I gotta tell you, I went south for the holidays.

Except for the lack of snow, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. The temperatures in Boston were just about the same as they were in Bangor!

My apologies to Marshall Dodge and/or Tim Sample for butchering that old joke, but it was appropriate given that a couple of my close friends celebrated the dawn of a new year in the Dominican Republic sipping exotic fruity cocktails and swimming with tropical fish in 84-degree water.

If you recall the few days before Christmas, the temperatures weren’t all that bad, say mid-30s. I think it was a bit warmer in the Boston area. My younger brother, Dan, and his family were east for the holidays to visit with Mom and Dad and the house was almost full.

Dan’s been the runner in our family. He’s still contemplating various marathons half a century into his life. I used to run, years ago, but not any longer. I’m lucky to get up to a brisk walking pace. I don’t do running anymore, but I have itchy feet – in that I can’t sit still for very long, let alone days on end.

We both have a gadget guru envy in our psyche too. Little technogizmos always fascinate me. But while I’ve been able (usually) to squelch my desire to own many of these gadgets, it’s been Dan who will show up with something that tickles the outdoors fancy in me. So it goes without saying that when he visited last summer and brought along a hand-held global positioning system unit, I took note.

He took it with him on a kayak tour we did out of Castine, and the little gadget traced the route we took using tiny electronic “breadcrumbs.” I’d had a passing fascination for these little machines, but I had other “tools” on my list. Besides, my guide instructor, Dick Parker (otherwise known as Mr. GPS), had suggested that the machines are constantly being updated and more features added. The longer you wait, Parker suggests, the more machine you’ll be able to buy for the money. (Usually all I need is for someone to say wait since procrastination is my strong suit.)

Besides, I was just getting relatively proficient with a map and compass. Why would I need to clutter my mind with another navigational challenge? As I get older I find that trying to learn too much too quickly is more of a hurdle than I wish to jump – a little at a time is fine.

Along comes Dan with his eTrex, a “personal navigator” GPS unit made by Garmin, that fits in the palm of my hand and with the push of a button tells me exactly where on earth I am. For anybody who’s ever been lost or simply turned around in the woods or the fog, this is a dream come true.

Add to this a game called geocaching that is growing in popularity daily and you’ve got a formula that I couldn’t resist.

What is geocaching? From a Web site of the same name I quote: “Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a GPS unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the Internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache.”

What better way to learn and have fun at the same time? I don’t really care if there’s a prize at the end of the rainbow, just something to let me know I’ve found “the spot.”

A GPS unit can be a huge help in guiding you to that spot. In his Falcon Guide “Using GPS,” Bruce Stubbs explains the workings of these little units that receive signals from orbiting satellites. “The heart of GPS is exact measurement of time. Each satellite carries several atomic clocks on board. The satellites transmit precisely timed radio signals, which are picked up by your GPS receiver. The signal carries this information, telling the receiver exactly when the signal left the satellite. Using an onboard computer, the receiver measures time in transit – the time required for the radio signal to travel from the satellite to the receiver. The satellites also transmit a navigation signal giving their exact location. Using this information, your receiver can calculate its exact distance from the satellite and place your receiver somewhere on a spherical surface.”

By making this calculation from several satellites it can pinpoint itself on the earth’s surface, often within 30 feet. Combine this high-tech gizmo with the tried and true map and compass and you have an accurate picture of where you are.

Now reverse the process. Enter a specific geographic location (a waypoint) into the GPS unit by its coordinates (usually in latitude and longitude or Universal Transverse Mercator), then have the GPS “lead” you to that location. This is what geocaching (and route plotting) is all about. You go to a Web site, get information on caches hidden near your location (done by Zip Code), check your map of the area, and head out in search of the spot.

If you’re really interested in geocaching, check out http://www.geocaching.com/

The other way to enter waypoints into your GPS is to actually be on the spot you want the unit to remember. Simply push a button (or a few buttons) and the spot is stored. You can give it a name if you wish.

The next time you want to return to that spot, all you need do is call up the waypoint with the push of a button, then ask the GPS to steer you to the spot (the go-to functon). It’ll tell you direction and distance as you move toward the spot.

So what? Well, say you’re protective about your favorite tree stand, a special fishing spot you stumble upon, or are out on a hike in unfamiliar territory? If you enter these spots as waypoints, the GPS will take you back to them the next time you want to go. Say you’re out paddling and the fog comes in or you’re turned around in the woods? No problem finding your way home provided you remembered to enter a waypoint when you started. You don’t even have to have the GPS turned on all the time. Turn it on when you depart, enter your waypoint, then turn it off. When you want to return, turn it on and get a bearing to follow home. You could then follow your compass or keep the GPS on and follow the arrow home.

When you’re trying to find a geocache in a new or different location, it’s important to remember to enter your starting point. My brother had a mapping program on his laptop computer and we plotted a course to a geocache near our parents’ home in Winchester, Mass. There were two ponds we had to circle. Our route took us pretty close to the spot and with a little creative searching on the side of a 40-foot cliff, we found what we figure was the spot. Unfortunately there wasn’t anything there, but we left a tennis ball for the next person to find. We then followed our plotted route back to the car, completing a loop.

The experience was all I needed to want to try it again and to learn how to operate this machine. I’m still learning, but I’m sold on it.

Jeff Strout’s column is published on Saturdays. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.