Treasure hunt, anyone?
The idea of finding buried treasure has always been thrilling. Did you know there are people all over the country who hide treasure for you to find? It’s called geocaching, a fancy word for hiding things and using GPS to find them. All you need is a cell phone or mobile device with a GPS (global positioning system). The folks at http://www.geocaching.com/guide/ have a remarkable collection of sites all over the country and everything you need to know to be successful. All you do is sign up at their website (it’s free), then select a site in your area – and there’s bound to be one. Plug the GPS coordinates into your cell phone or wireless device, and go hunt for treasure! There are a few simple rules:
- Start with the green highlighted quests for beginners if you’ve never done one before.
- Log your find on their website, then return it carefully for the next hunters to find. It’s fun to see when something has last been discovered, and to add your name on the list of ‘finders’.
- Remember, the fun is in finding it – keep nothing unless you’re replacing it with something of equal or greater value. Consider taking some inexpensive trinkets with you in case you need to replace some treasure.
- When you get good at it, you can add your own geocaches for others to find! You can also make your own treasure hunts for kids and grand kids using plastic Easter eggs and some handwritten clues.
Quick quiz: what do Pegasus, Perseus and Orion have in common? They’re all constellations in the night sky (but if you said Greek mythology you get points for paying attention in school). With all the light pollution in most cities and towns, stargazing is almost a lost art. Out at an OCP campground, however, looking up at the night sky is like finding a completely different kind of treasure. Check out http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html for some great sky maps, then scroll down to find the appropriate month and year. You don’t need any special equipment, but if you happen to have a telescope, pack it and bring it! April is Global Astronomy month and there will be a partial eclipse of the moon on April 25th – there’s no better time than right now to start looking up! The stars come out most every night at your favorite Ocean Canyon resort.
Think back a moment. What did you most love to do when you were a kid? Play catch? Strum a guitar? Unless it was riding a unicycle or hang gliding (you crazy kid), chances are very good that you can do it at the campground. Ride your bike? Count lightning bugs (or were they called fireflies where you grew up)? Were you the Checkers champion in your neighborhood? Some of the most fun activities involve very little money, just a little memory, a little planning, and maybe some friends who are young at heart too.
So get on the road! Join your Ocean Canyon friends for some treasure hunting – whether that treasure is in the night sky, hidden in a cache, or in your favorite remembered pastimes that are about to return to the present. We look forward to seeing you treasure hunters soon.