Some years ago, on probably the hottest, most sweltering week of the summer, we visited Cumberland Gap National Park. In history class that year  the kids had read about the Cumberland Gap, the first great gateway to the west; and I thought it would be interesting to show them the real deal. Through this dip in the Appalachian Mountains that straddles Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, settlers struggled westward to tame the American wilderness centuries ago.

The guidebook lured us up a steep trail with promises of “magnificent views of three states.” And I’m sure the views would have been magnificent, if anyone had bothered to trim the brush. After a long, hot, sweaty climb we arrived at the end of the trail to a less than spectacular 360-degree view of tangled green brush clogging the space between tall trees. Disappointment doesn’t come close to describing the family mood at that moment.

However, all was not lost. In the clearing at the top of the trail was what looked like a wood gazebo. Walking inside we saw an impressive bronze plaque set into the ground. It was about the size of a manhole cover and was elaborately engraved with the four compass points. What was amazing was that in the middle of the plaque was a square, palm-sized stone. The numbers and letters chiseled into its face had been worn nearly smooth by time, but a sign indicated that it was the original geologic survey marker placed by George Washington!

I don’t know that the kids were all that impressed, but I was. It’s that memory that sparked my interest in benchmark hunting, a specialized type of geocaching. Plugging coordinates found on the National Geodetic Survey website into your handheld GPS unit, you can hunt down and “discover” geologic survey markers. We’ve found markers in front of the courthouse in our town square and on the tops of local hills. They’ve led us to old pioneer roads and river fords, to long abandoned towns and old highways. It’s like discovering little bits of history everywhere we go.

Geocaching.com has an excellent guide to benchmark hunting and provides instructions for finding benchmarks both on geocaching.com and on the National Geodetic Survey site. If you want to get into benchmark hunting, check out the great selection of handheld GPS devices at ActionGPS.

Those wonderful geeky guys at Consumer Reports just put automotive GPS devices through their paces, giving Garmin’s Nuvi series its highest rating. I love the CR crew. They put products through their paces and don’t pull any punches when they tell you how they held up. CR is my Bible when I’m looking to invest in a new product, whether it’s a new car, a DVD player, laundry detergent or a GPS unit, I know I’m getting honest, accurate information I can trust. They haven’t steered my wrong yet, and they’ve kept me from plunking my money down on some well-advertised lemons. But enough about my favorite guys in white lab coats; here’s what they said about GPS devices.

After exhaustive testing, Consumer Reports awarded the Garmin Nuvi 760 its highest rating. Nearly identical are Garmin’s Nuvi 650, Nuvi 660 which is Bluetooth enabled, and Nuvi 750 widescreen. All of these outstanding GPS automotive navigation systems have nearly identical features and are available from ActionGPS. ActionGPS makes it easy to compare units. Just check the box next to items you want to compare and click the Compare Selected button at the top or bottom of the product list. Action GPS gives you an easy to read table that compares major features. At a glance you can determine the product that best suits your individual needs. When you choose the unit you want, make sure to check the product list for refurbished units. ActionGPS’ factory refurbished units offer you a considerable savings over our already low prices while still providing you with Garmin’s great one-year warranty.

Other GPS units that received CR’s highest rating include the Garmin Nuvi 660, TomTom Go 920T (very similar to the 910), and Garmin Nuvi 350. CR noted that consumers can realize a considerable savings with no loss in quality or major features by purchasing a slightly older Garmin Nuvi or TomTom Go model. Some of the new bells and whistles are fun, but primarily expand peripheral uses and do not increase the automotive GPS function of the devices. For a complete listing of features and specifications, visit the ActionGPS website.

GPS geocaching has added a new dimension to Flat Fred. If you have an elementary school aged child in your house, you’re probably familiar with Flat Fred. Flat Fred is a popular school program where children mail a cardboard person on a journey. Aunt Sue and cousin Sam cart Flat Fred off to the local sights, take a few snapshots and write about his adventures in a logbook, then mail him to another friend or relative. Eventually Flat Fred returns home and the children get to see and read about all the amazing places he has visited on his journeys.

Bellevue High School students have put a modern techno spin on Flat Fred by turning him into a geocache travel bug. Travel bugs are special “dog tags” printed with a unique PIN that is registered on an internet site. Often travel bugs are attached to an object like a small figurine or toy. When a geocacher finds a travel bug, he logs onto the designated website and enters the PIN to access an online log. There he posts the position where he found the bug, adds a comment, and receives instructions on where to take the bug next. Some travel bugs have missions to travel to a specific location. For others, the goal is to see how far and to how many different places the bug can travel. 

