GLIN==> Press release: Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail now "Open" on America's Byway

PRESS RELEASE: August 12, 2010
Contacts: Teresa Mitchell, Great Lakes Seaway Trail President & CEO, or Kurt
Schumacher, Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail Project Manager ‹
315-646-1000, Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail Developer James ³Boots²
Hooper, 585-732-6057
 
Jpg (available in high and low res):    Authentic used ammo can-caches and
Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail logbooks are ready for geocaching
travelers exploring with hand-held GPS to find soon-to-be-75 new caches on
the 518-mile byway that runs alongside the St. Lawrence River-Great Lakes
shoreline of New York and Pennsylvania.
 
Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail Now ³Open² on America¹s Byway
‹ NY-PA Welcome High-Tech Treasure Hunters
 
Great Lakes Seaway Trail, NY and PA ­ Sixty-four ­ count Œem ­ 64 Great
Lakes Seaway Trail geocaches are now in place, with another 11 to follow
soon, for those who enjoy exploring with their GPS (Global Positioning
System) unit in hand. Geocaching.com reports there are as many as 4-5
million geocachers worldwide.
 
At least 10 ammo boxes emblazoned with the new Great Lakes Seaway Trail logo
have been placed in each of five regions (Lake Erie, Buffalo/Niagara Falls,
Rochester/Central Lake Ontario, Eastern Lake Ontario, and 1000 Islands/St.
Lawrence River) comprising the 518-mile America¹s Byway that parallels the
freshwater shoreline of New York and Pennsylvania.
 
Each cache has a uniquely-shaped punch that cachers will use to mark their
Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail logbooks. Once cachers find 10 caches in a
region, they can have their logbook validated to receive the distinctive
Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoCoin for that region.
 
The series of five elegantly-designed antique-metal finish coins features
the Flagship Niagara, Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist tour boat,
Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse, historic Fort Ontario, and an oceangoing ship
on the St. Lawrence River.
 
³This new Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail provides a new recreational,
historic, cultural and outdoor adventure for travelers to experience the
full 518-mile length of the byway,² says Seaway Trail, Inc. President and
CEO Teresa Mitchell,
 
Great Lakes Seaway Trail Project Manager Kurt Schumacher says, ³This new
economic development initiative linking the Great Lakes Seaway Trail to
GPS-guided treasure- hunting along the byway¹s full length is a fabulous way
to drive new travelers into our shoreline communities and their
accommodations, restaurants, shops and services.²
 
Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail developer James ³Boots² Hooper says he
believes this is the longest linear geotrail in the U.S.
 
³The beautiful landscapes and waterfront, historic sites and natural found
only along this unique byway await Great Lakes Seaway Trail geocachers,²
says Hooper, a member of the National 4-H Geospatial Science Taskforce, the
New York State 4-H Geospatial Leadership Team, and the Rochester-based
GeoRoc online community.
 
Logbooks and coins for all five regions are available at the Seaway Trail
Discovery Center in Sackets Harbor, NY. Logbooks and coins for individual
regions are found at:
Lake Erie Region 
€  Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, Suite 1, Erie, PA
16505
 
Buffalo/Niagara Falls Region
€  Niagara USA Official Visitor Center, 10 Rainbow Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY
14303
 
Rochester/Central Lake Ontario Region
€  VisitRochester, 45 East Avenue, Suite 400, Rochester, NY 14604
€  Wayne County Tourism Office, 9 Pearl Street, Suite 3, Lyons, NY 14489
 
Eastern Lake Ontario Region
€  Cayuga County Office of Tourism, 131 Genesee Street, Auburn, NY 13021
€  Oswego County Tourism, 3rd Floor, County Office Building, 46 E. Bridge
St., Oswego, NY 13126
€  Screwy Louie¹s Sport Shop, 596 Main St., Fair Haven, NY 13064

Thousand Islands/St. Lawrence River Region
€  Seaway Trail Discovery Center, Ray & West Main Streets, Sackets Harbor,
NY  
   13685
€  St. Lawrence County Chamber, 101 Main St., Canton, NY 13617
€  1000 Islands International Tourism Council, 3373 Collins Landing,
Alexandria Bay, 
   NY 13607.
 
The Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail sponsors include VisitErie, the
Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation, VisitRochester, Wayne County
Tourism, the Fair Haven Area Chamber of Commerce, the Cayuga County Office
of Tourism, Oswego County Tourism, the 1000 Islands International Tourism
Council, the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, and the Great Lakes
Seaway Trail.
 
Hooper is busy locating an additional 11 caches throughout the byway region.
They will be announced later this year.
 
GPS coordinates for 100 easily-seen Great Lakes Seaway Trail ³outdoor
storyteller² signage units at significant points of historic,
natural/birdwatching, cultural, maritime, agricultural and architectural
note along the byway can be found in the 2010 Great Lakes Seaway Trail
Travel Guide online at www.seawaytrail.com.
 
Seaway Trail, Inc. and the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center Gift
Shop are official Groundspeak and Geocaching.com merchandise distributors.
Learn more at www.seawaytrail.com. #
 
Geocaching 101
·      Geocaching is pronounced geo-cashing, like cashing a check
 
·      Geocaching combines geo for geography and caching for the process of
hiding a cache, which historically has referred to a hidden treasure or
concealed food/provisions/cash
 
·      Who geocaches? More than 4 million people of all ages and interests
worldwide
 
·      Where do you find the GPS coordinates for locating the Great Lakes
Seaway Trail geocaches? www.geocaching.com lists the coordinates for more
than 4 million geocaches around the globe, including those located along the
518 miles of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. Note: once all are in place, you
will find the 75 official Great Lakes Seaway Trail geocaches listed at
www.geocaching.com as well as other caches hidden in the byway¹s 5 regions
by individuals and groups. Only the 75 placed by Seaway Trail, Inc. qualify
for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoCoins.
 
·      How are geocaches rated? 1 is the easiest, 5 is the most difficult to
locate
 
·      What is in a typical geocache? A logbook or logsheet with information
on who set the cache in place and notes from those finding the cache. The
Great Lakes Seaway Trail caches have a uniquely-shaped punch for marking the
logbooks that cachers carry with them from cache to cache. - END -
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