Alabama’s First GeoTour

Two Limestone County Attractions Featured on Alabama’s First GeoTour

Decatur, Ala. (March 1, 2017) – On Wednesday, March 1, 2017, the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA) held a press conference to launch Alabama’s first official GeoTour. Created by AMLA, Dash of the Unexpected GeoTour features thirty-one geocaches hidden throughout North Alabama in an effort to attract the millions of worldwide geocachers to the region. Alabama Veterans Museum and 1818 Farms, located in Limestone County, have been selected as part of the new Dash of the Unexpected GeoTour.

Designed to attract both experienced and new geocachers, Dash of the Unexpected GeoTour features 31 attractions, historic sites and unique, locally owned places in the northern Alabama region. Of the 31 locations, 13 are existing caches and 18 are new caches. The two attractions located in Limestone County included on the new GeoTour are Alabama Veterans Museum and 1818 Farms.

Dash of the Unexpected GeoTour has its own page on geocaching.com, which lists the participating geocaches. Geocachers use a GPS device or the Geocaching app on their smartphone to navigate to a set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find a hidden geocache container. Each cache will contain a point value that participants will record in a passport (downloadable on www.northalabama.org/geocache). Participants must sign the physical cache log for each geocache find and record the find on www.geocaching.com to be eligible. The first 300 cachers who achieve 60 total points are eligible to receive Dash of the Unexpected GeoTour Geocoin, trackable on Geocaching.com. The first 100 cachers who achieve 75 total points will receive the coin and a special Dash of the Unexpected t-shirt.

“The Dash of the Unexpected GeoTour invites geocachers, whether experienced or new to the activity, to explore some of North Alabama’s unique destinations,” said AMLA President/CEO Tami Reist. “Geocaching is a fun and inexpensive way to learn about what an area has to offer. Each of the locations on the GeoTour has a compelling story to tell and when these adventure seekers visit, I believe they will be pleasantly surprised and fascinated with what they learn.”

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game played throughout the world using GPS-enabled devices. The purpose is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, from a specific set of GPS coordinates. Once found, participants must sign the logbook provided on site and record the find on www.geocaching.com. If participants take something, they must leave something of equal or greater value for other participants. According to www.geocaching.com, the official global GPS cache hunt site, there are over 2.9 million active geocaches in over 180 countries and over three million active geocachers worldwide.

For more information on the Dash of the Unexpected GeoTour, call AMLA at 800.648.5381. For more information on geocaching in Limestone County, contact Teresa Todd with the Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association at 256.232.5411.

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About Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA) 
AMLA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and development of the travel industry within the 16 northernmost counties of the state.  It is supported by 500-plus members consisting of chambers of commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureaus, attractions, campgrounds, festivals, communities, counties, golf courses, restaurants, tour operators, accommodations, vendors, financial institutions and individuals.  Counties included within the AMLA region are Blount, Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston. Additional information on North Alabama destinations, accommodations and special events is available from the AMLA by calling 800.648.5381 or by visiting their web site at www.NorthAlabama.org.