“Most travel bugs have a goal, like, ‘I want to get to the Indianapolis Speedway,’ so it will eventually work its way over to Indiana, get its photo taken at the racetrack, and work its way back home,” explained Seth Leary, founder of the Washington State Geocaching Association, who helped guide the Bellevue project. “The process can take something like two years, but if they get back home, the owner can keep it on his desk, knowing all the places it went to.” The fun, said Leary, is in seeing where the bugs end up.

In connection with a community sculpture project, Bellevue High School students created small papier mache sculptures, registered them as travel bugs and sent them on journeys in the nearby Seattle, Washington area. One travel bug directed finders to take it to the Seattle Space Needle. Another, dubbed Larry the Loch Ness Monster, asked finders to photograph it at local lakes. A sealife sculpture was photographed with fish at the Seattle Aquarium before finding its way home.

If you want to start your own travel bug on a trip, you can register your bug on geocaching.com. For a great selection of geocaching GPS devices, visit ActionGPS.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? The new ActionGPS Learning Center shows you how to easily convert your Bluetooth-enabled PDA or laptop into a GPS receiver. Except for the basic Bluetooth compatibility, no special equipment is required. All you need is a Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver. Plug it into the serial port on your laptop or PDA and voila! — you have a functioning automotive or handheld GPS device. And, best of all, you pay no GPS service fee. Your only expense is the receiver.

This simple trick — one of many handy tips you’ll find at the new ActionGPS Learning Center – allows you to use your laptop to plan your next vacation, a cross-country road trip, even an international adventure. Using expansion slots, you can enhance your trip planning capabilities by adding useful maps and navigation aids. Take your GPS-enhanced PDA or laptop along on the trip for plotting spur-of-the-moment day trips and excursions to sight-seeing gems you learn about during your travels. The data logging function on the GPS receiver allows you to record your entire trip and mark new points of interest for return trips.

Of course with versatile, pocket-sized, Bluetooth GPS units on the market like Garmin’s Nuvi 360, you don’t have to lug a bulky laptop across country or through Europe. Navigator, translator, entertainer, tour guide — the Garmin Nuvi 360 is like having a personal travel agent in your pocket.

Wireless Bluetooth technology allows the Nuvi 360 to integrate with your compatible Bluetooth phone. Use the Nuvi’s touch screen keypad to dial calls. Answer calls by tapping the screen. The powerful built-in microphone and speaker allow you to talk hands-free and stay focused on the road. Handy one-touch dialing for points of interest allows you to call ahead for reservations or information effortlessly. Sleek and slim, Garmin’s Nuvi 360 fits comfortably into your pocket or purse and has a convenient rechargeable lithium-ion battery. You couldn’t ask for a better traveling companion!

Tech-savvy adventurers around the world are flocking to the sport of geocaching. It’s a sport the whole family can enjoy, and the technology is a snap to learn. (See our Aug. 5 & 7 posts.) Once you’ve mastered the basics though, real enthusiasts want more. When you’re ready to take geocaching to the next level, you’ll want to upgrade your portable handheld GPS unit. Naturally, you’ll still want the solid features found in basic handheld GPS models: lightweight, compact, long battery life, waypoint storage, and screen readability (see our Aug. 5 post for details). But you’ll want to upgrade to a GPS unit that also offers the following advanced features:

• A WAAS-enabled GPS unit provides superior accuracy and can pinpoint waypoints to within 10 feet 95% of the time.
• A built-in compass is particularly convenient in tracking the cache in the final critical 100 feet.
• An altimeter shows you how high up to search for vertically-hidden caches.
• Mapping capabilities give you the big picture and make navigation a snap. They allow you to download maps to your unit that give you a picture of the terrain.
• An external antenna improves signal reception in difficult terrains and under heavy tree cover.

ActionGPS carries superior portable handheld GPS devices for the serious geocacher. The Garmin Colorado 400i handheld outdoor color GPS can track waypoints from the city to deep backcountry trails. WAAS-enabled with a built-in electronic compass, barometric altimeter and mapping capabilities, the Garmin Colorado 400i keeps you on track when you’re searching out even the most difficult geocaches. Visit Action GPS for complete details on the Garmin Colorado and other excellent geocaching GPS devices.

