SS nearly stepped on this guy when we were out Geocaching today. Yep, he was alive, but fortunately didn't seem too bothered by nearly being stepped on. We started geocaching last year, shortly before spring break. You go to the geocaching website, find coordinates for hidden caches where ever you happen to be hunting that day, plug them in to your GPS, and you're ready to go. (Well, actually it's a little more complicated than that, but you get the gist.) It's known as a "high-tech treasure hunt." It is shocking to learn how many hides there are in any given area. There are tens of thousands in our metro area, and always have plenty of options wherever we go on vacation.
The caches we have found range in size from about 1 sq. cm. to a 3 gallon jug. For DH and me, the fun is in the finding. The kids like the larger caches, because they can trade stuff--usually inexpensive toys. But sometimes you get really cool stuff. The last time we went out we were the First to Find a new cache and were rewarded with a $20 GC to a local restaurant.
It's kind of a nerdy hobby, but it gets us (a bunch of book and computer geeks) outdoors. And its one of the few things that appeals to the whole family. And, after the initial investment of a GPS, its cheap. Our GPS was only about $75--a very basic model, but it does everything we need. Oh, but we did have to invest another $15 in a cable to download coordinates instead of having to enter by hand. It's also best to have a PDA so that you can carry along hints and info about the caches you are seeking, but I had an old one sitting in the closet.
We had a fun day, tramping through an urban nature preserve and searching for hidden plastic treasures.
1 comment:
You certainly hit the nail on the head! Geocaching is a lot of fun and it does get you outdoors!
Check out Geocaching Online, it's a great Geocaching resource with lots of how-to's, information and stuff.
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