I was thinking today about how long it's been since I've been out geocaching. I also thought about how hot it is and how much fun walking around in the sun wouldn't be.

So I thought that instead of going out and getting some caches and a heat stroke, I'd just show you some pictures from the last time my kids and I went out cachin'.

A Great Way To See the Sights

One of my favorite ways to see and experience new places is through geocaching. Locals place caches in their favorite places, and those are the places I want to see!

On this day, in the spring, we didn't go far. Joplin, MO and Galena, KS are right next to each other, just separated by the state line. But even so, caching in Galena took us to some things we've never seen.

This train is on display in front of a building salvage yard. The cache is under it in an ammo can.

What's she pointing at?
Oh, that! On the flat car behind the engine was an old steam shovel bucket, a memory of Galena's mining days. The thing is huge.
And there's something in it.

That's my daughter, Hive account@randomphandom, with a 5 ft skeleton.
What do you do when you find a 5 ft skeleton? Pose!!

It's so squinty outside! Where are your sunglasses, kids?

Clever Cache Names

One of the caches we hit in Galena had a very mysterious name. Murder at the Bordello's. Here's the picture from the cache location...and my finger.

Cool Route 66 Road Side Spot

The famous Route 66 runs through both Joplin and Galena, but we have never driven down it. A cache location brought us here, to the cool little spot. It's just a covered area to sit and eat. Two sides are walled and painted all Route 66 themed. There are some of those photo props to put your head through. I promised my 20 and 23 year kids ice cream if they'd just sick their heads in them so I could take a picture. My son demanded an extra scoop for sticking his hand through... He drives a hard bargain.

My Favorite! Cemetery Caches.

Just about every cemetery has a geocache in it. I love cool old cemeteries. Those caches are my fave! I was glad I had Big, my oldest son who's real name is Brendan, with me. He's tall, and that's handy!

I love caches like this. The cache container is a water tight tube. You can see the tube's lid on the belly of the bird.