The start of a treasure hunt

Before my birthday kayaking trip I stopped by my local REI to check out GPSes before we ventured into the wild unknowns of the San Jacinto river. It wasn't that I didn’t think I could get us back to where we started because I actually have an uncannily accurate sense of direction unless the roads are windy and curvy, you know, like a river. :) But it never hurts to have a second opinion on which way we should go - especially one that is always right. And we all know we can't trust Kevin on that score. The man is geographically challenged. He's the worst map reader I have ever met.

So as I was looking at all the bells and whistles on the GPSes I saw a checkbox on several that said "Geocaching." I had no idea what it was. So when I came home to do some homework comparing models I clicked on the convenient little hyperlink and stumbled on a whole new world.

Geocaching is essentially a modern day treasure hunt. It's a high tech game of hide and seek. And it is astonishing the number of caches (hidden "treasure") that you walk or drive by every single day without even realizing it.

The premise seems simple enough - you are given the exact location or set of coordinates where something is hidden and it is just a matter of going there and signing a log book to say that you found it. Sounds easy enough right?? HA!!