I can check one more thing off my 2010 To Do List.

Last month I finally stopped waffling and purchased a GPS with the help of a little birthday money from my grandparents. I'd been comparing different models, researching advantages and disadvantages of Garmin vs. Magellan for quite awhile; reading local geocaching forums for advice etc. And then finally decided it was time to quit with the indecision and buy one! I went into BestBuy, found one on sale, and bought it. It was a Magellan Explorist GC, a GPS specifically designed for paperless geocaching (that is, all the info for a cache gets downloaded to the GPS, not just the coordinates). It took me a little while to figure out how it worked, to play with the features (because it didn't come with a manual, only a pamphlet illustrating some of the features but not providing any instructions) and then took it out for a couple test-runs.

At first it was pretty disappointing - I wasn't finding any of the caches. Granted, the first two times I was thwarted, first by darkness and second by hot & humid weather combined with a frustrated 10 year old. But then, finally! I found my first cache, and my second cache, and then two more caches....and I was on a roll!

I'm finding out that geo-caching is actually pretty addictive. There are caches just about everywhere - over 8000 in Nova Scotia - and I'm constantly impressed by the ingenuity of geo-caches to find/make great hiding spots, often in plain sight. And, of course, there's the allure of finding "hidden treasure". Who doesn't like a good ol' treasure hunt! And I've found pretty great swag so far too...

For those of you who have never tried geocaching (aka "muggles") it's highly likely you walk by a cache daily without ever knowing it. I've been dragging anyone who is even remotely interested along for a geocache hunt - co-workers, friends, family - and I've got a much better success rate now. It's one of those activities that's more fun with other people anyway.
I'm hoping to get into it more with the Little. I think it's the kind of activity that would be really great with kids AND gives a little purpose and motivation to going for walks or hikes. Geocachers are sort of like explorers going on an expedition to find a treasure afterall...right? And very few kids will turn down an opportunity to explore or go on an expedition or an adventure.

For anyone who is interested in learning about geocaching, you're best bet is to check out geocaching.com. Go to "Hide & Seek" and see how many geocaches are in your area - I bet there's at least a few! I first signed up 3 years ago when I decided I wanted to give it a try. It's taken me 3 years to actually commit to buying a GPS (they're not cheap, and I hadn't actually gone geocaching before buying a GPS) and now that I have I'm really glad I did! I can see this being a fun activity for years to come - not just in finding caches, but also in hiding them too.