Geocaching

I've got a new hobby. It's called Geocaching. It's like a modern day scavenger hunt using a GPS unit (Global Positioning System) My husband bought one two months ago. Last week we discovered that people all over the world have been playing a treasure hunt game with each other since 2000. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should leave something for the cache.

We've found caches in many different places in New Mexico. Some are tiny with just a small notebook and pencil to record your name and date. Others have been very large, like in ammo boxes filled with lots of little 'treasures' inside. Each time we remove one item and replace it with something that represents us. Some of the treasures have been little stuffed toy animals, calculators, matchbox cars, polly pocket dolls, band-aids, coins, pins, pencils and always a notebook to record a message. We bring along refrigerator magnets to add as our contribution.

If you are interested in this activity check out the official web site at www.geocaching.com