Participants armed with global positioning systems (GPS) will spread out over the Lakes Area this summer during Paul & babe's GeoHunt.
The free event, coordinated by the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway, is designed to encourage tourists to the lakes area.
Paul and Babe's GeoHunt will kick off June 26 during Pine River's Summerfest - with 12 geocaches (camouflaged plastic containers) stashed between Jenkins and Pine River.
"Geocachers" with GPS will use predetermined latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates to locate the caches, which are filled with collectible Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway cards.
Finders of the geocache should sign a small notebook in the cache and take one of the cards.
The cards will be printed with historical and fun facts about the area. Participants who find all 12 cards can earn a Geocoin, a special souvenir wooden nickel.
Starting July 15 there will be 12 caches hidden between Pequot Lakes and Breezy Point. On Aug. 1 the remaining 12 caches will be hidden between Crosslake and Manhattan Beach, according to Kathy Moore, consultant working with the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway.
At the culmination of the event there will be prizes awarded. The more caches participants find, the greater their chances of winning, according to Moore.
Coordinates for each cache will be available at the Chamber Information Centers along the Byway - including Pine River - and will be available online at the Web site: www.geocaching.com.
Maps of the Scenic Byway's 54-mile driving route are available at the Pine River Information Center.
