This page focuses on the 195 TBs that visited 468 statoids before the closing date. The average TB visited 2.4 statoids. The first two new statoids were were recorded by the writer when he dropped new TBs into caches in Texas and New Mexico in 2010. The last new statoid was obtained by TB 2193. It was released near Matador, Texas on 16 January 2016 and after bouncing around Texas, on 3 September, it was logged into Jalisco, Mexico.
Given that most TBs go missing or inactive within their first year after release, it takes a lot of luck for a bug released in the USA to successfully pass through the hands of more than a half-dozen cachers, and even more luck to survive long enough to visit a new statoid. As will be deduced from the individual TB narratives below, the best possible circumstance for a TB is to get to Europe very early in its travels. There, a bug will move more frequently and last longer.
The average number of days from release of the bug to when it visits a new statoid is 474 (range 0-2038). Nine travel bugs were in a new statoid when released. A total of 53 (27%) of the travel bugs entered a new statoid more than 1,000 days after release. Catalog No. 90 was released on 10 April 2010 and 1,890 days (5.2 years) later it was in Lima, Peru, then in 2,038 days (5.6 years), it was logged at a cache in French Polynesia. As amazing as that might seem, the bug has made only eight drops because, included in the history, are five periods between drops of 569, 501, 707, 292 and 228 days. Bugs with interesting histories (at least to me) are detailed below.
TB 7 was released to a roadside cache near Santa Rosa, New Mexico, in 2010 and is one of my oldest travel bugs. It added seven new statioids to the tally, in the USA, Aruba, the UK, Norway and Denmark in a two-year span. This was accomplished by seven different cachers. At some point in 2011, the original luggage tag was removed and another item was attached to the dog tag. This remarkable TB has been retrieved and dropped off by 55 cachers. Perhaps someday I will determine how many total statoids it has visited. The bug appears to still be active, although it has been held by a cacher in Germany since July 2016.
TB 50 is a patch of the state flag of Colorado. It was released into a roadside cache in my core area, near the little community of Southland, Texas, on 10 Mar 2010. Before it went missing in 2012, it had made 33 drops and 10 different cachers had taken it to 13 new statoids in Canada, South Africa, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
TB 93 is an outline patch of Texas with the state flag superimposed upon it. I released this bug, with two others in Amsterdam on a trip the Netherlands in April of 2010. It has made 33 drops, all in Europe, and it was in a cache at the end of 2016. A total 14 cachers took the bugs to 15 new statoids in Greece, the Czech Republic, Albania and France.
TB 100 is a pink poker chip released in 2010 into a small roadside cache in my core area near Tahoka, Texas. After 30 odd hops in the USA, it went to Europe where five cachers visited seven new statoids in Spain, Switzerland and France. In August of 2015, it returned to the USA where, by the end of 2016, it had made 45 drops and it was logged into an event cache. At this writing (Feb 10), it is in a cacher's hands in Hawaii, where, if left behind, it won't survive very long. Caches at tourist destinations are black holes for TBs.
Given that most TBs go missing or inactive within their first year after release, it takes a lot of luck for a bug released in the USA to successfully pass through the hands of more than a half-dozen cachers, and even more luck to survive long enough to visit a new statoid. As will be deduced from the individual TB narratives below, the best possible circumstance for a TB is to get to Europe very early in its travels. There, a bug will move more frequently and last longer.
The average number of days from release of the bug to when it visits a new statoid is 474 (range 0-2038). Nine travel bugs were in a new statoid when released. A total of 53 (27%) of the travel bugs entered a new statoid more than 1,000 days after release. Catalog No. 90 was released on 10 April 2010 and 1,890 days (5.2 years) later it was in Lima, Peru, then in 2,038 days (5.6 years), it was logged at a cache in French Polynesia. As amazing as that might seem, the bug has made only eight drops because, included in the history, are five periods between drops of 569, 501, 707, 292 and 228 days. Bugs with interesting histories (at least to me) are detailed below.
