Chinatown Tour Mystery Cache
GeoWomyn_SF_CA: I am no longer in the area to maintain this one. Thanks to all who visited :-)
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Follow my drawings, collect the clues, complete the code. Tour is less than one half mile in total. Cache container is a magnetic micro but not a blinker.
Cache is not hidden at the posted coords. However you will begin your journey by using the posted coords, or hint 1.
|
Welcome to the Chinatown Tour Cache. If you are from out of town and traveling with someone that has no interest in caching this adventure might just work out for both of you. While you collect the clues numbered 1 through 6, your companion can enjoy the side trips and notes I have included at each point of interest.
Study the pictures and collect the clues to find the final location. Pay special attention to the shapes of things rather than the colors. On some of these watercolors I purposely changed the color scheme slightly.
Reading coordinates off your GPS may be next to useless because there are so many buildings. However, the initial coordinates should get you to the starting point and I have also included information in the hints to keep you on track along the way.
PS: Make sure you have a print-out of the cache pages if you did not download them to your PDA. A color print will be more helpful to you than a black and white one.
PSS: I HIGHLY recommend that you bring an old fashioned compass and a street map (even if you live here!)
|
 |
1 Count the number of words underneath the clock displayed on a black background. (Do not count "ECC.." )
___
|
| Side Trip: Go inside to view to a collection of photos depicting the history of this church including its near destruction during the 1906 earthquake. |
| Next Step: Head north down Grant Street until you come to the next picture. |
| |
 |
2 Count the number of words on the red sign located below the pagoda.
___
|
| Next Step: At the corner, walk one short block west until you come to an alley. |
| |
 |
3 Locate this mural. What is shown here is just a snippet of the larger painting. (No clue is to be collected here. I'm just guiding you to the next step.) |
| Side Trip: Visit the Clarion Music Center on this corner to view an exotic array of musical instruments from every continent except Antarctica. |
| Next Step: At the corner, head north until you find the building in the picture below. |
| |
|
 |
4 Count the number of words in capital letters on the white sign shown in the drawing.
___
|
| Side Note: During the 19th century this street was home to luxurious bordellos, sing song slave girls, and bloody scenes of Tong warfare. |
| |
| Next Step: Continue walking north until you locate the three buildings in the picture below. |
 |
5 Count the number of Asian symbols on the second floor at #127
___
|
| Side Trip: Visit the Tin How Temple at #125 open to the public from Noon to 4 (Tues-Saturday.) Founded in 1852, inside the temple the atmosphere is one of the most evocative in Chinatown. Red banners and tassles hang from the ceilings, and an ornate lacquered altar isusually surrounded by fresh cut flowers. You will see pyramids of oranges displayed symbolizing wealth and good luck. |
|
Next Step: Continue north.
Turn left at the T section and THEN turn left at "Great China Herb Co" at Spofford (alley).
|
| |
|
 |
6 Locate this red door and note the number on the door. (As of Oct 2018, this door is now grey)
___
|
|
Side Note : In 1880, 22 gambling parlors lined this alley. Thick wooden doors fronting the parlors slowed the police down long enough to transform the gambling dens into innocent domino games.
Today it is a safe, quaint lane that local Chinese use to travel from home to market, shops, or mah-jong clubs. Listen for the clacking of mah-jong tiles as you walk along.
|
| Final Step: Now that you have collected all the numbers from the clues, you will now determine the street address to locate the final. (The location of the cache is one or two short blocks from this spot.) |
| 1) Using the six numbers you have collected, find the corresponding letter for each number in the chart below |
|
|
| 2) Now that you have determined the six letters ('A' is used twice,) unscramble the letters to complete a street name that exists in Chinatown. Fill in the peach colored boxes below with those letters. I have started you off by adding two of the letters in their correct positions. The “000” is the number of the address. (Yes, I know that looks weird but that is truly the number !) |
 |
| 3) Now go to the address (on a street sign with the street name) to find the cache nearby! Consult the hints for more info. |
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
1) Pnyvsbeavn naq Tenag
2) [No hint]
3) [No hint]
4) Arkg gb gur ohvyqvat jvgu gur fgnef
5) Ybbx sbe n Bar Jnl fvta gb cvacbvag gur ureo fgber.
6) [No hint]
7) [Final Cache Location] 1) Fvg, erpyvar, onpxunaq 2) [Spoiler] Raq bs iregvpny cbyr
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures