Beyond the Coordinates · Adventure Journal
October 15–17, 2026 · A little local pride, a lot of familiar faces, and a weekend on the Mother Road.
I’ve traveled plenty of miles for geocaching events. Geocoinfest 2026 gave me a chance to enjoy something a little different: a major gathering practically in my own backyard.
On November 11, 2026, Route 66 turns 100. The highway was officially designated on November 11, 1926, making this year’s Geocoinfest theme especially fitting.
This time, our local geocaching community was welcoming everybody else. Friends of mine had put a tremendous amount of work into making the weekend happen, and I was happy to cheer them on.
I also got to contribute a small piece of it myself.
Thursday: A Little Piece of the Mother Road
The Route 66 Adventure Lab GeoArt was part of the celebration, and I had created GCF13 – Rolla, MO, a five-location Adventure about some of the Mother Road’s landmarks.
My Adventure used landmarks such as the Mule Trading Post, Missouri S&T’s Stonehenge replica and the Route 66 sculpture at Buehler Park as its subjects. It was my contribution to a local GeoArt project celebrating places along the length of the Mother Road.
On Thursday, October 15, I went out and did the GeoArt. Its subjects followed the Mother Road from Chicago all the way to Santa Monica, with each creator adding a piece of the journey.
Here we were using our phones to explore a celebration of a road people once followed with paper maps.
Friday: Getting the Band Back Together
Friday began at Joliet Prison Meet - n - Greet (GCBN1M2) with CanisMinor, djpd1023 and Team Darkseid.
In other words, Team Hotdog was back together.
Being a huge Blues Brothers fan, I couldn’t have asked for a better starting point. Old Joliet Prison is where Joliet Jake walks out at the beginning of the film. Bringing this group together there practically supplied its own soundtrack.
There was also the appropriately named It’s 106 Miles to Chicago… and One Virtual to Find (GCBJ4M2). That was an easy one to put on my must-do list.
The prison has a history far beyond its movie appearances. It opened in 1858, with prisoners quarrying local stone and helping construct the institution around themselves. Those familiar walls are a substantial piece of Joliet’s history.
Joliet Stone: Geological Inmate #420 (GCBYVW0) gave me a reason to look more closely at them. The EarthCache focuses on differential weathering in the local carbonate building stone. Material associated with an ancient Silurian sea had become prison walls, and those walls were still slowly changing.
I had arrived thinking about a favorite movie. Geocaching had me examining the stonework. That’s a combination I can appreciate.
Twenty Stops and a Geocoin
Friday’s Route 66 Adventures were a separate part of the weekend from Thursday’s GeoArt. We completed Geocoinfest Romeoville 2026 – North and Geocoinfest Romeoville 2026 – South, with ten locations in each.
Completing those twenty stops qualified me for the Geocoin. It was a good incentive to get out and explore, with plenty of opportunities to fit physical caches into the day as well.
At Harvester Park in Burr Ridge, that included GCF26: Branch Manager... Elf Division (GCBVGTY), Month by Month (GC895X9) and Route 66’s Easiest Multi (GCB14TW). The park’s Route 66 playground brings roadside attractions down to playground scale, including a remarkably tall Chicago skyscraper.
Farther along, there were Route 66 shields in Channahon, Wilmington stops and some creative containers. GCF26 - A Route 66 Rebirth (GCBZ4JK) was a particularly fitting example of the effort behind the weekend: TeamPhoenix421 had donated a cache previously featured at Midwest GeoBash, and KC_11 helped give it a new home at the Wilmington Lions Club.
Then there was GCF26: Team Hot Dog (GCBXPBJ).
How often do you get to find a cache named after your own caching team, with the whole crew together? Even better, djpd1023 had placed it. Right there in our own stomping grounds, Team Hotdog had a little piece of Geocoinfest history.
And yes, our position remained clear: a hot dog is not a sandwich.
The day also took us to GCF26: Rockin’ the Mother Road (GCBYXBT), which starts at the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 in Joliet. Between the prison, the roadside stops and the music connection, Friday had plenty to offer beyond signing logbooks.
A Costume Change in the Itinerary
That evening, I joined bapierson and LEGOexplorer at GCF Halloween Costume Party (GCBN1M7) at Hero’s West.
Before the evening was over, bapierson and I had also found GCF26: You Sane?! (GCBX72M) and GCF26: Expecting the Unexpected! (GCBX72W). At the latter, we assembled our own little Mystery Inc. search party. The Scooby-Doo theme suited the occasion.
The party brought more familiar faces, creative costumes and time to catch up. CanisMinor’s log was enthusiastic about the costumes, and djpd1023 thanked everybody for coming to play in our backyard. That captured the feeling of the weekend pretty well.
Saturday: Welcoming Everyone to Romeoville
On Saturday, bapierson, LEGOexplorer and I went to Geocoinfest Romeoville, Illinois 2026 (GCBD8ZQ) at the Romeoville Athletic Center.
There were geocoins, trackables, vendors and plenty of familiar faces. I enjoyed catching up with old friends, meeting a few new people and sharing stories. The Route 66 shield event log was a fitting place to add our names.
What made me especially happy was seeing the work of local geocachers and friends come together. CanisMinor’s event log singled out djpd1023 and KC_11 for their work behind the scenes, alleslapp and Lesori for their resources, Team Darkseid for his cosplay, and the entire committee. There were plenty of people to thank.
KC_11’s event log described a year of planning. Behind the displays, activities and new caches were people who had spent a lot of time making this weekend possible. It was good to see their work appreciated.
Of course, Team LEGOHEAD wasn’t quite finished when we left the main event.
We made room for GCF26: Fitness (GCBXDT4). Fitness cache into our day, that is! Then came GCF26 - Get Your Books on Route 66 (GCBTHB6). The library Multi took us from an outdoor first stage to a final inside the White Oak Library, a nice change of pace before heading home.
For all the Route 66 imagery, coins and clever hides, the part that meant the most to me was close to home: friends putting in the work, our community welcoming visitors, and the chance to enjoy it with both Team Hotdog and Team LEGOHEAD.
I’m glad I got to contribute. I’m even happier I got to be there.
Field Notes
- Adventure dates
- October 15–17, 2026
- Thursday
- Route 66 Adventure Lab GeoArt; my contribution: GCF13 – Rolla, MO.
- Friday
- 20 cache finds and two event attendances, plus Adventure Lab locations counted separately. North and South: ten locations each, completed Friday for Geocoin eligibility.
- Saturday
- Mega attendance, two cache finds, and ten locations in Do you know Chicago?.
- Friday’s daytime companions
- CanisMinor, djpd1023 and Team Darkseid
- Friday evening / Saturday
- bapierson and LEGOexplorer
- Event locations
- Joliet Prison Meet - n - Greet (GCBN1M2), GCF Halloween Costume Party (GCBN1M7), Geocoinfest Romeoville, Illinois 2026 (GCBD8ZQ).
- Team tribute
- GCF26: Team Hot Dog (GCBXPBJ), placed by djpd1023.
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