The July 2005 meeting was held July 9th on the grounds of the Lane Packing Company outside Fort Valley, in Middle Georgia. Lane is the largest grower and packer of peaches in the Eastern US, and many enjoyed a tour of the facility and lunch at the Peachtree Café prior to the meeting. Some snuck back for excellent peach ice-cream during the meeting, but I digress.

Tarvol arranged the use of a pavilion there, and acted as master of ceremonies. Tarvol reminded those from Atlanta that despite what they might have thought, this is middle Georgia, not south Georgia. Forty eight geocaching teams were in attendance, with over sixty adults and many kids enjoying the meeting and facilities. Our guest speaker today was Ken Grahl. Ken has been a DNR wildlife biologist since 1973, and spoke to us of what he's learned in 32 years of encounters with hazardous wildlife in the Georgia woods.

Ken started off by joking that what we probably had the most to fear were insects, but he returned to that topic later to remind us that hornets and yellow jackets could be a serious menace, especially to those allergic to their venom.
Beyond that, there really are no animals that would be expected to attack us. There are no major predators in Georgia. Bears are omnivores, which means they'll eat anything, but they would not attack for a meal. Coyotes can get big in Georgia, but there are no viable populations of wolves or cougars to worry about. There are bobcats, but they pose no danger. In general, all these animals will avoid contact with humans - disappearing as soon as they hear us coming.
As far as snakes go, we have timber rattlers, cane brakes (a subspecies of the rattler), eastern diamondbacks, copperheads, and cottonmouths. Only the cottonmouths have been known to be aggressive. The others generally prefer to slither away when they hear us coming. The moral of the story is to make noise and carry a big stick.
Ken did indicate that rabies in mammals such as raccoons and foxes is of concern though. There's "mad rabies", with the expected drooling and vicious behavior, but more common is "dumb rabies" wherein the animal will be lethargic and basically not act in a normal manner. A stout hiking stick is a good defense against a bite.
Ken briefly discussed firearms in Wildlife Management Areas. Except for hunting arms hand carried during hunting season, no loaded guns within easy reach in a vehicle or on your person is permitted. Firearms in a car trunk or out of reach in a backpack are ok, but nowhere else. This dates back to old laws established to outlaw poaching and hunting from vehicles.

Following Ken's presentation we had time for general socializing - giving people an opportunity to match faces with geonicks, talk to old friends, and make new ones. Rebel handed out raffle tickets for the customary raffle that concludes our monthly meetings.

Erik made a brief presentation giving the history of the GGA and summarizing what the organization offers its members. The GGA's first meeting was held in June 2001, making it the oldest geocaching organization in the world. The association hosts monthly meetings, provides guest speakers, acts as an interface with park authorities, organizes an annual "geocaching challenge" competition, maintains a website and discussion forums, etc. No dues are collected, though contributions are solicited at meetings to defray the cost of pavilion rental, website maintenance, prizes given away at the geocaching challenge events, and other expenses. With 17 geocachers and their families attending their first GGA meeting, the steering committee felt we owed it to them to explain what the organization is all about and how it operates.

Tarvol ended the meeting with the raffle of numerous goodies donated by meeting participants. Hopefully a good time was had by all and we will see members from all over the state continuing to travel to other parts of the state to participate in a meeting and enjoy the local hospitality.

The next GGA meeting will be our annual "snake show" held near Lake Lanier on August 13th.. Despite initial reservations expressed by some squeamish geocachers, this has historically been our best attended meeting. Hope to see ya'all there - you'll be glad you came!