Geo-what?

May 04, 2011

Spring is upon us, and there’s no better time to get out and enjoy the weather and nature itself. There is a great way to do so and gain a sense of adventure at the same time. If you have a GPS or a smart phone, you can participate in the worldwide adventure of geocaching (pronounced gee-oh-cashing)!

What is geocaching? It’s been around for hundreds of years, but in the past 20 years it has really boomed in popularity. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting endeavor that utilizes GPS coordinates. Players hide geocaches in parks or on trails, and mark them with coordinates. If you want to join in the fun, you can look up cache locations on the internet at geocaching.com and load them into your GPS or smart phone.

Every cache has a different "treasure," though the treasure is not monetary. Treasures are usually items that can be traded, or they can be special trinkets that are on traveling missions. Every cache has a logbook, so take a pen or pencil to mark that you found it. Always put the caches back just as you found them for the next seekers to find!

Geocaching is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, see new places, and, most importantly, have fun. The game is ever changing because new caches are hidden every day, and there are already millions located worldwide! For more information, you can check out our catalog for geocaching books, geocaching.com, or even Blue Springs Parks and Recreation. Happy hunting and good luck! 

Dan B.
Blue Springs South Branch