Welcome to CarolinaCacher


Welcome to my CarolinaCacher site. I'm Randy Hefner. My caching screen name on GPSgames, Geocaching, and TerraCaching, is RanHefner. I have been caching since June 24, 2005.

You may be asking, "What is caching?" You would probably know it as Geocaching. Geocaching is the combination of technology, outdoor activities, and treasure hunting. You use a GPSr (Global Positioning System receiver) to locate hidden containers of different sizes and shapes. All cache containers will contain a log (piece of paper, notepad, or notebook) to document your finding of the cache. Some containers are large enough to contain trinkets for trading. The rule is that you take somthing and leave something.

There are many handheld GPS receivers on the market ranging from around $75 to over $400! All of them will get you started with geocaching. The more expensive ones are good for geocaching and road navigation. The two most popular companies offering GPS receivers are Garmin and Magellan.

Garmin offers a GPS Guide For Beginners. It is a little "technical", but does offer a lot of great information about how the Global Positioning System works.

The online "How To" manual, wikiHow, offers a very good guide to geocaching. This is a good article for beginners. This article takes you step-by-step from selecting a GPS receiver and how to log your find.

A good place to start is to join a local caching club. There are several in the Carolinas. If you live in North Carolina, you should join the North Carolina Geocachers Organization. This "club" is for everyone in North Carolina or anyone interested in caching in NC.

If you live in the foothills area of North Carolina, there is a group for you! The NC Foothills Geocachers is affiliated with the NCGO above, but is targeted towards the members living in the foothills.

If you live in the Asheville area of North Carolina there is a Yahoo! Group called Western NC Geocaching.

If you live in the upstate of South Carolina, there is an organization for you. The Upstate South Carolina Geocachers Association covers the 10 counties in the northwest portion of South Carolina.

There are two South Carolina state-wide geocaching organizations. South Carolina Geocachers Association and South Carolina Society of Geocaching.

Join the organization that best fits your needs and participate in their events. You will get more out of geocaching by making new geocaching friends!
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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Riverbend Park in Conover, NC

CatawbaCountySealThe Catawba County government has decided that to save money, our use of the parks will be sacrificed.  Several parks and library hours have been cut.  This affects the Riverbend Park…Home of several geocaches.

OPERATING HOURS TO CHANGE AT CATAWBA COUNTY LIBRARIES, PARKS AS OF JULY 1, 2010 
Due to budget cuts as revenues have declined, especially from sales tax and fee collection, operating hours at Catawba County Libraries and Parks will be changing as of July 1, 2010.
Baker's Mountain, St. Stephens and Riverbend Parks will be open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, and closed Tuesdays through Thursdays beginning on July 1.
The parks will continue operating during the same seasonal hours as are now in place, opening at 8 a.m. and closing at dusk (varying from a 6 p.m. close from November through February to an 8 p.m. close from April through September).

It’s a shame that in the middle of summer when school age children are out of school don’t have these parks to visit during weekdays. 

I did a little geocaching today in Riverbend Park.  I was there early in the morning, but, it was still hot and muggy.  The humidity was high enough to fog my camera lens.  During my geocaching, I took a few pictures.

IMG_0265 (One of the trails in Riverbend Park)

IMG_0272 (I came across a patch of very small orange mushrooms)

IMG_0267 (These mushrooms were about the size of a dime)

IMG_0268 (Don’t eat them!  They are surely poisonous)

My Canon PowerShot S1 IS finally gave out after many years of service.  I decided to go with a cheaper “point-n-shoot” type camera.  The Canon PowerShot A490 is a fantastic camera for the price.  Here are a few more pictures.

IMG_0275 (It could be easy to get turned around on the myriad of trails)

IMG_0279 (An example of the wildlife in Riverbend Park)

I had a good morning geocaching.  I only found one, but, as you can see by the pictures, there is more to Riverbend Park than geocaching.

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