Are you familiar with Geocaching? (pronounced geo-cashing) You can visit http://www.geocaching.com/ for complete details if you're interested. Geocaching is a form of treasure hunting. A person chooses a place to hide something, then logs the coordinates on the main website and then others check the website to see where "treasures" (the cache) have been hidden. There isn't necessarily anything of worth if you find the cache and it has to stay where you find it so it's available for the next search party. Most have some sort of notebook or paper where you can log the date and your name to keep a record of activity. You do need a GPS system to be able to locate the general area of the cache. When you arrive at the destination there will still be searching that needs to be done. On the website, the locations are rated by level of difficulty.
So...last Tuesday, Tim had to switch his day off with another employee and we wanted to do something together for the day as he works seven days a week (other than an occasional weekday off) so we're learning to take advantage of the day when it happens. (A great perk of homeschooling!)
It was an interesting experience and not as easy as we'd assumed it would be. We went to 8 different hiding spots and only actually found 2 caches! The picture above is of one we found hidden in a tree. The container was covered with camoflouge paper. I know we'll try it again...it is definitely something you get better at with experience. In our search at one site we came across something interesting...the skull of a small animal which Gracie really wanted to keep. She so loves sciency stuff. "Sure, honey, you can keep it", I said, in a creeped out voice. As she was investigating it, she noticed one of the teeth was loose and she pulled it out! Yuck! See for yourself! (pics at bottom)
Anyway, check out the geocaching thing. It's fun, challenging and cheap!
