7-County Challenge Celebration

GCBGWTM • Brazos Valley, TX

January 17, 2026

The 7-County Challenge Celebration was a massive success! We had an incredible turnout at Joe's Place to celebrate everyone's hard work across the Brazos Valley. From the early morning cache runs to the puzzle-solving over lunch, it was a day to remember.

WINNERS

🏆 First to Find (FTF): Congratulations to kesleyk for being the first to ink the log!

🧩 Puzzle Champion: A huge shoutout to finnfive (with assists from Atakkat and Kpip1066) for winning the event puzzle booklet and the grand prize bag!

Event Snapshots

(Swipe or scroll to see all photos)

Huge Thanks to Our Sponsors

Geocaching Podcast • Lone Star Cache Supply • Pathtags! • DealFarms1 • PodCacher

Roll Call

Nov64 (52,897)	MsPatt (51,252)
georeyna (21,156)	Team_Red_J (18,561)
momshark (14,893)	CaveatObservator (11,778)
Beetlebub (10,237)	Kpip1066 (8,072)
pritzen (7,037)	finnfive (6,900)
ebb77 (5,696)	dealfarms1 (5,225)
dilloman (3,697)	PirateKate (3,451)
Atakkat (3,422)	TxRider (3,411)
TXSanta (3,221)	MrsTXClaus (3,221)
Zephyr01 (3,105)	kesleyk (1,103)
ooDreamCrafter (683)	2xrCody (598)

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🎉 Unboxing 2026! Time to Log Your First Find of the Year.

Happy New Year, Brazos Valley Geocachers! The calendar has officially flipped, which means it’s time to start chasing those 2026 goals, earning the first souvenir, and logging a new Day Found for your calendar grid!

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🎁 Earn the "Unboxing 2026" Souvenir

Your first official mission of the year is simple: Log any geocache, Event, or Adventure Lab® to secure the Unboxing 2026 souvenir! This is the perfect way to get momentum for your year-long resolution goals.

Souvenir Details:

• What: Log any single find (Cache, Event, or Adventure Lab®).
• When: Any time from January 1st through January 8th, 2026.

Why wait? Get out today! The weather is cool, the parks are relatively quiet, and that first smiley is waiting for you.

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🗓️ Grid Check: Start Your 2026 Grind!

If your resolution involves filling the Calendar Grid (a find every day of the year) or the D/T Grid (a cache for every Difficulty/Terrain combination), today is day one!

Today's Mission:

• Log Your First Day: Finding a cache today locks in January 1st for your Calendar Grid!
• Aim for a Unique D/T: Don't just find the easiest one. Today, try to find a cache that helps you fill a rare square on your D/T Grid (like a D4.5/T1.5 or D2.5/T4.0). Search for specific combinations on the official site!
• Try a Different Type: If your last find of 2025 was a Traditional, make your first find of 2026 a Mystery, Multi, or EarthCache to start diversifying your year.

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✨ Happy Hunting in 2026!

Whether you hit the trails at 12:01 AM or wait until the afternoon, we hope your first cache of the year brings a big smile.

We can’t wait to see all the success stories from the Brazos Valley Geocachers this year!

🥂 🗺️ 🥇

🎆 2025 in Review & Your Geocaching Resolutions for 2026!

As the year draws to a close, it's the perfect time to look back at the caches we conquered and plan the adventures waiting for us in the new year.

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🚨 Last Call: Don't Miss the Closing 2025 Souvenir!

The final souvenir of the year is available! Geocaching HQ is giving out the Closing 2025 souvenir for anyone who logs a find between December 24th and December 31st.

Souvenir Details:

• What: Log any geocache, Event, or Adventure Lab® location.
• When: Any time from December 24th through December 31st, 2025.

If you need a quick, easy find before the clock runs out, check out the lower-difficulty caches near campus — it's the perfect way to cap off your 2025 find count!

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🎯 Your 2026 Geocaching Resolutions

New year, new goals! Whether you're a seasoned cacher or just getting started, January 1st is the ideal day to set some personal geocaching challenges.

Challenge Yourself in the Brazos Valley:

• Fill the Calendar Grid: Find at least one cache on every day of the year (366 days in 2028, but 365 in 2026!).
• Complete the D/T Grid: Find a cache for every combination of Difficulty (1-5) and Terrain (1-5).
• The Cache Hider Challenge: Hide at least one quality, memorable cache in a new area of the Brazos Valley (after finding 100 first!).
• Find all the Oldies: Finish finding the 5 oldest Traditional caches in our region (you can re-read our past blogs for that list!).

Go Big and Go Regional:

• Attend the Texas Challenge (March 2026): Your Mega-Event attendance goal is already set!
• Conquer a GeoTour/GeoTrail: Look at one of the dedicated trails outside of our immediate area for a weekend road trip.
• Try a New Type: If you’ve never found an EarthCache, Letterbox, or Wherigo, make 2026 the year you master a new type.

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✨ What’s Your Goal?

Whether your goal is 10000 finds, mastering the Difficulty/Terrain grid, or simply getting outside more, we encourage you to write it down and share it with the BVGC community! Accountability makes achieving those tough goals so much easier.

