With one of the largest balloon festivals in the country happening practically in my back yard I have often wondered how so many chase vans who are unfamiliar with the area are going to get to the right back road to catch up with their own balloon and have seen more than one balloon have to stay inflated enough to pop up in sight for that chase van to find them. Now I have been wondering how many of those same balloonists might be changing over to a handheld GPS device or even automotive GPS  so they can give their chase van the coordinates or road intersections they need in order to find them? That would be geocaching taken to a whole new level! I'm going to have to ask about that next time we go out chasing one of those beauties and find out how that might work for them. If anyone has tried this let me know! Sounds pretty intriguing to me.

Oh my, we get lots of calls requesting me to make a choice for folks so that they don't have to decide which GPS unit to buy.  Looks good on paper, but how can I know which features might be really useful or totally useless to each individual person.  I could just decide which GPS unit I might prefer, but how would that information help a total stranger whose needs and budget may be totally different from mine?  I feel like I really disappoint people when I try to point this out, but we are all individuals, which is why there are so many different versions of, for instance, handheld or automotive GPS units out there. 

Most of the manufacturers, especially Garmin, have really great interactive websites already where you can choose to compare several GPS units to each other so that at a glance you can sort them out by which features you really want, which ones would only be nice perks and which ones are definitely yes or no features for you.  Do you want it to be small and thin with a great battery life so you can carry it with you to find your way back to your car? Do you want lifetime traffic?  Bluetooth?  You get the idea.  Anyway, once you have it narrowed down to possibly one or two favorites, it becomes simple to go back to Google or your favorite GPS store and see which one they have to offer, which types of accessories you will need and for what price they are offered.  I just think it totally simplifies your shopping experience.  I like simple.  After all, I would rather be spending time exploring with my GPS unit than sitting in front of a computer trying to figure out all the pros and cons or entrusting my decision to someone who doesn't even know me.  Well, good luck in your search for the best GPS units for your needs and budget, and I hope this helps.

Anyway, with Cyber Monday tomorrow I want to decide which handheld GPS systems I like best. There are some great ones to choose from. Let me see, I like geocaching, check. I want it to be handy for hiking, check. Oh, and let’s not forget bike riding, great! It needs to be small enough to grab to take on vacation, yup. Sure have some great handheld GPS units to consider! Delorme Earthmate GPS - there are several, Busnell ONIX GPS, Garmin Colorado and Vista, Dakota and Forerunner. It’s time to grab a snack and settle down to look with this many options!

I would like to share the joy of Geocaching with you.  I have been enjoying this hobby for a few years now.  Each and every cache I have found has been unique in it's own way. Everything from a quick find in a parking lot to a long hike in the woods.  The adventure never gets old.  This hobby is for the young and old alike.  For those who haven't heard of Geocaching it basically is Modern day treasure hunting. One person or group hide a cache then others go find it using the Coordinates of the cache on a handheld GPS unit.  Additional information about this hobby can be found at Geocaching.com . Geocaching is a world wide hobby. Go to Geocaching.com type in your zip code and you may just be surprised at just how many you'll find. As with all outdoor activities please respect the areas you visit, and if you carry it in please carry it out. Happy caching.
Roadragetrx (geocaching name)
JR Akins

The first few times I surveyed the land, I almost got lost. It’s tough to find distinctive landmarks in a densely wooded forest. Luckily, my wife got me a handheld GPS unit to take with me in case I lose my way. It also comes in handy for informal mapping. I can easily tell where the property begins and ends, which has expedited the surveying process tremendously.