I know that we have talked about Geocaching a lot on our Facebook page. Geocaching is like a treasure hunt. It is true that some caches have really nice stuff in them. But, most of them have little toys. But, we do it for the hunt. You both hide caches and find them. I am giving you a brief overview with LOTS of pictures.
First, we'll talk about the caches. There are all sorts of caches. And, all sorts of sizes. The one thing they all have is a log and a geocache info sheet. The larger they are, the more they will have. There are some virtual caches that involve gathering information and sending it to the cache owner, instead. But, there are not many of them. Cache containers vary from tiny to five gallon buckets are larger. The tiniest ones are called nanos. They tend to all be magnetic. But, not always. Some of them are made to completely blend into the environment. Here are some samples...
There are nanos. And, available through the website. But, you can always make your own.
This one can be purchased of the site. But, they can always be made.
These are some we have made. Altoid tins, storage containers, diabetic strip containers, and such. There is even a flashlight that is Ty's.
Another item that you can find in a cache is a travel bug., Travel bugs are meant to travel. There are many kinds. But, I am going to share about the one we placed recently. Our new friend, Peggy Friend, caches as well. She likes to do travel bugs with various rubber ducks. She gave Ty two for diabetes awareness. We have placed one. And, we decided the goal for it's destination should be Baltimore, MD. Sarah's favorite team and favorite band were from Baltimore.
The numbers are trackable back to the Geocache website to post about the reason you have posted the bug. This is what we wrote. "On December 12, 1996 I was blessed
with the birth of my beautiful baby girl, Sarah Elizabeth Jones. On September
16, 2011 she died. My spunky, full of life, headstrong darling was gone. As
much as I can, I remember her for who she was, not how she was taken from us.
She spent half of her life with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. Her death was most
likely the result of the toll of dealing with high and low sugars took on her
body. This travel bug is both to spread awareness of the potential toll of
diabetes and to share the memory of Sarah.
Sarah grew up in a small town. She
was not, however, as small town girl. Not that she didn’t love spending time in
the country. She had bigger goals and aspirations. Her hopes were to become a
music producer and promoter helping bands getting their big break. She was also
a budding artist. She loved to read. Scott Westerfield and L.J. Smith being a
couple of her favorite writers. And, music… music was her true love. My
Chemical Romance, Green Day, and All Time Low were some of her favorites. She
was always honest to a fault with people. And, could be at time lacking in
tact. But, she thought everyone deserved the truth. And, she felt that people
should always be treated with love and compassion, even if they did not agree
with you.
One day in January, the week after
returning from Christmas vacation, I had called Sarah’s father to see if I
should set up an appointment to take her to the doctor. I was concerned that
she might have a urinary tract infection? She was waking up in the middle of
the night needing to use the rest room and not quite making it. We decided that
if she did it again that night, that I would take her the next morning. Then,
we got a phone call from Sarah’s teacher. She had been extremely tired. She had
not thought much of it earlier in the week, all of the kids had been. They were
adjusting to going back to school. But, she had fallen asleep standing in the
hall. We called the doctor and they said bring her in NOW.
Once we finally got her blood drawn
it took her father laying over her talking her down, with me and the nurses
restraining her arms and legs, we spent some time waiting in the room. They
were very concerned for this to just be a simple infection. Sure enough, the
doctor came in with the diagnoses of Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. The doctor knew
that we knew what that meant, since we had string family histories on the
subject. We spent the next week in the hospital and the next years trying to
deal with the disease.
I can count on one hand the number
of times that Sarah broke down emotionally over her disease. She was bound and
determined to NOT let diabetes run her life. It was hers, not the diseases. I
had many people say that they didn’t even realize she was diabetic. She was
always as discreet as possible when tending to her sugars and dosing.
This is not me asking you to be
sympathetic, or say, “Oh, I am so sorry.” This is me taking a moment to tell
you to watch yourself, your friends and your family. If you feel like something
is wrong with your health, or someone else’s make it know. Also, love the
people you have now. Don’t wait to love their memory. And, lastly, if you know
someone with a disability or medical condition, try to see them without seeing
the disease, condition, or circumstance. Love them for who they are. It’s only
fair. And, finally, my goal for this travel bug is to get to Baltimore , Maryland
This is what else is in the cache. A log book, most of the caches have strips of paper for logs. But, the big ones have room for the small book. If you can find some small pens or pencils to add always helps.
And, a quick view of the Geocaching app. You can use the website, too. But, we do use the app. More on how to actually USE the app next time!
