This weekend we tried something new and totally foreign to us, geocaching. By no means did we expect to be good at it right away, I was actually doing my best to set us all up for not finding a thing our first time acting as modern-day pirates searching for treasure. We downloaded the geocaching.com app onto our phones as it was recommended to us by Louise at Talk Nerdy to Me (a total pro geocache’er) and headed on our way out. We saw a few ones in close proximity to one another at Rocky Point in Port Moody, so off we set.
We got our first real taste of victory at the end of the pier, finding it after about 2 or 3 minutes of hunting the area. After that we were hooked, met up with some great friends who geocache often and set off to find another 2, but this time within the lush green space bordering the inlet. We handed the compasses to the little’s, took a bit of a backseat and enjoyed the adventure. We had to help the closer we got to finding the treasure with reading out some of the clues, but both times the loot was found by little eyes.
You know what I found so wild about the whole process? When we signed our names on the little check-in book inside the geocache we had found that people had been there that day, just before us. With how many are out there to be found, it blew my mind that people had just been there! This is way more popular than I ever imagined, who knew we had so many modern-day pirates living among us.
Interested in Geocaching? Here is where I suggest you start:
- Download the app and pay for the upgrade which is about $7 for 1 month (or $36 for the year). The reason you’ll want the upgrade is it provides clues and helpful hints that will help in finding the location if you’re stuck.
- Hit your kids toy bin and find small knick-knacks you can leave behind (think marbles, small erasers, little gems and jewels), keep it small though, some of the boxes are small.
- Find a geocache that’s close to your home that has a fairly low difficultly level and easy terrain, this way you will likely find great success in your first hunt and not be discouraged.
- Follow your compass, read clues and if all else fails read comments of other who found the geocache, you may get some underline clues there too.
- Once found, you will see that each geocache has a log book, fill in your name and date discovered, if you’re lucky you will also find some fun little knick-knacks for trading. Find one you like to take home and put on the trophy shelf and replace it with one you brought along to share.
- Log your geocache as found and leave a comment for the next treasure hunter!
We have plans to head out again the next nice family day we have together, ad considering the weather we’ve been having it shouldn’t be long until we’re out with our compass again. Crazy, I’ve even noticed some in my very own neighborhood *seriously* get the geocaching app I can promise you they’re all around you. Such a great way to spend time together, being active and without spending any money. Looking forward to the next hunt!
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