Discover Flower Mound Parks and
enjoy
the outdoors
with the Flower Mound GPS Adventure!
Using your GPS receiver and the Flower Mound
GPS Adventure Score Card available here, challenge yourself,
your family or your
friends to find all 15 GPS Adventure control markers hidden in
parks throughout the Town.
If you own a GPS receiver and are familiar
with finding locations using latitude and longitude coordinates,
simply follow these
easy steps. If you’re new to using a GPS receiver, find
answers to your questions below.
- Download and print the Flower
Mound GPS Adventure Score Card.
- Select parks to explore and markers to find – or
try to find them all!
- Use the coordinates on the score card to find
each marker and record the marker letter on the score card.
- Use the Start Time
and Stop Time sections of the score card to record
your time, or just enjoy the day as it unfolds.
View the GPS
Adventure Map
View the GPS
Adventure Scorecard
What is GPS (Global Positioning
System)?
Made available to the public in 1997 by the United States
Department of Defense, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is
a worldwide,
space-based navigation system operated by the U.S. Air Force.
The system is a constellation of 24 satellites that provides
accurate
information about position
and speed of travel
anywhere in the world to individuals with a
GPS receiver.
What is a GPS receiver?
A GPS receiver is a small, handheld device
(about the size of a cordless home phone) that utilizes the
location of four or
more of the 24 satellites to chart the distance to each and
calculate its own position on Earth. Location is displayed
on the GPS receiver
screen as coordinates of latitude and longitude. You can learn
more about how the GPS system and GPS receivers work at http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gps1.htm.
Where
can I buy a GPS receiver and how much do they cost?
GPS
receivers are sold in most sporting goods stores and online
through outdoor outfitters. The cost of an entry-level
GPS receiver
is approximately $100.
Does the Flower
Mound Parks Department have a GPS receiver I can use?
The GPS receiver may be checked out for three days at the
Parks and Recreation office, 3925 Churchill Drive.
How do I use a GPS
receiver?
GPS receivers vary, but for use
on the GPS
Adventure Map, entering a single set of coordinates
from the Flower Mound GPS
Adventure Scorecard and saving them as a waypoint or navigating
directly to them works best. A new GPS receiver, as well as the
loaned unit, come with complete instructions. Make sure to view
the GPS
Adventure Map to get an idea of where the markers
are and how you’ll plan your approach.
What other fun things
are there to do with a GPS receiver?
There
are many sports and outdoor activities that use GPS receivers.
One sport that is growing rapidly among outdoor enthusiasts
and suburban families looking for low-impact, outdoor adventure
is
geocaching. Visit www.geocaching.com to learn more. What are the
Flower Mound GPS Adventure control markers and what do they look
like?
The control markers are plastic 4 x 4-inch
orange and white squares.
View the GPS Adventure Map
View the GPS Adventure Scorecard
(answers available here)
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