The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Rbyslprs1 aka Jackie Fleming should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name? Rbyslprs1

How did you choose your handle? About 10 years ago, I was trying to think of something for my email address. I was looking out the window and saw my front license plate. I live the movie "Wizard of Oz." The license plate read "rbyslprs" for ruby slippers. So that name just stuck with me.

How long have you been geocaching? 5 years

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it? It was a silver bison tube on a chain link fence. It was called "Honeysuckle" at Pleasant Ridge shopping Center. I had no idea what I was looking for. Took a bit, but I did find it and I was hooked.

Who usually goes with you when you go caching? Most of the time i am by myself. Other times, my daughter (Garrettspringy05) comes along.

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up? I love puzzles, but the puzzle caches just baffles me sometimes. Some I will solve, then it takes me forever to go get the cache. A few puzzles, I have been going back to for the last 5 years.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in? Little Rock, Benton, Hot Springs, Texarkana... I like to find at least one geocache in every city I visit. Kind of like a reminder that I have been there.

Do you do paperless caching? I'm not quite sure I know what this is, but I think that is all I do. (But I do sign the log everytime I find one.)

What kind of geocaching rig do you use? 2009 Chevy HHR

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching? I like geocaching because it gets you outside. It takes you to places you can pass everyday but might not notice. It takes you to places you have never been.

Where are you originally from? Born in Missouri, but lived in Arkansas since I was 5 years old.
In what states have you geocached? Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi

What was your first event ever attended? The first one was at Homer's by Ron & Mona White. I really didn't know what to expect but everyone made me feel welcomed.

How many caches have you found? 311... only cache in my spare time

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest? Ones with trackables, gadget caches, ones that takes me to historical sites
What was the most famous cache that you have found? Gorilla Stash in Mountain Home, AR

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries? Rechargeable.... my phone

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby? Finding... I have only hidden one

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide? Yes, my goal would be to point out sites or something in plain site you don't even notice.

What is your favorite type of cache hide? Well, I only have one hide and it is in a pill bottle. That was all I had at the time. But I would say, I like the lock in locks big enough for a trackable but small enough to hide.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in? So far, the only one I have... "WOW! That's cool" GC85VQ7 in Little Rock, AR

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh? Well, maybe the first hide after your first 100 so you get the hang of it. Don't hide if you don't plan on keeping up with it. After your first 100, then maybe 1:100, but don't overwhelm yourself.

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby? I have researched it in 2004, but the I got pregnant and had my daughter in 2005. Got busy with her and kind of forgot about it. I work at a compounding pharmacy and train P4 students. One student started talking to me about it and this was in 2014. It peaked my interest again and I started researching it again. Got on the website, found one near me when I was shopping (Honeysuckle) and was hooked again.

What's your favorite geocache? Maybe the Schoolhouse in Benton by Sdukes. Love all of hers. ( I have not made it Cabot yet) I also loved visiting Old Washington Historic State Park.

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching? New Zealand, Ireland, or Iceland
Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group? I usually prefer by myself. I have never went with a group though, besides my kids.

How many First to Finds do you have? Zero... I'm not really out for FTF. I like the lonely caches more.

Are you a First to Find person who is always set on go and if so, how many miles out do you have your settings on to get notifications? No, I have my settings on but usually don't check my email but once a week.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching? Fishing, spending time with my kids but no, not really

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Likestocanoe aka Jim and Sandy Fryar should be the next cachers to be in the spotlight. Yes, we know they were profiled before, that is why this one is not the questionnaire.

Likestocanoe are great geocachers! They give back to the game in a mighty way with 741 geocaches owned. There are 26 event geocaches in that 741. Jim and Sandy are both very friendly and outgoing. They never meet a stranger. They welcome everyone with open arms and a positive attitude. They currently have 18,472 geocache finds.

Recently, Sandy has had some life threatening health issues. After 65 days in various hospitals, Sandy Fryar went home on April 2! She still has a long road of recovery -- physically, mentally, and emotionally -- but we're praising God! Many people in this organization have been praying for Sandy and the family. Keep it up as she continues to recover! Sandy will share about her experience when she is ready. We are thankful for God's miraculous healing.

The following is from Matt, Jim and Sandy's son:
I know a lot of people are going to want to see her. Please take it slow and let her acclimate to being home. She tires easily, and she's still going to be doing physical therapy several days a week. And knowing all you Southerners... No, Mom and Dad don't need meals right now. Continue, please, to pray that her body, mind, and spirit will all continue to strengthen and that Dad will keep his spirits up as he helps her through her ongoing recovery.

You can encourage Jim and Sandy by posting about one of your geocaching adventures with them in this thread.

