Founded in 1872 through the
efforts of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids, & Northern Railroad as well as
many local farm families, Ely is a community with strong
Czech ethnic identity and a well-documented history of the
patterns typical of Iowasmall town growth. The small
Dows Street
commercial district with its
wood-frame late Victorian buildings is most unusual and has
been listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
On
Dows
Street
you will notice a
row of wood frame commercial buildings with boom town fronts
and cornices supported by brackets, so typical of late
Victorian commercial architecture in the Midwest. Although they are
plain and modestly sized, as was the Bohemian, or Czech way,
it is unusual for so many of these buildings to have survived
into the 21st century.
1917
Dows St.
looking to the west
2004
To read more about the history
of Ely,
Iowa click here
It is important to
think outside the box . . . these
are not traditional hides. Half of them are hidden in plain
sight, so stealth is the key here – with the many
muggles around we need to ensure
the safety of these micros. Small town folk tend to be
curious about new people – especially ones acting as
strangely as cachers.
All coordinates
start with
N 41º
52.
W 091º
35.
When you
find each micro it will only tell you the three digits after the
decimal point;
Just
reuse the above degrees and minutes every time.
READ THE
HINTS!!! THEY WILL HELP
IMMENSELY.
You can park at #1
– round trip the walk will be slightly less than a
mile. Test runs
took our family members about an hour to complete, but they
worked without the hints.
All steps and clues are placed
on public land or approved private property. Feel free to walk into buildings
and around businesses – discreetly, of course, drawing no attention
to yourself.
Some pre-hint hints
–
Step 1:
it is a film
canister.
Step 2:
it is
definitely NOT a film canister.
Step 4:
this gives 2
sets of coordinates – the first is to give you information
about the final cache coordinates, the second set continues
you on your journey.
Step 5:
write down
the dates associated with a person found here. This step is only accessible
between the hours of 6:00AM
and
12:00AM
.
Remember, this is an urban
cache . . . no vegetation was harmed in the placement; no
vegetation should be harmed during the hunt – I.E. stay out of the flowers, especially
with step 6, thanks!
Original contents of the box
found at the end:
Mini first aid kit
Small can of Off
Toy tractor
Toy fire truck
United We Stand lapel ribbon
Magic towel ("Place in warm water and watch it grow...100%
cotton.")