Tuesday, January 12, 2010

I'm Back & Geocaching

I'm back!  It feels good to be back after a hectic break during which my camera broke, my laptop stopped working and my computer decided not to read anything in the disc drive.  Add to that kids home for Christmas vacation, tons of snow and...well you get the picture.  No writing.

Well, at least we had a great start to the New Year.  On January 1 we started a great new family pastime - geocaching.  We're trekkers anyway, and geocaching adds a fun treasure hunt element to the hike.  The impetus was a new phone my husband got that allows him to download apps.  The geocaching app turns the phone into a handheld GPS device.  We started by visiting Geocaching.com and creating a free account.  Typing in a zip code generates a list of caches in the area.  Our first cache was in town about a mile and a half into the woods on a nice trail.  It took a bit of hunting around the stone wall, but we eventually discovered the box. The kids had a great time writing in the log, choosing a trinket to take, and leaving one for the next adventurer.  Some cache boxes contain geocoins or travelbug tags which are registered and can be taken from location to location.  Their journeys can be tracked online.

There are thousands of caches hidden all over the world.  Get out and give it a try!

Daddy, daughter & Dash enjoying the snowy hike.


Cache discovered!