Gilby or Bust! A Road Trip for Some Seriously Creative Geocaches

September 14–17, 2023 · Gilby, North Dakota

A stop at the Welcome to Gilby mural during Gilby Gone Wild IV.Photo: Steven Pierson

At one stop in Gilby, I took a picture with E.T. in a bicycle basket. At another, we needed the car to get to the logbook. We even found a cache that looked like it belonged at the county fair. I was beginning to see why people drive all this way.

In September, djpd1023, SemperFidelis, Team Darkseid, and I set out from Joliet for Gilby Gone Wild IV (GCA6VQ6). It took us through four states and more than 2,000 miles over four days. For djpd1023, Gilby had been on his bucket list. For the weekend, we had a name for the logbooks. We signed as Team Hotdog where we could.

Team Darkseid used his logs to declare that a hot dog is a sandwich. I used mine to set the record straight. We agreed on the stamp, anyway.

A mallet, a bicycle, and a car

After driving through Wisconsin and Minnesota on Thursday, we started Friday with the Cheers from Seattle! event (GCADK40) before heading north to Gilby. It’s a small farming town northwest of Grand Forks, and local cache maker Trycacheus has given geocachers plenty of reasons to turn off the highway. With some of his gadget caches, finding the container is the easy part. Getting to the logbook is the game.

Strong man at the Fair (GC2CTZK) takes its cue from the old carnival test of strength. There’s a mallet waiting for you in the trees, and taking a swing is part of getting to the log. I’ve brought a few odd tools on caching trips. A carnival mallet usually stays off the packing list.

At E.T. rides again (GC9GCHA), the little passenger sits in a bicycle basket while you do the pedaling. The cache owner says Yoda originally stood in for E.T. Roombacats sent him an E.T. figure, and Yoda retired to a log behind the cache. We stopped for a picture with the passenger who got the part.

A photo with E.T. on our Friday cache run.Photo: Steven Pierson

We also found Twister (GCAE0QC), a gadget cache that borrows from the game where the players are the pieces. Trycacheus tells you to limber up. By then, after a mallet and a bicycle, I was starting to take his suggestions seriously. It seemed like every time I gave out a favorite point, we’d get to another cache that deserved one.

Friday also brought the Bob Billy challenges you to Rock Paper Scissors event (GCAA362). djpd1023 was happy to talk with the people there. As for challenging Bob Billy, he said he knew better than to take on the champion.

After dark in Grand Forks, we stopped for Red River Flood Plain – Grand Forks (GC1RJ14). The EarthCache takes you to the Greenway, which grew out of the city’s flood protection work after 1997. I wrote in my log that it was hard to imagine how much of the city had flooded. Standing by the river with the bridge lit up made it easier to picture what the water had reached.

By the Red River after dark in Grand Forks.Photo: Steven Pierson

Why people come to Gilby

Saturday gave us Driving Miss Daisy (GC6M65N). Finding the ammo can was the easy part. Inside was a gadget and a locked compartment with the logbook. To finish the cache, we had to take the gadget for a drive and then come back to the can. djpd1023 wrote that we knew what we needed to do and it was still worth the wait. It was one of his last finds in town. Geocaching HQ had featured it in August, and I could see why.

We stopped by the main event at Gilby’s park to see familiar faces and meet new people. On the event page, Trycacheus remembers suggesting Gilby for a gathering back in 2008 and getting a laugh. He finally held the first Gilby Gone Wild in 2020. By the time we rolled into town, it was in its fourth year. What stood out to djpd1023 was how welcome he felt in town. SemperFidelis said we’d be talking about the weekend for a long time. I think he had that right.

Team Hotdog together at Gilby Gone Wild IV.Photo: Steven Pierson

The long way home

SemperFidelis had suggested one more stop in Minnesota. He figured it would add about two hours to the drive and wasn’t sure the rest of us would go for it. We jumped at the chance. So on Sunday, on the way home, we walked into the woods for Alvin’s Phone Line (GC9FF), placed on November 5, 2000, and Minnesota’s oldest geocache.

There’s an old chair out in the woods. We set the ammo can and logbook on its seat for a photo. The can holds the story behind the cache’s name, which is worth taking a minute to read while you’re there.

The ammo can and logbook at Minnesota’s oldest geocache.Photo: Steven Pierson

The four of us took a photo together with the can, too. I left a favorite point here. After a weekend of gadgets that made us pedal, swing, and drive, it was good to take a walk in the woods and spend a little time with a piece of geocaching history.

The four of us with the ammo can at Alvin’s Phone Line.Photo: Steven Pierson

I’d make that detour again with this crew. I’d even let Team Darkseid bring his own lunch.

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Field Notes

• Trip dates: September 14–17, 2023.
• Companions: djpd1023, SemperFidelis, and Team Darkseid.
• Route: Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. More than 2,000 miles.
• Main event: Gilby Gone Wild IV (GCA6VQ6), September 16.
• Sunday detour: Alvin’s Phone Line (GC9FF), Minnesota’s oldest geocache.