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This is something I had never heard of before and yet it does exist. If anyone has tried this in Wayne County, please comment below about your experience.
A colleague of mine at the Railroad Store was the first person to suggest this as a fun activity for the family, and at first I thought she was making it up or it was something for bigger cities.
“X Marks The Spot”
Later the same week I picked up a magazine to find a story entitled “X Marks The Spot” and it was about none other than–Geocaching. It explains that the activity is a scavenger hunt with a high tech twist. You use a GPS (Global Positioning System) to find hidden things all around your town, city or county, by using clues given at the site geocaching.com. It is free to sign up, and you only need to enter your zip code and how many miles you would like to venture from home or vacation spot, to get coordinates.
Image via Wikipedia
A Cache is a container that is hidden by fellow geocachers. One person first hides the cache and posts the coordinates on the site. Then you can find the cache by using the directions. Many listings will even tell you where to park your car, or where to turn if you are walking. There are different levels of difficulty as well. You can start Geocaching without a GPS but users comments suggest that it is more difficult. However, if you stay in close proximity to your home or vacation place it is possible. They suggest starting with an inexpensive model of GPS like the little yellow Garmin Etrex, which runs about 75.00-85.00. (Or of course you can also find an inexpensive model on Ebay as well).
A Small Treasure
You will find a small treasure in the cache like a map, pictures, games etc, and always a log book or note to sign along with notes from previous Cach discoverers. You then replace the treasure in the cache, with one of equal value, once you remove the original one.
This is a great adventure for kids and their parents or older siblings, even grandparents would enjoy the discoveries, while teaching their children or grandchildren the geography of their town or vacation spot.
For more information you can visit the geocaching site to find areas to go around Wayne County by joining for free and typing in your zip code.
Happy Hunting!
