I know I’m a little late to the geocaching game. I’ve heard about it & known people who have done it for at least 10 years or so, but never really gave much thought to doing it myself. They looked crazy with the fanny packs & the expensive GPS devices. It intrigued me that things were hidden in everyday locations, but not something I ever thought I’d get into.
I don’t know what sparked my interest this last week, maybe an article online or just a pinterest search for ‘Toddler Adventures’ that resulted in treasure hunting – that I decided to get online to do some more research. I went straight to the Geocaching website, downloaded the iPhone app & well – read up on etiquette, rules & general FAQs & then one boring morning when I didn’t have anything planned – we headed out to do our first cache.
It goes like this…
Once you download the app and create a free profile (although you can create a $30 yearly premium account) you will see your location on a map. You can zoom in/out and see all the ‘caches’ nearby. You click on one & then push ‘start’ and you just move yourself closer and closer to the spot.
I literally just move closer to the dot (as NWSE don’t help me much) and half the time I hold my phone upside down so it’s easier (let the blonde jokes begin) and then when your dot & the cache dot are overlapped – you look for a tiny/small little container. We’ve found some just bigger than the size of a penny, some in medicine bottles, and some in little tupperware containers.
Inside the container, is a log that you sign with the date and your username & then if their is a little trinket inside – you can trade it out. I’ve started carrying a pen and a little ziplock bag of trinkets of various sizes that we exchange out so we can start our treasure collection.
I love it, because it’s helped me find areas around the city that I wouldn’t have known much of otherwise. It gets us out of the house and away from the tv & it’s the perfect treasure hunt for Presley. She’s only 2 and she absolutely LOVES finding the box, then picking a trinket & exchanging it for one we brought. We take a picture at everyone, she calls it ‘teasure hunt’ and we take snacks and water and find new parks and places to explore.
So, go get those kids out of the house and have some FREE fun.
Kate says
We haven’t gone yet, but I’m planning to! It is something I have wanted to do for several years and have even added it to my bucket list for multiple years, but have NEVER done it! After you posting pics on fb about it I downloaded the app and I know my two littlest will love it- They are 2 and 4! I even found that there are several just within a short distance of my house so we’ll probably start with those and see how it goes!
Leah says
That’s awesome! I can’t wait to try geocaching!
Lisa H says
I will definitely need to do this when we move. This sounds like a great way to explore a new area
Camille says
Sounds interesting. I love applications like these. I just love to see different locations in a map (from my phone). I find it amazing. lol. I would sure check it out. Thank you for sharing.