89) Leave a Geocache (check!)

I'm on a roll this week with my 101 in 1001 list!  Earlier this week I scattered Bluebonnet seeds at my farm, and  today I left a Geocache for others to find.  For those who haven't read my other blog on geocaching, I'll briefly explain the adventure "sport."  Geocaching is a treasure hunting game where people place caches in a location then post the GPS coordinates online so others can locate it too.  I came across this idea while making my 101 in 1001 list, and knew right away it was something my boys would love to do as a family activity.  I was extremely surprised to find so many caches hidden so close to home.  We've gone on many nature walks around our town and really have had a great time with this "sport."  I've wanted to leave one of my own, so my husband bought me an ammo can so we could hide our cache.

A lot of the caches have themes for the contents inside.  For example, we have found a cache named "What are Little Boys Made of?" which was filled with toys for boys.  Another cache is for the state quarters.  People can drop and exchange different quarters to complete their collection.  There are many others, but you get the idea.  My husband came up with the idea to make a food related cache.  As you can imagine, placing food inside the cache would be a very bad idea since it will be in the woods, so instead we decided to leave some of our favorite recipes inside for others to take and exchange.  We placed 5 recipes, a log book for people to sign, some blank note cards for people to write their recipes down, and two pens inside the ammo can.  We debated where to leave the cache, but finally decided on Telge Park which is right next to our house.

The trails through Telge Park

The recipes we put inside

Telge Park is next to Cypress Creek which runs through our town, and we love to walk along its banks through the nature trails there.  My husband goes fishing about once a week on the creek and knows the land like the back of his hand.  We parked at Telge Park and started walking through the trails to find a good hiding spot.  After a good hike, we found a really tall Pine tree just off the trail to hide the ammo can behind.  We covered it up with sticks and leaves, and then started pinpointing the GPS coordinates so I could post them to the Geocaching website.  We got the coordinates, I snapped a few photos, and off we went.

The tall Pine tree

Hidden under leaves and sticks

Saved co-ordinates in our GPS

I just got done posting the cache online, and am awaiting approval from the webmaster for the post to clear.  I named the cache "The Dinner Bell" since it is food related.  I can't wait to see how many people find it!  This is such a fun adventure seeking game.  I get a kick out of it every time we find one.  I highly recommend parents with boys take their kids out for this (Girls too, but the boys would really like it!).  It's a great family activity that is free, and you get to explore your local surroundings.  What are you waiting for? Go try it!

88) Search for a Geocache (check!)

On a whim of a "date night," Erik and I decided to search for a geocache that was about a mile from us off of Cypress Creek in Telge Park.  For those who have no clue what the heck a geocache is, let me explain.  Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.  I found out about this adventure game when I was coming up with my 101 in 1001 goals.  This just sounded like something right up my alley, and it was something we could take the boys to do for free.  Sounded like a win-win to me!

So, after searching www.geocaching.com, I found a location right around the corner from us!  Who knew such adventure was this close to home!  Erik and I decided to go search for it and see if the terrain was okay to bring the boys back to.  Turns out, it was, and we'll bring them along for the adventure soon.

This experience all started with the coordinates and a deciphered clue from the person who hid the cache.  Erik and I set out with those two things in hand, and off we went through the nice trails in Telge Park along Cypress Creek.  We let the GPS lead the way, and after a little bit of searching in the general area, we found the ammo can filled with "treasure."  This is definitely not a sport to quit your day job over, but it was a neat find to say the least!  We signed the log book inside the container, where so many people had signed before.  We put everything back in the container, and re-hid the box just like we found it.

All in all, I had a really good time!  I mean, really, what else was I doing on a Thursday night?  Why not go treasure hunting?!  We returned home, and I went back to the website to log-in and say we had been there and thank the people who hid the cache.  I can't wait to go to more spots around Cypress, but most of all I can't wait to hide one of my own!

This is the deciphered message from the website along with the coordinates we put in the GPS.  It says, "Walk southeast down the trail 75ft from the creek.  Look for two fallen trees near the cache.  Think pine needles and sticks."

Here's our GPS!

Off we go! (Erik brought his camping gear he takes when he fishes the creek.)

The name of this geocache is "Pleasant Grove Over the Bridge"

Pleasant walking trails.

You know me- can't take me anywhere without me taking pictures of plants!  -Not sure what this is but it was a beautiful vine hanging from the canopy of the trees.

Did a little searching and moving stuff around.

Erik found it!

The log book and pen to sign.

Other items in the cache.

More goodies.

Putting it back under cover. "Think pine needles and sticks!"

Ready for the next person to come along!

Parents reading this, especially ones with boys, do this activity with your kiddos!  I can't wait to take ours along for their first experience!  I had so much fun with this, and I know you will too!