Traditional GCR5F6 by Elmbaek Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark N 55° 41.489′ E 012° 35.937′ Thirteen legendary Hidden Creatures have been recently spotted around the world. It's been said they only appear in their respective habitats. Reports are pouring in from Copenhagen, Denmark, when one of the friendliest Hidden Creatures, the mermaid, breached the water's surface to say hello near a famous landmark in her image. Denmark has a long history of mermaid lore, originating with Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid (published in 1837) which made a big splash with readers everywhere. It inspired this bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen, and eventually as a part of our world via Disney's movie of the same name released in 1989. This statue became an icon along the quaint Langelinie waterfront promenade in the early 1900's for Denmark, and is now regarded as a must-see destination for travelers worldwide. Mermaids are known for being very elusive and clever creatures, so to grab the cache successfully you need to be elusive and clever as well due to the high volume of traveling muggles. The Lock & Lock is big enough to host a few trackables and some SWAG, and is near the statue, whose fabled popularity can be proven by the sheer amount of smileys represented here. Since its publication in 2005, The Little Mermaid has logged almost 12,000 Found It logs with over 900 Favorite points scaling up to one of the most found caches of all time. Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world. Check out all of the Geocaches of the Weeks on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form. [...]

The Geocaching International Film Festival is returning for another year of epic geocaching moments captured on camera. If you're a filmmaker, a geocacher, or something in between, GIFF 2018 is your chance to have your geocaching film viewed by thousands of people on movie screens all over the world. Submissions are due August 1, 2018. But before you start filming, check out these do's and don'ts of making a GIFF entry. 1. Do read the Submission Rules This one is pretty straightforward. You can find the rules here. There are 1497 words on that page. Now, we know that's a lot of fine print to digest. Here are some tips for making it through: Find a comfortable spot to sit Keep a snack and water nearby for stamina and hydration Do take the rules seriously! We hate having to turn down awesome films because of small, preventable guideline problems. 2. Do watch films from previous years For inspiration and context, it's generally helpful to get to know your peers. Don't know where to start? Check out the films from prior years for a nice variety of genres. While you're watching, try to pinpoint one thing each film excelled at, and start to make a mental list. Then when you set out to make your film, you'll have some ideas of what you might want to make your film excel at. 3. Don't use music without permission It's in the submission rules too, but it never hurts to mention this one again. We see so many submissions come in with background music that the filmmaker doesn't have the rights to. Yes, it definitely would be neat if you could open your film with a sunrise shot accompanied by music from The Lion King. There may be a way to get permission for that, but it's probably expensive and difficult. Instead, we recommend using one of these free, fair-use music resources to source your tunes: Free Play Music Vimeo Music Store (choose Creative Commons/free) Garage Band (mac app) LMMS (PC app) 4. Do show, Don't tell Film is visual medium—you'll have your audience on the edge of their seats by keeping the voiceover and dialogue short and sweet. Be merciless with your final editing. Bad lines aren't like your children. You're allowed to give them up if they're awful. 5. Don't sacrifice quality Many GIFF filmmakers are geocachers before they're…well…filmmakers. Which is completely fine. Your experience producing a film may not match your experience finding nanos. And let's face it—this isn't Cannes and it's not Hollywood. But we do prefer videos that look and sound good on the big screen. Invest some time in figuring out how you're going to make the audio clear and the visual crisp. 6. Do seek advice and listen to feedback Most filmmakers will work as a team with at least one other person. This is helpful considering the work it takes to produce a GIFF film. But it's also helpful to bounce your film ideas off of others before the final product. Collect your closest friends or family and show them your storyboard (or whatever you're using to brainstorm). Keep in mind that your film shouldn't be shared beyond those you consider your filmmaking team in case it becomes a finalist! Submission deadline is August 1, 2018! [...]

Spotted: Three legendary creatures hidden among towering trees and overgrown greenery. Be on the lookout for the hairy Bigfoot (and its enormous footprints), glorious Unicorn, and whimsical Fairy. Navigating through a mossy forest and looking for objects should feel familiar to all geocachers. For the next four weeks we will be highlighting the different habitats these Hidden Creatures call home. If you find 100 caches in the first week you will earn all of the souvenirs at that time. You can take your time and cache over all four weeks or challenge yourself to find them all as fast as you can! Get started on your search! [...]

Traditional GC5DAMP by TeamPhoenix421 Difficulty: 1 Terrain: 1 Location: Indiana, United States N 41° 28.290 W 087° 16.252 Calorie Alley—Geocache of the WeekIf you drive along Route 30 in northwest Indiana between the cities of Hobart and Merrillville, you will pass between two famous confectionery suppliers. One of America's largest candy companies (makers of gummy animals and various chocolates) sits on the eastbound side, while a small local popcorn company (featuring over 200 flavors) sits on the westbound side. This small stretch of road was dubbed “Calorie Alley” for obvious reasons. But here's a kernel of truth: “Calorie Alley” is also the name of a sweet geocache for you and your special sugar to discover. The delightful geocache was constructed by cache owners and the popcorn shop owner.The delightful geocache was constructed by cache owners TeamPhoenix421 (aka Tim and Monica) in collaboration with the popcorn shop's owner to cover a PVC pipe protruding from the ground. The themed exterior was built over the course of a couple of weeks out of plywood, expanding foam sealant, and artfully applied paint. The exterior was built over the course of a couple of weeks out of eyeball-measured plywood, expanding foam sealant, and artfully applied paint.SPOILER ALERT (straight from the cache owners, so it's okay!)The “Popcorn” sign to the west is actually a trick door — simply pull it open to find a smaller popcorn container. It may be a little corn-y, but this is actually the geocache container! The inner container is crafted from a plastic popcorn box purchased from a dollar store with custom foam “popcorn” added. Just pull back the hinged top and POP! there's the logbook! SPOILER ALERT“Calorie Alley” has earned over 100 Favorite points and a 50 percent approval rating since it was published in 2015. When reading through the logs, words like, “awesome,” “creative,” and “fun” keep popping up. This giant popcorn has turned into an attraction for muggles too, given the number of selfies taken on this spot. “Calorie Alley” has earned over 100 Favorite points and a 50 percent approval rating.This may be the perfect geocache to get your creativity flowing to submit a film for this year's Geocaching International Film Festival (GIFF). Geocachers are not required to enter any businesses to find or log this cache and it can be found outside at any time day or night (and placed in cooperation with the business owner). The cache owners hope you have a fraction of the fun finding this cache as they did when building it. Calorie Alley—Geocache of the WeekAnd now for a little popcorn trivia according to Wikipedia During the Great Depression, popcorn was fairly inexpensive at 5–10 cents a bag and became popular. Thus, while other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for many struggling farmers, including the Redenbacher family, namesake of the famous popcorn brand. During World War II, sugar rations diminished candy production, and Americans compensated by eating three times as much popcorn as they had before. The snack was popular at theaters, much to the initial displeasure of many of the theater owners, who thought it distracted from the films. Their minds eventually changed, however, and in 1938 a Midwestern theater owner named Glen W. Dickson installed popcorn machines in the lobbies of his theaters. The venture was a financial success, and the trend soon spread. Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world. Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form. [...]