Jim and Sandy placed several geocaches before the health issues. Normally, Sandy takes care of all of the online part of geocaching, but Jim couldn't let her down so he worked extra hard to get them published. Show Likestocanoe your appreciation by finding their geocaches, and writing them good logs.

Jim and Sandy.jpg

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Nik&Styx (NikFromBrier) aka Nikki Coats should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name?
It was Nik&Styx until recently and I changed it to NikFromBrier.

How did you choose your handle?
My daughter’s nickname was Styx and my name is Nikki. So we started caching as Nik&Styx. She grew up and no longer wanted to cache with her mother. So I decided it was time to remove her from my caching name and create my own…NikFromBrier.

How long have you been geocaching?
Started in Feb 2012

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
Using the geocaching app on the iphone. https://coord.info/GC2V6MF Need a Towel

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
These days my husband..Scuba.Green

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
Honestly, I don’t work many puzzle caches. I just don’t have the time to put into them. Hopefully that will change one day.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
Clinton, AR; I like Night_Hikers caches.

Do you do paperless caching?
No paper caching for me. And these days I don’t understand why anyone would do that.

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
My camry or my husband’s explorer. One day we hope to have a Jeep.

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
I am always telling my friends they should get into geocaching. I tell them about all the places I discover that I never knew about. Many in places I thought I was familiar with.

Where are you originally from?
Born and raised in Greenbrier

In what states have you geocached?
Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Illinois, and Alabama

What was your first event ever attended?
Believe it or not, just a week ago at the February 2019 C.A.G.E Meet, Greet and Eat

How many caches have you found?
642

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
I like the creative containers.

What was the most famous cache that you have found?
Gorilla Stash

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
Rechargeable.. a phone

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
Finding

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
I just want people to enjoy the cache. Whether it be the location or the container.

What is your favorite type of cache hide?
I actually like multi stage caches, but I have found that most are not kept up with and that is frustrating.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?
I only have 2 hides, but Birdie is my favorite.

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
1:100

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
I had read an article in a parenting magazine about free things to do with your kids. I downloaded the app and was surprised to see a few caches in my area.
I picked up my daughter from school and we went looking.

What's your favorite geocache?
I’m not sure I have one.

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
I would just travel around the world caching everywhere.

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
I have never geocached with anyone other than my immediate family. But I think it would be cool to try group caching.

How many First to Finds do you have?
I have no idea. Under 10.

Are you a First to Find person who is always set on go and if so, how many miles out do you have your settings on to get notifications?
I tried to be one of those people, but my busy schedule does not allow it.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
Hiking, sports, going to the lake

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought lauracricket aka Laura Neale should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name?

lauracricket

How did you choose your handle?

Laura is my given name & Cricket is my nickname from college because there were 2 lauras in my dorm room & I was the nocturnal one.

How long have you been geocaching?

I started in 2013, found one cache, then somehow forgot about it until a friend took me to find my second one exactly a year & two days later.

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?

My first find was GC4FP93. It was near where I worked at the time, so I took a lunch-hour walk over to see what it was all about. The title was a pun, so I found it pretty quickly.

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?

Ususally I go by myself, though I love to bring one or both dogs along when I can. Sometimes, I cache with my mom, mamaperi.

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?

Depends on the puzzle. I've certainly had nemesis puzzles that I kept at for months.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?

The majority of my caching has been done in & around Little Rock, since I don't get to travel much. But I like good trailside caches & am fond of cemetery caches.

Do you do paperless caching?

I had to look up what that is. Yes, almost exclusively. I don't have the real hardcore equipment, I just use my smartphone's GPS.

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?

Google Pixel 2

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?

Besides the fact that it's just so darn fun, it often gives you a unique perspective on places. I've lived in Little Rock for most of my life, but I'd never really properly explored it till geocaching. It's shown me so many interstices & points of interest that I'd missed before & has deepened my knowledge of & appreciation for my home city. And when I travel, geocaching gives me access to what is essentially a hidden database of local lore & recommendations. It's fascinating!

Where are you originally from?

I was born in Tennessee, but I consider myself an Arkansan.

In what states have you geocached?

Only 8 so far: AR, TN, MS, MO, AL, MD, GA, & VA.

What was your first event ever attended?

GC66HJD: December 2015 C.A.G.E. Meet, Greet, & Eat

How many caches have you found?

As of today, 723.

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?

Love medium sized ones. They're small enough to hide almost anywhere when camouflaged well, but big enough to hold TBs & trade items.

What was the most famous cache that you have found?

The one with the most favorites was a webcam cache that's been around since 2005: GCMF4B

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?

I mean, there's a rechargable battery in my phone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?

Both, of course! With finding, there's an instant gratification kind of thrill. Hiding, the delayed gratification kicks in with those random but satisfying find log notifications.

