Groundspeak Weekly Mailer – June 29, 2011

Geocaching with Kids

Geocaching with the younger crowd can be an unforgettable experience. In addition to being a great way for children to explore the outdoors, geocaching introduces them to problem solving and is a wonderful family adventure. Nothing is quite like watching the victorious “I’ve found it!” expression flash across the face of a young geocacher.

However, geocaching can become a very forgettable experience for kids if they don’t manage to find a geocache. To make sure this doesn’t happen to your family, we suggest the following:

• Seek caches with a lower difficulty rating. We suggest 1 to 1.5 stars. The difficulty rating is listed on each cache page as well as on the search results page.

• Seek larger caches. In addition to being easier to find, larger caches are more likely to contain items for the kids to trade. The cache size is shown as a graphic on each cache page as well as on the search results page.

• Make sure that the cache has been found recently. Scroll to the bottom of the cache page where you can view recent logs by other geocachers. Recent logs with “found it” smileys indicate that the cache is most likely still in place and findable.

• Read the cache description and any hints so that you have some idea of what to search for at the cache coordinates. For more of a challenge, bring along the hint and don’t read it unless you really need it.

Check out our guide page for more information that will help you choose a great adventure for the younger geocachers in your group.

 

Be the FTF a Knight and You Could Win

 

Geocachers have been unknowingly practicing for the Langley Knights Competition since the day the first geocache was found. This UK-based competition is a quest to be first to find – only in this case, the geocache is a knight. On Saturday, July 2nd at 9 am British Summer Time, five knights will be hidden around England. Three of these will be physical knights – full suits of armor placed in English parks – while two will be “cyber knights” that can only be found in images on Google Maps and Google Earth.

The first person to find each knight and input the corresponding code on the Langley Knights Competition website wins £1000. The person who referred them wins £500. The person who referred them wins £250 and on up the line.

Help us show the world the power of the geocaching community! Click here to join team “geocachers” and go hunt for some knights this weekend. You must join by July 1st to compete.

Check out the blog for more information. Any winnings directed to Groundspeak will be donated to charity.