Dracula - 10/31/16

I've been holding on to this puzzle for months, but now with Halloween's arrival it seems like the perfect time to share today's Colorado puzzle featuring:

Dracula

Tomorrow we'll be in Rhode Island.

Which? Witch? - 10/30/16

In hunting for Halloween-themed caches I came across this one from Minnesota that transported me back to my childhood.  I don't remember a lot about playing the game itself, but I do know that it took quite a bit of effort to get everything set up properly to play:

HHX - Retro Board Games: Which Witch?

Tomorrow we'll be in California.

Time for Candy Corn! - 10/29/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Minnesota.  It's Halloween weekend again ... that means it must be:

HHX-Time for candy corn!

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Trick or Trick - 10/28/16

Today's Australian puzzle is all about trickery ... but not the Halloween variety:

Hermeneutics of autodialectic xenolinguistics

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Murder She Wrote - 10/27/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Arizona.  The other day I happened to read that it was Angela Lansbury's 91st birthday.  Quick, now ... which of her roles did you think of first?  With a career spanning many decades, it probably depends on how old you are.  My parents loved her in "Gaslight," "The Picture of Dorian Gray," and "The Manchurian Candidate."  I knew her best as Jessica Fletcher, and younger folks will recognize her as the voice of Mrs. Potts from "Beauty and the Beast."  She is also a multiple Tony award winner for her work on Broadway in roles like Mame and Mama Rose.  Anyway you look at it, she is:

One Classy Dame

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Ten Circles - 10/26/16

Today we have a little logic puzzle from California:

Ten Circles - a puzzle cache

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win! - 10/25/16

I became a baseball fan in the mid 1970's, and have bled Dodger blue ever since.  But I also have had a very soft spot in my heart for the Chicago Cubs.  I started following them in the mid-1980's, when my favorite Dodger 3rd Baseman Ron "The Penguin" Cey started playing there (subsequently he was joined by fellow Dodger Davey Lopes and probably some others I'm forgetting right now).  We lived in one of the northern suburbs of Chicago for several years, and it was a treat to ride the "El" to the "Friendly Confines" for summer daytime games.  Long before we had access to whatever games we wanted on satellite TV, the Cubs were an easy team to follow due to their games being played on WGN TV, and I spent many hours watching and listening to the play by play from Harry Caray, who must be looking down from somewhere through those gigantic glasses with a huge smile on his face today as his beloved Cubbies prepare to start their first World Series game in 71 years tonight.  I thought it would be fun to commemorate the occasion with this Indiana puzzle:

CubsChris's CubsCache

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

All Aboard - 10/24/16

My weekend's activity got me looking for a cache on today's subject, which I promptly found in Utah.  If you're ready to take a look, then:

All Aboard

(Sorry about posting the wrong link for yesterday's puzzle.  If you want to go back and take a look, the page has been updated.)

Tomorrow we'll ...

Pegged? - 10/23/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Sweden.  I try to post a big enough variety of puzzles that there is something for everyone.  Have I got you:

Pegged?  (Updated with correct link ... sorry about that).

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Monster Halloween Party? - 10/22/16

Today's cache takes us to California.  I'm probably a little bit early with this puzzle, but if you're planning on attending one it's time to start thinking about your costume for:

A Halloween Monster Party

Tomorrow we'll be in Sweden.

VK is for Viking - 10/21/16

Today's puzzle takes us to a pair of puzzles in the land of the Vikings:  Minnesota.  I came across the first one and realized it employed a solution method I had considered trying to use in constructing a puzzle myself, but had not gotten around to trying.  After solving it I then found the second puzzle, which explained one aspect of the first one that I wasn't familiar with (I found even more info here ... don't worry, not a spoiler at all).  Have some fun with:

A Word Puzzle

and Assume VK

Tomorrow we'll be in California. 

An Obscure Order - 10/20/16

Today we travel to Australia to pay a visit to a little known order, the:

Leaping Nuns of Norwich

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

In the Round - 10/19/16

I'm not sure if I've posted one like this before, but today we have a Kentucky puzzle with yet another variation of:

SUDOKU... In the Round...

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

75 Years Young - 10/18/16

I happened to hear on the radio the other day that it was Paul Simon's birthday.  At 75 years young, he's still going strong (you can see him in concert tonight if you happen to be in Prague ... or tomorrow in Leipzig).  Like many people, I particularly enjoy listening to his early work with Art Garfunkel, and I was surprised to come across this Minnesota puzzle cache that they apparently partnered up on as well:

Twenty-Five Dollars and Pieces of Silver

The answer, my friend - 10/17/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Minnesota, and it gives me the opportunity to congratulate the latest winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.  Way to go:

Zimmy

Tomorrow we'll be in Minnesota for another day.

Who Authorized This? - 10/16/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Tasmania (which I know is part of Australia, but I just like saying "Tasmania").  I expect we've all had them ... those times when you come across something (whether in geocaching, or in other parts of life) and you just have to ask yourself:

Who Authorised This?

Tomorrow we'll ...

An Above Average Attempt At Alliteration - 10/15/16

Today's Minnesota puzzle is an alliterative gem:

Aa Ab Ad Ae Ag Ah Ai and Al Are All Acceptable at?

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Geocaching Toolbox - 10/14/16

Today we travel to Delaware.  I had fun appearing on the GeoGearHeads podcast again recently, and one of the things I made special mention of was a tool that's been around for a while, but keeps growing in scope such that I'm referring to it pretty regularly now.  If you haven't used it before, or haven't looked at it lately, check out:

Geocaching Toolbox

Tomorrow we'll be in Minnesota.

