In 2005 I became a Bookcrosser...
In 2007 I became a Georger...
A few weeks ago, while telling one co-worker about Georging a Benjamin, another co-worker told me she had been carrying around a Dollar, for a few months, that had Georging Stamps on it.
But wait, it gets better! ;-D
When I asked her why she still had it she laughed, and offered to give it to me if I told her where it had been.
I gave her 4 quarters for it, went online, during a break, at WG, and learned the bill had originally been GEOCACHED...IN KS., over 2 years ago!
I decided that it would be cool to return it to a Geocache so I signed up. ;-D
While the tough locations need GPS to find, SOME of the easy ones, especially if they are Urban, and you know the area...DO NOT.
TRUST ME. ;-D
1st BK, then GW, now GEOCACHING...
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching (Official and Original Site!) is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.
Whether I will get a cheaply priced device with the minimun needed to get the job done, or not, I am not ready to say yet...but, um, heh, heh, I detect a pattern in my choices of some of my hobbies. ;-D
Further research turned up other similar hobbies.
Almost as old as Where's George EuroBillTracker (EBT) is dedicated to tracking Euro notes around the world.
The Degree Confluence Project is an interesting pursuit:
The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location.
The pictures, and stories about the visits, will then be posted here.
The Armchair Treasure Hunt Club:
Treasure hunting brings many hours of enjoyment as you search maps and books to try and uncover the elusive hidden spot where treasure lies buried - and there's the pure excitement and escapism as you delve into the realms of storytelling fantasies... of treasure islands, bleak moors, or dark shadowy glens.
The pinnacle of which is being the first to solve and find your very own treasure.
The Grand Daddy of all such hobbies, however, is Letterboxing!
Something else the Brits can be blamed for. ;-D
Begun in Britain in the early 19th century this is the orignal "Geocaching" Hobby, but without the technology. ;-D:
LETTERBOXING combines navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a cool "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest.
Letterboxing is an intriguing mix of treasure hunting, art, navigation, and exploring interesting, scenic, and sometimes remote places. It takes the ancient custom of placing a rock on a cairn upon reaching the summit of a mountain to an artform. It started when a gentleman simply left his calling card in a bottle by a remote pool on the moors of Dartmoor, in England.
Here's the basic idea: Someone hides a waterproof box somewhere (in a beautiful, interesting, or remote location) containing at least a logbook and a carved rubber stamp, and perhaps other goodies. The hider then usually writes directions to the box (called "clues" or "the map"), which can be straightforward, cryptic, or any degree in between. Often the clues involve map coordinates or compass bearings from landmarks, but they don't have to. Selecting a location and writing the clues is one aspect of the art.
Once the clues are written, hunters in possession of the clues attempt to find the box. In addition to the clue and any maps or tools needed to solve it, the hunter should carry at least a pencil, his personal rubber stamp, an inkpad, and his personal logbook. When the hunter successfully deciphers the clue and finds the box, he stamps the logbook in the box with his personal stamp, and stamps his personal logbook with the box's stamp. The box's logbook keeps a record of all its visitors, and the hunters keep a record of all the boxes they have found, in their personal logbooks.
The above comes from the site of Letterboxing North America (LbNA), the website responsible for popularizing the Hobby in the United States after some folks read a 1998 Smithsonian Article on Dartmoor Letterboxing (May need to be a member to read.).
The spot seems to be Cranmere Pool on Dartmoor, a vast boggy area of SW England that is now a National Park.
Letterboxing, goes back over 150 years so it's possible that there are boxes hidden around the nation before the late 1990's, or even in the 19th century. ;-D
Letterboxing is apparently a bit of a secretive pastime in England, even though there is an informal Official Dartmoor Letterboxing Club, but according to LbNA "it is clear that there are other boxes from the olden days lying around this country, you just have to find the clues." ;-D
So...if you love the outdoors, and love the challenge of a good mystery, or of the hunt...or just love surprises, and even love Rubber Stamping, there are plenty of ways to get your fill of any or all of this. ;-D
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