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Indiana Jones meets the high tech 21st
century as GeoCaching (pronounced GEO-cashing) fever
spreads worldwide. Armed with nothing more than a
hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver
and a desire for adventure people of all ages become
amateur treasure hunters as they set out to find
hidden stashes.
The term GeoCaching was first coined by
Matt Stum on the “GPS Stash Hunt” internet mailing
list in May 2000 as GPS enthusiasts on internet
newsgroups came up with ideas about how the
technology could be used. Treasures or “caches” are
hidden just about anywhere; on hiking trails, city
parks and suburban shopping centers. Clues to the
location of these treasures including GPS
coordinates are then posted on internet websites.
The treasures may be a small trinket
such as a pin or “GeoCoin” (a coin made specifically
for GeoCaching) or it may simply be a log on which
the finder signs their name. For most GeoCachers
it’s not the treasure but the thrill of the hunt
that has them addicted.
In Greensboro, Triad Highland Games has
minted several Special Edition GeoCoins in honor of
its twinning with the City of Inverness Highland
Games in Scotland and has hidden these coins in
GeoCaches around the Triad. Several of these coins
have also been sent directly to Inverness Scotland
where they too will be hidden with a possibility of
several being placed at the site of the World Games
in July 2007.
Each coin is stamped with a unique
serial number which will enable people to go online
and track its journey around the world. As
GeoCachers find the coins they will log the location
of the find on the internet before they place the
coin into a new cache location. The mission of these
coins is to travel to Scottish Highland Games and
festivals across the globe promoting Scottish
heritage worldwide.
Triad Highland Games which hold its
annual Scottish Highland Games the first weekend of
May has been twinned with the City of Inverness
Highland Games in Scotland since 1999 and together
they have been working to bridge the distance
between North Carolina and Scotland while promoting
a common heritage. Triad Highland Games is very
proud to be the first Highland Games in the United
States to twin with a Highland Games in Scotland.
The city of Inverness is in the heart of the
Scottish highlands and hosts one of the largest and
oldest Games in Scotland.
The Special Edition coins show the Triad
Highland Games logo on the front side with a special
message in Gaelic greeting the finder with “One
Hundred Thousand Welcomes”. On the reverse both the
St. Andrews and Lion Rampant flags of Scotland are
depicted along with the message “Help Me Home”.
Information on GeoCaching and GeoCoin
tracking may be found online at
www.geocaching.com. Simply enter Triad Highland
Games into the ‘trackable by name’ field to follow
the journey of the Triad Highland Games Special
Edition coin around the world. Additional
information on Triad Highland Games may be found
online at
www.triadhighlandgames.org. |
