I've been geocaching since 2005 and, while I've mentioned it once it once or twice before, today I'm going to start a series of posts focusing on Geocaching trackables. I'll probably try to do some posts related to the subject a couple times a month, some with trackables I've found or discovered ("Just Passing Through") and others with coins and trackables from my personal collection. Today I'm checking out a trackable I discovered in a geocache about a month ago: A DutchTagZ "Delfts Blue Tulip" that began it's journey in North Holland, Netherlands in 2016.
If you are unfamiliar with
Geocaching, it's basically a worldwide high-tech treasure hunt using a handheld GPS receiver or smartphone to track down containers that other geocachers have found. While there are some variations, typically you use the coordinates and GPS receiver to reach the location and then have to find the geocache, or cache itself. Caches can come in all sizes and while the classic example is an ammo box, over time most caches have become smaller. Inside is typically a paper log which you date, sign, and then log online at
Geocaching.com. Some larger caches have items in them which you can trade for. Usually little trinkets like pins, keychains, minifigures, etc. Geocaches stay in place and aren't meant to move, but they can house little trinkets called trackables or travel bugs, which are intended to move.
Trackables and travel bugs are usually a metal item, like a dogtag, keychain, or coin, and they have a code on them. Typically you don't share these codes online. Instead, if you find the trackable item in person you can use the code to discover it online. You can either discover it and put it back or you can pick it up and take it with you. Some trackables and travel bugs have missions while others just go where ever anyone takes them. They can be tracked online as geocachers discover them and log their journeys. Some hang around and travel for years while others quickly disappear.
Today I'm looking at Delfts Blue Tulip trackable from DutchTagZ. This particular trackable departed from North Holland, Netherlands in 2016 and was placed in a cache in Minnesota, USA by the owner. Since then it has been travelling the United States. I've not found a cache large enough to accommodate it yet, but I'm hopeful I will tomorrow. Let's take a closer look at this trackable after the break...