Alphabet Park Hill: Letters B, C, D and December 2012 Winners
December 2012’s winners:
Last month, the first two letters of the alphabet were published. The Letter A was discovered on Sunday, December 2 by Lucy Walker and Hazel Nyce. The Letter B has yet to be found! Hunt, find and take your photo next to letters B, C and/or D in January, and you too can have your photo printed in the pages of the GPHN. Photos must be submitted electronically to evanderberg@greaterparkhill.org.
LETTER B:
Don’t tread on me,
I am the B!
I look white,
but am not quite
So white as shirts from the shop nearby me.
N 39.75089
W -104.93343
LETTER C:
I know a letter named C
Who has big wishes does she.
C may help you in,
but sadly she’s never been
Inside where the books will be.
N39.74777 W-104.93252
LETTER D:
Mr D wants to be
inside the shop.
But he must stop,
at the door.
never inside will he see.
Poor D.
N39.7493 W-104.9173
Geocaching: An American Invention
By Erin Vanderberg/Editor
At midnight on May 2, 2000, 24 satellites stationed around the globe processed new software instructions, and instantly all the world’s GPS devices began receiving much more accurate location details.
GPS enthusiast Dave Ulmer wanted to test the accuracy of the new system by hiding a navigational target in the woods near his home in Beavercreek, Oregon. Dave called the idea the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt” and posted the necessary information on May 3 to an Internet GPS user’s group. He hid a container and noted the coordinates N 45º 17.460 W 122º 24.800 with his handheld GPS unit.
The finder would then have to use a GPS receiver to locate the container. Then the finder would open the container, take out a small “treasure” and leave a new trinket in the box for the next person to find.
Within three days, two different readers who read about the hunt on the Internet used their own GPS receivers to find the container. They shared their experiences online. Throughout the next week, others excited by the prospect of hiding and finding stashes, began hiding their own containers and posting coordinates. Like many new and innovative ideas on the Internet, the concept spread quickly. Today, there are nearly 2 million active geocaches worldwide.
The name for this new hobby is a combination of words. The prefix, geo, meaning earth, was used to describe the global nature of the activity. Cache has two meanings: the original definition refers to a hiding place for temporarily storing items; the second meaning has a technology reference – memory cache is computer storage that is used to quickly retrieve frequently used information.
Today, it is easy to create a geocache. Simply hide a treasure, mark the coordinates and register with geocaching.com. Watch as others find your location and trade your “hide” for a replacement treasure they have brought with them.
Geocaching is great fun and captures the imagination of young and old alike. Find out more at geocaching.com and start having treasure hunting fun today!