Geocaching – an interesting way-finding game where people of all ages discover secret “caches” that have been hidden in various interesting places. Using GPS coordinates that have been published online, geocachers take the coordinates and the clues and head off to discover all sorts of treasure and share their experiences of finding (or not finding) online. It’s free to play and it’s great fun for families. To learn more, go to
www.geocaching.com and read all about it. Register and you can start playing immediately. Just do a search for caches by name: “80on80”
About “80on80”
Welcome to our ambitious geocaching project called 80on80. We are a group of historians from and around San Diego who enjoy old roads and highways. Our goal is to hide 80 geocaches from downtown San Diego to the Arizona border. We know this will not be completed in a day, for just like the city of Rome, our beloved highway has many facets and mysteries. We want to take our time with this to make sure our caches are hidden in interesting places along the route that add flavor to the history of the area.
U.S. Route 80 is an east–west United States Highway, much of which was once part of the early road known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the route number indicates, it was originally a cross-country route. However, the entire segment west of Dallas has been decommissioned in favor of various federal routes and state highways. Currently, the eastern highway end is in Tybee Island, Georgia and the western terminus is San Diego, California.
We want you to have fun with this project. None of the caches will be super dangerous or
difficult because we want people to find them! Our caches have been hidden at the California Welcome Center at Viejas, out on the Old Plank Road in the desert, at Flinn Springs Park, near Drew Ford in La Mesa, etc. Each one is unique and gives a brief history, and people are enjoying the chance to learn about the road. Here’s just a sample of some of the comments we’ve received from “seekers”:
“Looking for the rest of this fun series by 80on80 because we love it out here!”
“Love caches with a history lesson!”
“I had no idea this was the REAL Highway 80!”
In the future, we’ll be offering incentives to people who complete various phases of the project. Baseball caps and t-shirts are just the beginning!
Be sure to check back often for the release of new caches. We have less than 15 now but remember, our goal is “80 on 80”!!
