Sunday, May 24, 2009

Our First Geocaching Adventure!

I've been hearing a lot about geocaching, and thought it might be 
something fun to do with the children. Really, who doesn't like 
treasure hunting?
So I registered on the official geocaching website, and found the 
coordinates of the nearest geocache, or treasure. The rule for this 
game is 'take something, leave something'.
We got together a few items we were wanting to leave as our treasure 
for someone else to find, and put them in a container to guard from 
the elements.
Then we armed ourselves with Off Skin-tastic Mosquito spray, and set 
off on our adventure!

We stopped along the way to look at this interesting plant growing in the swamp, 
and had just mentioned how we hadn't seen Mr. Muskrat since last summer.
Then we noticed something moving among the brushes... 

we were so thrilled to see him again! 

We watched the muskrat as he swam 
back over to where his home is, then went on with our adventure.

My GPS device lead us to a nearby spot, where we then ventured a short distance into 
the woods. 

nothing yet...

The hint on the website said, "Don't STUMP on it."
We looked around every tree stump we could find in that vicinity, although there are tons of stumps in the woods.  

So we didn't find the treasure today, but the children weren't 
discouraged as we found many other natural treasures...

While in the woods, one of the children found what I consider to be a 
provincial treasure; a gathering of Trilliums! 

Did you know that if someone were to pick a trillium, it would take years before it would 
flower again? That's one reason why they are a protected species. 
We also talked about how the white flowers turn pink as they age. 
Neat, eh?

We even got to do a little bird watching.

The children love to spot birds that we don't often see.
We were so fortunate to catch this one in action!

On our return, we spotted a Painted Turtle on a log. What a good 
view of it! They are usually smaller, and farther away.

We worked up a good appetite, so it was time for lunch!
Stay tuned for our next geocaching adventure, where we are determined
to find the treasure!


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