Jared and I have taken up a new hobby. It's called geocaching, and you can read more about it here. It's basically like treasure hunting except for the treasure part. First, you look online for a geocache located close to where you are or where you are going. Then, you program the coordinates for the geocache into your GPS. Next, you set out, using your GPS to guide you to the geocache spot. The GPS gets you in the general vicinity of the cache, but then it is up to you to look for it. It's like hide-and-seek for grown-ups. (Well, it can be for kids too, but we don't think Eleanor is quite ready to go digging around for her own geocache yet.) What you find will be some sort of container with some sort of little trinket inside. You can take what is inside as long as you replace it with something else, so that another person can have fun hunting for it too.(Yes, I do know that sounded like a third grade how-to essay.)
Today, I found my first geocache, and that is a picture of me holding it. It was an itty, bitty container with a penny and a sticker inside. (I warned you about the treasure part.) I took the penny and put in a geocoin that Jared found in his first geocache. To find it, I had to go traipsing around this park, looking high and low. (People sometimes hang the geocaches from trees.) I finally found it in the hollow of a tree. It was buried under a bunch of sticks and leaves, and I had to dig for it. My hands AND my hiking boots got dirty. It was so much fun!
We're hoping to get outdoors a lot more when it is warmer. Today, we went back to Shenendoah National Park, but had to take turns getting out of the car because it was too cold to get Eleanor out. I know once it is warm enough, she will love being outdoors.
If anyone is interested in getting started with geocaching, you should click here. In our very limited experience, it has been very enjoyable!
Here are a couple more pictures from today's excursion:
4 comments:
That is so cool - It sounds like a lot of fun! Too bad you don't get a big treasure! I am jealous of your pics - I wish we lived close to a park like that! The weather is finally getting warmer here, so I have been out with the kids in the backyard swinging and such! Today was really windy - so windy that our electricity went out for 2 hours! Yuck! At least it was naptime, so we all 4 took a nap! That rarely happens! Anyway - We just got home from a very yummy dinner for my husband's b-day - it's tomorrow! take care
margaret
p.s. - thanks for adding me to your blogs list! That makes me feel special!
have a great day!
Megan, it's great you were able to go outdoors! I have not taken the kids outdoors for a while since it's been too cold for us here. Geocaching sounds like fun!
By the way, I think Eleanor is so smart! I love her little video where she's looking for the ball! :-)
Have you heard of rubber boxing? At least, I THINK that is what it is called. Very similiar, but you don't need a GPS. Maybe I'll invest in one, now that I see how much fun you are having!
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