Happy New Year's to all our fellow Brazos Valley explorers! We can't wait to see your success in 2026.

Don't Forget: You can also earn the Unboxing 2026 souvenir by logging a find between January 1st and January 8th! A great way to start the new year!

BVGC's Festive Favorite: What Was Your Best Cache Find of 2025?

As the year wraps up and the holidays begin, it's the perfect time to slow down, grab a mug of hot cocoa, and reflect on the great geocaching adventures we shared.

The Brazos Valley saw incredible new hides, challenging trails, and unforgettable FTFs this year. Now we want to hear from you: What was the best, funniest, or most memorable cache you found in 2025?

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🎁 Join the BVGC End-of-Year Conversation!

We're asking everyone to jump into our Facebook group! and tell us about that one find that made your entire year. There's no right answer—it could be the oldest cache, the most challenging gadget, or just a simple container with a view!

Tell Us About Your Favorite Find!

• Which Cache Code (e.g., GC49C, GC8K800)
• Why was it great? (The hike, the container, the logbook entry, the view?)
• Who were you with? (Solo, family, fellow BVGC members?)

We'll highlight some of the best submissions next month as we kick off our 2026 caching year!

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🌲 Quick Holiday Caching Tips

If you decide to squeeze in some last-minute caching this week, keep these holiday tips in mind:

• Muggle Alert: Areas near shopping centers and parks will be very busy. Please be extra mindful of stealth!
• Family Fun: The holidays are a perfect time to introduce a visiting relative to the fun of geocaching. Look for caches with a Difficulty (D) rating of 1 or 1.5.
• Souvenir Window: Don't forget, the Closing 2025 Souvenir is active from December 24-31! Log a find to earn it!

From the BVGC Team, we wish you a wonderful Christmas and a safe New Year's!

🎁 🗺️ 🌲

🏆 Get Ready! Texas Challenge 2026 is Going Mega!

Taylor, TX • March 11–15, 2026 | GCB4F75

If you've been around Texas caching for more than five minutes, you already know: Texas Challenge is the geocaching event of the year. And 2026 is shaping up to be one of the biggest ones yet.

The Central Texas Region of the Texas Geocaching Association has officially announced the 24th Annual Texas Challenge & Geocaching Festival. The main event is March 14, 2026, with a full lineup spanning five days. As of today, there are already hundreds of "Will Attend" logs — and we're still months out!

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the "I'm coming!!" counters.

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🧭 What Makes Texas Challenge Special?

Texas has hosted Challenge twenty-three years in a row, and it remains one of the only megas in the world centered around competition and state pride. Expect a legendary event featuring:

• Team and Individual geocaching competition
• Region vs. Region bragging rights
• Huge GeoArts and challenging Gadget Caches
• Vendor villages for all your coin and trackable needs
• ...and the legendary trail stories that follow 👀

If you've never been before, think: Mega-event + state fair energy + Scout camp + a little organized chaos. In other words: perfection.

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📅 2026 Schedule (So Far)

Here's the official event list confirmed in the TXGA announcement. Log them all for a full week of fun!

Wednesday – March 11

📍 GCBAEAY — Welcome Wednesday (with Pie!)
Texas hospitality starts with baked goods. As it should.

Thursday – March 12

🛢️ GCBAEAZ — Not Your Usual Lamppost Cache (Event!)
Curiosity is already killing us.

🍻 GCBAEB0 — Here's To Dear Old Taylor…
Evening social event + early bragging rights trading.

Friday – March 13

🌅 Morning Event — **TBA**

🍖 GCBAEB2 — Friday Night at the Cathedral of Smoke
This is at Louie Mueller BBQ — one of Texas Monthly's top spots and a literal "Cathedral of Smoke." (Texas Challenge choosing BBQ? Absolutely on brand.)

Saturday – March 14 (The Main Event!)

🏆 **Texas Challenge & Geocaching Festival**
7:00 AM – 3:00 PM: Competition, festivities, vendors, chaos, adrenaline. The works.

🤠 GCBAEB3 — Texas County Challenge Finishers' Reunion
Saturday night at The Cotton Country Club in Granger — live country band and true Texas dance hall vibes.

Sunday – March 15

🌄 Morning Event — **TBA

🧹 Sunday CITO — **TBA
(You know it will be popular… because everyone wants that last smiley before heading home.)

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📍 Why BVGC Should Start Planning Now

Here in the Brazos Valley, we are going to show up strong—and Taylor is only about an hour and a half away!

This is perfect for:

• Day trips and quick weekend excursions
• Group caravans and road-tripping playlists
• Trying to guess which ridiculous team name will win this year
• Bragging about your finds for the next twelve months!

Crucial Reminder: The earlier you log "Will Attend," the better the hosts can plan for the huge crowd. Challenge 2026 is going to be BIG.

📣 Call to Action

If you're a BV cacher, start thinking about:

• Lodging and carpools
• Who you're competing with (or who you're avoiding competing against 👀)
• How much BBQ you can physically eat in one weekend

And don't forget: 👉 Log your Will Attend on the main event page (GCB4F75) right now!