With rising fuel costs affecting your wallet and contributing to the higher prices for goods and services, people are becoming more reluctant to travel very far. Just because you may decide not to take that road trip across the U.S. doesn’t mean that you cannot benefit from using GPS navigation in your own neck of the woods.

Summer is winding away and fall will be here soon. You will still need to take a break and relax. You can still explore and travel throughout your own region and a GPS navigation device can help. Most people stick to the same routes, so when it comes to exploring your county or state, you may be a little lost.

Use a GPS device to take you through those areas that are off the beaten path. You’ll keep costs down because you won’t be traveling far or paying extra fees for that second suitcase. Plus, you will keep fuel costs down because having navigation help will mean you won’t wander.

To save even more consider purchasing a refurbished GPS navigation device. A GPS like the Garmin Nuvi 250 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nuvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. Plus it is portable, so you can take it with you in your pocket so once you leave the car and travel by foot, you will still be able to find your way.

Once you pinpoint the cache location as closely as you can using your geocache GPS (see our Tuesday post), it’s time to start searching. Geocachers are devious thinkers. When you’re hiding a cache, part of the fun is finding a hiding place that’s hard to spot. You want your cache to be found, but you want fellow cachers to work for it. So think sneaky as you start looking.

Cache containers can be any size but are usually smaller than a shoebox. Ammo boxes, plastic containers and tiny film canisters are prized for their waterproof and weather-resistant qualities. Any container that is or can be made weather-proof will work. Some people wrap old pill bottles in layers of plastic tape. Many geocachers cover containers with camouflage tape to make them harder to spot.

Don’t expect finding the cache to be easy. Using your GPS to get to the location is only half the fun. The thrill of the hunt and exhilaration of discovery are what geocachers live for. You’re not going to find the cache sitting out in the open. Look under rocks or logs, inside hollow trees, on the undersides of fences and structures, behind rocks in rock walls and in the crooks of trees. Check tree branches and ledges. We once found a cache hanging inside a hollowed tree. A devious cacher had fashioned a 2-sided hook from a coat hanger. A tiny hook of metal was wedged in the tree bark with the cache hanging from the other hook inside the hollow tree. Ingenious!

Cachers are no less creative in cityscapes. Powerful magnet strips glued to thin metal slide boxes (like Sucrets boxes) can be attached to utility boxes or the undersides of metal guard rails. If your coordinates lead you to a parking lot light pole, carefully pop up the base cover that hides the screws. These covers slide up, making a perfect spot to hide a small cache. We’ve found micro-caches hidden inside the cone-shaped filials on top of metal fence posts. The filials pop off and the cache can either be stuffed into the cap or dangled on a string into the post.

As you’re searching, it’s important to replace items exactly as you find them. Not only do geocachers pride themselves on protecting the environment, but who wants to give away the cache site to the next guy? You worked to find the cache; he should, too. Geocachers live for the thrill of the hunt! ActionGPS has a full line of GPS units perfect for the sport of geocaching. Visit our website today and happy hunting!

So close, but yet so far! It’s the geocacher’s common lament. There’s nothing more frustrating than knowing you’re standing right on top of a cache but not being able to find it. Here are a few tips that can help:

• Research the cache location. Log the cache coordinates into your GPS unit. Print out any tips offered on the locator site. (You can choose to read them only if you’re stumped.) Check a map of the area to get the big picture. Some handheld GPS units come loaded with maps and high-end outdoor units even offer topographic maps. You can get a quick area-wide view by scaling out on your automotive GPS or checking www.GoogleMaps or another internet map site. It’s easier to pinpoint the cache location when you have a general idea of where things are in the area.
• Prepare for the trip. Make sure you take plenty of water and don’t forget sunscreen and insect repellent. Wear appropriate clothing for the weather and add a jacket and raincoat in case the weather changes if you are planning to geocache all day. If you’re hiking into the woods or back country to hunt truly remote caches, bring appropriate hiking/climbing gear and always take a friend along for safety. Make sure someone back home knows your plans.
• Get as close to the cache location as you can using your GPS. You shouldn’t have much trouble getting to the general location site. It’s finding the precise coordinates that can be tricky. You may have to walk back and forth a bit. Tree or cloud cover can sometimes interfere with GPS signals, and it may take a little experimentation to hone in on the cache.

