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

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

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

How long have you been geocaching?
Started in Feb 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where are you originally from?
Born and raised in Greenbrier

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

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

How many caches have you found?
642

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is your geocaching name?

lauracricket

How did you choose your handle?

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

How long have you been geocaching?

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

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

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

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?

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

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

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

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?

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

Do you do paperless caching?

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

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?

Google Pixel 2

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?

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

Where are you originally from?

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

In what states have you geocached?

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

What was your first event ever attended?

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

How many caches have you found?

As of today, 723.

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

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

What was the most famous cache that you have found?

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

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?

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

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

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

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

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

What is your favorite type of cache hide?

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

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

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

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

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

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?

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

What's your favorite geocache?

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

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

New Zealand, Madagascar, or Iceland...

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?

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

How many First to Finds do you have?

Just 5 so far.

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

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

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?

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

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

What is your geocaching name?
jdpc3

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do you do paperless caching?
Yep!

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

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

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

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

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

How many caches have you found?
1,027

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought tipnwife aka Chuck and Rachael Veregge should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name?
TIPNWIFE

How did you choose your handle?
IT'S PART ME AND PART MY WIFE. WHEN I WAITED TABLES, MY NICKNAME WAS TIPTHAWAITER. I STARTED WITH THAT BUT THEN THE WIFE JOINED IN AND WE CHANGED IT.

How long have you been geocaching?
MARCH 13, 2015

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it?
WE WERE IN MURRAY, KENTUCKY FOR OUR NIECE'S BIRTHDAY. IT WAS ALSO A FAMILY REUNION OF SORTS AS RACHAEL'S DAD HAD TERMINAL CANCER. SOME COUSINS HAD ALREADY BEEN GEOCACHING AND INVITED ME ALONG WITH THEM. WE DID NIGHT GEOCACHING. MY FIRST CACHE LOOKS LIKE IT HAS BEEN ARCHIVED, BUT GC2W0P1 WAS THE FIRST ONE WE LOGGED THAT IS STILL ACTIVE

Who usually goes with you when you go caching?
TIP = CHUCK; WIFE = RACHAEL

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up?
IT DEPENDS, 30 MINUTES IF IT'S EARLY IN THE DAY THAT WE ARE GEOCACHING. 5 MINUTES IF WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN OUT AND ABOUT.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?
CEMETERIES

Do you do paperless caching?
WE HAVE DONE SOME VIRTUAL CACHES.

What kind of geocaching rig do you use?
GENERALLY WE ARE IN TIP'S JEEP RENEGADE, ORANGEJELLO. HOWEVER, WE HAVE YET TO TAKE RACHAEL'S NEW TO HER SUBARU CROSSTREK, SUE BEA, OUT TO SEARCH FOR CACHES

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching?
GET OUT OF THE HOUSE, ITS FUN, ITS COOL TO SEE PLACES YOU WOULDN'T ORDINARILY THINK OF GOING TO. LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE!

Where are you originally from?
TIP = HONOLULU, HI; RACHAEL = LITTLE ROCK, AR

In what states have you geocached?
MINNESOTA, NORTH CAROLINA, ARIZONA, INDIANA, ILLINOIS, MISSOURI, KENTUCKY, TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, LOUISIANA, ARKANSAS, TENNESSEE,
COUNTRIES = USA, MEXICO

What was your first event ever attended?
IT WAS A MEET & GREET & EAT AT GUS'S BACK IN THE SUMMER OF 2015. OUR COUSINS WHO GOT US INTO GEOCACHING INVITED US. THEY HAVE SINCE DROPPED OUT WHILE WE HAVE KEPT THE ADVENTURE GOING.

How many caches have you found?
681

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest?
RACHAEL PREFERS THE AMMO CANS; TIP PREFERS PUZZLE BOXES

What was the most famous cache that you have found?
WE ARE NOT SURE.

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries?
BOTH

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby?
WE HAVE NOT HIDDEN A CACHE YET.

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide?
TO MAKE OUR FIRST HIDE!

What is your favorite type of cache hide?
WE DON'T HAVE ONE YET

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

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh?
THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE GIFTED AT HIDING THAN FINDING. AND OTHERS WHO ARE MORE GIFTED AT FINDING THAN HIDING.

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby?
OUR COUSINS GOT US INTO THIS. WE STAYED FOR THE ADVENTURES.

What's your favorite geocache?
WE ENJOYED THE ONES BY sduke91757 BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL SO UNIQUE AND CHALLENGING.

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching?
ALL THE CONTINENTS.

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group?
SMALL GROUPS OF 3 OR 4 PEOPLE. SMALL ENOUGH TO FIND THE CACHE QUICKLY AND NOT DRAW TOO MUCH ATTENTION.

How many First to Finds do you have?
NOT AS MANY AS WE WOULD LIKE, ONLY TWO OR 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.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching?
TOO MANY....SCUBA DIVING, KNITTING, CROCHETING, FPV RACING QUADS, DISC GOLF, BICYCLING, GOLF, CRAFTS, SINGING, BAKING, COOKING

The Membership Relations Committee is happy to showcase some ArkGeo Geocachers through the "Geocacher Profile". The committee thought Bronco's Girl aka Sharon Johnson should be the next cacher to be in the spotlight.

