The husband and I tried this out for the first time with jezebelsk and her husband this past weekend, so I thought I’d do a 13 about it!
1. Geo-caching - an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world.
2. geocaching was imagined shortly after the removal of Selective Availability from GPS on May 1, 2000 because the improved accuracy of the system allowed for a small container to be specifically placed and located.
3. The first documented placement of a GPS-located cache took place on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer of Beavercreek, Oregon.
4. Geocache container sizes range from film canisters often called "microcaches," too small to hold anything more than a tiny paper log, to five-gallon buckets or even larger containers.
5. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 800,000 geocaches are registered on various websites devoted to the pastime. Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica.
6. Geocaches vary in size, difficulty, and location. Simple caches are often called "drive-bys," "park 'n' grabs" ("PNGs"), or "cache and dash." Geocaches may also be complex, involving lengthy searches or significant travel. One style called a Multi-cache takes the searcher to several different places (I think one such ended Jezebelsk’s husband ankle deep in water in a cave! But he found it!)
7. Travel Bugs and Geocoins are items that are placed in caches and are themselves trackable. They may have been given a mission by their orginators. They have their own tracking number and are moved from cache to cache. While many things can be traded out and kept, travel bugs and geocoins are specifically to keep traveling and should not be kept.
8. Here is a travel bug that jezebelsk and hubby placed on our outing last weekend: Mosquito Trap, it’s already been found and is on it’s way!
9. We took this travel bug that we found in another cache: Billy Bunny to help him on his mission of visiting every state. Husband will place him this coming weekend hopefully on an out of state trip! Bye bye Billy!
10. Some caches are called Travel Bug Hotels and are specifically for travel bugs only in an attempt to get them on their way! We found this cute travel bug on our first solo excursion after buying our GPS on Sunday: Meg’s Mud Bug Twins
11. If a geocache has been vandalized or stolen, it is said to have been "muggled" or "plundered." The former term plays off the fact that those not familiar with geocaching are called "geo-muggles" or just muggles, a term popularised by the Harry Potter series of books.
12. There have been 131 caches placed inside a 5-mile radius of my house!
13. check out Geocaching.com for more information
We visited 6 caches on our first outing, ranging from a park, to a parking lot, to a cemetary. Caches seem to be everywhere! Check out this post from jezebelsk to see some nice photos she took on our outing.
sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching
http://www.geocaching.com
Thanks for stopping by! I ran out of time to visit last week, so I will be visiting those people first this time and you may get two comments from me! ;)
I know so many Bookcrossers who geocache. I'd like to go sometime too but I don't have the equipment.
ReplyDeleteDid I ever tell you about our first Geocaching experience last fall? A bridge had been built over the location of the cache... I kid you not!
ReplyDeleteYay geocaching! Thanks for all the props, too. (I feel so very white saying that right now!)
ReplyDeleteThe kids and I got into this a couple summers ago. I was surprised that there were any caches out here in Far Western Suburbia, but there actually were a few.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your adventures!
Great list, mine is up at 13 Not So Famous Last Words; Most Americans die peacefully in their beds, but for those who die violently one can only guess what their final words must have been. I think that after you read these you will have to agree that they do indeed sound like they might have been the last words of those who did not go peacefully into the night.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of that before. Sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Thanks for teaching me about this. I've been wondering what it was.
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting!! Thanks for catching me up to the current decade; this is totally new to me. What do you usually put in your caches?
ReplyDeleteThat is really neat. I learned somthing today and will definately be checking out.
ReplyDeleteBoy, I haven't thought about Geo caching in a long time. Thanks for the reminder. Do you do it?? We've wanted to set on up in our local park - they are really fun. And a great way to spend a holiday!
ReplyDeleteHappy TT!
Sounds like ti might be kinda fun, thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteOooo! I've been wanting to try Geocaching, but I don't have a GPS yet. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm, interesting stuff. Thanks for the info and for stopping by:)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like something my Husband would love. He is an Amateur Radio Operator and they do something similar called a Fox Hunt.
ReplyDelete