All website members are invited to join ArkGeo the organization. It is free! All you have to do is go to the voting booth tab and complete the voter registration.

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Perry Small aka w00dduck should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name? w00dduck

How did you choose your handle? Being a once avid duck hunter the wood duck drake to me was the prettiest and had the best table fare of all the ducks. Before geocaching I was an avid motorcycle rider. I hooked up with a group and needed a name and I chose w00dduck. When it came to Geocaching I just kept the handle.

How long have you been geocaching? I found my first cache on 8/21/2012

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it? I actually used the free App that was downloaded to my I phone. It was "Out behind the Shop" GC178FG by BSA534. Now archived

Who usually goes with you when you go caching? I usually go solo due to my caching style. I have cached with Old River Runner and Summitlady as they seem to tolerate me and my style.

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up? I'm not a puzzle solver but once I find one that stirs my interest I never give up...I will eventually get it solved even if it means requesting nudges

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in? Those areas where nobody else goes.

Do you do paperless caching? Yes

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?Magellan GC and Garmin 660 NUVI for vehicle

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching? As for my caching style it gets you to places that are not on many maps or brochures. Other wise its get you out of the house and off the couch.

Where are you originally from? Arkansas

In what states have you geocached? Tx, Ark. Mo, Tenn. Cal, Ok, Lu.

What was your first event ever attended? A CITO event in Clarksville Ar. hosted by ORR

How many caches have you found? 2464 logged, several pending

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest? Ammo Cans, and Nanos. I do also enjoy those containers made by CO's also.

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

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries? Disposables

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? One that others enjoy.

What is your favorite type of cache hide? Small

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in? Grandmas pear tree. I have fond memories as a child at hide location.

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh? Not sure

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby? I actually found out about caching in 2008 while searching for a GPS for my motorcycle for touring.. Talked with a friend who also rode touring about geocaching but he said never got interested in it. 4 years later after the touring days I looked it up again for hobby and been hooked ever since. Sad thing is that if I would have picked it up in 2008 I would have a BIG chunk of the states shaded.

What's your favorite geocache? Like them all!!!!!

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

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group? Both

How many First to Finds do you have? 49

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? Not really a FTF hound. I do have several notifications set to 300miles for the High DT caches published. But not for FTFs

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching? Hiking, camping, kayaking, motorcycle riding anything outdoors.

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Charles & Kay Shearer aka Zeke & George should be the next cachers to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name?
Zeke & George

How did you choose your handle?
Kay replaced George when he retired. I dealt with the original George through my work. I did not change the address book and just kept calling and asking for "George." After all it would not seem right to be calling my wife while at work. And yes, she had a private office and was the only one to ever answer her phone. I found out her co-workers were calling her "the New George" whenever someone would come in and ask to see George. Then she started asking for Zeke when she called me on business. When we signed up with Geocaching we decided to use those as our names. We laughed that people would think that we were a gay couple. We laughed even harder when at an event in Paris a couple years later a young lady was shocked to learn we were a straight married couple.

How long have you been geocaching?
We found our first 3 caches on 1/19/2003. They were 3 of the 4 located on Hot Springs National Park at that time.

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
George read about Geocaching in the newspaper. She called a friend that had a GPS and told her we were going to go find a geocache in the Gorge and we wanted to know if she could go with us? If she couldn’t, could we just use her GPS anyway without her?” Mary, Trekkin Arkie's twin sister, was a good friend and of course she rushed over and played our silly game. The first cache was GoatDB located on the slope above Goat Rock. The next Saturday, while I was working in the shop, George informed me that there was a travel bug, named “Drib,” in the same cache and if I wanted to go with her to get it, I better get to the house quickly. And that is how our addiction started.

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
The last couple of years we have gone caching a lot with the Likestocanoe Gang. Prior to that it was mainly family and muggle friends.

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
Zeke - Not Long! George - depends on the puzzle difficulty.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
Retirement has allowed us the freedom to travel extensively with our RV. Geocaching and meeting cachers is fun everywhere.

Do you do paperless caching?
Absolutely! No longer have to print reams of paper before going somewhere.

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
Delorme PN-60 and our I-Phones. Sometimes we record logs on the GPS to download to the computer. Sometimes we send the log immediately using the phone app. Recently Cell coverage has dictated which way we post logs.

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
Searching for caches takes you places no tour book would take you. Geocachers guide you to places that are important to them and give you history or a personal story about the location. That is what we like most, as we are not overly concerned about the numbers.

