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!