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A low-cost, fun
activity to share with your kids
Everyone's always looking for a fun activity to do with their kids,
and every now and then, it's helpful to shake it up a bit and try
something new. This year, give geocaching a try. It's kind of like a
worldwide treasure hunt, where little secrets are buried in your
neighborhood parks.
So what is Geocaching?
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Some local
geocachers log an entry and admire the surroundings. |
Geocaching involves
using a handheld GPS (Global Positioning System) device, and finding
small treasures left by other geocachers. You may be familiar with
GPS technology in your car - it's an electronic device that can
pinpoint your location, anywhere in the world, to within 10 feet.
With handheld units, you can take them on the go with you hiking,
biking, boating, wherever. In around 2000, someone realized it would
be fun to hide something in the woods and leave the coordinates on
the web for others to discover. With that simple act, geocaching was
born, and millions of enthusiasts are hiding and finding little
treasures all across the world.
The treasure is typically something basic, from a small toy, to a
dollar coin. Most caches are too small to even contain a treasure,
but most cachers will tell you that the act of finding the cache was
most important. It's quite often that these caches are places in
locations within your city that offer beautiful vistas or
little-known secrets within the city. Once you find the cache, you
come back to your computer and log your visit, and the cache owner
will be notified and read your log entry.
What makes this so much fun with kids?
It's a constant challenge to get kids outdoors... kids naturally
want to play with technology, whether they be iPods, video games, or
computers. Geocaching is the perfect marriage of the outdoors and
technology. You can log on to your computer and enter coordinates
for your treasure hunt, and the next thing you know, you are hiking
all throughout your town, on the hunt for the secret treasure. It's
a thrill for your kids to find these items stashed away under a
rock, behind a tree, off the beaten path, and it creates memories
for years. Great time to have fun and bond with your kids, and
perhaps give them a new love for nature.
What you need to get Geocaching:
1)
A handheld GPS unit. Most GPS units cost from $99 - $500. The
best units are made by Garmin and Magellan; You will want a GPS
that has the ability to have maps on it. This will be very helpful
in that you need to drive to most places to get close.
2) A membership to
geocaching.com. Basic subscriptions are free, and from here,
you can search for all the caches that are in your area.
3) A sense of adventure!
Folsom Geocaching
tips:
1) Start by
looking for
"regular" (traditional) sized caches. These caches are
typically WWII ammo boxes, filled with lots of goodies like toys.
"Microcaches" are very small (typically a film container) and may
not be as thrilling to to discover for first-timers.
2) Some of the best caches in town that we recommend:
a)
Johnny Cache. Great view of the prison!
b)
Coffee or Mac. A great example of an "urban microcache" that
people walk by every day.
c)
Thin Can Cache. A cool trail that used to be train tracks
leading to the prison.
3) Know your
terrain. Folsom gets hot in the summer, and we have
a lot of little critters
that like to hide where geocachers go (look out for rattlesnakes).
Be sure to wear sunscreen and use caution when rifling around
rocks or logs... you don't want to encounter an unexpected
visitor! Be cautious out there!
4) Have fun!
You'll be sure to be hooked
once
you realize that you may live only a hundred yards away from the
nearest cache... you probably drive by these little secrets
every day and never even knew about it! Have fun out there.
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