Geo- Cacheing

[kamsdell]

Ok..I just had to pass this on!

So, im talking with my nephew last night who starts tellling me about these treasures he has been searching for, and over the weekend found one (an ammo box from the 1800's.) he found old spanish coins while he was on vacation in Florida, with his parents.

He told me there is a society of people who have hidden these treasures all over the world, and they have left the GPS coordinates as to the whereabouts of the "caches".

I had to check this out and I did a google search (searched under Geo Cache) and Bam! there it is...

The site has all the coordinates and rules etc etc. I copied this off the website.

The location of a cache can be very entertaining indeed. As many say, location, location, location! The location of a cache demonstrates the founder's skill and possibly even daring. A cache located on the side of a rocky cliff accessible only by rock climbing equipment may be hard to find. An underwater cache may only be accessed by scuba. Other caches may require long difficult hiking, orienteering, and special equipment to get to. Caches may be located in cities both above and below ground, inside and outside buildings. The skillful placement of a small logbook in an urban environment may be quite challenging to find even with the accuracy of a gps. That little logbook may have a hundred dollar bill in it or a map to greater treasure. It could even contain clues or riddles to solve that may lead to other caches. Rich people could have fun with their money by making lucrative caches that could be better than winning the lottery when you find it. Just hope that the person that found the cache just before you left a real big prize!

If I had kids I would definetely try to find one.

and theres a lot out there! According to my nephew there are thousands that have been hidden.

There are 2 of them hidden in Rocky River!!! (he found 1)

I may need to go find one!

Has anyone else ever heard of this?!?!

[alison]

I have heard of geo-chaching, but not on that type of scale!

Some friends of mine have gone geochaching in the metroparks, but it was set up more like a treasure hunting game on a smaller scale. They would be searching for boxes hidden in trees or under some rocks, and everything would be in the park. Apparently the metropark (not sure which one) set it up and would rent out the GPS equipment. I sounded like fun.

I am not so sure I would be willing to scale cliffs to find a phantom treasure though . . .

Alison

[Nathan]

Is it just me thinking this or do some people have entirely too much free time on their hands??

Maybe it's just me.

[JenCollister]

Kyle,
I have a few friends that do this as their hobby and have done so for years. Typically, they take turns hiding the boxes and then post on the website with clues, coordinates, etc. Usually, each person has a signature thing to leave in the box. My one friend leaves teddy bear erasers. You are supposed to take a token and leave a token. Sometimes, a token will be tagged to move from state to state.

Generally, it is for the geeky (and I admit to being a full blown geek), but I'd rather swim, bike or run than hike around trying to find a tiny box with a little prize in it. But, more power to those who like to do it. At least they aren't inside sitting on their butts watching the boob tube.

[Aussie Rob]

nathanburke said:

Is it just me thinking this or do some people have entirely too much free time on their hands??

Maybe it's just me.

That pretty funny considering the amount of time we invest into training and racing each season.

But i agree....sounds boring.

[Matt Luck]

Maybe, the people that have too much time on there hands are actually chosing to spend their limited free time by spending it with their family.

I have done this with my kids and for them it was an absolute delight.

As for myself, looking back upon the event, I personally found it enjoyable and entertaining. This is not something that I would do on a regular basis, but to get outside and have the kids experience the outdoors and explore areas that they would not normally travel into, this is a great idea.

Sometimes, life is not always about me, but about seeing others experience excitement and spending time together, to develop those relationships.

Call me old fashion or boring but trying something new is exciting

[ddoren]

You could not have said it better Matt, time spent outside with the family in the parks exploring for treasure in their minds, is absolutely priceless...This sounds like a lot of fun

[kamsdell]

Im taking my neices and nephews out this weekend to try and find one...Maybe not as exciting as the Super Bowl but im sure I will remember the time I spent with them and wouldnt remember the game.

I think it sounds like a cool concept..If we find one im going to leave money. I know I would rather find money than an eraser.

This can be kinda like a pay it forward deal.

[suziharman]

You start hiding money in trees and under rocks - count me in. Geo-Cashing maybe?

I do think geo-cacheing is super cool for kids - I would have loved this kind of thing as a kid!

[debbie]

this is something I wanted to do with my Girl Scout troops but I havent had the time.... not to mention I can't follow a map to get out of a paper bag. ... bad GS leader....

[Matt Luck]

That is what a gps is for, plug in the coordinates and follow the arrow. When you get close that is when the fun begins.