geocaching...

I am an outside kind of person so I am determined to help my boys love the outdoors too. From what I can gather, they have not had much of a chance to play outside.  So we have been trying to come up with fun creative outdoor activities.  One of my favorites is geocaching and my iPhone has made it so easy. 

Geocaching is like a treasure hunt.  Someone has planted a cache at certain coordinates and you have to find it.  You need a personal GPS or an iPhone to do it - most car GPS's are not specific enough.  Some caches are big and some are tiny.  We have found some that were the size of large bullets, film canisters, or old ammo boxes.  Most of them have logs that you sign and date.  Some of the larger caches have a trinket item for you to take as long as you leave something in its place.  Parks usually have several caches.  My boys really like this. I not only like it because we are outside and it is free, but because it helps them learn skills like reading a map and a compass.  It helps them explore and use their imaginations.  Some caches will have clues that you have to figure out that help you locate the cache. 

If you have an iPhone there is a free app called "Intro to Geocaching" that makes this super easy.  There is also a $10 version, but I am not sure what all it does.  But it is easy free fun with a little sense of adventure.  You should try it!

This cache is the biggest we have found so far.  It was a story cache, meaning that there was a small notebook inside the ammo box with a story in it.  Those who find the cache are supposed to add to the story.  My boys had little interest in writing more of the story, they wanted to find the next cache, so we just signed it and moved on.

This is one of the smaller caches we have found.  It is in my 14 year old's hand on the right.  On the left, my 11 year old has the log that was rolled up inside.