Geocaching – A Great Way to Find Hidden Gems Near You

Our mile + walk to cache number 1.

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It’s locked – where is the key?

“It’s locked, where is the key?”

“I don’t see it anywhere”

*Checks Geocaching app for clues, and realize the key is in a different place than the Cache*

Walking, wandering, searching.

“Found it!”

“Oh Crap, the key is locked in…” (this time with a code)

Our last Cache of the day while easy to find would turn out to be the hardest to open.

On Our Way to Get the March Equinox Geocaching Souvenir

With a goal of finding at least three geocaches between March 17-23 for the Equinox Souviner, my friend Sheri and I started with a short list of caches. We had no idea what we were in for.

From the first one being over a mile hike uphill to find it – we won’t talk about my out of shape complaints…. But it was a beautiful scenic view with some tiny hidden gems along the way. I loved the heart on the tree.

The heart on a tree - our first example of how geocaching is a great way to find hidden gems
A heart on a tree during our hike

After our hike, we returned to the car to continue our mission. Who knew the next stop would turn out to be one of my favorite geocaches ever? A cache hidden in a HUGE and BEAUTIFUL Fairy Garden.

While the Fairy Garden was easy to find, it took us a few minutes to find the cache. Ok, maybe because we were taking pictures. So many things to photograph, explore and experience. And an example of how geocaching is a great way to find hidden gems – even near home.

An amazing Fairy Garden - second example of how geocaching is a great way to find hidden gems
The most amazing Fairy Garden ever

Finding the Key – and another hidden Gem

“Wait, how are we supposed to figure out the code?”

*Checks notes in the Geocache app again*

“We need to answer 6 Batman questions”

“Maybe we should go inside for dinner while we figure this out”

Solving the Puzzle and Entering….

We decided to walk to Mama’s Mercantile & Eatery (amazing food and service!) and spent our meal time determining the code.

I’m not going to say that we didn’t have any more hiccups in finding the cache, but the remaining ones were us not using our brains LOL. The experience was like a combination of Escape Room type puzzles, but for a geocache.

Once we figured out the code we went back out, gained access to the key and opened….the BATCAVE.

I have to say that this was one of my favorite Geocaching Days ever – you never know what you are going to find (or not). And in this case it was multiple hidden gems – from a beautiful nature trail, to a giant Fairy Garden, to getting into the Batcave. And the icing on the cake was Mama’s Mercantile & Eatery which I will definitely visit again.

And then…the BatCave - the final step on our hidden gem journey
The Locked BatCave

The Next Adventure (for more hidden gems!)

Whenever I visit a new place, I try to do at least one Geocache. You get a souvenir in your account for each State, and Country you find a cache in. If you are on the Geocaching email list you will also get notifications of the other souvenirs you can get.

But my next Geocaching goal? Not a souvenir – but to hit 200 hundred finds. Just 21 more to go!

Interested in Geocaching and want to learn more?

Since finding our first cache in July of 2015, geocaching has been a family favorite for many years – especially when we travel. A great way to find hidden gems, or explore during downtime. Here is a link to my first geocaching post with more examples of favorite caches and how to get started. You can also go to the official Geocaching website to learn more and create your account.

Where are my fellow geocachers, and what is/was your favorite geocaching experience? Comment Below!

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