The Barn Quilts of Carver County, MN, a public art project, started in 2011, in conjunction with the Arts Consortium of Carver County, has recently caught the attention of a group of geocachers.
Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure-hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.
Many people use their smart phones to find geocaches. Others use a GPS to find them. There are more than 3 million active geocaches worldwide. Geocaches are hidden in 191 different countries on all seven continents (even Antarctica)! More than 642 million “Found it” and “Event Attended” logs have been recorded since the game started in 2000.There are many different types of geocaches. There is also a Minnesota Geocaching Association (MnGCA).
Last Fall, a Barn Quilt Geocaching “Adventure Lab” was started by Mary Purdham and her husband David of Eden Prairie. A Geocaching Adventure Lab is a new app and platform from the team at Geocaching HQ that allows an individual to create, play and share location-based experiences and games. The Geocaching Adventure Lab app guides players through the process of finding clues, solving puzzles, and completing Adventures one location at a time. This type of geocaching exploded in 2020 as a great past-time during the pandemic. Not everyone in the geocaching community can “create” an Adventure Lab (“AL”). You must be awarded the opportunity to create one.
The Purdham’s were looking for something fun that was different from historical tours across the various metro cities that were becoming widely popular. They created the Barn Quilts of Carver County Adventure Lab and showcased five different barn quilts. Approximately 40 groups have visited the Carver County barn quilts since the Adventure Lab was created last September 2020.
Participates found their “cache”, took pictures, shared them with families, reminisced about farming and quilting and enjoyed visits with the farmers. They learned about the history of the farm, the barn quilts and readily enjoyed the outdoor gallery of art.
To learn more about the Barn Quilts of Carver County Geocaching Adventure Lab, please visit
https://labs.geocaching.com/goto/barn_quilts
The Barn Quilts of Carver County, MN continues to promote tourism bringing state-wide individuals to the County to enjoy and see what all is offered.
Watch for the Barn Quilt Tours this summer, where Community, Countryside and Culture meet!
https://barnquiltsofcarvercountymn.com
For more information regarding the Barn Quilts of Carver County, MN, please contact Janet Fahey, Tour Director at 612-382-4512 or Barb Hone, Author, at 612-799-8208.