On a recent vacation, I decided to take the kids on a “detour” to check out a local geocache in Mississippi. The cache was located near a local indian mound named Nanih Waiya. As we approached the cache site, we spotted a huge mound of dirt rising through the trees. This was it, the indian mound and the cache location we were searching for.
We climbed the steep embankment, and descended the other side, where the G.P.S. indicated the cache was located near a picnic pavillion. After a lenghthy search, I spied an object underneath the pavillion. It was the cache! We began to look through the contents of the cache, and noticed a little yellow Jeep Travel Bug. We decided to take the Jeep with us on our trip back home.
With the cache log signed, pictures taken, and the cache replaced we set out over the indian mound again, and decended in a different area. This time we spotted an incredible site. In the side of the mound was a tunnel leading into the mound. We explored the entrance to the tunnel, but without a flashlight, we decided against going in. We took more pictures near the mouth of the tunnel, and noticed the sound of rushing water coming from inside the tunnel.
On the hike out, the boys remarked at the true adventure they had just experienced. They wondered where the tunnel went, what sort of cave art may be found in the cave, and what were the people like who built the tunnel. My thought was that these kids, who have grown up on video and computer games, were provided with the opportunity to experience a real adventure, thanks to the hobby of geocaching.