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?

I like to contribute my little store of local knowledge to the map, and I try to give my containers a creative, personal touch.

What is your favorite type of cache hide?

I really enjoy a well-camouflaged, hidden-in-plain-sight small or medium container.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?

My most popular hide is GC6P7VJ, by my personal favorite is GC72N8Y.

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?

Oh, I have no idea. Maybe 1:100?? Quality over quantity.

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?

I first found out about it from a friend & it became part of my life after I moved back home from China & decided I needed a bit more variety in my day-to-day.

What's your favorite geocache?

Oooh, tough question. Really loved GC4QPMZ. GC78412 is very creative. GC44JJ2 was fun. GC408XQ was a fun puzzle. The scenery at GC14N05 blew me away.

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?

New Zealand, Madagascar, or Iceland...

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?

Both. I mostly go on my own, but I've met some fun people to search with too.

How many First to Finds do you have?

Just 5 so far.

Are you a First to Find person who is always set on go and if so, how many miles out do you have your settings on to get notifications?

Sadly not, my job doesn't really allow for me to take off at a moment's notice. Off the clock, though, it's on.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?

I like being outdoors. I'm always looking up this plant or that bug & sort of consider myself kind of an amateur naturalist. In addition to caches, I also hunt graffiti & street art.

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought jdpc3 aka Jennifer and Danny Volpert should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name?
jdpc3

How did you choose your handle?
It's our initials...Jennifer, Danny, Patrick (son), and Cara (daughter).

How long have you been geocaching?
Since March of 2013. Before we met, Danny had found a few, way back when caching was new, and you spent all day looking for one cache out in the middle of nowhere! He never had a caching name or logged them anywhere though.

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
Black Hawk Down (GC2B6QT) We don't remember how it came up, but Danny mentioned that he had done some geocaching (old school) back when caching was fairly new. I was interested, so he plugged some coordinates into his GPS unit and took me out to find one of his previous finds. I got to the GZ okay but was literally standing next to the container and didn't see it. He finally had to point it out to me! I was hooked from there.

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
It's just the two of us now. The kids are grown and married, or living on their own.

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
We don't do a lot of puzzle caches but if we do, it has to be an easy one! We give up too easily!

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
We most enjoy caching on our travels and vacations. That may be an ammo can on Mt. Magazine or a virtual in the Grand Canyon! Interesting places along our route or a cache that takes us to an out of the way place.

Do you do paperless caching?
Yep!

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
We use our 2016 Subaru Forester and our two Android devices. We also have an old, old GPS unit that we use when we're out and have no cell service.

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
It's fun for everyone. Singles, couples, kids, families, groups...all skill levels. It doesn't cost much, you can do it on your own time, and caches are everywhere!

Where are you originally from?
Both from Little Rock. We actually grew up on the same street as kids but never knew each other.

In what states have you geocached?
We have cached in 19 states. Also have 2 finds in Canada and 1 in Dominican Republic.

What was your first event ever attended?
Jacksonville Meet n Greet at Emily's Diner hosted by Butch724 back in August of 2013.

How many caches have you found?
1,027

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
Ammo can in the woods. We also like caches in interesting places or near historical landmarks.

What was the most famous cache that you have found?
Gorilla Stash (GC1B)

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
Mostly use cell phones, but we use disposable batteries in our old GPS unit.

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
Definitely finding!

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
So far, our hides are in the parks around Sherwood and easy to find. We wanted them to be fun for families/kids... and hopefully an intro to Geocaching. They're also great for the avid cacher who needs a quick lunch break find.

What is your favorite type of cache hide?
One that's in a cool location or has a cool container. Found one over on an island on Lake Ouachita that had a rubber snake near the container, scared the crap out of us and we talked about if all day long!

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?
We really loved placing our river caches. But, they were hard to maintain and didn't have a lot of activity, so we archived them.

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
Not sure about this. But we think you should only hide what you can maintain. Luckily, geocaching has those that love hiding more than finding. And they're good at it!

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
Danny first, then he introduced it to me.

What's your favorite geocache?
Field and Stream (GC46GTZ), we went back three times before we finally got this one. Even met the CO on one of our attempts. He had just performed maintenance and said it WAS there and all was good. When we finally found it - Mind blown!! PCC Maverick (GC40W0W) was also a good one! We looked and looked all over the place before we got this one - Wow!

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
Germany

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
Either is great.

How many First to Finds do you have?
One. We just lucked into it!

Are you a First to Find person who is always set on go and if so, how many miles out do you have your settings on to get notifications?
No.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
Camping, snorkeling, traveling, and spending time with our four grandkids. Can't wait for them to be old enough to enjoy caching with us.