Midwest Geobash Unpacked with Scott Berks

We head to Wauseon, Ohio for Midwest Geobash with geocacher and longtime podcaster Scott Burks, digging into why this mega feels like geocaching summer camp. Along the way, we get real about event culture, trading, and what makes a small-town weekend turn into a community tradition.
• why Midwest Geobash feels different from most mega events
• camping onsite and how it changes the whole weekend
• GCPC live call-in dynamics and building a listener community
• Area 51 nightlife rules and the late-night social scene
• vendors, food trucks, tournaments, poker run, and the massive silent auction
• pathtags, flashtags, and the rise of digital shareables
• how geocachers pump money into local Wauseon businesses
• teardrop camper pros for nimble, affordable travel
Please subscribe, rate, review on your favorite podcasting app
Yes, you can find us at patreon.com backslash treasures of our town

Scott Camper

The Geocaching Podcast

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Welcome To Trinity Town

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Do you love to travel? Do you love road trips? Do you love finding hidden treasures in towns all over the USA? Hi, I'm Joshua.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

And I'm Craig. Welcome to Trinity Town. It's a podcast that explores unique and charming towns scattered throughout the United States.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Guided by our love for location-based games like geocaching. Join us as we venture to some of the country's most intriguing destinations, uncovering hidden gems and local secrets along the way.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

On today's episode, Josh, we have a special. That's right, a special guest. He is a geocacher. He is a podcaster, a man who travels in a little teardrop camper. We won't tell you who he is just yet. We'll uh leave it for a little surprise. So there you go. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

And we should tell the people where we're going because you know this is a travel podcast. This is a travel podcast. It is. We can tell them that now. We're going to a little place called Wassian.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Wasan. And you gotta say it that way, too. Wasyan in Ohio, of all places. Yes. And what is normally in Wassian, Ohio this time of the year, Josh?

SPEAKER_02 1:08

It is the Midwest Cash Bash, which I discovered I have not been there for like 12 years. No, it's not.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Oh, you're right. It's the West Band Cash, not Westband Cash Bash. That's the other one coming up. It's

Destination Set For Wauseon Ohio

SPEAKER_01 1:20

the Midwest Geobash. Midwest Geobash.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

I have West Bend on my mind because that's where I'm going tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Oh, there you go. There you go. So would that be leading now into your uh into your upgrades, Josh?

SPEAKER_02 1:35

Yeah, let's just say my upgrades is I have not been, Craig, to a geocaching mega event for a long bit of time. It was it's been a while. Like I didn't go to I didn't go to Geo Woodstock because I was on the Camino.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

I don't even remember the last time I was at a mega event. Oh. I can't remember. Oh, I went to MOGA. I went to MOGA. This year. That's it. That's it. MOGA. That's it. MOGA. It's been a rough year for megas, but I have a good excuse. So I'm really excited to go to the West Bend Cash Bash, which is always a great time. And I know my friend Scott Burks is going to be there. Oh, he's got his name. It's not even a surprise anymore.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

No, I know, right? I know. All right. My uh you want my my upgrade or my delay first, Josh? I want your upgrade. Upgrade first. My upgrade is brand new quail, a pipping and hatching as we speak. We record this on the on the what day is it? Thursday. And they are pipping out of their incubator. They're starting to do their little zippering and they're starting to hatch out of their little eggs as well, the quail themselves. So that is my upgrade. So I've got another um technically, uh, there's 25 that should be popping out uh in the next uh 24 hours or so. Uh and then after that, there's another 40 of them that should be popping out next week.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

So wow, it's just like animal update.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

I know. I know. What next? What next? Oh, but speaking of what next, I haven't spoken

Upgrades Delays And Farm Chaos

SPEAKER_01 3:00

about this either. We actually have a turkey. Yes, an actual little turkey. Pull it like a chick. Turkey chick. Yes, yes, yes. Supposedly, this turkey chick was supposed to be like, you know, just another normal farmyard animal, whatever, as well. Um, after obtaining this said chick and having a look and posting a few photos on social media and whatever as well, and having uh a farmer friend of ours, you know him quite well, Dan DeTruck. Uh he reached out to me and he said, Oh, by the way, just let you know, that's actually a meatbird. In other words, you have to you have to process that chick uh for Thanksgiving this year. Otherwise, they don't they don't last too much longer after that.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

So wait, does it get big enough? Is it gonna be big enough in November?

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Big enough? We're talking 20 pounds come November.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Really?

SPEAKER_01 3:45

It'll be 20 pounds in November. They're meatbirds.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

That's how quick, that's how quick they grow. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Yeah, so so I don't know whether that's gonna be a delay or an upgrade that we've got a new uh turkey, but then again, we have to process this said turkey for November. But it's a hey, it's an upgrade for me personally because I love turkey myself. It's not so much for my Jen because she wanted a pet. So there you go. What about your delays, Josh?

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Uh my delay is it is August, which means I'm getting ready for the school year. I work with schools, so it is the busiest time of the year for me. I was I had a 12-hour day yesterday, I had a long day today. I mean, really, the only reason I'm able to not be working right now is that I'm doing this podcast with you right now. So this is my this is my break. But it is insanely busy. I'm just I'm lucky to be able to get out here out for the weekend for the West Band. So that's a delay. Not a lot of time for fun and geocaching because you know, the day job.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

So and and I'll be honest with you, Josh, too. I stalk you when it comes to your Munzi activity, and it's very, very minimal at the moment, too. So you know, I do I stalk you on both uh both platforms, and uh I see which one you're heaviest at. And at the moment, Munsey's on the back seat, but anyway. This is true. This is true. Well, my delay, Josh, I'll say this as well. Um, products uh from the USA versus products in Australia. Now I was actually doing some plumbing work for the quail coops themselves, and I was uh trying to do a watering system whereby we got a big rub bucket for the rainwater to come in, and the rainwater comes in off a roof, goes in the the big rain bucket, and then it sort of filters out from there amongst all the coops. So it's one long line with all the little waterers all the way along, right? So that's what we call a uh like a watering system. Well, you don't have the same products here in America as we do in Australia and regarding the uh the gluing of said PVC pipes. And so you you here you have to use a primer and then you use a cement or whatever. I didn't realize I just used this thing called cement, and it's nothing actually worked and it pulled all apart. So I then had to go ahead and order myself some real glue from Australia, basically, the Australian version, which which Amazon have, and uh and now I've actually got it all sorted out too.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

So does anyone have any glue that works in the United States? There's no glue that works.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Apparently there is. Apparently, there is uh like a one the glue that you use though, and I I believe this is because it's the United States, and the United States love to suck money from people as well. And so what they do, the companies themselves, is they say, Okay, you we don't have just the the one and done. So, in other words, you don't buy this one glue and then that's all you need. No, no, you need the primer first, and then after the primer, you need this secondary part as well, like an epoxy sort of style. So to mix in a chemical bind, whereas in Australia we've got the chemical bind all in one go.

SPEAKER_02 6:39

So I see, I see. It's a profit deal, correct?

