Geocaching in on Family Fun

As our children grow, we are continually looking for new ways to connect with them and find activities that the whole family will enjoy. If we have one child or children who are similar in age, this can pose fewer problems than if our children are of a wide range of ages. Generally, there are few activities that older children enjoy which are of interest to younger children, and it can be difficult to find activities which are not too difficult for the younger children, yet challenge the older ones. Then, once you find an activity, cost can be a major factor, especially in these tight financial times.

Recently, our family was looking for some new activities we could pursue together. Our two children are the same age, so that made it a little easier, but their interests are not exactly the same. The things they do enjoy together are not cost effective, especially for a family of four. Shopping, eating out and going to the movies can bring families together, but the costs keep rising, and tight budgets can limit the number of times those can be enjoyed.

As I searched, one activity caught my eye; geocaching. Geocaching is something that is low cost, after the initial start-up cost, and something that will get us together, communicating and focusing on one activity. It gets us out of the house and into the great outdoors. It provides exercise and using all our senses.

You may be like me, not sure just what geocaching is or not sure if your family would enjoy it. Geocaching, pronounced geo-cashing, is simply treasure hunting. My children enjoyed the "National Treasure" movies and expressed an extreme interest in doing some on their own. The idea of getting out, searching for clues and finding hidden treasures sounded like a recipe for success.

I did some research on geocaching and found that it was something we could do, do often, and it wasn't too expensive to start. To start, geocaching required a desire to spend time together, get out into the outdoors and a GPS, Global Positioning System, unit. The GPS unit was the only cost to start-up. Most of us have these units in our cars, but those units may not be the best for geocaching.

I won't spend a lot of time describing the unit, that's not the purpose of this article. GPS units can range from $99 to $400, or more. The more expensive a GPS unit, the more functions it will have, but that may not translate into getting you any closer to the treasure. Many have found that a $99 GPS unit suits them just fine. The geocaching web site, www.geocaching.com, or electronics review sites can help you in selecting your first handheld GPS unit.

The purpose of this article is to give you a little information on how geocaching can be an activity to invigorate your family time and bring you closer together. Our first time geocaching, was exciting and had us talking for hours, both before and after. We were aware of each other, dependent on each other and experienced a great team atmosphere.

For our first hunt, I joined the geocaching site, which was free, and selected four treasures in our town. The geocaching site gave me the coordinates, expressed in degrees and minutes. I plugged those coordinates into my GPS unit and we set out to their location. I selected four of the easier treasures in our area, which were close together. I felt if the treasures were easy to find, it would encourage us. I was right.

As we pulled up to the first location, my daughters exited the van and began looking, before I could even get the GPS unit powered on. As it was receiving satellite information, my oldest daughter shouted, "I found it!" Both daughters were dancing around the treasure waiting for my "verification." We opened the treasure container to see what was there. For this one, all that was there was a log book to sign. We signed it.

At this point, let me explain the treasure protocol. Upon finding your treasure, you are to open it and look at everything in the container. If you find something you'd like, you are free to take it, if you have something to exchange for it. Everything is then returned to the container and the container replaced for the next geocacher to find.

Excited from this treasure find, we quickly moved on to the next site. It was a little more difficult to find. We were glued to our GPS unit, moving ever closer to the coordinates. As we approached the location, we began to scan the ground, looking for anywhere that might be used to hide the container. After several detailed scans, I located it under a set of rocks. This container had more items, along with the log book for us to sign. Energized, we replaced it and moved on to the next.

For the remainder of the evening, we searched for our two remaining treasures. We found one, a slightly more difficult treasure to find and could not find the final one. We looked for quite some time, finally calling it quits for the night. We have not given up on that one, but will go back another time, determined to find it. Even not finding it turned out to be a good bonding time.

We headed home, talking about the fun we had and the things we saw. We were outdoors, walking, searching, enjoying. The few hours of geocaching, continued as we spent hours remembering and planning. The teamwork involved brought us closer together, something watching television and movies doesn't do.

Even though my daughters are very close in age, only a couple of weeks apart, I am convinced this is an activity that could be enjoyed by families with a wide range of ages. Children love playing outdoors. Children love doing things together and connecting. Geocaching really does fulfill that, and more.

Geocaching is an activity that is relatively inexpensive. Once the initial cost of the GPS unit is spent, there is only the cost of driving to the locations. The hours spent by the roadside, in the woods and on trails are priceless and free.

We live in an age when families tend to drift apart. Economics and technology can lead to this. Geocaching is a way to bring the family back together, defy economics and use technology to our advantage. Our family is already planning more geocaching trips, even looking to get out beyond our hometown. To me, that is priceless and a worthy endeavor. I hope you, too, can use geocaching to bring your family together and recapture that closeness that may have crept into your household.