Geocaching Brief (presented to the Cape CVB)

NOTE: ONE OF MY PROJECTS WAS TO DO RESEARCH ON GOWALLA AND HOW IT CAN WORK WITH THE CAPE GIRARDEAU CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU. THE FOLLOWING IS MY BRIEF. ENJOY -JMICHAELWILLIS


Ok, so here's a little information on Geocaching.

Basically, Geocaching is a high-tech game of hide and seek. Basically, someone goes out and hides a water-proof container full of little trinkets that have little meaningful value, but is worth finding. They will at that point mark the destination with their GPS device and put the destination on the Geocaching website. From the website, they will be able to give it a name and put certain descriptions and directions that are needed for the adventure.

If someone wants to go on a Geocaching quest (I'm sure there's a name for the quest, but I can't think of it at the moment), they will find one online and with their GPS device they will map out the quest to the certain point. What makes Geocaching pretty interesting is that GPS devices are never 100% accurate, so the device will never take them directly to the point. What searchers do is when they are getting close to the spot on the GPS, they will immediately put away the device and begin digging, unearthing, etc. Once the container full of trinkets is found, the finder has to mark their name and other information on a log, located inside the container (sometimes the logging can be done virtually through a smart phone). Taking a trinket is allowed in Geocaching only if the item is replaced with something of equal or greater value. After the finder is finished with the container, they must put it back where it was found. This entire process is done for all Geocaching quests.

Cape Girardeau has quite a bit of Geocaches. The follow link will take you to a list of Geocaches in Cape. http://www.geocaching.com/local/default.aspx?state_id=26

Just like every social networking site, Geocaching has it's own terminology. The following link will take you to the list of terms and definitions associated with Geocaching.
http://www.geocaching.com/about/glossary.aspx

Lastly, here's another link to a site that kind of gives a beginner's description of Geocaching that might be easier to understand compared to what I have. http://www.wikihow.com/Go-Geocaching