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Correct, correct. So, anyway,

Meet Scott Berks And GCPC

SPEAKER_01 6:45

that's that is my delay. Shall we get on straight away to the uh Midwest Geobash 2026 with the man as Scott's uh Scott, as Josh said just earlier, Mr. Scott Burks, welcome, sir. How are you today? Good day, Craig. How are you, sir? This is what he does to me every day.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

This is what he does to me every day.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Good day, exactly. If ever if anyone doesn't uh realize that I actually uh uh co-host uh Scott Burks, he is the man when it comes to the the geocaching podcast, the GCPC as it's known, and I am a co-host on the GCPC live every Wednesday night. And uh so yeah, that's all. So thank you, Scott, for for joining us, mate. Tell us a little bit more about Scott Burks, the man, if people don't know who you are or what uh sure.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

My name is Scott. Uh I live in Chicago, Illinois. I've been geocaching since 2008. I've been podcasting since 2010. I did the Chicago Geocacher Podcast for four years with uh Sir Walter Grogan, um a fantastic, amazing person, much funnier than I ever could be. And uh he really is. And uh one and then in 2013, Daryl W. Four, one of the greatest people to walk this planet, actually uh brought me into the geocaching podcast because they were losing a host. Um and Andy, uh had hardhead at the time was taking over the show from X Punk X. So uh Daryl brought me in to replace X Punk. And then in 2018, Andy's life got in the way, so Andy stepped down from being a host of the show, and I took over that show in uh the GCPC as the full-time producer in um 2018. And uh been doing it since then. So I've been on that show for 13 god, 13 years every Wednesday night for 13 years. God bless my children. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Not every Wednesday night, but 98% of Wednesday times.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

And that's amazing, Scott. And I I don't mean to stroke your ego, but to surprise stroke your ego a little bit. I would say this: I would say if there was a a Mount Rushmore of geocaching podcasters, I wouldn't put Sky Fox.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

I wouldn't be putting in. No.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

No, right if I right now of the code. Active OX. Yes, you're up. Active, yeah. Active.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Um, but yeah, so I've been doing this. I I'm old ad at this. I've been me and Craig have been doing it together for almost almost two years now, right? I think almost two years. I think he came on the show in 2024, five, four, four. Four. Yeah. Uh a fantastic addition to the show. I love it. You know, uh no, seriously, I'm gonna I'm gonna strike Craig's ego for a minute. Um, I adore Craig. I know he gives me for anyone who listens to the GCPC, Craig gives me a lot. And you know, I get emails from people going, Are you okay with that? And I'm like, you know what? You don't know me and Craig's relationship. We've known each other a long time. You know, a long time. We're friends off the show. We yeah, you know, it's I understand what he's doing. And you know, we he's also a very sincere and a very kind and a caring person. Yeah, uh, not just the jerk that he appears on the GCPC.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

It's it's the same as God, it's the same as uh if you go into uh what do you call it, Long Island. If people on Long Island themselves, if they're actually nice to you, it means they don't like you. But if they actually having digs at you and obviously digging at you as well with different things, that means that means they don't like it.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

And and Jenny in the beginning, uh my gen was like was like, he's not really nice. I'm like, no, he was a cop. And I get that. Cops are are ruthless to each other like firemen. You know, so it's like that's just his way. That that is literally his way.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

So um, but yeah, so I you know, I I I honestly when before Craig came to the show, I was wrapping up. I I was wrapping my tenure up. I was I was almost dying. I was tired. Uh you know, it was it it you know, I I the joy wasn't there like it was in the beginning. And Craig came on the show and really just it did the the uh the whole uh show changed, you know. I think for the better. Um I have a new lease for a new love for it. Um I'm excited on Wednesday nights to do the show. I look forward to building shows, you know, because I uh you know Craig is has uh a tremendous amount of input on show ideas and all that, which is amazing, and we've used a ton of them. Uh so I so I'm so happy that Craig is on the show. Uh Craig, excuse me, Craig is on the show. And uh yeah, it's so it's and it it's honestly it's been fantastic. It really has been.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

Thank you. I've l I've listened to that show as long as I've been a geocacher. And I I will say, based on just the chemistry right now, the fact that it is a call-in show, and and also the you have like this this cast of characters that call in every week. Oh, yeah. And it's just like you guys have built a really cool, cool community. And it's like people, when I listen to it, I look forward to the callers because they're a part of the show, they're a part of the personality of the show. And so I think what the listeners, if they haven't listened to it before, need to know is that it's a it's a live call-in show. Scott, could you just talk about the how the dynamics of that and what makes that special and and maybe why you love it love that?

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Because like uh what everybody doesn't know who's listening to the show right now, we went through uh I wee, I didn't do anything. Uh Joshua and Craig went through

Why Live Call In Podcasts Work

SPEAKER_00 12:20

a couple of takes because uh Josh messed up. And you don't do that in a live show. Yeah, Craig didn't get that second chance on a live show. And we have had all sorts of mechanical errors that happen live on a show that we have to deal with. Oh, yeah, you know, that you just gotta roll with the punches. You can't stop at the show. So um it's it's kind of crazy. Um a few very few people can can appreciate uh what it takes to do a live show with a I also have a soundboard, I also take calls, I also have to keep the show moving. You know, it's a lot goes into that that that that most people don't realize unless you've done it. Very few people have have tried to take my job or have done my job and be like, it's way more difficult than I than I than I expected it to be. So that's why it's like, well, like I I can't read the chat room. I I'll catch a glimpse occasionally. I can't. I don't have I I I'm juggling way too many things to do that. Um, but yes, uh a live callin' show is amazingly fun. Um it's I can't believe no one stole it from me yet. It blows my blows me away because there's other live podcasts out there. None of them have stolen this idea. I fully expect it to be stolen. Once I figured it out, I I fully expected it to be stolen. And um the fact that it hasn't is is I guess respect and also awesome because it gives us that amazing thing. And I've always said our fourth co-host is our listeners, is our callers because they are. They really, really are. You know, it's an it's an amazing thing to have the callers call in and give their input. And I loved, and I I'm I'm I'm assuming Craig and Chad does as well. I love their input, you know. I don't want to listen to listen to me talk. I want to hear I want to hear their opinion and what they think of it, you know. So I thought.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Yeah. Well, I will I will say, like, you know, I used to be one of those callers, those regular callers, you know, and I felt and I felt I felt like I was uh welcomed to call in every single uh week. And you know, even though it was Thursday lunchtime for me because I was still in Australia at the time, and I used to do especially I loved the idea of the web call in then. Um you can call in via the internet rather than on a phone line, so it didn't cost me anything. Um but yeah, I used to love calling in. And then me calling in gave me a persona sort of thing, gave me uh, you know, everyone knew who I was. And I feel like the same thing happens now. Like, you know, you get someone like FF Skippy, you get uh Scorpio Red, you get all these names, Cody Dog, you get the regular names that they go to events, and people say, Oh, you're Cody Dog, you're Skippy.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

That's not your Cody Dog, he says he was in Texas. That sounds like you're you're the Cody Dog. He's like, I don't know what that means. Like from GCS code, like oh yeah, or yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Yeah, so but no, and I think what you do as well, Scott, when you uh welcome um the callers through, you know, and some of the callers, for instance, do have those, what you said before, those sound bites that uh that have that sound, that that sound that comes through. And then you know, then there's there's the one like the Scorpio, for instance, he didn't have a sound bite for so long, and that was his sound bite, the fact that he's just wanted it when so bad.

