MaxNSam
08-31-2011, 08:08 AM
I have wanted to do this for some time, but just never have for various reasons and/or excuses. This past weekend was the high-water mark of that.
I intended to enlist my youngest child (f/14) as my caching partner, but wasn't really sure how she would respond to "Hey, lets go wander around with the GPS. We won't text or talk to anyone but each other; we will look for treasure that is sure to NOT be of high value if we find any, and we will leave only what we take...our names. What-do-you-say?" Granted it’s not the best sales pitch so I worded it a little differently: "Your sister and dad are going to see an R rated movie; you cannot go. Want to go play with me or stay home and do dishes?" She was on board and excited! She was also a closet-cacher is it turns out.
Once I explained my limited knowledge, she responded, “Oh, I’ve done that before.” What? My ‘new and adventurous’ activity was not new to her?! Somewhere here, amongst all the Arkie-cachers, someone with a daughter, has taken my daughter on a cache hunt. That one was fruitless at the time, so I had my work cut out for me…finding the cache was a ‘must’.
There are many caches close to home so I let her pick where to start. She chose one that was several years old and last found over a year ago…still, we went with that. Aside from the seed-tick nest that actually found us, we saw nothing of interest. Undeterred, she picked again. Glory-be! She found it! I was so happy that SHE found it without my having to and then lead her towards it to re-energize her enthusiasm. She was happy, I was happy and we were on the road again.
Huge thanks to “ronwhite”, the owner of the Ferndale-Paron Trail series. They were exactly as described, not too easy, nor too difficult. We didn’t complete them all, but that gives us something to look forward to this weekend. We are having great fun with this and seem to be somewhat addicted. I have found myself looking for them near the office or what I can look for on the way home. My partner is okay with that so long as I provided vivid and detailed descriptions – “pictures wouldn’t hurt either mom”.
I intended to enlist my youngest child (f/14) as my caching partner, but wasn't really sure how she would respond to "Hey, lets go wander around with the GPS. We won't text or talk to anyone but each other; we will look for treasure that is sure to NOT be of high value if we find any, and we will leave only what we take...our names. What-do-you-say?" Granted it’s not the best sales pitch so I worded it a little differently: "Your sister and dad are going to see an R rated movie; you cannot go. Want to go play with me or stay home and do dishes?" She was on board and excited! She was also a closet-cacher is it turns out.
Once I explained my limited knowledge, she responded, “Oh, I’ve done that before.” What? My ‘new and adventurous’ activity was not new to her?! Somewhere here, amongst all the Arkie-cachers, someone with a daughter, has taken my daughter on a cache hunt. That one was fruitless at the time, so I had my work cut out for me…finding the cache was a ‘must’.
There are many caches close to home so I let her pick where to start. She chose one that was several years old and last found over a year ago…still, we went with that. Aside from the seed-tick nest that actually found us, we saw nothing of interest. Undeterred, she picked again. Glory-be! She found it! I was so happy that SHE found it without my having to and then lead her towards it to re-energize her enthusiasm. She was happy, I was happy and we were on the road again.
Huge thanks to “ronwhite”, the owner of the Ferndale-Paron Trail series. They were exactly as described, not too easy, nor too difficult. We didn’t complete them all, but that gives us something to look forward to this weekend. We are having great fun with this and seem to be somewhat addicted. I have found myself looking for them near the office or what I can look for on the way home. My partner is okay with that so long as I provided vivid and detailed descriptions – “pictures wouldn’t hurt either mom”.