pick up some rubber boots. These boots ended up being the best thing I could have bought.
The ship's log and log book for the event
Friday night was the opening event of the weekend and my first chance to get to meet some of the geocachers that would be participating in the other events of the weekend. It was the BYO…Buccaneer’s Booty Bash Before the Big Bash. Everyone was dressed in their best pirate gear, including one very well dressed dog. I have to say pirates are my favorite! To my surprise even Signal was able to make an appearance. Everyone was so shocked to see our green mascot that they all fell quiet when Signal entered the picnic area. You could hear crickets. After a long night, it was back to the hotel to get some sleep before an early – very early - 3 am Seattle time wake up to make it to breakfast.
Saturday had to be the best day of them all. I was able to spend the day talking with local geocachers, answering questions about the website, troubleshooting issues and just socializing. I heard great stories about tornadoes on New Year’s Eve, muddy fields that apparently everyone at the 2010 MOGA ended up driving their cars into, the year of “The Snow Storm” and many more fun stories of past events. Little did we know that this would be another year in which we would end up with somewhere between three to six inches of snow by the end of the night. However, as many cachers kept saying, “Weather will not stop us from caching.” And it did not. For many people a little inclement weather may have brought down the spirit of the event, or made them unhappy. For this group it seemed that they found it a greater challenge. Through wind, rain, sleet and snow this group of about 600 cachers was out searching through the woods looking for the next cache. Each came back with a smile on their face and excitement for the awards ceremony at the end of the night.
I am now back home after a drive through the snow and a long plane trip but I will never forget the kindness and welcome that the cachers at the 2011 MOGA showed me. I only hope that I can make it back again to share in the fun of 2012.
The Iowa Geocachers Organization. The hosts of the 2012 MOGA Event
You can also find a Lackey at one of these upcoming Mega-Events:
Bussum, Netherlands – Geocaching Multi Event 2011
Oeiras, Portugal – 11 Years! Oeiras – Portugal
New York, USA – ASP GeoBash 6
Ontario, Canada – COG Spring Fling
Salzburg, Austria – Pinzgau 2011
Pennsylvania, USA – GeoWoodstock IX
Ohio, USA – Midwest Geobash
Wales, UK – Mega Wales 2011
Wisconsin, USA – West Bend $1000 Cache Ba$h
HQ in Washington State, USA – Groundspeak Block Party
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany – Geocoinfest Europa
Catalunya, Spain – Mega Event Catalunya
South Carolina, USA – Geocoinfest
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