SPEAKER_02 15:20

He wanted it so bad, so bad.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

But but in saying that, Scott, too, you were a geocacher before you're a podcaster as such. Now you were going to uh events and you're going to mega events before you started podcasting. What's one of the differences you felt now at at mega events, especially? Uh you know, before podcasting era and now into heavy into the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Well, one of the joys that I get, yeah, I I'm I'm gonna uh you guys gotta cut me off, or I'll talk for hours. Uh 2013, I am with Joshua. We are in Tennessee. Right? Tennessee? Joshua? Confirm. I can't remember. Where we eat, where we ate both testicles. I don't know. Oh no, I'm in Nebraska, I'm with Joshua, okay? So I'm there.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Uh sorry, it's just quickly, Scott. I love how you actually remember. I know. Oh, oh, it's like anything else. It's one of the first times we meet Joshua men.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

It's hard to forget. We actually live streamed it on Periscope. I think so.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Yep. Periscope. Periscope. So um somebody says to me, like, so Joshua's got a crowd of people around him. You know, I've and I and I've told this story many times. Joshua's got a crowd of people around him because he's Joshua and he should. God bless him. I love Joshua the death. Um and he's he's the face, he's he's the face and so he's the face. He's got a face, and it's an adorable face. And people obviously are drawn to it. Um, my face not so much, because why? They don't know who I am. I'm a podcaster, not a not a vlogger. If I speak, they know who I am. Uh people will people will be like, oh my god, I know that voice, you know. But if they just so so and somebody said to me, Don't you want that? They pointed to Joshua and said, Don't you want that? And I said, No, I don't. I'm very happy. Being anonymous and I'm like, I you know, I wear my name tag, you know, and so people will be like, oh, hey, Scott. Now the geocaching podcast has gotten larger, and so um more people watch it. So I do get recognized a lot more now. But like early, no, not much at all in the beginning, and it was great, and I loved it. Um, but I could still walk around pretty much unscathed. Joshua, not so much. So I try not to be with Joshua then, I guess, because it's just it you don't get to do anything.

SPEAKER_03 17:31

Oh of course we are. You know where we are.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Come on, you know when I get that. I I will say, Scott, I will say it happened, it happened straight after, you know, when uh we COVID came through, whatever. And then we had uh Josh, I think you remember this too. Um, the one in uh was it moger as well? No, it wasn't Moger, it was in in in in Kansas, that big that one in the Mega in Kansas. Oh, Mingo, Mingo Mingo, Mingo, Mingo, not Mogar, Mingo. And uh Scott, I was at Mingo and Josh and I were there. It was the first yeah mega event to open up after COVID and everything else as well. And Josh and I was there and we were chatting away. And and yeah, you know, Scott, you're you're there all the time with Josh gets the ad coming up and so you know, oh photos, autographs, photo, autographs. This this this old woman come up and and Josh is like, oh hi, and she walks straight past Josh and she's like, see Mother! She's coming to give me a hug and bypass Scott, straight past Scott, straight past uh Josh. And I thought to myself, oh, there we go. Now I've made it.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

It's the it's the accent. It's gotta be the accent.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

I look forward to Jenny because Jenny's never met you, and I look forward to Jenny seeing you and seeing what it's like to be Joshua at Omega. It's just you know, she saw me a little bit. She saw she saw me. And the what the cutest thing, you know, I took Jenny to her first uh uh uh Midwest Geobash and people came up to her and were like, oh Jenny, you know, because it was really cute, you know, because she's you know she's not in a show, you know. Um but that's what I mean. You get uh the even the side characters kind of get start to get recognized, you know. So

Midwest Geobash As Social Camp

SPEAKER_00 19:05

it's nice.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Well, speaking of Midwest Geobash, let's get into the actual deeper dive into your uh experiences at Midwest uh Geobash as well. Uh Scott, for someone who's never actually been to Midwest Geobash first and foremost, uh what can they expect to to to do when they get there? Oh my. And also, he's a two-pronged, he's a two-pronged question. What makes it different to King's Amiga as well? Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Well, we've all been there. Let's let's start with that so we can all chime into this. We've all been there. You Greg, you've been there, Joshua, I know you've been there. Yeah. Um, and and again, I'm I'm I'm I'm currently in a relationship with someone who's a relatively new cacher, a couple years, a couple years. And this was her first time at Midwest. So I just went through this shtick that we're about to go through. And I I said to her, like, you've been to other megas, you've never been to Midwest. This is very different than any mega you've ever been to. It's it's different. And she's like, What do you mean it's different? I go, it's just different. It's it's just it's it's more, it's like I I say it's like geocaching summer camp. Um it feels like that. It feels like it feels like overnight camp, geocaching overnight camp. Um for adults are two, but but there's adult ads.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

We'll get there to our.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

But it's it's it's a it's a social mega, is the best way uh I can explain it. Other megas you go and you geocache. This one you can geocache, but that's not the biggest part of it. The biggest part of it is uh the social aspect, uh-huh the meeting people, the saying hello, the trading path tags or flash tags, you know, uh there's a zillion side events, you know, the the poker run, the geo, the poker, the euchre tournament, the bags tournament, there's constantly things going on there, you know.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

And it's it's just see, and what makes it what makes it different as well is as you just said, Scott, as well, you camp on site, you stay on site, and we're talking what probably about 90% of uh attendees or even 85% of attendees actually camp on site as well. And so what what you're saying, Scott, and I'll be honest with you, this is how megas all megas are in Australia. They're like Midwest. Every single one of them, they're exactly the same as this. We actually camp out together, and as you said, like you you stay two, three, four nights, you know what I mean, camping out. You go cashing during the day. Everyone still goes out cashing during the day, and they do their poker runs, they do their individual trips, they do their whatever they need to do. But then come in the afternoon when everyone's done cashing, they come back to the campsite, and then that's when the social aspect starts. That's when everyone starts talking, everyone starts drinking, everyone starts eating, and you know, people are having campfires out the front and all this stuff too. And you know, you walk by and you go, Oh, good day, how are you? G'day, good day, good. And as you walk past, you know, you're saying hello to everyone. So it's very much an Australian mega, I'll be honest with you. And that's how I felt too. And so it actually kind of you know struck a little nice little home chord for me when I was nice. That's what I love.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

I've I've been to Midwest Geobash, but I never have stayed in overnight. So both of you, I know, which means when I when I did that, I just showed up for a Saturday. I was clearly like, I have, I am missing something. Like I felt like I am not, I'm not experiencing this event as it should be experienced. However, both of you are like known people in the geocaching world. I was really curious about this. Like as you're at your campsite, are there people like coming up to your campsite? Is there like, is there are there like unspoken rules, but are there like unspoken rules where you're like, okay, like give them the like a little bit of time with their I you know what I'm saying? Like, or is it just constantly people?

