[May 14, 2012]    

Saturday morning, several people gathered at the Logan County Extension office to learn a thing or two about geocaching.

Tom Hankins of the Central Illinois Geocaching Association spoke to attendees about the hobby-sport which, in the simplest of terms, is a scavenger hunt using GPS. 

Caches are hidden in obscure places. Using GPS coordinates, hunters look for hidden treasure. Caches are usually found in small tin boxes. Inside there is a trinket that can be taken by the finder and replaced with a new one. Or the finder can simply sign the little paper inside to indicate they were there and then move on to the next one.

Geocaching uses GPS and a vehicle, but also includes using your sense of sight and your reasoning ability, generally all while getting in a little hiking exercise along the way.

Pictures by Nila Smith

Tom Hankins shares his passion; geocaching, with the group at the Extension office.

The Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County sponsored the weekend's geocaching events.

In his PowerPoint presentation, he shows just how many caches are in this region.

Geocaching is a sport with no age limits. It offers participants a chance to see new sights, enjoy the outdoors and fine- tune their GPS skills.

 

It is also a great family activity. As everyone knows, kids are terrific at playing hide-and-seek.

Guests offer a round of applause for Hankins as he wraps up his presentation.

 

This little gal is Nancy Saul's granddaughter.

She and Saul's grandson were chosen to help with the door prize drawings after the presentation.