Sunday, May 2, 2010

Geocaching

For a few years now, I've wanted to try geocaching. For those who are not familiar, it's basically like an Easter egg hunt for adults. People hide a container in a location, then they post the gps coordinates online, and people can go look for the container. Dan and I decided to finally give it a try today.

We set off with a list of caches (the term for the locations/containers) that were relatively close to our house (within about 15 minutes). We had a lot to choose from.
From 2010-05-02

As you can see from our notes, some the locations have clues and/or hints to help you find them.

We set off for our first location, which is at the YMCA in our parking lot. We looked all over that place, and never found a thing. In fact, we got in a big argument. Needless to say, Dan and I will never go the Amazing Race together because we value our marriage too much. We abandoned the hunt and went to the next spot.
From 2010-05-02

We used Dan's running watch (a Garmin). We looked through all sorts of brush and trees.
From 2010-05-02

Just as we were about to give up I found it! Success! It was tucked in a container that looked like a hide-a-key box. It was wedged in the guard-rail.
From 2010-05-02

Inside, there was a log to sign to prove to the world we had been there (I know the world was worried we had lied about it).
From 2010-05-02

We set off for the next location, which was very close to the first. Realizing that the containers were not hid 5 feet under the brush and dirt, I looked for a more obvious place this time. It was right on a tree. This container was more the size of a band-aid box. There were little trinkets in it you could trade for. We traded a mini set of playing cards for this little guy.
From 2010-05-02

Basically, we wanted a momento to remember the day by. At the next location, I hit my head pretty hard while looking under a bridge. It was at that exact moment that Dan found the 3rd container (his first find), so I feel bad for taking his moment from him. The third container was this little tiny round one, hidden in the knot of a tree. Good thing he was tall enough to reach it.
From 2010-05-02

Our last location was at the bend of a country road. Over the course of the morning, we drove all over and saw a lot of Clark County we had never seen, though all the spots were relatively close to our house. We will be going out again soon. We had a great time together walking around, getting fresh air, seeing sites, and racing to see who would find the cache. On a final note, we went back to the YMCA after we found the other 4 caches feeling pretty confident in our seeking abilities. We still couldn't find that one! Dan and I have told ourselves that some has moved it. It makes us feel better.