| Are you looking for fresh ways to spend time | | | | most geocachers enjoy playing the game in their |
| with your friends and family? Outdoor activities | | | | own neighborhoods. It's awesome! |
| getting a little boring are they? With your fast | | | | If a GPS receiver isn't in your budget right now, |
| paced life gaining speed all the time, it's easy to | | | | perhaps you might give Letterboxing a try. |
| stick to what's familiar; but is that any way to | | | | Letterboxing is similar to geocaching in that you |
| live? Let's take a few minutes and look at how | | | | are searching for a hidden treasure, but in this |
| easy it is to break out of the same-ole-routine | | | | case it is called a box not a cache and you use |
| and into the new with wholesome activities near | | | | clues versus coordinates to locate the treasure. |
| home and out of doors. Read on to see why it's | | | | There are other components to the Letterboxing |
| tough to beat having fun with friends and family | | | | game such as rubber stamps and log books. |
| outdoors in the fresh air. | | | | Letterboxing is inexpensive, loads of fun and |
| One of the first things we notice as we step | | | | addictive. |
| outdoors and into nature is that we are not alone. | | | | So what's next? How about the oldest of all |
| Life surrounds us. So the first thing to do is to | | | | outdoor hobbies? That's right, stargazing. If you |
| slow down and have a look around. While you're | | | | live in a large city and spend all of your time |
| looking, why not do some bird watching. It's fun, | | | | there, it's easy to forget about the night sky |
| easy to do and inexpensive. All you need are birds | | | | because you can't see it. But it's still there and |
| and they are everywhere. Make a family game | | | | provides breath taking views that are impossible |
| out of it. Who can find the first bird with the color | | | | to communicate. So grab a jacket, a pair of |
| blue on it? How many ducks are on the pond? | | | | binoculars and a loved one and go somewhere |
| Are they all the same kind? You get the idea. But | | | | nearby where you can have an unobstructed |
| be careful, once you start bird watching you'll find | | | | view of the night sky with as little light pollution as |
| it difficult to stop. Before long you'll have a good | | | | possible. With a pair of binoculars you should be |
| pair of birding binoculars and a field guide for your | | | | able to see man-made satellites, the moons of |
| part of the country. Then you'll be a bird watcher | | | | Jupiter and craters on our own Moon. Once you |
| with birding fever. The best part of bird watching | | | | catch the stargazing fever you'll move up to a |
| is spending time with others outdoors; and birding | | | | telescope where you can point it virtually |
| is a hobby you'll love for the rest of your life. | | | | anywhere in the night sky and be awe struck. |
| If you need a sport that's a little more high tech, | | | | There is so much available to us outdoors. Try |
| give geocaching a shot. Geocaching is the sport | | | | something new like bird watching, geocaching, |
| where you use your handheld GPS receiver to | | | | letterboxing or stargazing. Each of these activities |
| find caches hidden by others using their GPS | | | | has a large on-line community ready to share its |
| receivers. This is something you can do by | | | | sport, its tips and its passion with you. Visit our |
| yourself, with friends or with your children. | | | | on-line education center and we'll point you in the |
| Geocaching teaches outdoor navigation in a fun | | | | right direction. |
| and interactive way while allowing you to explore | | | | Not everyone has the skill or desire to climb |
| your own neighborhood and beyond. You'll learn | | | | Mount Everest, hike the Appalachian Trail or sail |
| new words and phrases such as cache | | | | the world's oceans. But there is something |
| coordinates, travel bugs, micro-caches, | | | | everyone can do near their own homes that will |
| benchmarking and geoteaming. All you need is | | | | open the eyes and their minds to the beauty of |
| internet access and a GPS receiver; some GPS | | | | nature. Take a few hours this week and spend it |
| receivers retail for many hundreds of dollars but | | | | outdoors with someone you like. Use this |
| many models are available for around $100. | | | | information and you'll Get It Right The First Time. |
| Although the sport is active in over 200 countries, | | | | Get Outdoors! |