Escapees September-October 2023

Types of Caches In addition to traditional caches, there are several other types just waiting to be found. Mystery caches, letterbox hybrid caches and night caches are just a few. But for RVers, a most intriguing idea is the Groundspeak Travel Bug. And, this bug only has legs if it is found and moved. Travel bugs have trackable tags and are typically attached to something fun, like a toy tractor or a teddy bear. Geocachers list their bugs, coordinates and stories on the Groundspeak Travel Bug website. Like your typical RVer, travel bugs want to move. They have places to go and things to see. Some bugs have tasks such as seeing the sunrise on the Atlantic and the sunset on the Paci fi c or visiting a group of National Parks or landmarks. When found, the treasure hunter uses the tracking number to learn about the travel bug’s on-the-road desires. The travel bug is logged, noting that it’s on the move and dropped into a cache along its journey. That last part is important. Respect the travel bug’s goal as best as possible. If it’s found in Texas and its goal is to see Saguaro cactus, please do not take it further east. Leave it for a west-bound treasure hunter. Hiding a Geocache After fi nding 20 or more caches, you are quali fi ed to hide your own for others to discover. One caveat, Geocaching.com asks that geocache owners only hide caches that they will be able to maintain. If you are a full-time RVer, placing and maintaining a cache might not be for you. But if it is, you’ll want to choose a loca tion, get accurate coordinates by physically visiting the cache site and rate the dif fi culty and terrain (D/T) on a scale of one to fi ve. Choose a durable, weatherproof container (not a ZipLoc) and include a logbook (and trade trinkets if you’re using them). Place your cache in its hiding spot, then complete and submit a cache page for review. You may get questions from a volunteer reviewer. Once the process is approved, your cache is live. Remember to maintain it by replac ing the logbook when full, checking on the cache every so often to see that it’s still doing well, and responding quickly to

any “needs maintenance” logs. Geocache owners have an owner maintenance tool on their Dashboards to help keep them up to date on their hides (including seeing comments and photos). What About Waymarking? If you are more into discovering interesting, off-the-beaten-track places, architecture, art, etc., waymarking might be for you. While geocaches are a treasure hunt with a reward, waymarking is all about fascinating, niched locations, treasures themselves. Another Groundspeak, Inc. project, Waymarking.com describes a waymark as “a physical location on the planet marked by coordinates (latitude/longitude) and contains unique information de fi nedby its waymark category.” And the categories are plentiful. What tickles your fancy? Unique Artistic Door Handles and Knockers? Vintage Gas Stations? Natural Arches? On the waymarking site, you’ll fi nd coordinates to 1,087,523 varied and vast waymarks worldwide. Perhaps of particular interest to RVers, there are categories for Civilian Conservation Corps (513), Public Access Lands ( 514), Water (Nature) (4708) and Parks/Reserves (9691). While you do not need an account to search the waymark categories and fi nd GPS coordinates, you must register on the Waymark app to make a comment or add a waymark. Treasure Awaits Whether you are a camping family or curious couple, hikers, riders or drivers, on the lookout for niche interests or open for any adventure, geocaching and/or waymark ing are wonderful ways to enjoy the great outdoors and satisfy the explorer in us. Go ahead, get a feel for what it must be like to fi nd the Dial of Destiny, even if your name isn’t Indiana Jones.

EVANNE SCHMARDER is sure she got the wanderlust bug from her grandparents. In 2000, she and her husband, Ray, set o ff on their own adventure. Eighteen-plus years later, they’re still roaming the country, sharing interesting destinations and cooking up delicious RV kitchen recipes in their popular

RV TV series, RVCookingShow.com.

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September/October 2023 ESCAPEES Magazine