TB 7 was released to a roadside cache near Santa Rosa, New Mexico, in 2010 and is one of my oldest travel bugs. It added seven new statioids to the tally, in the USA, Aruba, the UK, Norway and Denmark in a two-year span. This was accomplished by seven different cachers. At some point in 2011, the original luggage tag was removed and another item was attached to the dog tag. This remarkable TB has been retrieved and dropped off by 55 cachers. Perhaps someday I will determine how many total statoids it has visited. The bug appears to still be active, although it has been held by a cacher in Germany since July 2016.
TB 50 is a patch of the state flag of Colorado. It was released into a roadside cache in my core area, near the little community of Southland, Texas, on 10 Mar 2010. Before it went missing in 2012, it had made 33 drops and 10 different cachers had taken it to 13 new statoids in Canada, South Africa, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
TB 93 is an outline patch of Texas with the state flag superimposed upon it. I released this bug, with two others in Amsterdam on a trip the Netherlands in April of 2010. It has made 33 drops, all in Europe, and it was in a cache at the end of 2016. A total 14 cachers took the bugs to 15 new statoids in Greece, the Czech Republic, Albania and France.
TB 100 is a pink poker chip released in 2010 into a small roadside cache in my core area near Tahoka, Texas. After 30 odd hops in the USA, it went to Europe where five cachers visited seven new statoids in Spain, Switzerland and France. In August of 2015, it returned to the USA where, by the end of 2016, it had made 45 drops and it was logged into an event cache. At this writing (Feb 10), it is in a cacher's hands in Hawaii, where, if left behind, it won't survive very long. Caches at tourist destinations are black holes for TBs.
TB 204 is a laminated image of a goldfinch painted by Fabritius. It was left in an ammo-can cache in a juniper at the front of a business in Altus, Oklahoma, in October of 2010. After six hops, it left the USA. Seven cachers subsequently took it to ten new statoids in Japan, Thailand, Luxemborg, Poland, Sweden and Norway. It had achieved 33 drops and was in a cache by the end of 2016.
TB 305 is a blue poker chip released into a cache in an overgrown woodlot in Huntsville, in east Texas, in March 2011. It hopped around the USA and Canada until June of 2012, when it was picked up by a person in the military. That cacher to it to Japan and South Korea for eight new statoids. Another cacher there added six more statoids (14 total). It made 14 drops before it was retrieved by yet another cacher who has held it since April 2013.
TB 398 is a patch of the flag of Cyprus. It was released in my core area in 2011, into a roadside cache near Spur, Texas. Among the series of country flag patches, this was the first one to reach its home country. It made a few drops in the US before it landed in Germany. From there, it went on to get new statoids in Cyprus, Portugal and Poland. It has been dropped off by 33 cachers and was in a cache in Norway at the end of 2016
TB 431 is a black poker chip released in the a roadside cache at a historical marker near Beulah, Colorado. It has made 26 drops in the US, Canada and countries in Europe. It accrued new statoids in Norway, Estonia, Russia, Finland and France. It was in a cache in Germany at the end of 2016.
TB 305 is a blue poker chip released into a cache in an overgrown woodlot in Huntsville, in east Texas, in March 2011. It hopped around the USA and Canada until June of 2012, when it was picked up by a person in the military. That cacher to it to Japan and South Korea for eight new statoids. Another cacher there added six more statoids (14 total). It made 14 drops before it was retrieved by yet another cacher who has held it since April 2013.
TB 398 is a patch of the flag of Cyprus. It was released in my core area in 2011, into a roadside cache near Spur, Texas. Among the series of country flag patches, this was the first one to reach its home country. It made a few drops in the US before it landed in Germany. From there, it went on to get new statoids in Cyprus, Portugal and Poland. It has been dropped off by 33 cachers and was in a cache in Norway at the end of 2016
TB 431 is a black poker chip released in the a roadside cache at a historical marker near Beulah, Colorado. It has made 26 drops in the US, Canada and countries in Europe. It accrued new statoids in Norway, Estonia, Russia, Finland and France. It was in a cache in Germany at the end of 2016.
