December's Featured Geocacher

Well, better late than never! This is the second installment of our monthly featured cacher. The inaugural "interview" was very well received and we appreciate all the great comments. So without further adieu, we'll introduce the featured geocacher for December: goatsandvettes!

With the roar of horsepower and the smell of burning rubber, goatsandvettes sped into the geocaching world in February of 2008. A resident of Fort Smith, goatsandvettes can be found tearing up the asphalt from cache to cache along with jay jay55. If you've been geocaching in Fort Smith then you've probably experienced this duo's creative and fun hides. As much fun as their caches is reading their online logs explaining their misadventures while geocaching. Enough of all that, we better get to the interview before goatsandvettes speeds of again!

How did you hear about geocaching and what was your first hunt like?

TheCLB told me about it. First cache was Tramlaw Kelley Hwy. Pulled into parking lot she said, IF we had a gps with us, it would be point that way and then as we drove thru parking lot she said now it would point that way. Pulling into ground zero was asked where would you hide a cache..after several incorrect guesses, finally the the term skirt lifter was explained. Soon I was signing my first cache and hooked.

How did you choose your handle?

From a combination of two cars I own. An 2005 Pontiac GTO (the GOAT) and a 1977 Corvette (the VETTE) which became goatsandvettes

After your first find, what about geocaching has kept you interested?

Being raised in the country I enjoyed getting out and hunting (though I haven't hunted anything alive for a long time).This hunt gives you a quarry that is so stealthy, impossible to hear, blends in with the surrounds and hides in plain sight, knows few boundaries around existing amongst us in the city or country. Can watch you in silent laughter as you hunt, prod, and poke for it. Be within inches of you and invisible. Survives all elements from freezing winters to egg frying summers. The night hunts are some of the most fun. Where else can you walk around in circles in the dark, with a flashlight in the middle of the woods and not be considered strange. Well, at least not strange by other geocachers.

Of all your hides, which is your favorite and why?

If you mean hides, as in one I put out, that would be some disassembly required. Took a while to figure out how to assemble and make it difficult and fun to take apart but easy to reassembleg almost anyway and it still work for the next cacher.

If it one I found, it would be one I found earlier and then took JJ to to find. The Dock of The Bay. A beautiful lake, stars above, a cool night, and she found the cache and I found the Caching Partner I will spend the rest of my life with.

What is your favorite type of cache? (traditional, puzzle, multi, etc..)

I like all of the caches for the most part. I enjoy the challenges of multi's such as Curve Appeal or the infamous "gill specials" but like those micro's in the middle of a busy muggle filled area. I like the urban ones as well as those in the woods. The woods ones are best at night when your caching partner hears "lions and tigers and bears" lol.

What was the most embarrassing thing to happen to you while geocaching?

When after numerous attacks upon JJ by "Man Eating Armadillos" and "is that a bear" or "are there coyotes out here.. wild things live in the woods", (she's a city girl), I was "Scared by a little baby bunny rabbit that took off as I was about to retrieve a cache". Might as well make it public knowledge as JJ logged the "attack of the bunny rabbit" on the cache log.

Geocaching, is it a game or a sport?

Both, a game where you can use strategy, the knowledge and skills you have and you learn, and you get to keep score, but also a sport where you can "hunt" in the woods", where you can explore the sides of mountains, hike and climb into the locations. I think Geocaching is both.

What surprising thing have you discovered about yourself through geocaching?

That this is one thing I prefer to not do alone as other hobbies but to do with someone (ie JJ) anytime day or night. I am surprised that I will traipse through the woods at night in the freezing cold to look for a cache and enjoy it laughing all the way and actually get up earlier to go to a "Meet and Greet" then to go to work and be happy in doing so.

What GPS do you use?

I use a Garmin Etrex Legend HCX for when I get out to locate the cache. I use a Garmin Nuvi 260W loaded with caches and logs to find the way into caches via roads.

Do you have any geocaching goals and if so what are they?

Just to place more caches, find more caches and keep looking for and placing more challenging caches.

We'd like to thank goatsandvettes for taking the time to answer our questions. As always if anyone has any suggestions feel free to let us know. We'd love to hear from you! We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and have a happy new year! Happy Caching!