Geocaching: One Giant Treasure Hunt

Used to be, when my family gathered, it was tradition for my mom to have a treasure hunt for the grandchildren. The hunts were never big and elaborate, nor were the treasures. But the special feelings and memories were huge and all the grandchildren looked forward to the little tradition with anticipation. Maybe that's why some of us get such a kick out of the giant treasure hunt called Geocaching?

It's been quite a while ago that I heard about this quirky pastime. Several of my siblings have spent time hunting down various caches but somehow I've never gotten in on the action.

According to wikipedia, "geocaching
is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and sometimes a pen or pencil. The geocacher signs the log with their established code and dates it, in order to prove that they found the cache. After signing the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, such as toys or trinkets, usually of more sentimental worth than financial."

If you are interested in the origin and history of geocaching, you can find the full story here. This fun hobby even has it's own personal lingo which you might find intriguing and helpful in deciphering information about geocache sites.

Last week I decided to look up some info and try out this crazy, giant treasure hunting. There are several caches hidden less than 5 miles from us, so Sunday evening the girls and I went on a little excursion.

Our first destination was a graveyard next to a park we sometimes visit. The hint they gave us was "Under stone, ask Elizabeth". Being able to put two and two together, we went searching for a gravestone with the name Elizabeth.

Lo and behold, there she was!

And there was our box....

With all the little treasures and logbook inside......

We checked it all out and added our name and the date to the log. Then, we tucked everything back where it was and exclaimed,  "That was fun! Let's look for another one!"

Since there was another one located in an older part of the cemetery, we went ahead and searched for it too. This time our hint was "Don't get your arms scratched up like I did placing it". 

Didn't take us too long to say I Spy!

I'm not really sure why it's so much fun but there's a whole list of them around here I would love to search for! We haven't managed to convince the men of the house that it's exciting. Maybe one of these days when it's not so hot we'll get them talked into going with us. One good search and they'll surely be hooked, right? I'm already dreaming of finding one in every state we travel through. Shhhh. Don't tell. 

And now I'm curious -- have you heard of geocaching? Have you tried it? Are you a fan?