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Geocaching in on tourism PDF Print E-mail
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Written by Kristen Waggener   
Wednesday, 18 March 2009 08:00
Curiosity got the best of a dozen Louisburg teens Friday.

They set out on Broadway Street in downtown Louisburg armed with global positioning systems and only longitude and latitude coordinates to guide them on their quest to find the hidden treasures tucked away.

As a kick-off to the Louisburg schools’ spring break, Louisburg Library held a geocaching event for students in sixth through 12th grades, in which Louisburg geocacher Philip Poe and Miami County Economic Development Director Janet McRae taught the students about the high-tech hobby and its presence in the community.

“It was fun,” McRae said. “I think it was very helpful that Phil was here. It was good to have him here and talk to the youths and why he got involved in geocaching.”

Three groups — each led by either McRae or Poe — followed their GPS units and scoured four locations on Broadway Street for the hidden treasures in plain sight.

“That’s scary how you can pass them by in real life,” said Coleman Unthank as he and his partners, Josh Agnew and Drew Bormann, searched for the cache hidden in Louisburg’s Memories Park.

“It looked all natural because it’s right there,” Bormann said after they found the cache and signed the logbook hidden inside.

Across the street, Greg and Chris Agnew and Andrew Benne searched all around the outside of Phoenix Chinese restaurant, looking for a cache themselves.

“I didn’t have anything to do, and it sounded like fun,” Greg Agnew said.

McRae joined the Agnews and Benne by helping them locate the caches on Broadway, which she placed.
As an economic development tool and a way to bring more visitors to the county, McRae placed 45 geocaches throughout the county in October — 12 in the Louisburg area.

And since then, she said, she’s seen visitors from 10 states log their visits to the county.

As of Monday, McRae said 93 groups of geocachers have visited a cache in the county, visiting an average of 19 caches. Each cache in the county has been visited an average of 26 times.

“And, of course I hope they fill up their gas tank or stop to eat lunch while they’re here,” McRae said.
Every time she places one, someone is quick to find it.

Coordinates to the newest cache in Louisburg, “Overdue,” were published at 4 p.m. Friday, and by noon Saturday, a couple from Stilwell had already found it. The same happened when she placed a cache at Cedar Cove Feline Conservatory and Education Center on March 7. The coordinates were published at 8 a.m. March 10, and a couple from Paola logged their find before noon the same day.

Friday’s excursion for the Louisburg teens may have sparked an interest in some.

“It’s kind of cool to go on a treasure hunt using a GPS because it’s more modern,” Unthank said.
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