It helps the hosts — and it definitely helps hype the event for the entire state. We hope to see a massive BVGC contingent in Taylor!

Posted by Brazos Valley Geocachers • Category: 🎪 Events

You Know You're a Brazos Valley Geocacher When…

If you've spent any time caching around Bryan-College Station and the surrounding counties, you already know:

The Brazos Valley has its own flavor of geocaching.

Here's a list of signs that you may officially be one of us…

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🅰️ 1. You've tried to grab a cache on campus… on game day… and instantly regretted it.

"Available parking" becomes a myth.
Your GPS says you're 400 feet from ground zero.
Your car says “Nope.”

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👀 2. You've been stared down by at least three Aggie Ring-Day families mid-search.

Stealth level: zero.
Confidence level: also zero.

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🚧 3. You've wondered whether a cache survived the latest round of  road construction.

Every hide is a race between you and the bulldozers.

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🌾 4. You’ve absolutely bushwhacked through thick brush and instantly remembered: “Oh yeah… this is Texas.”

Thorns. Briars. Fire ants. Regret.

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🪵 5. You've found a logbook in a container that somehow survived 120°F heat, Freezing temperatures AND a thunderstorm in the same week.

Texas weather builds stronger cachers.

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🐍 6. You've done a snake check before reaching into anything.

Mailbox hide? Snake check.
Cedar stump? Snake check.
Guardrail? Mega snake check.

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🧠 7. You’ve spent 20 minutes inspecting a metal pipe…

…only to learn later you weren't the only one...
Looking at you, Tanzanite fans.

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🏞️ 8. You have special feelings about parks like:

• Lick Creek Park
• Gabbard Park
• Wolf Pen
• Richard Carter Park

Each one has a very specific “caching memory” attached to it.

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🏛️ 9. You've hit a Courthouse Square cache in Madisonville “just because you were already driving by.”

And somehow it turned into a full day trip.

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🎒 10. You know who the local FTF hounds are… and you've been outrun by at least one.

Sometimes by three.

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📍 11. You proudly claim the Brazos Valley as your home turf.

Not just Bryan.
Not just College Station.
But the whole seven-county region that makes up our caching community.

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🐄 12. You've definitely found a cache hidden somewhere near livestock.

Cows staring at you while you sign the log? Completely normal around here.

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🎉 13. You’ve been to at least one BVGC event and walked away with:

• a sticker
• a new friend
• AND a story you didn’t expect

Bonus points if it involved a puzzle.

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🧭 14. You've solved a puzzle cache involving the Aggie War Hymn, a NASA photo, three random emojis, and a QR code.

And you were proud of it.

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🪪 15. You keep an extra pen in your car, your bag, and sometimes your shoe.

Because you've learned the hard way.

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🎉 If you relate to at least five of these… welcome to the club.

You're officially a Brazos Valley Geocacher, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Posted by Brazos Valley Geocachers • Category: 🗺️ Other

The Tanzanite Search Proves Geocachers are the Real Treasure

Last weekend wasn't just about chasing a highly-rated, elusive geocache; it was a testament to the thriving Brazos Valley Geocachers community! Following the initial "Tanzanite Investigation" blog post, two back-to-back events were held on the same day, proving that the real fun in geocaching is the friends we make along the way.

Part 1: The Social Hub at Tanzanite Lunch (GCBF8W8)

The day began with the Tanzanite Lunch, which served as the perfect social kickoff.

• Massive Turnout: The event attracted a fantastic crowd, with cachers noting there were "barely enough chairs and tables" and a search party of around 20 people afterward.

• Wider Reach: Geocaching friends gathered from all over, including visitors who traveled all the way from Pennsylvania!

• Building Community: As GeePa summarized, it was a great opportunity to "meet cachers from the College Station area that I have not run into before". The logs are full of thanks, proving it was a wonderful chance to swap stories and trade trackables.

Part 2: The Campus Cache Crawl Kickoff (GCBF9RR)

After a successful lunch, the group headed to the Campus Cache Crawl Kickoff event to tackle the caches themselves. The hosts, Brazos Valley Geocachers, welcomed everyone for a day of fun in Aggieland.

The highly anticipated mission began: the infamous Tanzanite cache.

• Collective Effort: The hunt for Tanzanite was a true team effort, with a large group of eyes searching. Logs show people looking "in the trash can, on all the nuts and bolts, on the sign, everywhere on the pipes" and "checking every Pebble within 10' of the posted coordinates".

• The Crawl Success: Even though the Tanzanite search yielded no results, the group quickly moved on. As PittPack noted, this was a "great event to get a group of us together to go after other caches around campus". Logs confirm cachers successfully hit other, less elusive campus hides, proving that a DNF couldn't ruin the fun.

As the photo above shows, even a DNF log is a team effort in the Brazos Valley!

Looking Ahead

The Brazos Valley Geocachers are a thriving, supportive group. Our passion for the game, for meeting up, for exchanging stories, and for tackling the hardest challenges together, is what makes this hobby so great.

Tanzanite may remain an elusive mystery for now, but the community it brought together is solid, active, and already planning the next great adventure!