Geocaching is a real world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS–enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the Geocache (container) hidden at that location.
Geocaches can be found all over the world. It is common for geocachers to hide caches in locations that are important to them, reflecting a special interest or skill of the cache owner. The locations can be quite diverse. They may be at a local park, at the end of a long hike, underwater or on the side of a city street.
Geocaching is becoming a very fast growing hobby due to the new GPS enabled cell phones and the common GPS units used in our cars. I have a friend that I introduced to Geocaching and she uses the same unit that is in her car to geocache that she uses for everyday travel.
I first got into Geocaching in 2006 but it was a very time consuming hobby as you had to look up the cache, print the information and then enter the coordinates into an expensive GPS. Now days the ability to enjoy this hobby has become very easy to do.
By placing Geocaches at sites that have significant Historical value we are able to expose persons to places and history that they may not have known about. This is how I got connected with Landmarks of DeKalb County AL. I had driven by a local historical cemetery many times that they had marked and had put up signs directing persons to the location, but I had never stopped or visited the site. After visiting the site I saw where the history that I was exposed to really was interesting and I wanted to share that with others. They have done some wonderful work in preserving and informing the public on historical sites and events and this is one way that the Public can be exposed to the information.
After a Geocache is placed, persons that visit the cache and area go to a web site and log their visit and leave comments there. Most of the comments that I see are comments like, “I didn?t even know this was here” or “ Thank you for bringing us to this place and sharing the history”.
Geocaching is a very fun hobby and the folks that engage in this activity are very ECO friendly. “Cache In and Trash Out” is one of the mottos of the group.
If you would like more information on Geocaching or to read about the hobby, visit the Geocaching website or feel free to contact me and I will try to help you establish caches in your area.
Michael Twilley
256-630-2431
firedog09usATyahooDOTcom
NOTE: replace the AT with the @ sign and the DOT with a period. The email was written this way to avoid having Michael Twilley’s email exposed to spam.