Geocaching: Create One!

It’s time to create a geocache we can call our own. Today we just received a bunch of stickers with the Geocaching logo as we plan to register the cache on geocaching.com.

We have some plans to hide the caches in the area around Eidsvåg as we want to maintain the content as well. We were thinking of placing one on top of Orretua, and maybe a couple of caches around Langevatnet as well. There is already a bunch of caches there, but we would like to place some new ones as well in places we have already thought out …

Stay tuned for updates on where we place the first caches … hopefully it will be in the near future :D

Geocaching: First Adventure

This weekend was full of adventure for the family as a whole. We went geocaching, or simply put, treasure hunting! We started planning a couple of days in advance by downloading all caches for the area we wanted to visit to my HTC Hero that has geocaching’s app installed. Having everything available for offline use is something I would strongly recommend, or else it might become an expensive ordeal … ;)

We went hiking by Langevatnet and Munkebotn, a recreation area we use a lot as it is close by our house. Starting the hike we made our first stop by Ishuset (the ice house) which is situated at the lower end of Langevatnet. Tracking the cache from the ice house proved a bit challenging as we did not really know how accurate our GPS was; however, we soon found it was VERY accurate. Down to one 1 meter off the target. With the help of the hint we had no problem finding our first official cache! The kids were ecstatic, and a little bit wet …

Having placed the first cache-find back at its location we continued the hike and ended up at Indianersletten (Indian plain). Here the forest was a little bit more dense leaving the GPS on my phone second guessing the location. Nevertheless, after walking a little bit back and forth we found the cache, and once it was found all the kids (4 in total) swarmed around the box to open it, see inside, and add their name to the log book! Fast learners!

All good things come in threes, and the third find of the day certainly made our day. The final cache of the day was by Garpetjern (Garpe pond); however, getting up to the pond we took a wrong turn going up hill when we should have followed the path around the hill. It ended up being an adventurous hike up the hill and down again through the forest with four kids running back and forth along the rocky edges trying to find our way down again towards the cache. After the off piste hike the reward of finally finding it, and the admittance of actually taking the wrong turn, we all had a great laugh!

The hike was a definite success and something we will do again, or as often as possible when we are outdoors. TFTH!

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Geocaching: Modern Life Treasure Hunting!

The other day at work I was made aware of the term Geocaching. What is Geocaching you may ask? Well, it’s simply put a cache someone has placed at a geographical position outdoors. Hmmm … what is a cache? It may be a box, canister … whatever that may hold something.

The whole idea is to leave something out there for someone to find. Typically we are talking about a box with a log book. Not unlike the log books you find on top of mountains; however, the difference is that it is hidden, the content may be whatever, and it can be placed wherever you like. So, you are thinking … how the hell can I find it if it’s hidden, and what is so interesting about this?

First off; A cache is placed at a certain geographical position or coordinate. The coordinates are then sent to a geocache site like geocaching.com. If you log in to such a site you will be able to search for caches and ultimately go treasure hunting alone, with friends and/or with family. Apparently this is one of the coolest ways of taking the kids for a hike. Just the thought of going treasure hunting is most often enough to get your kid(s) out the door.

So, what are we doing this weekend? Well, you guessed it … we are hunting for geocaches in Eidsvåg!

Fore more information, see:

A day off with someone you love …

On my birthday I decided to take a day off from work. Not only to relax, but also to spend some time alone with my dear wife :) I know, it’s not a macho thing to say or do, but when you have a bunch of kids, and both have jobs you really need to unwind and just spend some quality time with the one that is closest to you.

Spending time with my wife is not about sitting indoors reading newspapers, watching reruns on TV … but the opposite. Getting outdoors to walk in the Bergen mountains while autumn is making its mark on nature is a treat. Hiking with someone you love and share the wonderful views from the mountain tops with the fjords stretching out into open sea is just amazing!

We started the hike from Eidsvåg cemetery which is no more than a 2 minutes drive from our house. From there we walked up to Langevatnet, crossed the bridge that took us up to Orretua. Getting up to Orretua included a lot of fun climbing using ropes and ladders placed there by other hikers.

From the top of Orretua we could see the magnificent view over Eidsvåg and Jordalen. Also from the top we could see the city of Bergen to the south, Askøy to the west, and the fjords stretching further north. On our way down to Munkebotn we passed the Ravneberg cabin walking on a beautiful trail down again to Munkebotn passing its north most dike.

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Trender for ekte mannfolk!

Det slo meg her i dag at jeg ikke har skrevet et eneste blogg innlegg … i min egen blogg … på norsk! Da er det selvsagt på tide at man gjør så, og i en sådan stund bør man også skrive litt om tanker man gjør om seg selv og sitt eget vesen. Ikke det at det er så viktig eller medfører riktighet, men det kan kanskje gjøre deg mer reflektert over visse valg du treffer i ditt eget liv.

Som vanlig er så leser jeg litt på vg.no for å oppdatere meg på all slags nyheter, og da mener jeg all slags nyheter. VG er jo nettopp kjent for å servere folk all slags nyheter. Det man har nytte av og det man kanskje har mindre nytte av. Nå er jeg litt usikker på om dette faller inn under den siste eller første kategorien, men la oss i ærlighetens navn si det er en blanding av begge deler.

Ok, så til poenget … endelig! Jeg leste vg.no og “snublet” over en artikkel-referanse til minmote.no som er en meget seriøs og vel-menende nyhetsside for mote-folk! Jeg skal ikke generalisere for mye, men jeg er vel ikke akkurat i målgruppen til minmote.no. Uansett, det kan jo fort hende at det endrer seg etter dette.

Artikkelen omhandlet motebildet og hva som er på vei inn når det gjelder klær, eller det vil si mangelen på klær. Det er nemlig “in” å blotte magen. Nå kan det selvsagt være at jeg, igjen, ikke er i målgruppen for en slik trend, men man skal jo ikke la seg affisere av slikt. Det er jo så mange fritenkende sjeler her i verden, så det kunne jo hende at dette var noe for meg også.

Etter å ha lest artikkelen grundig ett par ganger skjønte jeg vel at dette kunne være for meg også. Alle har vi jo et behov for å vise litt kropp, så det slo meg at det kanskje kan være på tide å vise seg som en sann moteløve, og med det følge trendene i tiden osv. Vel, som sagt, jeg leste hele artikkelen, og oppdaget til min glede når jeg var ferdig at det var enda en interessant artikkel som fanget min interesse.

Det er nemlig “in” med mannfolk som har hår på brøstkassa! Ahaaa! Det er jo i en sådan stund man fort finner ut at minmote.no også er for ekte mannfolk som utelukkende handler byggevarer på XL Bygg! Det traff meg som lyn fra klar himmel! Det var som et kall fra oven … det er noen som elsker oss!

Nå kan jeg endelig gå i bar overkropp, kun iført en snærten bolero jakke!