Where are you originally from?
George moved to Hot Springs with her parents from the Chicago area during her junior year of high school. Zeke has always lived in the South and moved here from Dallas in 1990.

In what states have you geocached?
Every state, the District of Columbia, 4 Canadian Providences, China, Costa Rica, France, and Turkey.

What was your first event ever attended?
Arkansas Meet Alabama! on 3/18/06 at Petit Jean State Park

How many caches have you found?
5346 effective 3/1/16

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
Big enough to have toys for the kids.

What was the most famous cache that you have found?
Mingo! The oldest cache in the world.

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
rechargeable

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
George says hiding and Zeke says finding.

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
We like to take people some place special or have a Geocache that's so special for some reason that it makes the finding of it good, even in spite of a not so good location. No, we do not have the goal to only make hard to find caches.

What is your favorite type of cache hide?
Something that is made by the cache owner.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?Transportation Plaza & Lake Overlook. And yes, those were meant to be hard finds.

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
Hmmmmm.....we’d have to get into a lengthy discussion to figure out what that answer might be! That discussion would take us days and days!

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
See the answer to the fourth question.

What's your favorite geocache?
A favorite favorite??? We haven’t found it, yet!

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
New Zealand and Australia are at the top of our dream list. We will make it someday.

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
Zeke has done it by himself. George almost never goes by herself. It is definitely more fun with someone. We almost always do it together and will take friends and relatives if possible. It's lots of fun to take kids.

How many First to Finds do you have?
No idea. Not many!

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?
Just not us. We do get notices for out to 15 miles, but very seldom rush out just to be FTF. We are retired and just do not seem to have time to drop everything to make a mad dash somewhere.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
Kay is an active member of Master Gardeners, and has gardens with around 450 different varieties of daylilies and almost that many varieties of daffodils. We camp in our travel trailer monthly from March through November when we are home. However, we also take extended trips exploring our wonderful country, leaving a breadcrumb trail of smilies as we go.

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Debra Burris aka Doc Firewoman should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name?
Doc Firewoman

How did you choose your handle?
A combo of my title and my favorite song by the band The Cult

How long have you been geocaching?
Almost six years

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
A friend who's brother mentioned it to me and I found GC10XBX Papas Cache hidden near my parent's church.

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
Either my boyfriend Sky Forest or my good friend Pink Hitch

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
I don't give up.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
I love the Ozark National Forest, but I also loved Louisville KY when I went to Geowoodstock tons of cool caches.

Do you do paperless caching?
Yes

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
Rig? I use my iPhone but I plan on getting a GPS eventually so I can periscope video from my phone.

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
It is an awesome way to get outside and appreciate your surroundings. The community is great too!

Where are you originally from?
Atkins, AR

In what states have you geocached?
AR, OK, TX, LA, MS, FL, VA, DC, MD, KY, IL, IN MO KS, WA, OR

What was your first event ever attended?
An event at a restaurant in Choctaw hosted by AR Hick

How many caches have you found?
1289 as of today

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
I do love an ammo can.

What was the most famous cache that you have found?
The gorilla stash

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
Rechargeable

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?
For it to be worth the trip and have a good story

What is your favorite type of cache hide?
I like ammo cans.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?
I love The story of Old Burris Schoolhouse GC3407Y and Edge of the Earth GC34051

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
Hmmmm I am not sure maybe 10 hides for every few hundred hides

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
I have never admitted this, but initially I had a friend I was sweet on wanted to do it. He quit after 10 or so but I was hooked!

What's your favorite geocache?
Because I love volcanoes and am obsessed with Mount St Helens it is the Earthcache there GC2RM23

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
Scotland, Belize, Alaska, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and I would love to attend events in Europe.

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
I like to go with at least one other person..: I like the fellowship

How many First to Finds do you have?
Three

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 not really, if I happen to get one great but for caching I am more about the experience of the journey and the fun ....but I do have the setting at 50 miles lol

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
Horses! Dressage and trail riding plus harness driving. I also own a farm so I like homesteading and farming things.

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Angela Munden & family aka ABJCM should be the next cachers to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name?
-ABJCM

How did you choose your handle?
-It is the first initial of our family members plus our last name. Angela, Brian, Jesse, Carolyn M (which sounds cool until you have to introduce yourself at Meet/Eats.)

