Geocaching adventures in New Mexico

By Guest Writer Geocaching in New MexicoThis blog post was written by geocaching superwoman and Geocaching HQ employee, Annie Love.
One might think of a band playing gigs in different cities when they hear the term “Lackeys on Tour.” But those of us who work at Geocaching Headquarters, lovingly known as “Lackeys,” it simply means geocaching in an interesting new location.
Previous Lackey adventures had taken us to Alaska and Las Vegas, but after a year off, the road called to us once again. Jon Stanley (Moun10bike) suggested New Mexico as it was a state he hadn’t cached in yet. To be honest, when you come from dreary Seattle it’s pretty refreshing to spend a day in the warm, sunny desert geocaching. The group was quickly on board and before we knew it, ten of us Lackeys had booked flights, hotels and two minivans to the Land of Enchantment.
Two minivans in the Land of EnchantmentWe arrived in Albuquerque late on a Friday night. But just because it was late didn’t mean we couldn’t start caching. Luckily, the nearest cache was only about 50 feet from our hotel.
The priority the first day of our trip was power caching. They say “It’s not about the numbers” but we don’t always agree with what “they” say. Power caching may not be for everyone but it’s important for Geocaching HQ employees to understand the different caching methods that the community enjoys.
Ready for a power trail?Power caching in the desertAt Geocaching HQ, we pride ourselves in testing our products live in the field. The day we left, our mobile team released a new beta app for the staff to test. Finding 200+ geocaches over a weekend provided a great experience to test the beta and discover any issues that may need attention before release.
In the middle of our power caching, a Virtual Cache brought us to the Abo Ruins (GCB95A), a Spanish mission dating back to the 1600s. Discovering places like this is what makes geocaching so special.
Virtual Cache Abo RuinsAfter waking up the next morning in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we ventured to an EarthCache with a lot of Favorite points, the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks (GC1TVB6). Years of volcanic eruptions and subsequent erosion created a slot canyon with cone-shaped tent rocks that are now an amazing national monument. We hiked the three-mile round-trip trail to the top to take in amazing 360° views of the entire region.
EarthCache Kasha-Katuwe Tent RocksAfter an hour and a half drive, we finished our day back in Albuquerque with cold beer, tasty BBQ, and good conversations with geocaching locals. We spent a couple hours sharing caching stories and lots of laughs with about 25 attendees at our event (GC7JVQP). It never ceases to amaze me how warm and welcoming geocachers are no matter where you travel.
One has to feel pretty lucky to work at a company where you’d spend your own money to go on vacation with your coworkers. I still pinch myself that I get to work at Geocaching HQ and have amazing experiences like our Lackeys on Tour trip to New Mexico.
Even though we may not be a band, we can still look good on our album cover.
We could almost be a cool band