With plans to camp at the beach for a week, I knew there might be an opportunity for craft projects. I was looking for something inexpensive and fun to do outdoors when I decided it was a great time to try Geocaching.
Ever heard of it?
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.
It's free and I've always wanted to do it. There are hidden treasure everywhere. You'd be surprised how close you might find one to where you live.
I registered at the Geocaching site and printed off a couple of cache's in the campground we were staying at as well as the nearby beach.
Going with the treasure hunting theme, I went to Michael's and picked up a bunch of $1 wooden boxes, treasure chests, for the kids to decorate.
I then loaded up on markers, some washable paint, some sequins, etc., and let the kids decorate their boxes.
Our week ended up really busy so we only had time for a cache or two.
Geocaching.com has an Iphone app, which is great, but Marci doesn't have an Iphone and our campground has spotty service, so we were glad to have Steve and his Magellan GPS thingy.
You just enter the coordinates and start heading in the right direction. We had a lot of fun searching for this one. If you are getting lost there are hints and a decoder to help you find the cache, and we needed it this first time.
Eric was the lucky one to find this cache.
The kids had mixed feelings on that idea.
But they had a blast, I swear.
As long as you have access to a GPS system of sorts, you have an opportunity to search for treasure. This particular cache didn't come with a prize but many of them do, so save those Happy Meal treasures or something else fun to leave behind.
What a fun way to spend an afternoon! They have it here, but I've yet to try it :O)
ReplyDeletewow that sounds cool. I have heard of geocaching but had no idea what that meant. thanks for enlightening me, sounds like tonnes of fun :)
ReplyDeleteSounds so cool!
ReplyDeletewe want to start doing that now that most of our kids are older.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard of letterboxing? Similar idea but has clues instead of coordinates. Easier for kids to participate. And it is stamping in a book instead of the little treasures. Do a google search. (atlas is a good website for finding them.) We are in Oregon too but just returned from a trip to the San Juan Islands and found several there. -Alisa
ReplyDeletethis seems pretty cool. my hubs has a co-worker that's been doing this for awhile now.
ReplyDelete