TechIntersect

I’m surprised at how many people still have never heard of Geocaching. I first heard of it several years ago, but just began doing it myself last summer. My kids love it! It is a great way for a computer nerd like myself to step away from the keyboard for a while without eschewing technology completely. I got a Garmin Venture HC GPS for my birthday last year, and have been enjoying geocaching ever since.

Geocaching is a game played the world over, using hand-held GPS units to locate “hidden treasure” with known latitude & longitude coordinates that are posted on the Geocaching.com website. While you would think that knowing a “treasure” lat & long would lead you right to it but it isn’t quite so simple. The GPS will guide you to the general vicinity, but it is up to the geocacher to physically locate the hidden cache. These caches are often camouflaged or hidden quite stealthily. On some of the more challenging caches, I have actually been to the location multiple times before I was able to locate the treasure.

A geocache typically contains a log book for the finder to sign their name in & date the entry so people who come later can know who came before. Some caches contain goodies for the kids, such as little toys & nick knacks.  You are supposed to trade items, if you take an item, leave an item as well. My kids enjoy the toys as much as the hunt for the cache.

You can log your “finds” in the Geocaching website, so you know where you have been and when you were there. Once you find a few caches, you might even want to think about placing your own cache and enjoying the visitors who visit your “treasure”. For more information about geocaching, check out the FAQ’s on the Geocaching.com website.

I think you will find that the game is educational and lots of fun. Many caches are placed near sites of historic or cultural interest. This video was filmed last year when we first got my GPS. I had it saved on my computer but am only now getting around to sharing it. It shows the 6th principal meridian reference point marker from which all of Kansas and Nebraska were surveyed in the 1800’s. It also shows a nearly forgotten Pioneer Graveyard, where some of the earliest settlers were buried. Enjoy.

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