Gentlemen, Start Your Engines! Traditional Cache
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
A dragstrip in Hayward?
Set the wayback machine to 1971...
This cache is the second in a series of nostalgic looks back in time as I go on and on about the good old days when I was a kid.
When I was in high school we discovered that someone, in their infinite wisdom, decided to place a sign on this dead end street that read "ROAD ENDS 1/4 MILE". Well it did not take a rocket scientist to figure that backing up to the dead end gave you a 1/4 mile dragstrip with no traffic and a built in finish line. I am pretty sure I am safe because the statute of limitations has surely passed on this issue.
A lot of BF Goodrich, Firestone and Goodyear products lost a lot of tread life here. The 1/4 mile sign is now long gone and an interpretive center was built nearby. Please drive carefully here. There can be a lot of people crossing the road as they come and go from the center.
Kids do not try this! It is DEFINATLEY an arrestable activity in our current society, not to mention how dangerous it is.
You should be able to park fairly close to this cache most of the time. It can get fairly active during lunchtime and when the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center is having a scheduled activity.
The nearby Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center was opened in July of 1986. It is part of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District.
(visit link)
Built on concrete stilts, the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center sits above a salt marsh. They have various features, exhibits, programs and activities to enjoy.
Leslie Salt Company used to have a salt harvesting industry here back then. They would harvest from the adjacent salt evaporator ponds and process the stuff on the other side of the 92. I remember the huge salt hill that used to sit right beside the freeway. Leslie Salt donated 82 acres to HARD and moved its processing operations to Newark, CA.
The interpretive center is open only on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
There is also a trailhead here that enables pedestrians and cyclers to access the Bay Trail that can be taken all the way up to the San Leandro Marina.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)