It's time we got a little more high-tech

If you have read my blog before, you already know how Shane and I like to go letterboxing. It is a fun way to get to explore the environment around you and see things you might not normally see, even though you pass them on a daily basis. Geocaching is like the much younger, more technologically advanced little brother of letterboxing. It follows the same basic concept (go out in wilderness, hunt for hidden treasure), but instead of clues, you get GPS coordinates to follow. And although it has only been around since the year 2000, there are already over 1.3 million "official" geocaches hidden around the world. With a free membership to Geocaching.com and a GPS enabled device, you're set to go out and discover caches!

Some people go out and spend $100+ on a handheld GPS device to use while geocaching. For Shane and I, it was as simple as downloading an app on our phones. I opted for the official Geocaching.com app for iPhone. While it is a little pricey at $9.99 (most all of my apps are free), after using it to find several caches, I can definitely say it was worth it.

 I like the fact that the app lets you search for geocaches all around you, instead of having to sit down at the computer and plan your trip before you leave the house. This leads to lots of impromptu cache finds! 

It also helps you navigate to the cache, which is great for all of us who don't know our way around latitude and longitude. 

(That little blue dot on the right is me, the lime green pointer is the cache)

Some people might call this cheating. I prefer the term "using technology to my advantage."

Shane and I have tried geocaching once before, with no luck. I blame this on the simple fact that we had no idea what we were looking for! You see, with letterboxing, the hard part is following the clues. Once you get to the destination, finding the actual box is a bit easier, considering they are big enough to hold a logbook and a rubber stamp. It seems that in geocaching, it may be a tad easier to get to the location, but finding the cache is where it can get tricky...

Geocaches come in all sizes, even super duper tiny! They are also usually camouflaged pretty well. This one was magnetically stuck on a nail up inside the roof of a community announcement board. I still can't believe we spotted it! 

It took us about 15 minutes of walking through overgrown forest to get to this cache. When Shane and John spotted it sticking out of a log, they about jumped out of their skin!

(The creepy factor could have been escalated by the fact that John found a hobo shack in the woods and then we thought we were going to get knifed)

You sure do find some interesting things while out in the woods! I found these two trunks while we were searching for a cache near the interstate off ramp. Pretty strange.

 

And yes, we did open the black one. I am sad to announce that there was nothing inside but a few bugs. We did not open the beige one. I am guessing that it either contains a million dollars, or a dead body.

After a busy afternoon of geocaching, some frozen yogurt sure hits the spot!