5 Reasons to Geocache on a Road Trip

David and I are headed to New Hampshire--by car.  In the good old days, we aimed to drive as far as possible to get to where we knew we had to go--quickly. Anyone who is reading this with kids knows why--- 300-450 miles in a day were not uncommon.

Several years ago, my daughter, Vicki, introduced us to Geocaching which I wrote about in a previous post.  I don't geocache usually around home much--too busy with work or unmotivated.  Road trips, though, are a different matter.  My kids are not into it, others don't understand why, so I thought I would enlighten everyone why Road Trip Geocaching works for us (usually)

1.  We get to see things that we wouldn't ever think of seeing,

"Car Art" geocache in Erie

Jerome, Arizona, graveyard--a location of a geocache

2.  Geocaching offers an excuse to take a break while driving

3.  Geocaching gives opportunities for exercise---long walks are commonplace

4.  Geocaching has allowed me to learn identify most counties in Virginia (plus other states).  We have a few counties to go---we'll do some of them later on during this trip (headed to Virginia Beach in a week!)  For whatever reason, David feels obligated to keep track of these counties--we've cached in all of the ones that are filled in.  This seems a bit OCD to me---but that's what happens when a husband has too much time on his hands.

5.  I like to learn a bit of history and geography through Virtual and Earth caches.  Some places don't actually let you hide caches so the finder needs to either pose at a selected site, or answer questions about the history or geographical features.  I've learned a lot about all types of things that I never have thought about ranging from minor Civil War skirmishes to the geography of the Grand Canyon.  Usually, the final task for these types of 'caches' is to take a photo and upload it to the geocaching website.   Hence, this Grand Canyon shot from Christmas break.

That's all for now!  I'll be posting pictures from New Hampshire and Maine soon, along with other reasons for enjoying this hobby on a road trip.