I am a Geocacher

Beaver asked, "What is a cache and what is a travelbug?"

According to Wikipedia "Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning system (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little monetary value. Today, well over 350,000 geocaches are currently placed in 222 countries around the world, which are registered on various websites devoted to the sport."

I am one of those "Geocachers" and as of this week I have found a total of 460 caches hidden all the way from Tennessee to California. The fun is not so much in what you find but in the adventure of getting there. It has taken me to so many areas even close to home that I would have never gone for any other reason. There is so much to see and learn about.

See http://www.geocaching.com/

A Travel Bug is usually a little toy with a metal tag attached for identification. It is hidden in a cache - someone finds it and moves it to another cache often taking pictures along the way (somewhat like the Flat Stanley project). I hid a Travel Bug in a cache in Ellis County not far from where Jeff lives. Last year it appeared on the tip of South Africa and now it is near a lighthouse on the northern tip of an island in the Baltic Sea just east of Sweden.



Again according to Wikipedia,

A Travel Bug is a registered trademark of Groundspeak Inc used to describe a dogtag used in Geocaching. It is moved from cache to cache, and its travels can be logged on a website. Each travel bug tag is printed with a unique number, which is needed to post a log online.

Travel bugs are tracked on the Groundspeak-owned website Geocaching.com (as well as a few other sites).
Some travel bugs have missions to travel to a specific cache, location or a certain type of location. Other travel bugs simply have the goal of traveling as far and widely as possible.

Does any of this make any sense?

Another Grandpa Venture



I have been holding a little green travel bug for a long time. Today seemed like a good day to send him on his way but first we had to stop at Whataburger for lunch.








I remembered a park in Arlington where I had visited about 2 years ago and I wanted to return to check on a huge fig tree at the back side of the park. We saw some toadstools growing in the damp ground after several days of rain.











This wine cup is like the ones that grow near Jeff's house.







This is the largest fig tree that I have ever seen. Even though the power company had cut out the top to keep it out of the wires it is still huge. Most fig plants that I have seen are bushes. Click on the picture for a better view.




I want to go back when the figs get ripe.







.....................................................................

While I searched for the cache David made friends with a pony next door.



There were goats in the pen also...







...and some roosters.








Before getting back to the car the playground beckoned.
















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While searching for another cache I saw this bunny.


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This is a new travel bug that I found in the cache today. Now we will have to venture out another day to find a home for this one!