Guest Blogger: Joanna Willoughby
What you need:
- Computer access to log into www.geocaching.com
- A hand held GPS unit, perferably with a geocache mode
- A pen or pencil
- A collection of small trinkets
- A really cool name
The first few times I heard anything about geocaching, I thought it was kind of nerdy. Using a GPS to find hidden treasure sounded like a science class activity. I didn’t realize it was so popular or that it’s an activity that you can do virtually anywhere. Since starting out, I have discovered that geocaching is a great way to get kids interested in going outside and becoming more observant in the places around them. We’ve been geocaching in nature preserves, city parks, shopping malls and even cemetaries. There are geocaches hidden all over the world.
The first step was to get an account on www.geocaching.com. I logged in and discovered that there are over 500 geocaches hidden within 10 miles of our house. The second step was shopping for a gps unit. We tried to use our Garmin Nuvi 750 from our car the first few times but it didn’t really work for us. It’s not as accurate in walking mode and is definitely not meant for walking in rugged terrain or getting wet. I asked several friends about GPS units specifically meant for geocaching. Everyone had a different opinion, of course. One friend had a bare bones basic model that was under $100 and another had one that cost over $500. I ended up with the
Garmin eTrex Venture HC Handheld GPS Unit with the topo maps package.. I chose this model because it not only has a geocaching mode but it also has a hunting and fishing mode.
Once we were all set with our equipment, I found that it was really easy to upload caches directly into my GPS unit from the geocaching website. You can search by zip code or by Google Maps. Each one has a name, some clues about where it is located and information about the size of the container, how hard it is to find and how rough the terrain is. I uploaded some near my house, some near my parents’ house and some along the way there. I gathered up a collection of small trinkets from around my house, a pencil, and our GPS and put them all in a bag. We decided to call ourselves the Willotrackers. Some people even have laminated calling cards printed to leave in the caches they find. When a geocache is found, we sign the log book and then if there are any prizes in there, we take something and leave something in its place. Once we get home, we go back onto www.geocaching.com and log our visits to all the caches we have found. Now when I check the map, there are smiley faces on all the caches we’ve already found.
One afternoon this fall, my 9 year old daughter Zoe and I went geocaching with my niece Erin. Our first stop was a park about a mile from our house. There were two caches hidden there. We looked and looked for the first one but couldn’t find it. The girls were getting discouraged. We decided to leave that one for another time and move on. The second one was much easier to find. We got to the place where the GPS said we were 0 feet from the cache. I stood in the spot and the girls started looking around. Under a pile of sticks was a plastic box! The girls were so excited. We signed the log book, chose a prize and left a prize. They were feeling empowered so we hopped in the car to head to the next park. This one was tougher because it was next to a duck pond. This one turned out to be a plastic bottle hanging from a hook on branch of a really thick pine tree. It didn’t have prizes but it had a log book that we signed. The next one said it was at a strip mall by a store we go to all the time. On top of the light next to the door was a small box with a geocache label on it. I couldn’t believe that I had never noticed it before. The last one for that day was another bottle hanging from a tree behind a large grocery store. From the time we got out of the car, the girls were running and laughing, wondering what we were going to find next. Again, I was shocked at how many times I had driven right past that area and never noticed anything. It’s like there are hidden secrets all around us.
Since getting started, I’ve realized how useful geocaching can be. We’re planning a trip from Michigan to Colorado this summer and I’ve already got plans to upload geocaches to entertain the kids along the way. It’s a good way to get out of the car, stretch our legs and explore a new area.
