I mentioned geocaching in a post yesterday and realized that I hadn't discussed it in detail.
About seven years ago, Dan and Dorinda, our son and daughter-in-law, introduced us to this new hobby and we have done it, off and on, ever since. Basically, it involves using a GPS to locate hidden caches, or stored items. A website, geocaching.com, lists more than 1.5 million caches throughout the World. You can go to their website and find the coordinates of caches near your home or wherever you might be traveling.
Put the coordinates into your GPS and then follow it to the cache! The caches usually have a log for you to sign as well as trinkets to be traded. You can also use special apps on smart phones in lieu of a GPS. It is a great way to get outside and see things you might not have otherwise seen! It's also a good way to spend some great time with your children or grandchildren. Kids really seem to enjoy this hobby!
While Louise and I haven't been really serious about it, we do have about 80 finds in twelve different states. Some people have totals of over 1000 finds.
If you have some spare time, get out and give it a try!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Wandering Around South Texas
Today, Louise and I decided to go for a drive. It rained "cats and dogs" last night and today it is cloudy and gloomy! All in all, it's a good day for a drive.
We headed north on US 77 toward Raymondville and then turned east, headed for Port Mansfield. I had been there but Louise never had. Just a couple of miles out of Port Mansfield, Louise said, "Look out the left side of the Jeep!". I looked and saw the strangest herd of animals I had ever seen. They resembled deer or antelope but were bigger and had faces like cows. I know what you are thinking but this was at 10 a.m. and I was completely sober.
As luck would have it, I had neglected to bring the camera and couldn't get close enough to them to take a picture with the phone. They were very skittish!
When we got into Port Mansfield, I stopped at the first convenience store we came to and I asked the clerk what we had seen. He said that they were Nilgai, a relative to antelopes. Since I dont have a picture, you will have to "Google" it to see what they look like.
A little research revealed that they were brought to the US from India in the mid-20th century to be hunted. As often happens, some of them escaped and they are now established in South Texas with a population of about 30-40,000 animals. They have always thrived in India because they look a bit like cows in the face and Hindus, of course, think cows are sacred.
A short time later, we were doing some geocaching in Port Mansfield and found a new (to us) species of deer. These animals were almost tame but I don't know what they are. I figure one new species a day is enough!
We headed north on US 77 toward Raymondville and then turned east, headed for Port Mansfield. I had been there but Louise never had. Just a couple of miles out of Port Mansfield, Louise said, "Look out the left side of the Jeep!". I looked and saw the strangest herd of animals I had ever seen. They resembled deer or antelope but were bigger and had faces like cows. I know what you are thinking but this was at 10 a.m. and I was completely sober.
As luck would have it, I had neglected to bring the camera and couldn't get close enough to them to take a picture with the phone. They were very skittish!
When we got into Port Mansfield, I stopped at the first convenience store we came to and I asked the clerk what we had seen. He said that they were Nilgai, a relative to antelopes. Since I dont have a picture, you will have to "Google" it to see what they look like.
A little research revealed that they were brought to the US from India in the mid-20th century to be hunted. As often happens, some of them escaped and they are now established in South Texas with a population of about 30-40,000 animals. They have always thrived in India because they look a bit like cows in the face and Hindus, of course, think cows are sacred.
A short time later, we were doing some geocaching in Port Mansfield and found a new (to us) species of deer. These animals were almost tame but I don't know what they are. I figure one new species a day is enough!
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