SPEAKER_00 22:54

But but yeah, but I don't know. No, I mean people came up. I mean, uh, we weren't there at the same time, so I don't know. Craig, why don't you speak first? You go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Yeah. No, I was gonna say, yeah, exactly the same thing. And and and what I find as well is that um, you know, and it happens in uh the social world of geocaching, especially. Munzy's the same as well, um, whereby it's that we have such a big demo, a wide demographic of people, yeah, uh of ages of uh you know where we're from and and and our other state of mentality and stuff as well. And so sometimes you'll be talking to someone, you know what I mean, and someone will literally have no idea, no social cues at all, and just come in between you and start talking to you because they think you know they know you and stuff as well. Yeah, yeah. That's still that still happens, Josh, on these so there are still people that walk past, but in the middle, like in the middle of the night. No, not in the middle of the night.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Knock, knock, knock. We're still in the hell at our camp. I I don't mind people coming saying hello. I know.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

No, I'm kidding. When when he's when he's retired to the camp, I mean I I I'll be honest with you, I had one knock on my door and it scared the crap uh out of me. But that's my own fault because I had an Australian flag on the front uh on the front windscreen of the van. So it's like everyone knew who was actually in the van at that point in time. So yeah, but it's one of the parts.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Uh Joshua, you come next year and you stay, you stay with me. I have I have four I have four spots. You could you can absolutely stay. Oh, great. Yeah, it was me, Fuck now. It was me, Cody Dog. This year was me, Jenny, FF Skippy, uh, friend of the show, Wheels Double Zero, and Cody Dog Double Zero in that camp. And it we had so much fun. It was so much fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

It really, I really every year when I hear about it, because you guys, there was a lot of people that called in on your podcast this week that had gone. And it's just like ultimate FOMO. It's just it sounds like just an incredible party of uh of geocache.

SPEAKER_00 24:47

Nighttime, Joshua, you would you would you would find it interesting. Yeah. I'm sure I would.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

So let's get into the nighttime then, because that's one of the things that actually makes uh you know this apart from um any other mega event too,

Area 51 After Dark Rules

SPEAKER_01 25:00

is that you know, everyone's staying on on site, so people don't have to drive anywhere. So as all adults and consenting adults we are, we like to take partake in a beverage or two. There is actually a location called Area 51 whereby, you know, uh it there's actually a police officer standing up the front as well, making sure that making sure that and sometimes, some sometimes it has happened where he's actually got a whole handful of path tags. And it yeah, the police do, and he hands them out to attendees as well. I mean, let's be honest, Josh, you know, a drunken granny is not going to cause many much drama. But saying that too, like obviously it's just mostly it's in regards to the the age bracket of the under-21s, but still after after 10.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

After 10, what what they say, God, they have a saying, after 10, the kids don't have to leave, but we're not responsible for what they see or hear. So you be the judge as parents. We're not judging you, but you be the judge.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

Um we're talking campfires, Josh, as well. So people are actually like a four of them stop with it.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Or you can't do it. Yeah, so you can actually hang around the bar. Yeah, they have they have you get four drinks, so you'll get four free shots um at the bar. Um people line up for that.

SPEAKER_01 26:13

And it's not it's not it's not great goose vodka, but still like it's good. It's still good. Hey, it's good when it's free. But uh, do they still do the same thing, Scott, as well, where they do the the shots with the uh ski and have a ski out there as well? So they have like an actual snow ski. And you get four people like standing side by side, and they all do a shot together on one ski. So yeah, that sort of stuff too.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

So how late does that go? How late does Area 51 go? Does it close down? Or is it just a little bit?

SPEAKER_00 26:41

Well, I mean, they they stop serving alcohol at one? I want to say one. And then I think the music stops then too, but you don't have to leave.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

But I mean No, you can still play your own music and keep uh partying on, you know, and then and then you know sleep all day instead of catching a day the next day.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

So But that's honestly that's that's uh and and that's I've really never seen that at any other mega I've ever been to. Um it's a pretty it's a pretty amazing thing. Um it's a lot of fun to go to.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

It's really cool that it's allowed, and I think it's great that they have a police officer there. Oh yeah, they can be able to get away. No card, everybody get in.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

You have to get a card in and you have a wristband, uh, that you're over 21. Oh yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:23

And if anybody gets disrespectful, I'm sure they'll take care of it. And um, yeah, so that's that's really cool. What other things, what other things can you do? Because, you know, I I think a lot of geocachers they like to obviously go geocaching. Um, you know, there obviously is you know, sit, you know, enjoying and socializing at your campsite. But what are some of the things that are like structured things that are planned for the event or around the area during while the well every year they refresh the uh we're on the it's on the Fulton County Fairgrounds, which is acres.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

I don't know how many acres you think it is, Craig. Uh how many do you think it is? I don't even know. Acres. Oh, it'll be 40. Huge, yeah, huge thing. It's got a whole it's got a whole woodsy section that they put new keto caches in every year. Um there's caches surrounding the fairgrounds on the on the fence surrounding it. Um if you go to it, uh I you know I I I bring a scooter, bring a bike. I always say bring an electric scooter, bring a bike, something because it's it's large enough where you don't want to walk around getting the caches in there. You'd be you get a lot of steps. Um so uh we we had us we had scooters to you know to get around to go to the bathroom to get to showers, you know, or something like that. We had scooters. Um but it's also they have a they have their they have their poker run. Um but well they have a they have ever uh like they have a I mean it's think of the things they had they had a euchre tournament, a poker tournament, an actual poker, a three GeoCoin entry poker tournament, they have a um a bags tournament, they have the poker run where you actually go and try and make you know, I gotta go to places surrounding Wassion and get a uh pick up a sticker and then you mix a hand. I don't know if you guys heard that before. Oh, yeah. Um what else do they do? Craig, help me. I know those because I those are the stuff like we partaked in.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

Yeah, they also do things just the general stuff that a lot of others do as well, like the pathtag uh swap. Yeah, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

Um this is the home of pathtags, right? Because the guys that own path tags is they're they're highly involved. He so yeah, this this is if you love pathtags or flash tags, like this.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

And can I tell you how many were being because of the flash tags, how because of how accessible they are? Probably were everywhere. Wow, everywhere. I mean, look at my board loaded. So more than ever. Um and shareables too, shareables that were going like crazy. Like everybody was sharing shareables.

SPEAKER_02 29:54

Can we talk about that a little bit? Tell me your experiences. So, this was the Scott, the first experience you had having your own personal shareables and being able to share them in person. Uh question was it overwhelming?

SPEAKER_00 30:08

Was were you were the people lined up to get your people were very respectful with it? Um, and and I'd say I'd say to them, like, do you have a shareable? They're like, Oh my god, yeah, they're right. Like, it's not in everybody's mind yet. You know, it's not like like it's not there yet, like where it's like immediate like shareable. Okay. Path tags, yes, flash tags, yes. But shareables, like I I would say to people, do you have a shareable? They're like, Oh my god, yeah, that's right. Oh my god, oh my god. Yeah. So like, but I I mean I probably got 60 shareables while I was there. Oh wow. Amazing. Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:41

That's really cool. And they just released, so it's it's gonna be it's that it's there's gonna be a shareable change. It really is more proper. There's gonna be FOMO. There's gonna be FOMO around it.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

Like, I mean,

Vendors Games Pathtags And Flash Tags

SPEAKER_00 30:50

even like, I mean, everybody people were ordering it there, like ordering oh yeah, they're ordering it there. And the best part was what was really cool about hold on, crack uh uh uh give you the mic back in a second. What was really cool was that uh I was talking to a bunch of lackeys and giving them input and they wanted the input, like how to make it better, or v2, what can we do for you too? You know, like oh, you need to do this, or this wasn't working well, or this is difficult. And so they want your input, which was awesome and amazing. And they're like, Oh, I will absolutely tell this, and that's a great idea, kind of stuff, you know. Like, so it it should, it should it's gonna be interesting to see what it turns into in in two years from now, you know, where that's gonna where that's gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 31:26

