Agenda:

1. Introduction of Candy
2. Geocaching Presentation
3. Geocaching Activity on Grounds

History and overview of Geocaching

Origin of geocaching: On May 2, 2000, at approximately midnight, eastern savings time, the switch controlling selective availability on US satellites was pressed. Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed their new orders, and instantly the accuracy of GPS technology improved tenfold. Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world had an instant upgrade.

The announcement a day before came as a welcome surprise to everyone who worked with GPS technology. The government had planned to remove selective availability but had until 2006 to do so. Now, the White House said, anyone could "precisely pinpoint their location or the location of items (such as game) left behind for later recovery."

For GPS enthusiasts, this was a cause for celebration. Internet newsgroups suddenly teemed with ideas about how the technology could be used.

On May 3, one such enthusiast, Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant, wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods. He called the idea the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted it in an internet GPS users' group. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit. The finder would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver. The rules for the finder were simple: "Take some stuff, leave some stuff."

On May 3rd Ulmer placed his own container, a black bucket, in the woods close to Beaver Creek, Oregon, near Portland. Along with a logbook and pencil, he left various prize items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot. He shared the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav:
N 45 17.460 W 122 24.800

Within three days, two different readers read about his stash on the Internet, used their own GPS receivers to find the container, and shared their experiences online. Throughout the next week, others excited by the prospect of hiding and finding stashes began hiding their own containers and posting coordinates. Like many new and innovative ideas on the Internet, the concept spread quickly - but this one required leaving your computer to participate.

Within the first month, Mike Teague, the first person to find Ulmer's stash, began gathering the online posts of coordinates around the world and documenting them on his personal home page. The "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list was created to discuss the emerging activity. Names were even tossed about to replace the name "stash" due to the negative connotations of that name. One such name was "geocaching."

Getting started with geocaching

Candy spoke about the many resources and local enthusiasts available to help those getting started (http://www.texasgeocaching.com/ and http://www.geocaching.com/). She also offered basic advice on how to select a GPS unit for geocaching: something sturdy, with a large visible screen and robust buttons. Expect to spend somewhere around $200 to get started.

Candy also shared information about the caches themselves:

1. Cache containers come in a variety of sizes, ranging from large ammo cans to small pill holders. Sturdy, waterproof containers with good seals are important to help protect a cache from the elements and from critters.
2. All caches have a physical log to sign and may include special instructions (such as adding to a story).
3. Some caches contain items to trade and some do not (often because the cache container is too small).
4. All cache items must be child-friendly.
5. Caches are hidden well but never buried.
6. Some caches require the person to solve puzzles or go through multiple steps before locating the final location.
7. The game includes trackable items, also known as "travel bugs", which can be moved between caches and are tracked on-line.
8. The cache owner must maintain the cache over time, for example by replacing the log when it fills up. Visitors to a cache that requires maintenance uses the internet to report on cache conditions and help others maintain their caches.
9. Cache locations are published on the internet and visitors enter their visits so everyone can see the activity at each cache.
10. There is huge competition for being FTF (first to find) for a newly placed cache.

Finally, Candy (with assistance from Vicki) led groups on a geocaching adventure on the NI grounds. Each of two groups used borrowed GPS devices to search for five different caches (placed temporarily especially for this event).