By Kathryn Millhorn
Treasure hunting can take various forms in our pirate-free age. Whether it’s sea glass at the shore, found objects on nature hikes, or new-to-you delights from a thrift shop, the fun is in the hunt. For intrepid, high tech pirates of the 21st century, all you need is a GPS enabled device and sense of exploration!
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Washington State Park system, they’ve partnered with the Timberland Regional Library in an area-wide GeoChallenge. By using a mobile app, the Washington State Parks Pocket Ranger, developed by ParksByNature Network, GPS coordinates, and the great outdoors, readers earn points towards amazing prizes while exploring our region’s expansive parks and libraries.
Based on the real life treasure-hunt that is geocaching, the GeoChallenge encourages outdoor exploration. Geocaching began in 2000 near Portland, Oregon as a hidden prize stash, a logbook, and a pencil. Participants were provided with nothing more than GPS coordinates and a note to “take some stuff, leave some stuff.” Since then, www.Geocaching.com claims there “are 2,201,434 active geocaches and over 6 million geocachers worldwide.”
After a simple online registration, GeoChallenge participants visit parks and libraries in Thurston, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Pacific, and Mason counties. By logging their visits via the downloadable app, cachers earn points towards prizes including iTunes gift cards, Discover Passes, and outdoor apparel and gear.
Washington State Parks Creative Services Manager Sandy Mealing praises the joint venture. “This challenge combines our high tech lifestyle with health and fitness by getting folks outside for walks. The GeoChallenge is a great match for state parks because no ground has to be disturbed. The coordinates are logged and marked digitally on the mobile app,” explains Mealing.
Easy to reach parks score participants 5 points while more difficult locations are worth up to 20. The contest runs through September 30 and an online leaderboard tracks not only your current statistics but the competition frontrunners. With easily-reachable parks like Tolmie State Park in Olympia, it’s simple to rack up points with little driving or even over a lunch break! The south Puget Sound area has over 20 state parks to explore, and can make for a wonderful full or part-day excursion.
Timberland Regional Library’s website features a map combining state parks with their nearby libraries. By encouraging “reading and exercise…this is a great family activity because it gets families outdoors. It’s fun and easy to do,” says Mealing. “In Western Washington, we know the weather typically turns even nicer right after kids go back to school! So this will help families stay active into the early part of fall.”
The Park and Read GeoChallenge runs through September 30, with over $100 in prizes awarded soon after by the mobile app partner, ParksByNature Network. The Washington State Parks network is active on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and YouTube, showcasing its immense system of over 100 parks, trails, recreation programs, and activities. Combine that with over 25 libraries in the Timberland Regional Library system and you’ve got quite a GeoChallenge ahead of you!
The Washington State Parks system website also includes more ideas for geocache activities and games.
May the best explorer win!
Thrifty Thurston highlights inexpensive family fun in Thurston County. The weekly series focuses on family-friendly activities throughout our community. If you have a suggestion for a post, send us a note at submit@thurstontalk.com. For more events and to learn what’s happening in Olympia and the surrounding area, click here.
