If Rocks Could Talk, what stories would they tell us?
This multi takes you to Indian petroglyphs, Ginkgo petrified
wood, and lava hills.
Park your car at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest Interpretive Center
near Vantage, WA to get 3 clues. Use the clues to get the final
coordinates. Drive a short distance then walk 1/8 mile to the
cache.
When Wanapum dam was built on this portion of the Columbia River
in the 1950's, thousands of petroglyphs were soon to be flooded. A
number of petroglyphs were saved and now reside in various museums.
One of the best places to look at the salvaged petrogylphs is at
Ginko Petrified Forest Interpretive Center.
The interpretive center is closed during winter, but the wall of
petroglyphs can be viewed outside. The Interpretive Trail and
hiking trail is open to you at all times of the year.
At the posted coordinates you can view the petroglyphs. Read the
sign there and write down the three digit number mentioned in the
sign.
Go to waypoint N46 57.242 W119 59.262. Here you will find a
panoramic view of the Columbia River flowing south toward Wanapum
dam. What is the year of the benchmark? This is a great spot for
taking pictures.
Go to waypoint N46 57.283 W119 59.273. Read the interpretive
sign about the ginkgo petrification. How many square miles were
covered by lava flows. The silica from the lava displaced the
organic cells in the trees forming the petrified forest.
Now on to the cache.
For the North coordinate, N46 57.XXX. Take the three digit
number mentioned in the sign and add 184. Substitute the answer for
XXX.
For the West coordinate, W119 59.YYY. Take the year on the
benchmark and subtract the number of square miles divided by 100.
Then subtract 1090. Substitute the answer for YYY.
Now drive to the location of the former Vantage hiway. The old
bridge was flooded by the construction of Wanapum dam. You can park
your car within 1/8 mile of the cache. Please bring a pencil to
sign the log.
You will be walking along hills of lava. These lava flows are
the cause of the ginkgo petrification. The trail follows the shore
of the Columbia river. While placing the cache, I spotted three
Bighorn sheep. Sat signal was spotty along the cliff, so you may
need the hint to locate the cache.