Geocaching Baby Boomers

12/3/09 - In the fall we found 6 caches that were hid along one trail...a beautiful trail, into deep woods.  One of the caches looked was no longer in the spot it was supposed to be, and when we found it, it had teeth marks through it, which we are quite sure were from a bear, we've seen the way they look when they have destroyed our bird feeders.  So we patched it up and put it where it belonged.  We saw large bear tracks in the mud in the area, but no bears (thank goodness).  We loved the trail so much, we did the hike on two different weekends.

8/14/09 - Time has flown and we had a couple medical bumps in the road in the family, but hubby is recovering nicely, and we will be back out on the trails in a week I hope...I'm especially looking forward to the fall!

6/21/09 - What a nice Father's Day we had! My daughter had us all over for dinner and we went out as a family to a couple of caches I saved in the GPS in her area. One was quite a beautiful hike through the woods to a Fire Tower.

6/13/09 - We went out after the barbecue and found 3 caches, officially starting our new adventure. Lots of fun, even though it was raining. You can find us on geocaching.com, user pcnjbabyboomer - that will probably be it until next weekend.

6/12/09 - My GPS came a few days ago, and I've been spending time getting acquainted. I've uploaded some local caches from geocaching.com and have been trying to figure out the features...I think a lot of things will come clear when we get out and start using it. As circumstances would have it, we have a busy Sunday, and a lunch/barbecue to attend tomorrow. SO, think tonight I'm going to search for some caches near the location of the barbecue and get started after we eat. I'll let you know how we make out. Have a great weekend!

Just to give you an idea of how easy it is to find caches using geocache.com, here are the steps that they suggest on their home page:

1. Register for a free membership.
2. Click "Hide & Seek a Cache."
3. Enter your postal code and click "search."
4. Choose any geocache from the list and click on its name.
5. Enter the coordinates of the geocache into your GPS Device.
6. Use your GPS device to assist you in finding the hidden geocache.
7. Sign the logbook and return the geocache to its original location.
8. Share your geocaching stories and photos online.

When you join the site and find a cache that you are interested in tracking down from the long list that comes up when you enter your zip code, from the site you can send the coordinates to your GPS or phone. There's a map with the general location pinpointed, level of difficulty as far as how difficult a hike it will be and how long, and much more.

You also have your own "presence" at the site where you can record your adventures, and with other helpful information.

You may also have a local group that you can join, do a google search on the internet entering "geocaching" and your town, zip, or general location.

Hobbies can be expensive. Hubby and I have talked about a few different ideas of things we can do now that the children are grown. This hobby is not only inexpensive, it's good exercise, something we as boomers need and tend to slack on. It gets you away from the TV and computer, enjoying the great outdoors.

I haven't done enough research to find out whether there are caches in cities (update...there are!), but if you are a city dweller, this is a great way to get out into the country.