Hyper Gecko - 10/13/16

If you took a look at yesterday's puzzle, you might be interested to know that an alternate name for that type of puzzle is a "Hyper Sudoku."  When I did a search using that terminology, I thought it was funny that it brought up today's Minnesota puzzle which I had come across recently while looking for something completely different:

Oh Hyper Gecko

P.S.  In a fascinating case of serendipity, I already had this post set to go when a friend sent me this 30 second video, knowing it features the town I grew up in.  And yes, those little brass markers are actually there, up and down the middle of the street.  The start of this field puzzle cache is in the background of the video on the left.

Tomorrow we'll be in ... 

Windokaching? - 10/12/16

Today's puzzle takes us to France.  Now, I've heard of window shopping, but I wonder how many of you have ever heard of:

Windokaching

Tomorrow we'll be in Minnesota.

The Big Roundup - 10/11/16

Puzzles and those who love to create and solve them have been around for a long time, but sometimes I don't think we realize just how long. Today's California puzzle tells a fascinating story of a math puzzle written in the form of a poem.  Sounds kind of like it could be a geocaching puzzle, doesn't it?  It turns out this particular puzzle was created over 2000 years ago, and wasn't completely solved until 1965 (now that would have been a LONG time to wait for an FTF!)  See what you can learn about:  

The Big Roundup

Tomorrow we'll be in France.

Fall Colors - 10/10/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Minnesota.  Depending where you are, you might be celebrating a holiday today.  Whether it's Columbus Day, Indigenous People's Day, or Canadian Thanksgiving, a lot of folks have the day off from work today, and students in many places are enjoying their "Fall Break."  Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons, and in most years upstate NY is a fine place to experience it.  We're coming off of a very dry summer, so the colors are a bit late and more muted than in some years. They are still there to be found, though.  I expect the peak will be in the next week or so, so I'm looking forward to:

HHXI More Fall Colors

Tomorrow we'll be in California.

I'm Begging You ... Peas! - 10/9/16

Today's puzzle takes us to California.  You know I love a humorous puzzle with a little word play, so of course I'm going to:

Give Peas a Cache

Tomorrow we'll ...

Tilt! - 10/8/16

The writeup in today's puzzle from Canada's Alberta province is something I'm quite familiar with.  Since I teach introductory Geology, I often use the analogy of trying to read the rocks like a book ... an area's history is recorded there, if we can just sort it out.  But we have to remember that it's probable that "pages" of the book are missing due to erosion, so part of the task is looking out for indications of missing information.  The interpretation of rock layers is 3-dimensional, and I've told you before how I have issues with spatial awareness.  In my brief lesson on this concept I use a lot of 3-dimensional props, which helps, but I always warn the students that how quickly you grasp what's going on depends on how your brain is wired.  Some of us will just intuitively get it immediately, and for the rest of us our brain sort of  goes:

Tilt!

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Johnny Cache - 10/7/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Ohio.  I've lately become a big fan of Pandora radio.  Although I think it's a little spooky how well it can predict my favorites (it gives me some strange pleasure to click the "thumb's down" while thinking, "Ha! Take that, algorithm!") I love having a constant shuffle of music based on the artists I've selected.  I've taken to using the 30 minute sleep timer when I go to bed, which takes me back to my childhood when my parents always left the radio on for me at bedtime.  More than once lately I've drifted off to sleep to the sounds of Johnny Cash singing:

I've Been Everywhere

Tomorrow we'll be in Canada's Alberta province.

Modern Messaging - 10/6/16

Following up on yesterday's puzzle with a "modern" theme, today we pay a visit to an Ohio puzzle that envisions the modern messaging equivalent of Paul Revere's:

One If By Land, Two If By Sea

Tomorrow we'll be in Ohio for another day.

Modern Transcription - 10/5/16

I had started working on today's Minnesota puzzle when I got sidetracked by a tangent that turned out to be quite fun, but completely unrelated (you'd be amazed how often that happens).  I'm glad I went back and took another look at this:

Modern Transcription

Tomorrow we'll ...

Dr. Polyglot - 10/4/16

Today's Australian puzzle is one I had the pleasure of testing recently.  It features not only a polyglot (does anybody else think that's one of the quirkiest words in the English language?) but a:

Naturalist, Surgeon, Polyglot, Spy

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Seeing Double - 10/3/16

Today's pair of Rhode Island puzzles caught my attention when they appeared right next to each other on the list of new certitude puzzles.  That can't have been a coincidence.  I wonder if they were inspired by a certain TV ad I've been chuckling over recently ...

Marco

Marco

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

You can call me Jenny - 10/2/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Minnesota.  Growing up in the 1970's with the name "Jennifer," there were always a lot of identically named girls around, and sometimes it made sense to use nicknames to differentiate.  I never really had a preference in nicknames so I ended up being called different things by different people, and that persists today.  To most people I'm strictly "Jennifer," but to a few I'm "Jen."  My freshman room-mate dubbed me "Jen Jen" and there one teacher who referred to me as "Sam" (there were 3 Jennifer's in the class so he got a little creative).  And there are a small number who use the name my mother always called me:

Jenny

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

What's So Special? - 10/1/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Rhode Island, where I hope you'll be able to answer:

What's Special About This Cache?

Tomorrow we'll ...