Written by J.D. Parkman, VP in charge of Heavy Lifting
We all have “firsts” in our lives. Some we might remember, like losing our first tooth. Some we’ll never forget, like the birth of our first child, or our first geocache find (I’m not saying those are on par with each other, just trying to relate). First job, first car, first date. Heck, you think that kid on the talent show recently will ever forget his first kiss with Katy Perry?
Other firsts can be just as important but perhaps a bit subtle. An accomplishment maybe or a milestone completed. Something where you may stop for a moment to reflect and say a silent “yes!” as opposed to back in the day when you excitedly had anybody and everybody witness the gaping hole where your tooth used to be.
Sometimes this kind of first sort of sneaks up on you. All of a sudden you have a moment where the realization comes crashing to the front of your mind, “Wait a minute – this is a first!” followed with the mental fist pump and a silent “yes!” And so that is how it went with me and the Whale Tail project.
The Whale Tail is the secret code name we used for a project commissioned by Geocoinfest 2018 in Seattle. It’s a nice little (but amazingly hefty) tag featuring a whale’s tail sticking out of the water as the rest of the beast is submerged diving under. This whale tail is special because it is drawn in the Native Art motif of the Pacific Northwest.
You may be thinking that using Whale Tail as a secret code name for a project featuring a whale’s tail is probably, well, not all that secret. All I can say is we like to hide things in plain sight.
And so the realization was made by me just the other day as I was setting out samples of our projects for display to friends, the Whale Tail and Huckleberry Pi. The Huckleberry Pi came with the iconic Cache Advance “Go Find It!” insert. The insert is a cardstock label of sorts that generally goes inside of the coin holder.
The Whale Tail has the snazzy new Compass Creek Designs insert. I thought it would be cool to display the inserts as well so my friends could see that this is the 'changing of the guard' so to speak, and here is our first trackable fro…. Wait a minute! This is our very first from Compass Creek Designs! Holy cows! (“Yes!”). A special place on the Wall of Fame at the Cache Cave will soon be occupied by one very important Whale Tail. Hopefully one of many.
Thanks for reading.
I should probably mention that Geocoinfest 2018 Seattle is going to be held September 27-30. We encourage you to check out GC7CX8F and plan your visit. Many activities are on the schedule and will be so worth the trip. Suffice it to say, you will definitely come home with a whale of a tale!
