Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Geocaching, a Fun Family Activity- by Guest Contributor Alison Kennedy

I want to thank Alison for writing this explanation of Geocaching for Around The Town. I have talked about Geocaching before and suggested it, but I wanted you to hear from someone that does it, loves it and knows what she is talking about. Thank you so much, Alison! Alison is an Around The Towner and works in marketing with Outreach, Inc. She is also the pastor's wife at Oak Hills Church in Vista.

Many people have never heard of it - Geocaching is an outdoor sporting activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world. Cheap and fun entertainment for the whole family!

Anyone with a smart phone or GPS can participate for FREE. Visit geocashing.com for a free account and print out the coordinates to plot with your GPS device. Or, simply get the iphone app. Here is video about how to use the iphone app. There is a free version and a paid one. I recommend spending the money to get the paid version as you will get more geocashes when you search an area.

Over 1 Million geocashes have been hidden – even inside Disneyland! There are many places in North County that are great for geocashing. For beginners, I would recommend starting at Oak Riparian Park off of Lake Blvd in Oceanside and venturing down to Lake Calavera. There is an amazing one at the top of the mountain near the labyrinth.

Geocashing is even fun when you are travelling. Finding the geocash may lead you to beautiful places you would have never gone to! Click here to see all Geocashes in California – search by city.

When you find a geocash you open it and sign your name in it. If the geocash is a larger one it will contain small objects – take one and then replace it with one you brought. Click here to see Basic GeoCashing 101.

Let us know how your adventures go! Happy Geocashing!

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