Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which people use a GPS device to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, anywhere and everywhere in the world.  James found his first geocache in 2004.  There are log books within the caches to where you can write a message or just log your user name, saying “I was here.”  Some caches are even virtual.  There is also an online site to log your finds.

It was a fun “game” that got us out exploring different places where we wouldn’t otherwise visit. AJ was a baby back then, so I’d stay at home while James would go out traipsing in the Arizona desert, mostly to come home with cholla cactus needles stuck in his socks. Thinking back, I have to laugh because it amazes me that he would venture to some of the places he did and put his hands in “holes” where no one would otherwise dare put their hands (because you just don’t put your hands in unknown holes in Arizona).

The geocaching continued on while AJ was growing up.  This is AJ taking Flat Stanley geocaching (he’s holding Flat Stanley and a GPS):

And this is AJ getting excited about finding a micro cache:

Lots of caches also contain little treasures and toys, so it was usually rewarding for AJ to find one.

Fast forward to today and we now have the Pokemon Go phenomenon, not too dissimilar to geocaching, albeit totally different.  I say brilliant.  Okay, not so brilliant when someone is crashing their car into a tree or falling off a cliff due to extreme lack of intelligence (can’t blame an app for stupidity), but still, what a fun family activity when played responsibly!

My name is Paula.  I run half-marathons.  And I, too, hunt Pokemon.