Touring Texas
Treasure in Tomball
By Deborah Dousay
Amidst the carefully planned celebration of the
City of Tomball’s 100th birthday celebration lies
multiple hidden geocaches strategically placed in
and around the town for finders to locate and
discover.
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt where the
treasure is tracked down using a Global Positioning
System (GPS) device. And though not a true treasure
hunt in the sense that the many people search for,
and find, the same treasures, it is still quite an
adventure and fun to learn that others have come
before you.
In this sport, the treasure is referred to as a
“geocache” or “cache” for short. It is hidden by a
“cache-owner” usually an individual, but sometimes
an organization. It is this person or group’s
responsibility to check on their cache periodically
to make sure it is weather-tight and fully stocked.
Often, geocacher’s (treasure hunters) will post a
comment to the owner so they know the condition of
their cache and can tend to it on an as needed
basis.
For Tomball’s Centennial, a series of geocaches
have been organized. With each hunt comes a brief
history lesson of the town’s background, and a
specially-crafted Centennial “Geo-coin.” The first
to find the cache will have the honor of keeping it.
Caches will be randomly replenished with additional
commemorative coins throughout the year.
The first cache was placed in January and is
located near the newly dedicated Train Depot. On
Train Day (January 27, 2007), the hunt began as the
city celebrated the 100th anniversary of the day the
first train, The Trinity & Brazos Valley Railway,
came through downtown on January 27, 1907.
Residents and visitors alike will find the hunt,
as well as the history, well worth their efforts to
seek and find.
Each month brings a new challenge, a new hunt, a
new hoard.
Grab your GPS, and log on to
www.geocaching.com to find the latest
coordinates for the “Once in a Lifetime Geocache,”
or
www.tomballcentennial.com to find the latest
treasure in Tomball…That Texas Town!
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