On Thursday: Finding the cache!

We are pleased to announce that the ‘GPS Learning Center’ is now live at ActionGPS.com!

The Learning Center is filled with both basic and advance content to help you learn more about GPS units, help with product selection, and to enhance your user experience if you already own a GPS.

We will be adding content to this section regularly so check back often for updates.

Click here to visit the Learning Center.

- ActionGPS Staff

There’s nothing hard about geocaching, except for sometimes finding that devilishly hidden cache. You go to www.geocaching.com or any of numerous geocaching websites to find cache sites. Download the site coordinates into your portable GPS unit — and the hunt is on!

It doesn’t take much to get started (see our Aug. 5 post), and geocaching is fun for the whole family. The goal is find the cache. You use your GPS to follow the coordinates to the cache site. Using your GPS to pinpoint the site location, you then have to scan the area (think deviously), poking around under stones and inside decayed tree trunks to find the hidden container. (Beginners may want to printout the “tips” provided for many cache sites when they download coordinates.)

The rules are simple:

• Fill out the logbook with your name (or cache name), hometown and home state. Make a comment if there’s room in the logbook. Take a look at the logbook. You may see other cachers who have found the site from across the country and even around the world.
• If the cache has prizes (odd trinkets or message slips), take one.
• Add a prize of your own to the cache.
• Carefully close the container to protect the contents from the weather and return the cache to the exact position in which you found it.
• Respect the environment and other cachers. Geocache responsibly. Obtain permission before caching on private property. (Unless placed by the property owner, nearly all caches are located on public property.)

You’ll meet a lot of friendly people geocaching and discover interesting and unusual sites you didn’t know existed. Visit ActionGPS for great deals on portable, handheld GPS units perfect for geocaching.

Many of our newer readers often ask us to provide them with basic information in helping them choose a GPS unit. We often get questions like how difficult is it to operate a gps unit? Is there a monthly usage fee? Which model is right for me? While this blog has answered all of those questions in some form, we understand that it would be beneficial to our readers to make this information available in an an easily accessible area. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that we will soon be launching ‘The GPS Learning Center’ on ActionGPS.com.

The Learning Center will include some basic information on topics such as gps technology, geocaching, and bluetooth. Additionally, the Learning Center will feature buying guides for the automotive, fitness, marine, and outdoor GPS categories. In the future, we will also be adding gps tips along with best practices to further enhance your GPS experience.

We expect the Learning Center to be live Monday, August 11th. Be sure to check the homepage at actiongps.com then.

- ActionGPS Staff

Geocaching is the hot new sport for anyone with a yen for adventure. An updated version of the old treasure hunt, geocaching replaces yellowed, hand-drawn pirate maps with sleek, portable, handheld GPS devices like the Garmin GPSMAP 60 CS Portable Handheld Outdoor GPS (shown). Instead of hunting for Spanish doubloons on deserted islands, you trek through urban jungles or into the backwoods in search of hidden caches. Geocaching won’t make you rich, but it will enrich your leisure time. It’s a great sport for singles, couples, teens and families and a fun way to get some healthy exercise.  

It’s easy to get started with geocaching. All you need is a portable GPS unit. Look for these features when purchasing a GPS device for geocaching:

• You’ll be carrying the GPS unit while hiking, so look for a model that is lightweight and compact. You want something that is easy to carry in the palm of your hand because you’ll be checking the readout constantly as you hike. Some models come with a wrist strap.
• A unit with a long battery life lets you stay on the hunt longer. You won’t have to worry about loosing juice mid-hunt if you plan a day searching for caches out in the country or want to hop from site to site around town. A long battery life also allows you to track down those special hard-to-find caches hidden deep in remote sites.
• Look for a unit with a high waypoint storage which will allow you to store more cache locations.
• Good screen readability is important. The unit’s screen should be easy to read in bright daylight. A backlit screen for night viewing allows you to keep caching through dusk and into the night.
• Geocaching is an outdoor sport so choosing a waterproof GPS just makes sense. You want your unit to work in all kinds of weather. Some caches may be hidden near or under water (creeks and rivers make great cache sites).

You don’t need anything fancy. ActionGPS has a great selection of good, refurbished handheld GPS units at great prices. (Check out the Garmin Etrex Legend Handheld Outdoor GPS Receiver. Factory refurbished, it’s on clearance for an incredible price of just $84.95. A perfect start-up model.) 

