Family Camping Activities Try Geocaching
With rising prices, particularly gas, families are looking for alternate ways to vacation. Many families this summer are turning to more traditional means of relaxation such as camping. Just because your grandparents went camping doesn’t mean you have to do the same old things they did. Once you roll out of your sleeping bag and make your way out of your tent you will be looking for something fun to do. A newer outdoor activity that has gained a great deal of popularity is geocaching.
For those of you who are not familiar with geocaching it is a global treasure hunt used with GPS systems. The way the game works is that there is a central website where everyone registers the location of their cache or treasure box. Other individuals then go to the website and research places they would like to visit. They then download the coordinates into their GPS and go for the hunt.
Even though GPS systems are highly accurate the caches themselves range in size from an ammo box to a small 35 millimeter film canister. Additionally, the boxes are usually covered in camouflage. Without the coordinates it would be almost impossible for someone to accidentally find these boxes.
Once you find a box there are typically three different types of contents. The first is a log book where you can record your visit and see who else has stopped by. The second type of item is a knick knack. These are typically small toys such as a rubber ball or McDonald’s toy. The etiquette is to take the toy and leave a different one in its place.
The third type of item is probably the most exciting, a travel bug. Travel bugs are items that have a dog tag attached to them with a serial number. These items are tracked through the website so you can see how far an item can travel. Individuals can also post pictures of themselves with the travel bugs. It is similar to the idea of the traveling gnome sending postcards. It’s not uncommon for travel bugs to even cross continents.
There is also a special type of geocache called an Earthcache. This is not a treasure box, but simply an absolutely beautiful place on Earth. Oftentimes, these can be tucked away into little corners that no one ever visits, but with Geocaching it makes it easy to share the location of magical places that would otherwise be hard to find.
So get out there and find stuff.
Tags: outdoor equipment | outdoor equipment | sleeping bags | sleeping bags | geocaching | outdoors | outdoors | camping | tents | tents | tent | tent