Geocaching: A Fun Family Activity

Several years ago I bought my husband a GPS for Christmas and so began our families obsession with Geo-caching. Geo-caching for those that do not know is a high tech scavenger hunt. It takes us to places that we may not otherwise visit; such has historical places, parks, maybe an old cemetery. Sometimes it brings us upon things that we may not have otherwise found. I will be honest I have never enjoyed looking for my Easter Basket, I have no patience for finding things that are hidden or lost, so the whole hunt itself is not something that I always enjoy, I do enjoy what we go through to get there though.

A classic example of this occurred last Labor Day Week-end, we were out driving and stopped to find a cache-which is what the end treasure is called and see this sign for a Fishing Museum, well we decided to check it out. As it turns out this fishing museum was having its annual fundraiser that day. So we pulled into a parking spot and took in some of the festivities of the day. These included some amazing brats, delicious deserts, and a blue grass band, of which we have no idea how many people were in it because people just kept coming and starting to play with them, it started with 3, then it was 4 suddenly by time we left it was up to 7. The day also included a tour of the house, which was the museum. It was restored to the days when the owner of a fleet of fishing boats on Lake Michigan lived there. It had lots of neat hardwood floors and antiques everywhere. It was truly an educational experience in the history of that era for all of us.

Other times it may take us to a small out of the way City Park in our town or maybe to a place where there is an especially beautiful view of a local lake or a place where you can see for miles and miles. Many times it will be a way to get some extra exercise in by taking a hike to find the caches or just spend time together as a family. You can learn to identify the plants or birds that you might see on your journey, and may just learn more about the area around you.