If you’re traveling to Beijing for the Olympics, don’t forget to pack your GPS. Garmin has released City Navigator China NT 2008 just in time to help you navigate your way around China.

“This new suite of digital maps helps tourists locate stadiums, hotels, restaurants, and more — so they can spend their time being spectators instead of worrying about how to get there,” said Garmin sales VP Dan Bartel. “Presently, Garmin is the only satellite navigation manufacturer that is able to offer these highly-detailed maps.”

Just plug in the micro SD/SD card and 7 millions points of interest (POIs) are instantly  at your fingertips. The maps provide full coverage of China with street level detail for 980 cities and the roads that connect them. Download the free Chinese Sports Arenas POI bundle and you also get turn-by-turn directions to all the important Chinese sporting venues in Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qinhuangdao and Qingdao. Entries are sorted by both type of sport and city and provide competition dates to make following the world’s greatest sporting events a piece of cake. Road and POIs are presented in Pinyin, a Latin-alphabet phonetic spelling of Mandarin Chinese, to aid Westerners with road signs.

Best of all, Navigator China is compatible with all current Garmin personal navigation devices and can be easily downloaded from Garmin’s website. Remember to pack your Garmin GPS anytime you’re travelling outside the U.S. Plug-in SD cards provide language translation and travel guides to enhance your travel experience anywhere in the world.

You know that saying about how some people would lose their heads if not for their necks? Or maybe you heard one person tell another that they couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag? Well, I am sorry to say that those descriptions fit me quite well.

The other day I was leaving a museum and talking on my cell phone. The exhibits had been so thrilling that I left and couldn’t remember how I’d gotten there. I looked up and remarked to the friend on the other end that I wasn’t quite sure where I was. She said that I needed on of those things and she described, but couldn’t quite remember “GPS.” I told her that I had one in my car, but that there are many GPS models that have also been designed for people to use while they are on foot.

In fact, I am so conditioned to thinking of a GPS as an in-car navigation system, that I forget that there are some that can fit into a pocket or purse.

The Garmin Quest 2 Portable Navigation Automotive GPS is one of many GPS devices that can travel in car or in pocket. With its slim and portable design, the Quest 2 is a great go-anywhere guide. The Quest 2 has a unique antenna that folds flush when you are not using it.

You can also check out the Mio DigiWalker C220 GPS Automotive Navigation System. This easy-to-use GPS device also has not problem transitioning for the car for on-the-road navigation to a pocket to provide on-the-sidewalk assistance.

My eccentric Uncle Leman came to mind as I planned my upcoming trip to the Big Apple. If there was ever an individual in need of a GPS system, it was my navigationally challenged Uncle Leman.  

What families lovingly refer to as “a character,” Uncle Leman convinced my Aunt Rose to forsake the comforts of their Ohio bungalow for a life of adventure on the open road. In typical Leman fashion, he did this by pulling their well-used Ford station wagon into the drive, little white house trailer in tow, throwing open the kitchen door, and yelling, “Rose, get packed!” What can I say? Times were different in the 1950s. I can only imagine Rose’s response today!

Despite a rocky start, the two of them seemed to enjoy life on the road. I think it was Uncle Leman’s goal to visit every state in the U.S. via the dinner table of each and every member of our very extensive, far-flung family. He and Aunt Rose crisscrossed the country for more than a decade before finally parking for good in Ft. Lauderdale.

Unfortunately, Uncle Leman’s thirst for adventure was unaccompanied by even the vaguest sense of direction. In an era well before cell phones and GPS devices, Uncle Leman’s method of navigating a strange city was to flag down a taxi and pay the cabbie to lead him to his destination, he and Rose trundling along behind with the trailer. I nearly resorted to the same tactic last time I drove to New York City.

Sandwiched between tractor trailers on the I-70 in New Jersey, I somehow missed the sign for the Staten Island bridge turnoff and wound up being funneled into the tunnel. I surfaced somewhere in Manhattan’s garment district, miles from my daughter’s home in Brooklyn and totally lost. It took me nearly two hours to find my way to Flatbush Avenue and familiar landmarks. New Yorkers have a surprising lack of understanding of their own city’s geography. But for the mercy of a kindly mounted policeman I’d probably still be wandering the inadequately marked streets of the Big Apple.

This time will be different. The first thing I’m packing is my automotive GPS. Uncle Leman would be envious!