And and we all know, we all know, Scott, as well, how what geocaching people are like and how like for instance, a perfect example is Adventure Labs. Adventure labs were never supposed to be an artwork piece in a rest stop uh as you go across a border. They weren't supposed to be that way, but that's what they've turned into. Same thing here with these shareables. But I I will say my experience, because I've got my own shareables as well. My experience with shareables, I went to an event uh last weekend as well down here, and um I said before anyone like left, I said, Oh, by the way, has anyone got any shareables? And they most of them, what's that? Really? So if if if you're if you're listening right now and you're thinking to yourself, what's what are they talking about? Shareable things, what are shareables? I will say this pause this with one here or write it down and go and listen. We had Brian Roth on the GCP scene recently, only a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, two weeks ago. And so go and listen to that episode, and Brian explains it a lot better. But I will say this, you know, they can't there's there's good and bad with the shareables. You know, some people some people and they always complain, oh I'm not spending money, and they sound like this too. I'm not spending money on uh on uh shareables, I'm I don't do that sort of stuff, and that's fine. Um, I had one person, I said, I said to him, like, you know, look, it's it's free for you to have my shareable. Just just I said to him, just open the official geocaching app. One woman said, I don't have the official app, I don't need it because I use no GPS. Really? I was like, Well, there's no shareable for you though.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

Like, you know, so I literally you don't care about shareables if you don't have the phone.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

So she only still uses a GPS. I don't do any of that sort of stuff on my phone. Craig is like, what's a GPS? Exactly. I've never used

Shareables Explained And Traded

SPEAKER_01 33:05

a GPS, so well done for you. That's my yinky on my yangs.

SPEAKER_00 33:08

Craig's the phone age, in the phone age.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

Since we went down this rabbit rabbit hole, uh, let's just say what shareables are, just real briefly. It is digital artwork that you own that is attached to your geocaching profile that you can trade in person. You can put them in your caches virtually for people that find them, and you can award them to caches you find. So they're digital kind of badges that you can give to other people.

SPEAKER_01 33:31

Well, I do I do like I know it's well, it's like he's been worded up with HQ or something. Um and I did say HQ. Uh sample. Um no, and and that's that wasn't me, by the way. Just uh and the thing is though, as well, and what I was saying before about um uh geocaching people, how we sort of can manipulate these things. Josh is a perfect example of how he's manipulated now shareables in terms of you know, you've got one to meet Josh, okay. Yeah, you meet Josh, you get a shareable. He's got one. He's he's got one for his patrons. If you're a patron of Josh, you can then and you meet him in person, you get a separate shareable again. See, so it's one of those things whereby Josh has now sort of turned it into like, you know, hey, they're my shareables. I can give them out whoever I want, wherever I want. And uh, you know, it's more it's more um valuable if you like to someone like uh Josh, even myself, you know, that's sort of thing too. If you got if you've got patrons, Scott, I'm telling you now, if you've got a spare, if you've got a spare shareable out there, do one for the patrons only.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

I gave him away, I gave him away Midwest. I was dealing. I saw that from Joshua weeks ago. Weeks ago, I saw that. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 34:41

Whoa! Anyway, anyway, if you if you're gonna meet Scotty because if you're gonna meet Joshua or Scott Burks at any event itself coming up, and you're not one of their patrons, go to their patrons and uh just tell me you are because I don't know how many patrons I have.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

So you could be like, yeah, yeah, I'm a patron.

SPEAKER_02 34:55

This is true. You could lie, you could lie to Scott.

SPEAKER_01 34:58

I don't know. Funny thing is though, Josh Josh has more patrons than Scott, and yet Josh knows or more, but Scott doesn't.

SPEAKER_02 35:07

I don't know. I don't know. I trust, I try to do that.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

I will say I'm I am personally a patron of both of you gentlemen as well, and proudly, I am Joshua's number one patron in terms of 001. I signed up. I was the first one to sign up when he announced I am so that there alone makes me not stop supporting him.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

Should I make a shareable for the number one position? And only I get it then, so there you go. If you drop out, then uh Minnesota boys gonna get the next spot. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

Oh, I'm not dropping off if Tim's next in line. I'm definitely not dropping out if that's the case.

SPEAKER_02 35:48

We are down a horrible rabbit hole right now. We're supposed to be talking about the Geobash. Um, tell me a little bit about Wasseon. What is the Wasion, Fulton County? I know it's it's it's rural, it's a small town,

Wauseon Shops Poker Run And Impact

SPEAKER_02 36:05

but give us a little of flavor. Do you I mean I'm sure you've eaten maybe at some of its restaurants, or you've probably visited some of its businesses because of the poker runs or what what do you what do you know? What do you know, Scott? Tell us a little bit about that area and why it's so suited for the well um yeah, I I I know Ian who runs um Midwest Geobash, and I've known him for years.

SPEAKER_00 36:27

He's been on the show every year. And um he says well with the poker run, for example, like when he first started the poker run, he had to like beg, beg them to be a part of it. Like now what the heck beg them within two years, they were begging him. He had to he had to start having a lottery to choose like places because everybody everybody wanted in, you know, because geocaches, as we know, we go somewhere, we we we we go into something, we're gonna buy something, you know. And I did. Jen and Jenni and Cody Dog did the poker run, and I think I bought something at every single place we went to. You know, not something large, but like a donut shopping bought a donut, you know. Uh you know, yeah. You you you patron everybody. Um so that's what's really cool, is you see all these different businesses that they have, and it changes every year. You know, like I was I was really hoping for the candy store this year. It wasn't on it. Um I was deeply disappointed. Um I was hoping for the candy store. Um, because that's such a great it's such a great store in Wassion. Um so it's it's it's cool stuff like that. You know, like we went to a farmer's market and they had the best peaches I think I've ever had in my life.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

Oh, I went to the best. So good. See, and that's one that's one thing too, Scott, that uh that as you said, now that they're actually hounding him to be part of it, is because when I went there, uh the lady herself, I said, you know, oh, how's the business going? Because there was people lined up out the door at this farmer's market. And they're buying peaches and they're buying nuts and they're buying all the goods that they actually do supply. And I said, you know, how's how's business been going like this as well? And she said, if it wasn't for today, as in one day out of the year, we wouldn't be in business anymore. We do one more business in one day than we do the whole 364 days uh that uh that otherwise. So in one day they do more than what they do for the rest of the business. Amazing. So I'll say this well done to geocaching people out there too. We are all uh you are all very uh supportive.

SPEAKER_00 38:26

Oh, absolutely. You know, and the same is is you know, I don't want to go down another rabbit hole, but the same is for West Bend, uh uh which Josh and I going Saturday. West Bend, the small little Wisconsin town that gets more money pumped into that town in one weekend. Unbelievable. That they love us. They love us there. Yeah, every sign in Wastion and West Bend. Welcome geocachers. Welcome geocachers. They love us, yeah. Um so yeah, it's one of the it's it's a great uh Wasion's a great town. Uh I'm starting to I'm starting to know my it's kind of like West Bend. I've been to West Bend so many years. I think this is my 18th year or 17th year. Uh I know West Bend like the back of my hand. I don't even need my my my GPS on anymore when I'm driving around. I know the town like my hometown. Um and and and uh Wastion's starting to get like that too. I'm starting to know my way around Watseeon really well. Um I mean I've I've I've camped in the Walmart parking lot there. I've I I've I've been there so many times. Um but no, it's it's a great little town. It really, really is. Um uh it's it's uh yeah, it's it's a it's a great, it's it's a fun place. It really is. It's it's a great place, and Fulton County Fairgrounds is amazing. It really is an amazing huge fairgrounds, and they're so open to us. It's great.