TB 456 is a blue poker chip released into a roadside cache in my core area, east of Lamesa, Texas. Among its 40 drops, four different cachers have visited this TB to five new statoids in Sweden, Italy, Turkey and Austria. It has been in the hands of a cacher in Spain since February of 2016
TB 514 is a commemorative keychain pendant from the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas. This is one of several travel bugs left in in a cache in a woodpile in Zurich, on our visit to Switzerland in 2011. Seven different cachers took it to seven new statoids in Switzerland, France and Spain. It made 23 drops before the end of 2013, when a cacher picked it up, but never released it.
TB 605 is a 2 x 4-inch patch of the flag of North Korea. It was released into a cache in a hollow tree, in my core area, near Post, Texas, in 2012. It has made only 11 drops but four cachers visited seven new statoids, all in Portugal. Since July of 2015, it has been in the hands of the last cacher to find new statoids.
TB 1048 Is a laminated photo of a corn maiden fetish from my collection of stone carvings. It is another of my TBs sent to a cacher in Belgium, but it was released in the Netherlands, in 2013. It is one of my most successful bugs, having been advanced in its travels by 49 cachers. It has logged seven new statoids in Norway, Finland, Belarus and Sweden and is still active in in that region of northern Europe.
TB 1110 originally had a brown wavy wooden bead attached to the dog tag. The bead disappeared and a later cacher substituted a Norwegian geocoin. It was released in my core area, near Paducah, in 2013. It has been handled by 26 cacher, five of whom took this bug to seven new statoids in Norway and Spain. It was in a cache at the end of 2016, but has been moving around in the Netherlands in 2017.
TB 1215 is a green poker chip released in 2013, into a roadside cache in my core area near Guthrie. The TB stayed only briefly in the US, then to the UK and Germany where there were many visits to caches but no new statoids logged. Only there cachers had handled the bug to this point. A fourth took the bug to Japan where ten new statoids visited. At the end of 2016 the poker chip was in the hands of yet another cacher
TB 514 is a commemorative keychain pendant from the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas. This is one of several travel bugs left in in a cache in a woodpile in Zurich, on our visit to Switzerland in 2011. Seven different cachers took it to seven new statoids in Switzerland, France and Spain. It made 23 drops before the end of 2013, when a cacher picked it up, but never released it.
TB 605 is a 2 x 4-inch patch of the flag of North Korea. It was released into a cache in a hollow tree, in my core area, near Post, Texas, in 2012. It has made only 11 drops but four cachers visited seven new statoids, all in Portugal. Since July of 2015, it has been in the hands of the last cacher to find new statoids.
TB 1048 Is a laminated photo of a corn maiden fetish from my collection of stone carvings. It is another of my TBs sent to a cacher in Belgium, but it was released in the Netherlands, in 2013. It is one of my most successful bugs, having been advanced in its travels by 49 cachers. It has logged seven new statoids in Norway, Finland, Belarus and Sweden and is still active in in that region of northern Europe.
TB 1110 originally had a brown wavy wooden bead attached to the dog tag. The bead disappeared and a later cacher substituted a Norwegian geocoin. It was released in my core area, near Paducah, in 2013. It has been handled by 26 cacher, five of whom took this bug to seven new statoids in Norway and Spain. It was in a cache at the end of 2016, but has been moving around in the Netherlands in 2017.
TB 1215 is a green poker chip released in 2013, into a roadside cache in my core area near Guthrie. The TB stayed only briefly in the US, then to the UK and Germany where there were many visits to caches but no new statoids logged. Only there cachers had handled the bug to this point. A fourth took the bug to Japan where ten new statoids visited. At the end of 2016 the poker chip was in the hands of yet another cacher