|
About this cache: There is nothing that defines North Dakota more than its natural environment. Even our urban areas can embrace the harsh nature of living on the northern plains. Patti and I debated a number of different locations for this cache before settling on the Grand Forks Greenway, which exemplifies the region, both historical and environmental, while still remaining reasonably accessable most of the year.
In April, 1997, the Red River of the North overflowed its banks and flooded much of the town of Grand Forks. The flood drew worldwide attention, particularly when, paradoxically, a fire broke out in the downtown area, and fire fighters struggled to extinguish buildings that sat aflame, six feet deep in the river.
As with most disasters, the world moved on, but we in Grand Forks struggled with recovery. Despite predictions that the town would wither and die, it has indeed recovered, persevered, and even grown. This cache is hidden in one of the results of that recovery, the Grand Forks Greenway.
To the east of the cache, you will see the Red River, flowing north towards Lake Winnipeg and Hudson's Bay. Across the river, rich farmland is tilled in Minnesota, either sugar beets or potatoes, the two major crops grown in the Red River Valley. To the west, the hill you see is actually a dike, built by the Army Corps of Engineers, which protects the city from a flood of 61 feet.
In both 2006 and 2009, the efforts of the flood project proved their value. As communities up and down the valley fought the brave fight, aside from the bridges closing, and a few outlying areas not under protection needing sandbagging, Grand Forks was largely able to ignore the water. This freed up resources for helping out in Fargo, Oslo and other areas, but it really spoke to the benefits of flood prevention, rather than reaction. For a little perspective, during 2009, the cache location was under about four feet of water.
North and south from here, the Greenway runs the length of the town, as both protection buffer and a recreational area. There are playgrounds, hiking, biking and ski paths, even a pretty big campground over on the east side. More information is at the Greenway web site. If you are coming from out of town to seek this cache, be sure to check out the many other finds along the Greenway.
A couple of caveats. First, you will find parking at either Lincoln Park Golf Course, to the north, or on Elmwood Drive. Secondly, while there are a number of small game paths in, you will encounter a lot of cockleburrs / thistles. Do not bring a dog in, or wear clothing that you don't want to be picking stuff out of for a long time. In spite of the urban location, this is a natural area, with all that entails.
Finally, in the winter, depending on how much snow is out there, you may need snowshoes to access the cache location. No complaining about the difficulty in finding during winter... this cache does represent North Dakota, after all 
In the Fall of 2011, I moved out of state and have turned the cache over to its new owner. Thank you to all who came to visit our cache
View Handicache rating for GCYKET
The cache location is not accessible by wheelchair. If you are doing the Cache Across America series, when you would like to log this cache, please contact me and we'll work out an alternative method.
|