This Month:

• Geo-Hostels By Jamie Sheffield, aka NFA
• Our Monthly Crossword Puzzle By Tony Delgado, aka Tablesaw
• More Than a Micro Container By Art Pennace, aka origami cacher

...a registry of geocachers who would be willing to host visiting geocachers... A couple of days ago, while reading through the Geocaching.com forums after my son was in bed, I came upon a thread which interested me. Flask had suggested a registry of geocachers who would be willing to host visiting geocachers in their extra bedroom or backyard or treehouse or garden-shed or...you get the idea. The idea was that hosts could describe the accommodations they would be willing to provide, and leave it up to the visiting geocachers to make contact and work out details.

I liked the idea enough to play around a little with it, and came up with a free, no-programming, (hopefully) effective way to present "Geo-Hostelling" information for the USA. Visit the Geo-Hostel Web Page and click on any state (or "other" for DC, PR, and other non-state USA areas) to access the available Geo-Hostel spots in that area. The host is expected to enter the following information: gc.com user name, email address, shelter and amenities available, number of people space is available for, level of contact they wish to have with visitors (i.e. - "come on in and go through my medicine cabinet" or "don't expect me to talk to or look at you while you're here"), and other information they wish to leave.

I hope that others will follow this example in the spirit it was offered. I would love to see people in all 50 states and some of the "other" places in the USA visit the webpage, and add their hosting information to the database. Geocaching is a great sport/activity, and this could really help build the feeling of community among geocachers around the country. In addition to some information about the accommodations I am willing to provide geocachers visiting my neck of the woods (check out the Lake Clear, NY listing!), I added a listing detailing the coordinates of a couple of free and beautiful camping spots near my house. I hope that others will follow this example in the spirit it was offered. List details about accommodations you can provide, and if you want to, list some free and beautiful camping spots that you (personally) have used nearby (please do not give directions to a pay campground or a Motel 6 or a nasty culvert you can hide in overnight).

I fully expect that tons of people have the programming and financial capabilities to build a more high-tech version of the "Geo-Hostelling" database...I don't know if that's necessary, but if it happens, it's okay with me. I really just want to see a good idea implemented to help the many thousands of geocachers today make their way through the world, using billions of dollars of government technology to find ammo-cans full of golf balls in the woods. I think there is also something good and decent about offering people with a shared interest a hand, even if it takes the form of a spot to place a tent in the backyard with a stern warning to, "Stay away from my house, and make sure to pick up all of your empties!"