SPEAKER_01 39:40

One thing I loved it too with the Fulton uh County, the fairgrounds itself, Josh, and you know, you've been there. Uh they've got that big undercover area, like the all closed-in area. And it's that's great for when the the right I'll be honest, I don't think it happened this year, Scott, but uh when I was here. The rains come down every year so far, almost the rains come down every single year, you know. And um, and and you know, I I was in a van, so it didn't really matter for me, but I saw people packing up their tents and placing their tents in the the the big skip-ins before they left on the Sunday morning and stuff like that too. So I was watching that happen. Um, but we're talking about the vendors themselves, it gives an area for all the vendors to sit in around as well. So, how many sort of vendors are there? What were they selling, that sort of thing too? So if you're thinking about going even just for the day, you go and actually vend at the vendors.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

Oh, yeah, the oh god, yeah, yeah. The vendors, the silent auction happens there, the vendors happen there. Silent auction in Midwest is huge, it's a huge silent auction. Yeah, uh, yeah, the vendors are there, the the stuff the swag and the trackable trading, you know. Yeah, and then of course, at the end, you know, every Mega's got the end uh the end speeches now that now the contest winners, the goodbye speeches, yeah, and and the the all the giveaway, all the prizes and all that.

SPEAKER_01 40:56

Yes, yes, yes. I I will say again, little uh just a little rabbit hole. I know I'm gonna dig it, but that's okay. Uh we're talking about the silent auctions as well. So there is um Midwest Geobash, there is one item that they have, Josh. It is the golden geocoin. It is one of one coins, one of one. So it's it's very similar to the the the event geocoin, but it's a gold in colour and it's one of one. That's all it is, right? And it's part of the silent auction. Well, when I was there, we all know our good friend Big Guy, you know, he's the the tallest guy you'll ever see at Matt. Um, he was he was at the area and and looking after everything. He's volunteered. He said to I looked and went, Oh wow, like you've bidded on this for 500 bucks. He said, he looked at me and he goes, I'll never be outbidded on that. I went, oh, point taken.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

So I put a thousand, so I put a thousand dollars on it in front of me and so much so so much crap for my eighty dollar on and carbonide coin, and you're like a thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_02 41:57

I put I put a thousand he gave you a hard time about the golden signal too. That was nothing.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

Yeah. No, no, no, but it gets better because I put a thousand in front of him, I put a thousand dollars within my name. He he looked at me and he said, Are you serious? I go, I'm deadly serious. He's like, Oh, and his face just dropped as if to say, I'm not gonna get this coin. Like, this is the first year I'm not gonna get the one of one coin because he is always the one of one coin. Anyway, so what he did instead, he didn't bid again from there, no one bid again from there. And I'm thinking to myself, oh, I'm in this very grand now. Like, what the hell? No, no, no. He did it for a a thousand and five dollars or something like that too, right at the last minute, just before they closed. He was there. Uh, I knew he would. I was hoping he would, but he still made me sweat. He made me sweat for a few hours. But yeah, so that was that geo coin is over a thousand dollars for a one geo coin. Because he said to me, he goes, you know, I'll never be outbidded on this geo coin. I said, Oh, well, you know, uh hold my beer.

SPEAKER_02 42:56

All right, challenge challenge accepted. Yeah, challenge accepted.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

So this is why you wouldn't stop with that Han and Carbonate coin live on the show that we did that one time. Correct. Yeah, he went right up.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

Yeah, I don't know. I don't. I don't until you said to me, look, Craig, there's not enough of them, okay. All right. Plus, plus at the same time, that was that money itself wasn't going to like the West Bend J, you know. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:22

So I remember when I went, they had a theme. I think the theme when the year I went, many years ago was like Christmas in July or whatever. And they have like mascots of like I remember flamingos and like something with flamingos. Tell us a little bit about the theming, and I know people um um decorate their campsites in the theme. So maybe what was the theme this year? And do you remember some other memorable?

SPEAKER_00 43:47

This year's theme was rock and roll. Um so yeah. So a lot of the uh, you know, a lot of what people do there now, I think it's become the norm now with flashtag, is they they have a Midwest flashtag. And I uh I I created a Midwest Flashtag too. I created one um that you only give away at at Midwest Geobash, you know, because you can get flash tags, you can get like 80, you know, or like 40 for like, you know, nothing. Right. You know. So um yeah. So so a lot of people's uh flash tags were were were uh rock and roll themed, you know, um with you know them as a concert thing or uh all different things. So but in the past, oh my god, remember they had data back to the future one years ago in like 2017. Time travel.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

See, and one thing about those flash tags too, Scott, as well, if you turn them over, the way the way pathtags.com work is that if you actually put uh Westband, not West Bank, I'd said it again, Midwest Geobash have a backing whereby if you put their their backing on the actual your flashtag as well, then they get some kickback from pathtags.com as well. So they can actually you know you get that kickback to create more flash tags and want pathtags and stuff as well for to give away too. So that's really cool. So if you're gonna go to an event, Scott, my advice is absolutely uh respect the event and actually have you getting an event path tag or flashtag, put the event label on the back as well. So oh absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:06

I mean, I fully intend. I'm not I didn't make path uh flash tags for West Bend because it's not that kind of a mega, but I am going to make uh flash tags for uh Fallfest in uh Canada. Oh, in Ontario. I highly encourage you to go. It is like a mini whip, uh mini Midwest. Um, because Pasha Amanda, she who works for Midwest, she does this in Canada and she basically stole the idea and brought it to Canada, and now it's it's Canada's number one mega. Uh Fallfest.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

The only difference is the only difference is with Fallfest is that uh as opposed to Midwest, is that you run into people that say sorry all the time, whereas sorry. Sorry, sorry, and they always say everyone's goes out and about for the caching during the day.

Lightning Round Best Moments

SPEAKER_00 45:55

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 45:57

Josh, let's let's get into where we're wrapping up a little bit here, but uh Scott, let's get into uh what we call a lightning round. Have you heard about a lightning round? Yeah, yeah. So we want just Scott, we're gonna say one thing one question for you. We want lightning fast answers and the quickest one you can think of. Number one for you, sir, is your favorite time? No, no, we're in the West. Yeah, we're talking Midwest Get. Midwest. Midwest Get your favorite cache Midwest.

SPEAKER_02 46:27

Okay. So the favorite part of it, like for favorite aspect, like Area 51, was it uh the vendors? Was it Simon Oction? What was the favorite?

SPEAKER_00 46:37

No, he said my favorite cache. I said the mega event is my favorite cache. Yeah, yeah, but I know, but now I I'm asking a new question. Yeah, new question. Sorry, sorry.

SPEAKER_02 46:45

Okay, favorite event was uh uh the favorite part.

SPEAKER_01 46:50

Perfect background, there you go. Biggest surprise.

SPEAKER_00 46:53

The biggest surprise. Um oh wow. Um uh doing shots at Area 51. I usually don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 47:03

Oh best purchase. Could be food, could be best purchase.

SPEAKER_00 47:09

Uh best purchase. What did I buy? Uh a t-shirt, a Midwest geobash t-shirt. Oh, you didn't know. Not for you, but not for Jenny.

