Bill's Spokesman-Review Debut

Bill is becoming a columnist, it seems. He writes about trees for forestry newsletters, and this morning, he made his debut in the Spokane Spokesman-Review newspaper's "Boomer U" Monday feature. 

The topic:  geocaching. 

The focus:  geocaching for boomers with a teaser about his recent Irish geocaching experiences, as pictured above.

That's an Annie Love photo by the way, taken just after recording a cache at Valentia Island in Ireland's Ring of Kerry.   

Annie Love---just in case you didn't know--works for Groundspeak, Inc. in Seattle, the company that runs the geocaching.com website.

Bill's regional newspaper column debut---it may be a while before he gets his byline in the Spokesman again----happened, thanks to an invitation by my former student, family friend and Spokesman writer Erica Curless.

Because of her lifelong association with our family, Erica tends to know what we're up to, especially when we do a lot of public broadcasting of our trip to Ireland, which included a geocaching tour set up by Annie.

All the stars apparently lined up recently for Erica to assign Bill a 400-word column, discussing geocaching/boomers/Ireland.  He managed to do a pretty good job, capturing all aspects in this morning's column. 

Since the print newspaper did not have enough room for the photo above, I included it in today's announcement and lead-in to Bill's piece.  

Another longer, informative and fun feature story, written by Erica,  with photos about geocaching for Boomers accompanies Bill's column.

I must also report that the lady named Jacquie Vaughan in one of the photos was one of Annie's teammates when they geocached the ET Highway in Nevada last fall, recording about 2,400 caches. 

Anyway, with no further ado, you can find the longer feature at http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2014/apr/28/cache-of-the-day/

I've cut and pasted Bill's column below.

Few tourists ever visit Culoo Head. Only a few local anglers casting for cod or pilgrims trekking to St. Brendan’s baptismal pool go there. But during the past 10 years, 450 geocachers have searched for the Atlantic Whirlpool geocache on this beautiful, but rugged, southwest coastline of Ireland. I signed the logbook for this interesting geocache on a recent family trip to Ireland.

Geocaching involves using a GPS unit or smartphone to locate hidden containers. Locations and instructions for finding these containers can be found on the website geocaching.com. This high-tech game of treasurer hunting began near Portland in 2000 and quickly spread around the world. Actually, out of this world – as the International Space Station contains a geocache.

Geocaching appeals to all ages, as who doesn’t enjoy the thrill of finding a hidden treasure. While ideally suited as a family activity, many baby boomers use geocaching to explore new areas during their retirement travels. It is also a great way to get the grandkids outdoors.

Whether snowbirding to the desert Southwest in an RV or globetrotting to exotic destinations, boomers can discover jewels that few locals know about. Pull off at a freeway rest area to stretch your legs and walk the dog and there’s likely a geocache to find. But the real treasures require a little exploring.

For example, the Atlantic Whirlpool geocache located on the popular Ring of Kerry drive near Killarney takes you onto some back roads to Valentia Island. You know you’re getting close to Ireland’s western most point when you see “Next Pint New York” painted on the side of O’Sheay’s pub. 

Drive a little farther to the designated car park where a band of sheep will greet you. Then walk about half a mile to find the geocache hidden in a centuries-old rock fence. Don’t stop there; just follow the sound of waves hitting rock cliffs and you have arrived at Culoo Rock. Marvel at the view.

Most baby boomers, myself included, don’t spend every minute traveling to breathtaking destinations. Check out the geocaching.com website and you will likely discover a geocache along the route to the bingo game at your local senior citizens center. Waiting to have your prescriptions filled allows enough time to find a geocache or two. What are you waiting for?