Modern-Day Treasure Hunting

As the weather continues to get warmer and nicer, more people will be heading outside.  Some of them may end up going on a modern-day treasure hunt.  It’s called geocaching and it’s a great way to get active and learn all at the same time.

Here’s the details… Players use a GPS system, similar to what is in a lot of cars today, to search for a hidden treasure.  This treasure is often hidden in state and county parks or other public areas and is normally hidden by other players.  The caches are typically out of sight or difficult to get.  Some are hidden in hollowed-out trees while others could be at the bottom of a lake.

So, what’s the treasure?  It’s normally not something of great value, just a souvenir indicating that you’ve found the cache.  Other times, you’ll find the cache and be surprised to find that you’re not done.  It might contain new coordinates or even a puzzle that you must solve to find the real treasure.

Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of this new type of adventure…

PROS:
   - Get outdoors
   – Learn about technology
   – Children learn history, math, and science
   – The fun of the hunt

CONS:
   – Technology is still expensive

Geocaching seems really fun and if you have a GPS unit, you should give it a try.  I did a search and found 160 caches within 20 miles of the 15905 zip code. 

Here are some websites you might find useful…

Geocaching Website… http://www.geocaching.com/
Find caches near you… http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx
Find a GPS… http://www8.garmin.com/outdoor/geocaching/units.html
(There are more systems out there, but here are a few to get started.  You may also want to check on Ebay, too.)

Source:  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette