After mass yesterday, the four of us were looking for something fun to do. Sloan then suggested the perfect idea: geocaching.

We dipped our feet into the world of geocaching late last year when we went to a couple sites during winter break. However, with the arrival of longer days and warmer temperatures, Sloan figured the conditions were more favorable to resume our geocache expeditions.

Sloan holds her first-ever Geocache capsule that we found in December 2023 outside the Safeway store on 32nd and Pines in Spokane Valley.

For those who don’t know, geocaching is an activity where people use their smart phones to navigate to specific places marked by coordinates. Once at these various spots, the goal is to find the cache that is usually creatively hidden within the natural environment. We like to think of it as modern-day treasure hunting. And, if you know anything about kids, you know they love a good treasure hunt.

As I mentioned, during the winter we scoped out a couple different geocache sites. At the first one, we didn’t even find the cache! With Sidney now part of our squad, we decided to begin our day of hunting by going back to that same spot. I thought my wife would push us over the edge and find it herself. But guess what? Sloan was the one who found it. This particular cache was hiding in a fake rock at the location that had alluded us back in December. I couldn’t believe Sloan sniffed it out!

Sidney, Sloan, and Beau look for the geocache at the location that stumped us back in December.

You see, caches are usually hidden in tubes, kits, and bottles. From all our research, we never suspected that a fake rock with a sliding bottom door would house one. That big find by Sloan instilled confidence within us for the rest of the afternoon.

By using the geocache app, we visited three additional spots to look for caches. Even though we chose locations near us, the specific places we visited were completely new to us.

Beau investigates the contents of a geocache. Wearing a Spiderman costume will give you an advantage when on the hunt.

Our first new spot was an old dairy farm. It is now an out-of-the-way, overgrown park but learning about the history was fascinating. Sloan found the cache kit in a corner of the grounds…

Sloan found this Geocache kit in an old dairy farm. It has since been converted into a very basic park.

Our geocache adventure then took us to a small pioneer cemetery. Many of the graves were from the 1800s and with it being Memorial Day weekend, the visit was very timely. In addition to finding the cache under a bench, I taught the kids about cemetery etiquette and respect for the dead…

One geocache hunt took us to Saltese Cemetery. Sloan looks on as Beau opens the cache.

We concluded our hunt in a neighborhood we never knew existed. We had to navigate through some bushes but eventually found the kit without drawing too much attention from the neighbors who were outside enjoying the pleasant Sunday…

Sloan holds the geocache kit we found in a random neighborhood.

If you are looking for something unique, inexpensive, and educational to do with your children this upcoming summer, consider geocaching. With our adventure yesterday, I think Sid and I opened up a can of worms with Sloan and Beau. Don’t be surprised to find the Resers roaming around random spots in the Spokane Valley over the next couple of months. Don’t Blink.