Going Prehistoric at MidWest GeoBash 2025
Caching and Pteranodons, or were those Pterodactyls?
It’s been a while since I attended the largest Geocaching event in the Midwest, located in Wauseon, Ohio. It’s about a three hour drive and knowing I’ll drive three hours for a sandwich it does make me wonder. We decided to head out to “Bash” and see how it has changed and why it has such a following. Oh, and to maybe do some caching along the way
I’m not going to into the whole history of the event for the past 17 years it’s been in the same place- the Fulton County Fairgrounds. My favorite would still be the one in Kendallville, Indiana in 2007 that coincided with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The entire town put together an event to support the local independent bookstore. For that night there were activities throughout the main street tied to the wizarding world including kids sitting in a tree with pool noodles whacking the passersby. It was a great evening and at midnight everyone who had ordered a book from the store ahead of time, got their copy and went off to read until the wee hours of the morning. It had nothing to do with caching, but it was a lot of fun.
What is GeoBash?
Like many large events anywhere in the world, it is a gathering of geocachers to celebrate the hobby and meet like minded folks. What makes Bash different from Let’s say GeoWoodstock is it is held in the same location which is great in some aspects, and not so great in others. It has had a theme (usually associated with a bird). and for a lot of people camping is involved. Yes, I said camping… No Sue and I don’t camp, which may be why our feelings towards Bash over the years have been mixed. Nothing against a great event, but a lot of what is going on happens on site. If you aren’t staying on site, you miss out on things, tales of adventures, and complete stupidity, which help to build the bond of friendship between people. No one is talking about the great episode of Forensic Files they saw in their hotel room before heading off to sleep.
The event has evolved over the years but there tend to be a few stable pieces to the four days that make up the majority of Bash.
Tweet Tweet: It all started with a flamingo and then went from there, as themes developed, so did the bird mascot. Ducks, Eagles, Penguins… its all part of what makes Bash, Bash.
Camp Site Decorating: As I said before this is a camping event. Campsites on the grounds of the fairground are the best way to go. As themes started to become more and more important, campers started to decorate their area in that theme. Think of what people do for Halloween or Christmas in their yards and take it to the next level.
Area 51: We’re all adults here… except for the kids who aren’t. Area 51 is the late night bonfire spot for adults including a bar and shenanigans. Which is why camping can be a necessity for some… stumbling back to your tent is safer than trying to drive to your hotel. It also won’t get you arrested. There is also an event and contest for the best tin foil hat.
Rain & Storms: It is the midwest towards the end of the summer. Anyone from the midwest will tell you it’s tornado and thunderstorm season. For some strange reason these tend to happen in this area around Bash. It’s all part of the experience.
Pathtags: Where many events have a day of trading coins and other items (at GeoWoodstock it’s the “Midnight Madness” event) at Bash, it’s pretty much all the time with the early evening, late afternoon being an optimum time. If you sit at a table for more than a few minutes, someone will come up and ask if you have pathtags to trade. This year Pathtags.com announced their new product “Flashtags” as a solution to the economy of tariffs and trade issues. Everyone ended up not only seeing them up close, but also getting samples during various activities. Pretty much they are like pathtags but without the hole or painting, so the artwork is directly imprinted onto the small coin.
Examples of Flashtags - will they be the next big trading/collecting craze? Caches, and Activities: This is basically summer camp for geocachers. There is always something going on, if not you can always go caching. The caches are creative with either gadgety bits or details that make them fit with the theme. many are just beautiful to look at - once you figure out how to open them.
Bash goes out of its way to try out things and experiment. One year they brought out metal detectors and had people hunt for coins. The “Treasure Hunt” has now become a staple. The Poker Run where you head out into the town and visit local businesses was a great way to support the community while having fun. Using an Adventure Lab to help people get to each location was great!
This year’s avian creature was prehistoric so the theme pushed towards cavemen and Jurassic Park. The Flintstones were big and people were cosplaying them throughout the weekend.
With the exception of Area 51, Bash (again with the camping aspect) seems to be much more family oriented. There were a lot more kids present than I tend to see at other events. Having activities including a kid version of the Poker Run, really was a nice option for families that want to do have it all. I know too many kids who have been turned off go geocaching for a variety of reasons. Including activities for a wide variety of ages is a great way to keep younger cachers interested in the hobby.
It’s Not About the Numbers
Everyone plays the game differently and there is no one way to play. For Cecil- Evil GeoCaching Monkey it has never been about the numbers. or filling in a calendar or a grid or whatever. Other people that part of the game is very important to them. I rolled my eyes at Geowoodstock’s Rest Area Geoart where you could sit for two hours (your mileage may vary) and get a bazillion finds by just guessing at multiple choice questions. Bash had the same thing… I heard someone say there were 750 finds from Adventure Labs. Not my thing, but you be you. I still like Adventure Labs, just not as art. I like them as a way to tour a place, to see and learn. The same with the caches on site, they were beautiful, and some were clever in how to access the log. Each was a work of art around the theme. Cecil ended up with about 30 finds over the four days- this includes the Poker Run (which was a 10 stage Adventure Lab) and the various events throughout the week. He could have probably hit 1,000 finds if he had wanted to and I’m sure there are people who did that and more.
Highlights
Well there was a really good episode of Forensic Files… 🙄 For me this was an event to see people I don’t get to see very often. Even if it was just to say “Hi!” I met some new folks as I was sitting around drawing… It was hard because once I would start putting pencil to paper someone would ask if I had path tags to trade. That said, I met a young man who asked me if I could draw a cello and was overjoyed, when I did. Then there was a friend of someone I had talked with who was celebrating their 14,000 cache milestone who asked me to draw on their sign since they were sending the photo into FTF Geocacher Magazine. I wish I could have promoted FTF more than was able to, but Saturday they were grabbing tables for the silent auction and while the weather was good, people were out caching.
Will Sue and I be back? Yes, it is only a 3 hour drive, but I’m guessing it won’t be an annual trek like it is for some. It may just be a day trip. One point for me that can get frustrating was poor cell phone internet access. I understand when a bazillion geocachers gather in a rural location that it might be a strain on the system… Unfortunately if the event is annual in the same location, it might be something the organizers could see about addressing. This problem is only going to get worse. It’s bad when you can’t bring up a cache or an event to log it or even find it. I guess I could pull out my Palm Pilot, or maybe the three ring binder I used to have cache pages in. That and we are getting too old for a lot of the shenanigans, and if we are going to travel to an mega/giga-event GeoWoodstock, being in a different location each time, gives us a chance to see other parts of the U.S. that we might not get the opportunity to see except for MINI Takes The States.
Sorry we didn't get the chance to see you guys more often. We saw the MINI in the parking lot tho (also staying at Tru -- we're avid campers, but not "BASH" campers). And for those curious, our night-night show was "Storage Wars."