We enjoyed what I think is officially our new favorite family pastime today. Have you ever tried geocaching? It is a lot of fun! For those of you who are unfamiliar with geocaching it is like a treasure hunt with a GPS to guide you to your destination. It is played outdoors and is enjoyed all around the world. According to
geocaching.com there are
1,031,429 active geocaches around the world. Geocaches are hidden boxes that contain a log with which you can sign in and tell others that you found the cache. There are also small treasures in the box. You can take a treasure and leave one behind for someone else. You can register for free on
geocaching.com and locate caches in your area. They are also sorted by difficulty and several other factors such as child friendliness. You can also maintain a log of your finds there and share your experiences with others!
We chose some caches in our area today that were located close together. I was really surprised to see how many caches there are in our city alone. It is kind of fun to think of all these hidden boxes out there that you never even knew about. Anyways we drove over to this great park by the river that we didn't even know existed. Incidentally I think that another great aspect of geocaching is exploring new places you haven't been to before. We used the GPS to find the location of the first cache but we never actually found the cache itself. I was feeling a bit discouraged as this particular cache was rated as easy. We tried the second one which was also at the same park and found it very quickly. I was really excited! I have always liked mysteries.
Our first cache. :)
Tyler enjoyed opening up the cache with Tim and signing into the logbook. He had brought a bag of small treasure with him and they left a small pirate scope in the cache. He took out a small plastic cross.
There are a couple more caches in the area where we were but we decided to save those for another day. We are pretty proud of the one we found for today. We enjoyed the family time together and exploring the park. If you have never been geocaching before I encourage you to try it out. I know we will be doing a lot more of it in the future.
Before I go I wanted to share this sign with you. We were amused by it. Last time we checked ducks were birds. Hmm?
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7 comments:
No, I've never been geocaching, but that sounds almost like a mini-secret swap game and hide and seek combined. :)
The sign probably should have read, "Please don't feed ducks or other birds here," don't you think?
Definately going to look in to that. That sounds like so much fun!
Too funny! Thanks for the laugh!
We've never been geocaching. But I want to. We don't have a GPS. Might have to get one now. Thanks for sharing your find and getting me interested!
Hi Bronwyn! Came over from Delightful Learning :) We are also a geocaching family (Party of Nine). We are currently trying to complete our 3rd year of "Cache Across Maryland", and are having a great time. Have fun caching!
Just wanted to let all of you know that if you have an iPhone you can buy the app "Geocaching" straight from them. It shows all of the places around you and it works like a GPS so you don't have to buy one. It's pretty cool! We are going in our first hunt real soon. :-)
Michelle,
I think that alone might be a good reason to get an iPhone. We have the iTouch but it doesn't have the GPS to be able to use the Geocaching app. :( I am seriously considering it for my next phone though.
Hope you have a really great time on your first hunt. Come back and let me know how it goes.
Blessings,
Bronwyn
Party of Nine,
Wow! Third year of caching! That is wonderful. We have gone twice now and just love it.
Thank you for stopping by!
Bronwyn
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