🎧 Power of Place Episode #64 | First to Find – Bryan Roth

Join us and be the first to find mysteries hidden in plain sight. Bryan Roth, co-founder and President of Groundspeak, shares how a simple act of curiosity in the Oregon woods sparked a global movement. Bryan traces the early days of Geocaching.com when he and a small group of friends worked late in Seattle basements and borrowed offices to build what would become a worldwide community centered on exploration and connection. The story begins on May 1, 2000 when the U.S. government ended Selective Availability and GPS accuracy suddenly sharpened. Within hours Dave Ulmer hid a black plastic bucket near Estacada, Oregon and posted its coordinates online. Inside were a few modest treasures waiting for whoever reached them first. That bucket became the world’s first geocache and opened a new way of discovering place. Bryan reflects on how geocaching grew from that moment into a platform that now guides millions through forests, coastlines and cities across the globe. His stories take us from Civil War battlefields to Frankfurt forests and into the Challenger Deep, showing how curiosity can link people across distance and experience. Joining us from Austin, Texas Marcellus Cadd, known as Atreides, brings humor, grit and insight shaped by his blog Geocaching While Black. Marcellus shares what first drew him to the game and what thousands of searches have revealed, from the Tunnel of Light beneath the Cascade Mountains to moments of unease in Texas. Through every clue, coordinate and encounter we are reminded that the world remains full of hidden things and that finding one another may be the greatest discovery of all.

“People are looking for a sense of belonging. And they are looking for community. Geocaching and the geocaching community provide that opportunity in a welcoming way. ~Bryan Roth

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥.