Go on an adventure and find the hidden treasures in your own backyard
Geocaching is the world's largest treasure hunt - 13 On Your Side's Vanessa Gongora shares how you can get in on the adventure
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Hidden treasures are all around us, even in Yuma.
The 19th Annual Yuma Geocaching Mega Event is right around the corner bringing more than 700 people together from all over the world.
A worldwide treasure hunt right in your own backyard using just a GPS or your smartphone.
Geocaching is an outdoor family fun event using GPS to hide and seek hidden treasures called "geocaches" at specific locations.
They are marked by coordinates on the geocaching app.
The Southwest Arizona Geocachers (SWAG) also known as SWAG began in 2003.
Former SWAG President Dan Sheppard said the geocaching events have grown significantly over the years, from having 35 people attend events to now about 1,200 people.
Sheppard mentioned there are difficulty ratings from one to five and also a terrain rating.
"So that one is the easiest. Five usually requires specialized equipment like scuba gear or a boat or climbing equipment," explained Sheppard. "Then when you get to your location, if you find it, you open it up and you pull out the log sheet and you sign it with your geocaching name. You don't use your real name."
You then place the geocache back where you found it and log your experience online.
Kathy Cooper, SWAG member and flash mob developer said the caches you're looking for also range in size.
"And they can be any size from the tiniest little DNA tube to, I have found one where the cache container is a car," stated Cooper.
Cooper has quite the numbers finding almost over 16,000 geocaches.
Deborah Smith, SWAG member who goes by RxGAL, invites everyone out to join the excitement of geocaching.
"And the real reason is cause, well it's fun and you meet a lot of really cool people and you see a lot of places you wouldn't normally go," explained Smith. "You've got things in your neighborhood that you've never explored, but suddenly the microscope is there and you're learning something new about your neighborhood or your planning entire vacations around goals that you want to get into the geocaching game."
People are even traveling from different countries to be a part of this event.
"We have people coming from the Czech Republic, from Denmark, from Ontario Canada, British Columbia Canada, Germany," lists Smith.
You'll never know who you'll meet and what you'll find.
The geocaching event will be held on Sunday, February 5th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at West Wetlands Park.
You're encouraged to bring a GPS or a smartphone and any gadgets that may assist you in your search.
You can also find more information on geocaching here.
Another event SWAG is hosting is "Answer the Call" flash mob happening Friday, February 3 at 5:15 in Downtown Yuma on Third Street.
