Beulah Land Mystery Cache

This mystery cache is located at Beulah Land, a farm along Bruin Road between North Washington and Bruin, Pennsylvania. Beulah Land Inc. is a center for demonstrating a sustainable living style. More simply, it’s a place to work the earth with care for the future while learning ecology. The staff lives in the 1870 farmhouse. Please respect their privacy. At Beulah Land farming is done without chemicals, and wild creatures are respected. A recycling bathroom in the farmhouse demonstrates harmony with the land, and a room built with straw-bales offers an alternative to traditional construction. Beulah Land Inc. is named after verses in the book of Isaiah, in the Bible: “Neither shall thy land anymore be called Desolate…Thee, and thy land, Beulah, shall be married.” The farm raises vegetable and herbs, and a flock of ducks for insect control and manure to enrich the soil. Volunteers work in the gardens and orchards. Some of the produce is sold in markets. Beulah Land hosts a number of environmental, spiritual and creative programs. There are plans to expand the center’s programs and to grow more produce for the organic market. The loftiest goal is to establish a land trust to protect the property and its wildlife, and to build a small community of people who share in the ideals of conservation through earth-friendly living.

A= ___ This land has been used in many ways. Your first clue is at the head of a trail to an old gravel pit. The gravel pit is about 160 feet down the trail. Judging from the growth of vegetation in the pit, it appears to have been last worked about twenty years ago.

B= ___ The forest here is in the early stages of succession. Find a young sassafras tree to the left of the trail. Groves of sassafras trees sprout from a single root system. They are among the first trees to grow after forest destruction. Each tree usually has three shapes of leaves. Most notable are the mitten shaped leaves. Roots, leaves, twigs and fruit from the sassafras have a delightful order and have been used to make “tea”, medicines, perfume and even root beer. Try rubbing the leaves to release the odiferous oil.

C= ___ Some of the Beulah Land property was strip mined for coal 40-50 years ago. White Pines grow well on the acidic soil resulting from the digging. They are often planted on strip mined land. Find a large Eastern White Pine on the right side of the path. Pine trees have cones and long sharp pointed needles.

D= ___ This is a bigtooth Aspen grove. You can identify the bigtooth aspen by its smoth gray bark. The bigtooth aspen is common throughout the State. The seeds sprout best in open areas after cutting or fire and spread rapidly by sending up suckers from the roots. The trees grow fast but they are shade intollerant and die when competing trees shade them. Some of the trees in this grove is very large for a bigtooth. The leaves shake in a light breeze making a pleasant sound.