March 16, 2006
Geocache me if you can
A GPS provides a fun way of looking for all sorts of treasures.

Jill Brooks
INtake columnist

On yet another cold weekend in Indiana, Love Interest and I took an overnight road trip to visit my brother and his family. We brought three bottles of wine, one for each of us and one to share, which helped us stay up late drinking and telling stories.

The next morning, at around 6, I heard my two nephews sliding on the hardwood floors, "bowling" each other over in their socks. Dishes knocking in the kitchen for what seemed an eternity, happy voices everywhere, I secretly hoped they'd all leave.

I'm a little grumpy in the morning.

An hour later, with more relentless dish clamoring, Love Interest and I both surfaced. I spoke for both of us when begging for a cup of coffee. Within minutes we had scrumptious omelets placed before us, and the all-American family smiling and asking what we wanted to do that day.
I asked my brother, "Aren't you hung over?"

He affirmed, and suggested we all go geocaching.

If you've not yet geocached (hunted treasure) you will need one Global Positioning System device; a computer on which to look up www.geocaching.com and find a cache's (not typically "cash") coordinates and details; and a car. Throw in a couple of kids and it's a field trip, which is both ideal and superfluous because many sites are on the open range.

My great outdoors family searched excitedly for hidden waterproof containers holding loot: nickels, beads, a Koosh ball and a log book (did my brother carry a pen, yes he did).

My brother and his wife are cold weather-friendly athletes, and their children adore vegetables; it's sickening, really, and I'm sure they look at my life as a sad, collapsing edifice in deep need of repair.

Love Interest and I huddled, ostensibly inspecting the boy's findings, our bones rattling with frigid fatigue.

I thought "WWHPD?" meaning, "What would Half-pint do," Laura Ingalls Wilder, the person I think about when I am cold, lost or suffering.

She would have built a shelter, no doubt, but besides a small copse of shrubs and a gravestone, I had little else with which to work.

I grabbed the GPS and participated.

On a clear and warmer day, when you might see forever, I'm sure geocaching is a lot of fun. Challenging terrain would help, too. At the time I'm writing this there are 242,156 active caches in 221 countries. In parental time that equals umpteen hours of virtually free (after GPS purchase) entertainment.

Love Interest and I decided we'd leave that to the experts.