Treasure Hunting

My mom called me up Saturday on a whim to see if we wanted to try something new with them... Geocaching! It was a beautiful day, and how could we pass up the chance for a real live treasure hunt?? If you've never heard of geocaching, basically you follow a map on your phone to a spot of your choosing (they are all over the world!) and try to find the "treasure" that is hidden there. It comes in the form of a metal, waterproof box containing trinkets left by previous hunters. You can choose to take a trinket from the box as long as you leave something in return.

So of course Max was all on board with this idea. He took control of the map and lead us toward the coordinates. Once in the general vicinity, we started hunting among the trees until we came across a metal box hidden near a big tree.  With Grandpa's help, Max opened the box and admired the treasures within! He decided to trade a toy helicopter for a dusty little rubber frog that opened into two pieces (one man's trash...)

We followed the map to two more locations, and besides a run-in with a thorn branch, everyone had a great time! The boys enjoyed the exploring as much as the actual hunting, and we got to see areas in our neighborhood that we never would have ventured into otherwise! The boxes were hidden fairly close to walking trails, but there was still some bushwhacking involved.

It was an exciting day. I kind of feel like I stumbled upon a hidden subculture, and I can't believe all of these treasures are hidden almost in our backyard! I'm sure we'll do it again, and who knows? Maybe some day we'll unearth a real treasure.

The aftermath of a thorn branch attack