About Us
How we got started...
Although Geocaching had already come to Ridgecrest, the Ridgecerst Geocachers (RCGeo for short) group was officially formed in 2011 by nickandbeth2010 and Chris93555.
The first event WildGeo Meet & Greet (GC2PEYK) was held on April 17, 2011 during Ridgecrest's Annual Wildflower Festival. Members could sign up and pay a membership fee and they would get a geocache container and other goodies, access to a members only section on the website being developed and were the first to know about upcoming events and new caches.
A Board of Directors was elected in June 2012 which included, 5g (who was known by horseleach at the time) as President, nickandbeth2010 as Vice President, catsimmie as Secretary and White_Buffalo as an alternate member.
The purpose of the official club was to promote and educate communities near and far on Geocaching and to bring people from out of town to cache and thereby increasing tourism to local businesses and events. We held CITO events, workshops and had booths, thanks to sponsorship by The Carriage Inn at Randsburg Old West Days and the Ridgecrest Annual Wildflower Festival. Club fees went from a set amount per person to different categories and rates - Individual, Couple and Family memberships. 5g also created www.rcgeo.com to keep members and visitors up to date.
In August 2014 the club's board disbanded and annual membership dues were no longer charged. The club was free to anyone who wanted to join. The club's purpose stayed the same.
What we do now...
Many members have come and gone since the beginning but there remains a few die hard cachers that have stuck with the group through thick and thin.
We have grown the area so much that people from around the world come to the area just to Geocache. In 2014, Ridgecrest was rated as one of the Top 5 Geocaching Destinations in the World by a popular Geocaching magazine. For an area our size we have one of the highest concentrations of Power Trails and Geo Art in the world. Within 100 miles there are over 15,000 active geocaches.
Along with the website being redesigned and updated, we have created sites on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. We encourage cachers both local and visiting to post photos and videos of their caching adventures in the area and tag Ridgecrest Geocachers. We also keep them up to date by posting upcoming events as well as placing them on our Google Calendar.
While we have not had any booths at the local festivals since 2013, we still hold events monthly during the Fall through Spring and special events as needed during the summer as well at CITO events several times a year. We also continue to teach groups and organizations through educational workshops held when asked for.
What's next for us...
As long as there is in interest in Geocaching in the area, the Ridgecrest Geocachers will be there to support cachers both local and visitors.
One way to do this is to partner with organization such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Ridgecrest Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to get the word out about Geocaching promoting tourism. One way to do this is by an official Geo Tour which is a possibility if and when resources become available.
Whatever the future holds, the desert is our playground and the Ridgecrest Geocachers will be out there playing!