SPEAKER_01 47:22

Oh, there you go, there you go. Funniest moments, Scott. Funniest moments. Oh my goodness, there's so many. Um I know, but the funniest, the one that you that really popped you home.

SPEAKER_00 47:32

Oh my goodness, okay. Um that you can remember after that. Okay, so it was um as as Craig likes to let it be known, I am you know height disproportionate. So it was I knew it was me and it was uh Sol's, who's right around my height, and another guy who's like 5'1, and then we had big guy who's like seven feet tall, uh, in the line to do shots. Okay. So so we walk up there, and then and I have for the record, I have all this on video for our patrons. It'll be live on Saturday. You can see it. And the and and the um the bartender's like, uh Matt, you want to get on your knees? He's like, I don't get on my knees for anybody, right? No, he doesn't. He doesn't. And so she brings it up, and I have Matt right next to me, and I have nobody here, and I have Matt right here. And Matt picks it up first, and he brings it up and doesn't even give me a chance, and he just dumps it all over me. Just dump the shot all over me.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

I'm imagining him in the middle and you and Sauls on the end, and he lifts up both of you guys.

SPEAKER_00 48:42

I I couldn't, he's just like, I mean, it was up, it was up here, it was way up here. Yeah, I mean, so so Barton quickly made me another shot so I could shoot it. But yeah, that was that was the probably the funniest part. And it's all in video, it's great.

SPEAKER_01 48:54

So if you're a picture of our even he didn't have any more alcohol, he smelled like an apple. Oh my, it was just oh, it was horrible.

unknown 49:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:02

Um, all right, next one. Best meal. Best meal that I had, really. Best meal. Oh my god, they had a Smash Burger uh food truck there that was outstanding. Oh yeah, Midwest also has monster food trucks because people are camping.

SPEAKER_02 49:18

Um that's good to know.

SPEAKER_00 49:20

Fantastic. Fantastic to know that.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

Yeah, nice. All right, Scott, last one. If you could do, if you go back next year, you go back and it's a one day, one day only on the mega day itself. You could do one thing and one thing only next year, what would it be? If I could do one thing, one thing. You can only do one thing. If you go to Midwest Geobash next year and do one thing, only you're only allowed to do one thing, what would it be? Yeah, poker.

SPEAKER_02 49:45

Pokera. You like it? I did. It was it was good. All right, I have one yeah, I have one more. Oh what was your favorite conversation or interaction from the weekend?

SPEAKER_01 49:55

Oh, and who was it with no, okay.

SPEAKER_00 49:58

Um honestly, um, it was with uh Wheels Double Zero, Cody Dog, and Skippy and Jenny just sitting around our camp uh during the you know, in between the the twilight hours, waiting for Area 51, but post-caching and just sitting and laughing and chatting. That was part of my favorite conversations. Yeah, that's right. And and chilling. And and obviously seeing listeners. I loved I love when listeners come up and say hello. Obviously, that counts. But like what meant the what meant the most to me was just the time spent with friends, you know, and and getting to know them. I haven't seen Skip in a year almost, so to sit spend some time with him was awesome. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

Yeah. Well, that that that brings me to one more question, one more quick fire question. What was that sticky substance all over Skip's? Um I don't know. I don't know what he does in his sleep. I think I think I think it was actually I think it was sap from the trees because there's a lot of trees there, Josh, as well.

SPEAKER_00 50:50

So there was stuff, there was stuff on there was like a slow layer of something. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:56

From from the dew uh coming out of the trees, etc. overnight, that sort of stuff too. And the that's the thing, Scott, uh Josh, as well as this campsite as well. It's it's got trees in the campsite too. It's got you've got power to the sites. Oh yeah, we had water and power. Yeah, water, full water sites, powered sites. You've got you've got sites there fit for if you've got a big RV and you live in your RV and you go, oh, where am I going to park my RV? If you're going next year, park it. There's spots there, get in early because they go, but there are spots there for RVs with dump sites and stuff as well. I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:27

I mean, I had full, I had AC, I had, I had, you know, I have a yeah, I have a sink, I have a stove, I have AC, we had a microwave, we had everything, you know, glamping.

SPEAKER_02 51:37

Yeah, you know, this is a travel podcast.

Teardrop Camper Travel Setup

SPEAKER_02 51:40

I'm really curious. Tell us a little bit about the teardrop. Like, what are what's the advantages of a teardrop camper opposed to any other type of why do you like it? What what advantages are there? Sure.

SPEAKER_00 51:51

Um, well, it's lighter, obviously. Um, you know, it's mine's mine. Uh I have a 2016 Newcamp tag. Um, it's only a thousand pounds. That's it. It's nothing. I mean, any car can pull that. Um, and it's great. It's uh it's got a queen-size bed inside. Um, also has a TV inside that I hook my Roku up so I can watch Netflix or anything that I want. Uh that that pulls from my pulls directly from my phone. I, you know, I I I I hotspot it to my phone. Um it's got air conditioning, it's got heat, it's got uh lights inside, but it also has a it's a teardrop. So behind it in the back, it's got a camp, it's got excuse me, a kitchen that opens up, you know, like uh a door that opens up and um I've got a fridge, I've got a stove uh that runs on propane, I have a sink that runs if I have if I'm hooked up to water, I have a sink. Uh it's great. It doesn't have a bathroom, but I I don't need a bathroom. And like Craig, I I I said that to Craig once, and Craig's like, dude, I never use my bathroom. Like it's like you're not missing anything. Um aside from you know, when it rains, it you know, it's a little harder to cook dinner, but uh other than that, it's just it's great because it's easy, it fits in a garage, you know, like it's so yeah it's it's 13 by seven, it's tiny, you know, it's great. Um and it's just awesome. You know, it's it's such a great thing to have, and it's it's so much fun and it's light and it's easy, and it's so you know, it's it's really, you know, it's I I I I love it. I can't imagine camping without it. I would never want to tend camp again after you have one of those, you know.

SPEAKER_01 53:24

I think Scott, I think Scott, as well the it's one of those things whereby the easier you make something, the more you're gonna use it. The more you're gonna so the easier you do to actually just pull the car in, reverse the car up, hook it up, and then travel away. You know, the easier you make that job, the more you're gonna travel with it. You know what I mean? And the more traveling you're gonna do, the more times you're gonna camp out and stuff like that too. So whereas if you've got a big RV or whatever else, well, it's that's a lot of hassle. That's a lot of hours to and from and start and finish. This one here, the smaller, the most nimble, it's the easiest way. You can you can park this in a warm-up parking lot, you can park it in any anywhere, anywhere you want.

SPEAKER_00 54:02

And I have uh I have a black card for Planet Fitness so I can go shower whenever I need to shower someplace, you know, uh $25 a month or something like that, throwaway. You know, so like that's you know, I have that, so we can so like for example, like when Jenny and I, right now, this time last year, Jenny and I were in Pittsburgh at Chain's at uh the Maccabi games at baseball, and uh we stayed in the we stayed a whole week in the camper, and it was glorious, you know. It was you know, the hotels were two hundred dollars a night. I paid less than two hundred dollars for my full week staying in my camper, you know, and it was great. And you know, we we'd shower at the plan of fitness before we go to dinner, you know, you know, or something, but it was great. That's awesome. So anybody, a new camp tag, N-U-C-A-M-P tag, they are amazing. Okay, okay, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 54:49

Send me, send me the link, Scott, and I'll put it in AstroNet. Perfect. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

So

Planning Tips And Where To Find Us

SPEAKER_02 54:55

we're wrapping up here. If somebody's listening to this and thinking, gosh, I think next year I'm going to Midwest Geobash. Yeah do you have some advice for them? What do they what do they need to know going in? Do they need to reserve their campsite early? What what's the what's the couple pieces of advice you have if they're thinking about it right now? It's it's it's it's almost a year away, but you are you almost can't get further away.

