South West Arizona Geocachers celebrate 20 years in Yuma
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - You ever walk down the street, find something you think is interesting, and ever wonder to yourself, 'Who would leave this here'? Well, more often than not, it might just be a local geocacher.
What is a geocacher?
"Geocaching in effect is treasure hunting to put it in a nutshell," said Dan Shepard, a member of the South West Arizona Geocachers, or S*W*A*G. "What we do is with all the satellites up in the sky, we can now use those satellites to just find little containers, wherever they are hidden."
Geocaching is for anyone, old or young, who is looking for an adventure or is looking to explore their surrounding areas. It's no wonder how each year more and more people get involved in geocaching.
"There's a website called geocaching.com, as well as an app for your phone," said Shepard. "Anybody can join. You don't have to be a member, but if you become a member, you can get a lot more information to get more geocaches."
Geocaching "prizes" can come in all shapes and sizes.
"Each "cach" itself will tell you what size it is," said Shepard. "They can come in all sorts of sizes. From micro, which can be something [smaller than your hand] to something that can be really large like a great big box."
Geocaching is something that you don't need a lot of knowledge of to get involved. You just have to have an open mind and a passion for adventure and exploration.
"You probably don't know this, but someone in your neighborhood just might be a geocacher. It really is for everyone," said Shepard.
The South West Arizona Geocachers are celebrating 20 years in Yuma County. They say that the continued support each and every year is what makes it so special.
"It's just nice to have the city and the parks department involved," said Shepard. "For us, it means a lot because we do bring a lot of people to our event. We get people from all over the world. A lot of them are from Europe, South Africa, Australia, [the] Czech Republic; and then of course all over the U.S., Canada, and Mexico."
If you too would like to get involved in the fun, join S*W*A*G's mega event on Sunday, February 4 at West Wetlands Park. They will also have a flag ceremony dedication given by the City of Yuma and the American Legion.
