7 Souvenirs of August Challenge

Like last year, Groundspeak decided to stimulate caching activity in the hottest month of the year by initiating another geocaching challenge.  Unlike last year's challenge that require cachers to find at least one cache a day for the 31 days in August, this years challenge was relatively simple.

This year's challenge involved finding 6 different types of caches.  You get a souvenir for each type plus a 7th souvenir if you manage to get all 6 cache types.  Some categories only had one type of cache like traditional or multicache, where other categories had more than one qualifying type, allowing you to choose betwee, for instance, letterbox and webcam caches.

I started the challenge on August 1st (Friday), finding a traditional cache and attending an event cache.

7 Souvenirs of August Meet and Greet by txgo4fan | GC58M41 earned me a "Socialzer" souvenir.

Mmm Chicken by moose16285 | GC4XT25 earned me an "Explorer" souvenir.

On Sunday, I set out to get and Earthcache, a Letterbox cache, a Puzzle cache, and possibly a Multicache.  If I had been successful, I would have finished the challenge relatively quickly.  But it was a hot, miserable day with plenty of mishaps.  I struck out on the Letterbox cache in Shelby Farms.  Of course it was there somewhere since it was found a few days later.

Next, I went after a puzzle cache from my list of several I had pre-solved.  I went after three of the "Office Space" caches in Germantown and struck out for various reasons.  Mishaps included dropping my phone at one and having to backtrack to find out.  I did manage to hit paydirt on the fourth puzzle cache I went after.


Nothing Up My Sleeve   by tinksdad01 | GC4N6MH - earned me the "Puzzler" souvenir.

Finally, I attempted to get one of the two earthcaches that were within a twenty mile drive.  I skipped over the one in Chucalissa in South Memphis to get an isolated one in North Mississippi.

The Mississippi Delta by dameetro | GC3NFQA - earned me the "Nature Lover" souvenir.  I had found a traditional cache at this same spot, so I at least knew where I had to go.

Four down, two to go.  I thought about taking off of work on Wednesday to get the final caches needed to complete the challenge because of rain predicted for the weekend (and the next weekend).  I did some research and found a virtual cache, a letterbox cache and several easy looking multicaches in Tupelo, MS that didn't appear to involve going into the woods.  I then took a chance that the weather would be good enough for me to make a trip to Tupelo on Saturday, August 8.

Saturday came and I overslept a bit, but I didn't really need to rush.  It was about 100 miles to Tupelo and I made it there by 10:30am.  I headed to the Elvis Presley birthplace museum and got the letterbox cache on my list as well as a nearby multicache.

Elvis Presley's Birthplace by Gyrocacher | GC48EFY - earned me the "Collector" souvenir.


Elvis Presley: Assembly of God by Gyrocacher | GC59Q4D - earned me the final souvenir I needed - the "Sightseer" souvenir

 On my way out of town, I diverted north to the Natchez Trace Parkway to get a virtual cache event though I no longer needed to.

Twentymile Bottom by Salvo | GC8F1D - was an alternate qualifier for the "Collector" souvenir.

On the way back out I stopped at the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor's Center and found one more cache - 

Visitors Welcome by Natchez Trace Pkwy | GC3T7CJ 

When I got back to my computer, I saw that I had earned the "Achiever" souvenir, making me the 6,350th person to do so.  Now I can relax.