|
|
Nevada Geocaching Association
|
|
|
|
|
|
 NevadaWolf writes "(shamelessly stolen right from the cache page)
GC17DQX
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Time: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
A lackey or two (or four? or even more?) will be coming to Vegas soon after the New Year, and they'd love to meet with as many geocachers as possible. Whether you are a veteran of the game or just recently introduced, please drop in for the afternoon.
"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 El Diablo Blanco writes "Techie treasure hunt game gains in popularity
BY ANNA HERKAMP
BISMARCK — There may be hope for parents everywhere who fear high-tech toys only keep their children inactive.
While the Internet and video-gaming is blamed for childhood obesity and decreasing amounts of quality family time, another piece of technological gadgetry could be the antidote to the 21st century banes.
Global Positioning System (GPS) devices are now a form of entertainment for families looking for some outdoor adventure. Since 2000, satellite technology has ushered in a new era of creative treasure-hunting called geo-caching.
It was that year the government began allowing civilians less restricted access to satellites.
Soon after the satellites became available, tech-savvy people created a game that uses latitude and longitude coordinates to place caches of small treasures.
The game has become a way of connecting with people and places otherwise unknown.
“It’s a techie way of playing treasure hunt,” explained Lynn Burrett, of Cayuga, Ind., who frequently geo-caches with her family and friends.
To geo-cache, all that is needed is Internet access, a GPS device and a mode of travel.
Those interested log onto geocaching.com and enter a ZIP code. A list of caches in the area pops up on the screen. Once a cache is selected, the coordinates for the cache location are uploaded into the GPS device.
Although a general location is known, identifying the specific location becomes the challenge. Finding the cache is the reward.
"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
El Diablo Blanco writes "Alan Van Ormer
August 15. 2007 6:00AM
Those who participate in geocaching do it for many different reasons.
It could be for the challenge of the treasure hunt. It could be for the fun. Or it could be for just seeing what is hidden inside the container.
?For me, it is the challenge of finding the next cache,? said Ann Thiel, who lives in Sherman. She found her first cache on May 6 and her 40th cache on Aug. 6. ?Some dedicated geocachers can find that many in one day.?
Geocaching got its start in 2000 when a Global Positioning System (GPS) enthusiast hid a container in Oregon and posted the coordinates on the Internet. Geocachers hunt for their hidden treasures by using the GPS, which receives satellite communications, and the Internet, which helps get the cache coordinates by either hand entry or downloading from the geocache Web site. The arrow moves as the geocacher walks and when the person gets to the cache the arrow is set on the treasure box.
Caches are stored throughout the country. There are six geocaches in the Garretson area. Three are located in Devil?s Gulch, two at Palisades State Park and one at Split Rock Park. Thiel has hidden two caches and she has plans for hiding at least one more in the area.
The typical cache is in a Tupperware container, but the cache could be placed in larger items and also containers as small as a 35mm film canister or prescription bottle.
"
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Uncovering the rising popularity of 'geocaching' |
|
El Diablo Blanco writes "Updated Wed. Aug. 8 2007 1:52 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
When Mary Barker was given a global positioning device for Christmas she had no idea what she was getting herself into.
"I have trails up behind my house and I wanted to map my trails," Barker told CTV's Canada AM. "But I didn't have a clue how to use it. I'm not a techie person at all."
However, Barker, a hiking enthusiast and a Girl Guide leader for more than 30 years, not only learned how to use the device at a college course, but was soon turned on to the fact that it is a critical component of geocaching.
Barker became so intensely involved in the activity that she has even gone as so far as to start her own geocaching academy.
But what exactly is geocaching? Geocaching is an activity that is an online scavenger hunt of sorts that began around seven years ago and has a process and a set of rules enthusiasts abide by.
It involves a package, commonly referred to as a "cache" being concealed in a secret location on public land. The satellite coordinates of the package are then posted by the person who planted the package online to the website www.geocaching.com.
Geocaching enthusiasts can then see the satellite location on the site and then proceed to go about searching for the package in an online scavenger hunt using the posted coordinates. All they need is an Internet connection, a handheld global positioning device (GPS) and a boundless curiosity to search for the package. "
|
|
|
|
|
|
| If you hide it, they will come; then what? |
|
El Diablo Blanco writes "Geocaching found Lauren Weaver this April in Connecticut, where she was visiting her sister.
The families went on searches, looking up caches' coordinates online, then using Global Positioning System (GPS) units and determination to search the woods and brush for them. In a weeklong trip, there and in Boston, they located 13 caches.
Weaver was excited to return home to Eden Prairie, where she knew dozens of caches were waiting for her. But when she got back, all the caches in the city's parks had disappeared.
Turns out Eden Prairie had discovered geocaching as well. "
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Topics |
1731 |
| Posts |
45996 |
| Views |
520198 |
| Replies |
44646 |
| Members |
1188 |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
We received
2802278
page views since March 2003 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
