This past week we have been spending some time scoping caches in the area that are new since we took a break from being cache-a-holics, and also plotting out a mystery cache, or two.

Turns out there's a decent handful of new ones, and there's a mystery cache RIGHT BY US IN THE MIDDLE OF MARTHA LAKE!

GC2935K  An Island Oasis Is Sublime

Considering our upcoming streak of hot weather, we might have to get the boat out there.

Sidenote, there was a 5 lb. Steelhead caught in Martha Lake a couple weeks ago!

Okay, so in addition to the mystery cache, there are three that look like quick grabs that we might just get tonight:

GC62CXZ  Come get your Smiley

GC5HGXQ  A LittleFreeLibrary Cache

Our next outing will be down to the Mill Creek Town Center where there are two caches:

GC2EY1R  The Power of Pride !

GC2QM12  KummaKummaKhameleon

Conveniently, there are Pokestops on the same trail!

Geocaching and Pokemon Go!

So the new craze has hit and now that we're a few weeks into Pokemon Go, I find that I'm opening my geocaching apps while "Go-ing"!  It's fun to be killing two birds with one stone!  While Go-ing in a local park about a week ago, we found that an old cache we had previously gotten was archived and another that we had tried to find years ago was now in an accessible location since the entire park was redone.  Looking shady, as we geocachers sometimes do, I was behind a log fence poking around among blackberry bushes, (yes, blood was drawn,) and a man walking his dog walked past and asked if we were playing Pokemon.  I said no, we're geocaching.  I don't think he had a clue what I was talking about!  The park was swarming with Go-ers, as are so many parks and Pokemon rich areas.  My thought is that it will become easier to find a cache at a muggle infested coordinate.  What do you think?

Success on our last cache hunt,

logged our 191st find!

Trinity Racers

On another note...

           

The next previous generation playing Pokemon Go!
This was in a church parking lot where there is a Pokemon Gym!

Dad playing with his kids at the playground
Pokemon Go on TOP of the playground!

Back in the saddle!

September 2010?  How did that happen?!

It's been that long since I posted anything here.  Our caching slowed over the years, though we would stop here and there when our spidey-senses kicked in, and I had to look to see if there was indeed a cache nearby.

How times have changed!  No longer do we have to print out cache sheets, or usb coordinates (or worse, manually enter them!) into our gps, or even use a gps at all.  Now, anyone with a smartphone has everything at his or her fingertips.

Although we've used c:geo since the transition to phone-caching began, I see that the Groundspeak folks have made their app free!  If I recall correctly, it used to be $9.99.  Maybe I'm delusional, but that was the reason we originally went with c:geo.  It has served its purpose, but now that I have the Groundspeak app installed, we'll just have to play with it to see which one we prefer.

       

By looking at it for just a couple minutes, the Groundspeak app is much easier on the eyes, whereas c:geo has a black background.  Hmm...looks like you have to upgrade to Premium in order to access some of the caches.  Anything above a 1.5 difficulty or terrain requires Premium.  Still worth using since the format seems a lot better than c:geo.  I'll keep both installed until I get to the point of coughing up the cash to buy it.  (I'm so frugal cheap.)  Oh, well wouldya look at that.  It's not a flat purchase anymore, it's a subscription.  (And it's an auto-renewal which is kind of a pain if you forget to turn it off.)

c:geo

FREE

Groundspeak Premium App

$5.99/mo or $29.99/yr

Yes, I am too cheap to pay for a subscription when I can use c:geo for nada.  I will absolutely use it as my primary app, and if there's a cache that's grayed out because I don't have Premium, I'll switch over to c:geo and get what I need there.  (Because why?  Oh yeah, I'm CHEAP.)

Time to go play!

Cache Types, Sizes, Trade Suggestions

Caches come in all kinds of containers ranging from nano-caches to ammo boxes. You will be amazed at the creativity people have put into their caches!

Some caches, such as the nano size, don't have room for anything but a tiny log that you sign.

A nano is a tiny, magnetic button with a rolled up scroll to sign. You need your own pen for these.

You can learn about the different types of caches here.


Trades

The general rule is to leave something of equal or greater value when trading an item in the cache. Here are some items in our trade bag right now:

marbles
sticker sheets
Happy Meal toys
mini play-doh
rubber squeaky frogs and ducks
Silly Putty
mini slinky


The Dollar Store is a good place to find things, but I am more careful now with all the lead being found in those types of toys. Walmart always has good prices for fun stuff.

Some of the neatest things we have gotten were -

foreign coins
dollar bills
a very cool medal from Germany
Geocoins and Travel Bugs from all over the world!

Share us with everyone!