How long have you been geocaching?
-1 year + 1 month (haha n00bs)

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
-We used the free app and I chose GC18K9H because it was the nearest one. I came home and signed up for a Premium Membership that afternoon. (Hooked from the beginning.)

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
-99.5% of the time Sister and I go alone. Once in a while I'll leave her home with Daddy (GC44JJ2-Pump Station)

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
-I have a very addictive personality. Once I start in on one it will consume me till I solve it. I had to ground myself from them during the Holiday Season.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
-We cache close to home (Usually during Naptime) but I really enjoyed caching in Paris. I can't wait till summer so we can head out to the State Parks.)

Do you do paperless caching?
-Completely.

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
-For no-brainer skirt lifters or stopsigns I use my Samsung Note. For everything else I have a Garmin Etrex Venture HC. Love it!!

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
-Oh my! I am a Geocaching Missionary. I'm always chatting some poor unsuspecting muggle on the joys of caching. For me, the main joy is the fact that caching taps into my Hunter/Gatherer instincts. My life as a Stay at Home Mom is....um....unchallenging mentally. Caching gives me a way to exercise the gray matter. Plus there's something for everyone. FTF hounds, Swagpies, Outdoor Otters, City Critters, Skirt Lifting Sparrows, Puzzle Puggles. (LOL you get my point...I won't subject you to more animal names.)

Where are you originally from?
-Lincoln, Nebraska (Military, so also Colorado, Germany, Nevada, and Italy)

In what states have you geocached?
-Just Arkansas so far. It's hard to make it to the border and home before the School bus comes.

What was your first event ever attended?
-I started caching 04Nov14. My first event was GC5F8ZM A Flash Mob- The State House Convention 06Nov14. Then the Cage Mtng on the 20Nov14.

How many caches have you found?
- 675 as of today. Day 365 of 365 Streak.

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
-Well, I'm a Swagpie (Like a Magpie) so a well stocked ammocan.

What was the most famous cache that you have found?
-*Blush* I haven't ventured very far. I want to take sister up to the Gorilla Cache during Spring Break.

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
-Rechargeable.

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
-Finding. I get too nervous about my hides. "Will the muggles get it?", "What if it's too easy and nobody likes it."

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
-I love a cache with a story behind it. Either a milestone or a cute story.

What is your favorite type of cache hide?
-History and Cemetery caches are tied for first place.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in?
-I love Sister's 100by1 cache. GC5K8GZ I can't wait till she's old enough to take an interest in it.

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
-As many as you can maintain. I don't mind replacing a log, but if it needs serious work.....*crickets chirping*

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
-When we were stationed at Nellis AFB (Las Vegas, NV) I saw a program about this cool hobby where people carry a stamp and hunt up these boxes. Then you'd swap stamps images with the log book. HAHA sounds like Letterboxing. eh? Well, the program said you could only find them if someone told you about a location. I didn't know anyone who did it...so I filed it away for later.

October 2014 I was knitting with Avenging Unicorns and that story came up. "Oh, you mean Geocaching. We do that."

*Jawdrop*

YES!! I then peppered her for hours about it....went home and signed up. Found my first cache the next day.

What's your favorite geocache?
-Ooooh, Hard one. I love all of KnKinCabot's I.C. series. My favorite has to be GC485ZG I.C. - Shortwave. I found it on my birthday with my sister. Whenever family visits and wants to go find one...I take them out there and we get it. I've found it three times. *giggle*

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
-Without a doubt New Zealand. Hobbits, Woolly Sheep, and Caching!! http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...s-9963283.html

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
-a group, totally. Which sounds crazy coming from a shy introvert.

How many First to Finds do you have?
-zero. They don't rev my engine like cool swag. By the time I get Sister and myself dressed and out the door....one of my pals has already gotten it. *shrug*

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?
-Oh gosh no.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
-I have NEVER met a hobby I wouldn't dabble in. I Knit, Crochet, Spin, Felt, Soapmake, Canning food, Read, Beading, Weaving, Garden, General Craftiness, and Troll on Pinterest for more mischief. I'm sure I'm missing a few, but you get the idea. My Father in Law says I was born in the wrong century. Growing up I was obsessed with Little House on the Prarie books by Laura Ingles Wilder. Plus, being from Nebraska...WIlla Cather was on my Grandmother's required reading list (O Pioneers, and My Antonia)

Veni, Vidi, Nodavi!
(I came, I saw, I knit!)