I’ve been at Harding for a year and a half and it didn’t take me long to discover that everyone has their complaints about Searcy. “It’s too small,” people say. “There’s nothing to do here.”
Yes, I will admit I too was once a skeptic, believing nothing really existed outside of Race Street and Beebe Capps. However, I recently discovered Searcy is an epicenter. “Of what?” you scream incredulously, not believing for a second anything good could come from this small Arkansas town. Well my reader, I ask you to hold on to your metaphorical hats as I say, Searcy is an epicenter for treasure hunting.
Last weekend my friends and I embarked on this treasure hunt more commonly known as geocaching, which involves looking for small objects, boxes or prizes that anyone can hide anywhere in the world. People then provide locations and clues to lead curious hunters to discover their cleverly disguised trinkets, where you can often contribute your name or your own objects for posterity.
When we started our adventure, I was skeptical if we would find any or not, but I was shocked to discover Searcy is littered with these little gems. Under fire hydrants, magnetized to street signs, buried in the ground, disguised as small animals, the geocaches are all around us just waiting to be uncovered.
Now why do I find this to be such an interesting phenomenon here in Searcy? Geocaching happens all over the world, and isn’t really a new activity. However, before this, my Searcy knowledge and experience was incredibly limited. Of course I had seen all the typical sites but never before had I ventured into the depths of this compelling little town. In one evening I gained an incredible respect for the city I had never thought possible in myself. We found new trails, roads and sights we didn’t even know existed. On one gravel road we even found a small, family-owned restaurant that we decided to go back and try.
It seems to me that because we spend so much of our time on campus, we forget to go explore the very city we claim as our home for four years. Yes, I will concede that we do not live in a bustling metropolis full of the newest art and entertainment, but I did find through geocaching that there’s quite a bit that we may be missing about this unassuming town. Searcy has very unique and valuable pieces of culture that are sometimes even more fascinating than those that can be found in a place such as New York City.
So think about it. It’s a normal, lazy Saturday and you’re looking for something exciting to do: Go treasure hunting. Not only will you enjoy finding real treasures in some of the oddest, most obscure places, but you will also find yourself stumbling across the treasures of Searcy itself. I promise that after spending a day winding through the maze of back roads with friends, finding yourself in a restaurant you have never heard of and laughing with Searcy natives as you scour their backyards for geocaches, you too may agree that geocaching may just be one of the best things to have happened to Searcy. Happy hunting.