Don't forget to add us to your favorite search service by clicking on the Share button at the top, left. Thank you!

Snacks

Here are some of the snacks we take.
Suggestions are welcome!


Sturdier Snacks:

granola bars
fruit snacks
crackers
raisins
fruit - cherries, grapes, bananas (although they tend to stink up the car), apples, etc.
almonds - we bought a big bag at Costco, yummy!
homemade cookies - Tupperware = no crushed cookies
grape tomatoes
pretzels (less crushable than chips)
beef jerky
Cheetos (it can't all be healthy, right?)


For the cooler:

Tortilla Wraps - won't smash like bread
deli meats
cheese
mayo, mustard (there are travel sizes of these that you can refill)
spinach (we use instead of lettuce, it really doesn't taste spinach-y!)
tuna & sunflower seeds (really good mixed together in a sandwich)

Hint: instead of having a big bag of melting ice in the cooler, freeze some water bottles, and as they thaw, you will also have drinking water.

Sugar-free juice powder packs to add to water bottles - that way you have the option of having only water if you want.


If you really feel the need to have soda, (pop, as I grew up saying it,) Walmart has $.67 2-liters. They go well with a $5 pizza from Little Caesar's! Which reminds me, don't forget -

napkins
paper plates
plastic cups


Everything is easier in the cooler, whether it needs to be chilled, or not. It keeps everything consolidated in one place, and prevents things from getting smashed. In theory, it will even keep your van/car cleaner since you're more likely to get only one or two things out at a time rather than having a bag full of stuff floating around. (In theory.)

Cache Supplies

We have put together a Sterilite bin with all of our cache supplies so we can grab it whenever we are ready to go caching. I chose the Sterilite because it has nice handles and is clear.

Here is a list of our must-haves:

GPS (of course)
pens
cache printouts from www.geocaching.com (be sure to decode the hint before printing.)
map printouts - either your own from Google maps, or from GSAK, which I'll explain later.
If you are taking a laptop, print your cache printouts to PDF for when you aren't able to be online on the road.
trades - both micro and traditional sizes (see post about cache types)
camera
charged batteries (we have a 15-minute battery charger that plugs into the lighter adapter)
USB cable (if you need to upload pictures from your camera, when you fill up your memory with video and/or pictures, or forgot to unload the camera before leaving home!)
USB connector for your GPS (for those with USB transfer capability)
flashlights/headlights

band-aids & Neosporin - I just recently got the portable Neosporin spray.
Germ-X

snacks - thus our geocaching.com ID, granolabars!
water bottles

(I'll put a separate post for goodies to take.)

Bothell Caches

Mountlake Terrace Caches

Brier Caches

Edmonds Caches

Lynnwood Caches

Mill Creek Caches

GPS Help

We own a Magellan Explorist 210 and a Magellan Explorist 300.

The 300 was our first GPS. The story behind us buying the 210 is pretty funny. The 300 turned up missing one day. After searching everywhere, we finally came to the conclusion that it must have fallen into the garbage next to the desk and was long gone. We immediately went out and bought the 210.

Improvements from the 300 to the 210 were that the 210 can be USB'd to the computer to transfer coordinates rather than entering them manually. (You'd think that the higher the model number, the better features, I guess not.)

Long story short, a few months later (I know, shh!) I went to change the vacuum bag, and VOILA, there it was, inside the zippered part of the vacuum where the bag goes. Thank you to our 2 year old daughter for the great hiding spot!

Anyway...

I am here to assist anyone with their Explorist GPS. Let me know what you need and I'll do my best to help!

Unschooling

Unschooling is absolutely a good thing. Each family has to do what is comfortable, but we have been unschooling for 8 years now. Our oldest son who is 20 has a secure job, and our oldest daughter just turned 18 and will have her Associates Degree next May by using the Running Start system with our local community college. (Free college tuition for Freshman/Sophomore college courses to be completed during a student's Junior/Senior high school age. Google it.) She will be ready to enter a 4-year University, if she chooses to, as a Junior next fall. We have 3 younger kids - 12, 10, and 4 - who are coming up in the ranks. They all learned (and are still learning) the 3 R's - Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic without any curriculum or home "school" time. I could go on and on, but a few examples of ways we learn are the same as any human learns. We live. We go places. We watch great programs on TV. We visit the library. Existing creates the environment our kids need to learn.

Scary at times? When we first started, yes. Now we've seen that it is successful, and our children *do* learn what they need to know in life through their own will and desire. And what a way to grow up! Can you imagine never being harped on about getting school work done? And never seeing a bad grade? I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Geocaching Homeschoolers

We started Geocaching in September of '06.

www.geocaching.com

Our ID: granolabars