Geocaching is a Great Way to Discover Novato

Ahhh, my first blog for the Novato Patch!

I am not new to blogging and yet, I find myself wondering "What can I write about that's local?"

My other blogs have to do with food or politics or work.  I rant and rave as if I have a soapbox and throngs surround me groping for bits of wisdom that only I possess.  

(I see I have alread digressed into my usual blog-fantasy life.)

So, something local...

If I had to come up with one thing the keeps me in Novato (aside from all the great people), it would have to be the nearness of nature.  Even as I say that, I am well aware of the dead tree that was just delivered to my doorstep in the form of 15 pounds of Yellow Pages.

If you like the outdoors, but like to play the occassional city mouse, Novato is heaven.

Now about geocaching.  

This, in my mind, is one of the best ways to discover those hidden "lookout" points that our local landscape has in abundance.

Geocaching is using your GPS to find a treasure, generally one that is hidden in an out of the way place where once you find it, you look up and say, "I can't believe I live in such a beautiful place."

There are currently over 2 million "treasures" hidden worldwide.  A treasure can be a small container of trinkets (leave one and take one) or just a film canister with a place for you to say "Found it!" In Novato, there are probably five to 10 within a couple of blocks of where you are sitting right now.

Here is how it works:

For equipment, you will need a GPS.  I have used one that I keep in my car, one that I wear on my wrist for runs and one that I bought just for geocaching.  They all work.  Other equipment is basically whatever you typically have with you when going for a walk.  One bit of equipment I never leave behind is my dog.  He knows the following three words: Food, Walk and Geocaching.  

And he's a good boy.

Anyway...

Go to http://geocaching.com and sign up for a free account.  In your account, you can put in your local latitude and longitude (get from your GPS).  Once that is done, you can ask to see those geocaches nearest to your home.  You will immediately see a list starting with those closest to you, probably less than a tenth of a mile away.

Click on one and you can read all about that particular cache.

I print out copies of the ones I am going after. 

At a minimum, you will need the Lat. and Long.  Also, see if it's big, medium or small.  Check to see the difficulty; you will want to start with something easy.  Check out the terrain difficulty as some can be very hard to get to.  

Take some time and familiarize yourself with the page of the first geocache you find.  There may be hints and such that you will find helpful.

Then go find it.

I have included a couple of pictures of geo's that we have found.  At least I think I have included a couple; remember, this is my first post.

Happy Geocaching.

Now, while you are doing that, I have a world to save...

Up, up and away...

jim

By the way, my more-global blog  can be found at http://jimdillingham.blogspot.com.