Games Nerds Play

I was poking around one of my geeky websites (www.boardgamegeek.com) and came across someone who had the hobby of Geocaching. I looked it up and basically it's a high-tech treasure hunt. People who have GPS units will hide a treasure (cache) and log the coodinates of that treasure using their GPS unit. Then they'll post the coordinates on a website and others will try to find that treasure using their GPS unit.

It actually sounds like fun! Each cache will have a log book where you log the date when you found the cache. So over time, you'll have a bunch of people who have logged in. I guess people from all over the world log the find in the enclosed log. Often it will have little trinkets. You are expected to take a trinket and replace it with something that is equal or greater value. A small trophy, I guess. They say it's a cool way to get out and see areas where you wouldn't normally see. Often these are great views or outdoorsy type of places that you would have normally missed.

The biggest site is www.geocaching.com. Give it a try and type in your zip code. You'll be amazed how many caches are within walking distance of your house. Even Billings has a bunch of caches.

I've used Google Earth to look up the coordinates, but I haven't gone out yet. But I just might this evening. It looks like there's one in the Costco parking lot. Just to give it a whirl.