What is your geocaching name? Bronco's Girl

How did you choose your handle? Well, my husband and I started geocaching together with the name of Bronco46. When I decided that I wanted my own geocaching account, together we came up with the name of Bronco's Girl for me.

How long have you been geocaching? With my husband Charlie, since January 2, 2008. Then I established my own account on June 27, 2009.

How did you find your first Geocache, and which one was it? Our son, Pudn, from Alabama told us about this activity in late 2007 and Bronco46 and I found our first cache together in 2008 but I found my first geocache (now archived) on June 27, 2009, and it was exciting to begin my adventure as a single cacher, if needed, while my husband was at work.

Who usually goes with you when you go caching? My husband Charlie, better known as Bronco46. Occasionally plsellers travels and looks for caches with us. Sometimes, just plsellers and I cache as a duo.

How long will you work on puzzle caches before you give up? I normally do not give up on puzzle caches. I like a challenge and Bronco46 and I will work for days, if necessary, to figure out the puzzle. Occasionally, we need a nudge from the cache owner or another caching friend to help us get started, but then we do not want any help. We want to see if we can persevere and figure out the answer for ourselves.

What town/areas have you most enjoyed caching in?I do not have a favorite area, but I enjoy caching in Texarkana, Hot Springs, Union County, Tuscaloosa (Alabama), and in northern Louisiana because we have a lot of caching friends there.

Do you do paperless caching? Normally, no.

What kind of geocaching rig do you use? My preference is my Garmin GPSmap 62s. Secondary is my I-phone.

Why would you recommend anyone else to take up geocaching? It keeps one from being a couch potato. You meet so many wonderful cachers at the events or on the geotrail, and my favorite part of caching is seeing so many different things in God's beautiful world that I would never have seen if my geocaching searches had not taken me there. I try to document a lot of what I see with photographs. That is why you currently will find 5,053 photos in my gallery.

Where are you originally from? Born in El Dorado, Arkansas. But graduated from Norphlet High School because I lived in that area while in school

In what states have you geocached? In all the states contiguous to Arkansas (Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana). I have also cached in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania. My father was born in Pennsylvania and I like to go back there every few years.

What was your first event ever attended? It was one of allenearl58's Fired Up for Geocaching events in Smackover on 9/03/2009 (GC1RJG7). I had such a great time in spite of the heat. I loved meeting so many cachers and learn about them and seeing so many trackable items. It was so great that I posted 61 photos! I was hooked and made sure that I attended this great annual event every year until there was no one to host it anymore.

How many caches have you found? As of the end of October I have found 2,929 caches, which includes me attending about 67 events. I look forward to finding my milestone number of 3,000 soon but that number will be hard to achieve before the end of the year unless Bronco46 can stay out of the deer woods long enough to take me caching. I imagine plsellers would be pleased for us to go caching and help me obtain that milestone.

Which type of cache container do you prefer over the rest? Medium-sized ones that are large enough to put a trackable in but are small enough to be well hidden. Just a small pint-sized lock-n-lock will do for me.

What was the most famous cache that you have found? I do not recall a famous cache that I have found but I remember finding some very clever ones and meaningful ones.

Do you use disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries? It is funny that you asked about batteries. Bronco46 and I use disposable batteries all year long and almost every one of them was previously used in one of his deer feeders. At the end of deer season he sacks up all the half-life batteries and puts them in the cachemobile for us to use during the next 12 months.

Do you enjoy hiding or finding more as your part of the hobby? I definitely enjoy finding caches more than hiding them. I love to see where and how other people hide caches.

Do you have a personal goal in mind when you make a hide? Yes, usually to bring attention to something. Also, I might hide a new cache or two when there is an event in this area so it will be a drawing card for those who had previously found all the caches near the event.

What is your favorite type of cache hide? I prefer traditional cache hides, ones that children will enjoy finding.

Out of all your hides, what are your personal favorites that you take pride in? I like ones which are hidden inside a fake animal and hidden in the woods, such as Flopsy (GC4HWZH), Mopsy (GC4HWZQ), Tree Frog (GC4NJ04) and Rocky (GC3V9NK).

What do you think the proper hide to find ratio should be to keep the sport fresh? That's a hard question to answer. Maybe one hide for every 100 to 200 finds. Also, I prefer that new cachers do not start hiding caches until they have found about 100 caches, so they will experience a greater variety of containers and ways to hide.

How did you end up getting into this wacky hobby? Our son Pudn introduced us to it.

What's your favorite geocache? I do not have a favorite geocache but I like caches that are hidden in a series and have some meaning for each cache, not just a simple power trail.

If money was no object, where would you like to go geocaching? In every state in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Do you like geocaching by yourself or in a group? With someone else, of course; and when we have events, I like for several geocachers to get together and hunt together. You get to see their joy when locating a cache.

How many First to Finds do you have? I do not know, but if Bronco46 and I are caching together, we tend to alternate claiming the first to find.

Are you a First to Find person who is always set on go and if so, how many miles out do you have your settings on to get notifications? No, I do not rush out to get a first to find because most of them are too far from my home, and secondly, if there are any new cachers in the area I want to give them the opportunity to get their own First to Find. I think my notification settings is about 50 miles.

Do you have any other hobbies besides geocaching? Yes, I like to take photographs and I love to cook. Usually in the evenings if I am not too busy or tired, I will play a few card games or word games on my I-pad.


Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts and joys of geocaching with you.
Sharon Johnson a/k/a Bronco's Girl