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Three Billy Goats Gruff Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

offline.cacher: It's time. This cache can be unarchived at a future date if it still meets the guidelines.

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Hidden : 11/26/2005
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

A puzzling three-stage hunt through Smokewood Park.

Once upon a time there were three Billy Goats Gruff. The billy goats decided to take a walk through the park, along a small pleasant creek. The first billy goat, who was quite small, came to a bridge.

“Who’s that trip-trapping across my bridge?” asked the voice of the terrible troll.“I shall come up and eat you up!”

“Oh, please don’t eat me, Mister Troll,” squeeked the first Billy Goat Gruff, “for I am quite small. My brother is coming behind me, and he is much bigger than I.”

“All right,” replied the troll, “you may pass. I shall eat your bigger brother instead!”

Soon the second Billy Goat Gruff came to the bridge.

“Who’s that trip-trapping across my bridge?” cried the troll. “Is it the bigger billy goat? I shall come up and eat you up!”

“Oh, don’t bother with me, Mister Troll,” called the second Billy Goat Gruff. “I am hardly any bigger than my little brother, but our other brother is coming behind me, and he is bigger still than I!”

“Very well”, replied the troll, “you may pass. I shall eat your biggest brother instead!”

After a little while the third Billy Goat Gruff came to the bridge.

“Who’s that tromp-stomping across my bridge?” cried the troll. “Is it the biggest billy goat? Here I come to eat you up!”

“Well, come on then, and be done with it!” bellowed the third Billy Goat Gruff. And being a very large, very strong, and very bold billy goat indeed, the biggest Billy Goat Gruff rammed the troll right off the bridge into the raging river below, and he was never heard from again.

This cache is just like that, only different.

The listed coordinates are for the entrance to Smokewood Park. There is no parking lot, but on-street parking is nearby. Once in the park, you must search for each of the Billy Goats Gruff.

To find the smallest Billy Goat Gruff, solve the following Sudoku puzzle by filling in the digits 1 through 9 in each space. No digit may repeat in any row or in any column, and no digit may repeat in any 3-by-3 square. When the puzzle is solved, get the latitude from the digits in the red spaces, and the longitude from the digits in the blue spaces. If there is no colored space in a 3-by-3 square, then the corresponding latitude or longitude digit is zero.

Each of the Billy Goats Gruff will give you a new puzzle that you must solve to find his bigger brother. Remember to bring a pencil with you!

Stage 1: The Smallest Billy Goat Gruff

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Stage 2: The Bigger Billy Goat Gruff

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Stage 3: The Biggest Billy Goat Gruff

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Smokewood Park is a Fairfax County Parks Authority facility. The park is open from dawn to dusk.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)