SPEAKER_00 55:18

Um yeah, true. Uh yeah, I would say go log a will attend. I think it's already up because if you log a will attend, you will get the information that you need, will get sent to you. Okay. Yeah. Um what it's with uh when it comes to in terms of also go on the website and create an account because then you will also get information sent to you. And that is how you get a campsite. Uh you it all goes through their website, uh getting a campsite or or or just uh signing up for things like like the uh the poker run and stuff like that. That's all extra, that's all done on the website because it's it's uh you know it's not part of the it's not part of the geocaching mega event page, you know, like on geocaching.com. Yeah. Um but yeah, it's you go in there um knowing that you know you you'll get plenty of caching done. I mean you'll get more you'll you'll vomit adventure labs, they're everywhere. Um I think I got 900 um over the weekend. Yeah. Uh yeah, wow. Um yeah, so they're everywhere. They're literally everywhere. Uh everywhere I went, I was just doing adventure labs, you know, everywhere whenever I walked around the fairground. Um and but go in there with uh no uh you know, if hopefully you you're you're an extrovert and not an introvert. If you are, it's okay. You don't have to be social, but it's it's a social uh mega, you know, so helps to be uh social. But go in there with an open mind and go in there wanting to trade, you know, flash tags and path tags and talk to people and meet people, and it's a great time. It really is. It's it's unlike any other mega you've ever been to, I promise you.

SPEAKER_02 56:53

Yeah, yeah. And and I think it we haven't stated this yet, but it is it is one of the biggest, if not the biggest mega event in the United States, unless Geo Woodstock, you know, you know, goes goes Giga. But I believe probably this year it was probably the biggest mega event in the United States, which is that's pretty significant.

SPEAKER_00 57:14

So yeah, yeah, big biggest this year. And it and and deservedly deservedly so, I think. I've yeah, oh yeah.

unknown 57:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:23

And so it's got you've been going for how many years now? That was only my fifth.

SPEAKER_00 57:28

Oh you're only fifth, no, it was only my fifth. I've like I say, West Bend's like my 17th year or something like that, but uh Midwest, only my fifth. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:36

But Josh, Josh, the uh the organizers, they always have it at the same location too. Um it never changes, so it's always at the same fairground. Do you think they're proud of that, right? Do you think they're proud?

SPEAKER_02 57:45

Oh my gosh, they're so proud of their town, and they would never even consider changing the location because they're proud of the town, and that's a damn rare thing these days.

SPEAKER_01 57:55

There you go. You're welcome to be. Thank you, Craig. I almost forgot. I'm your quarterback, sir. I'm your quarterback right now. So you just yeah, exactly. I just caught that. Where can people uh where can people find you and contact you and uh every Wednesday night of the podcast?

SPEAKER_00 58:09

Yes, you can see me on the uh the GCPC every Wednesday night at 8:30 Central Time on Facebook and YouTube. Um you can also find me obviously in my socials. I'm just um pretty much across the board at Scott Berg's one word, um, on all the socials. So you can find me there.

SPEAKER_02 58:27

And that's your geocaching name too, so they can contact you. But we're Scott Burgs in world.

SPEAKER_01 58:33

And and more more importantly as well, Scott, if you want to, if you're thinking to yourself, you know, I want to listen to more of this geocaching podcast, but I can't wait to Wednesday nights, for instance, as well. Radio. You can stream GCPC Rankers.

SPEAKER_00 58:46

I hooked that up a couple months ago. I found this thing, I found this online radio station. I'm like, oh, there's something there. And so um, it's like 20 bucks a month, it's like nothing. I'm like, oh, I need to do this. And so I spent, oh god, a couple of weeks sitting whenever I was in front of the TV, and I would just add shows, uh old GCPC shows to the radio, and uh I'm done. And so I had there's uh over 900 shows streaming randomly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, gccpcradio.com.

SPEAKER_01 59:21

From so you could you could jump onto one of these with one of these uh radios at itself and listen to it, and all of a sudden you get one of the earlier ones where they're not even talking about mobile phones, they're talking about GPS. The difference between Motorola and Garmin.

SPEAKER_00 59:37

Like there's some people, there are some people that would really love that still. Right now we're streaming episode 506 geocaching multicaches from 2017. That's what's streaming right now.

SPEAKER_03 59:49

I'm on the show.

SPEAKER_00 59:50

I'm on that one. But like before that was episode 510, before that was episode 124. Before that was episode 144. So it just pulls a random episode and bing, throws it live. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, gccppcradio.com.

unknown 1:00:08

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:09

Nice. Well, thank you so much, Scott, for for joining us uh on this particular uh podcast, the treasures of our town podcast. Now, uh Josh, if you don't know, Scott is actually a patron of uh the Treasures of Our Town Podcast as well. If if if if anyone else wants to be like Scott and uh and support how can they be like Scott? Knuckle up to the bar. We can say that. Ready? All three of us. One, two, three, knuckle up to the bar.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:33

Knuckle up to the bar.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:34

Knuckle up to the bar. See, we can say on the other side.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:44

Hey, you you borrow from me, I borrow from you. Hey, you took my shareable idea. Okay, but maybe we're even.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:53

But the thing is, uh, Scott, as well, he can't he can't steal it if he says, Oh, knuckle up to the bar. Oh, I sound like Scott. That's true. He did say that. He's giving you the kudos. He did. He took it. I gave credit. There you go. But otherwise, Josh, if people want to become patrons of the Treasures of Our Town podcast, how do they do it?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:08

Yes, you can find us at patreon.com backslash treasures of our town. Uh, you can join us there. And we have golden nuggets.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:18

And oh, Scott Burks won the golden nugget. We didn't even say this.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:23

No, we didn't.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:24

This is this was a part of his reward of winning March Madness. It's roadside attraction. It's he has an actual real golden nugget created by Nesbuck, but we have virtual golden nuggets too for people. And that's extra audio, extra video, behind the scenes. There's a whole bunch of stuff when I was on the Camino that nobody's seen other than my patrons and the patrons here at Treasurer's Our Town. So uh consider us joining us there. We really appreciate your support.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:52

One thing I'll say as well, this is to Scott and to Josh. Uh, I want to see something on our patrons, uh golden nugget from the two of you when you meet up at West Bend, just saying, even if it's a couple of minutes. A couple of minutes, just meet up and say good day to each other. And uh and I want to see that on our patrons as well. So keep an eye out for that. Um otherwise, Josh, how can everyone else follow us or contact us as well?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:11

They can find us by reaching out to us at treasures of our town podcast at gmail.com. Or you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or our Buzz Sprout site. Just simply search Treasures of Our Town Podcast and we'll show up.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:23

So that's it for our show today. Please subscribe, rate, review on your favorite podcasting app. And as always, Josh.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:29

May your travels always lead you to the most unexpected and amazing hidden gems around the world, like the Midwest Geobash. See you next time. Thanks again, Scott. Thank you for it.