VSP Wilderness Road 75th Anniversary Adventure Traditional Cache
VSP Wilderness Road 75th Anniversary Adventure
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Difficulty:
-
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Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
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Wilderness
Road State Park is located in Ewing, VA astride the Wilderness
Road, a route carved by Daniel Boone in 1775, which opened
America’s first western frontier. This is a traditional
single cache with an overall terrain and difficulty rating of 2,
which suggests it to be suitable for small children and easily
found by the average geocacher.
Construction
on the Karlan Mansion began in 1877 and was completed in 1878 by
Robert McPherson Ely on the property he called Elydale. Robert
began construction of the mansion while his wife Susan and their
daughters stayed in Missouri with family. Many letters were written
between Susan and Robert regarding the mansion. Those letters, some
of which are preserved in a museum room inside the mansion, are how
we know about the construction of Karlan.
In 1947,
Elydale was purchased by Karl and Anne Harris. The mansion was in
need of repair. Many alterations were made to the original design,
which disqualifies the mansion as a national historic landmark. The
antebellum style entrance that reflects the pre-Civil War
appearance was added, the kitchen was upgraded, and the solarium
and bathrooms were also added. The porches were screened in, the
guest house and breezeway were built and the cedar shakes were
replaced with asphalt shingles.
In 1993, the
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation purchased the
estate and approximately 200 surrounding acres. Thus began the
transformation of Karlan into a state park. On Dec. 14, 1998 the
park’s name was changed to Wilderness Road State Park in
reference to the fact that the land sits astride the famous
Wilderness Road cut by Daniel Boone in 1775. Karlan Mansion would
act as the hub of park operations until the Visitor Center opened
in 2005, and it now serves as a setting for social events. The rich
cultural, historical and natural resources make Wilderness Road
State Park a premier site with a rich heritage.
The cache is
a regular lock-n-lock container that will contain a log book and a
collector's card.
This cache was part of the 2011 Virginia State Parks 75th
Anniversary Geocaching Adventure. This series ended on December 15,
2011. However, the park has taken over this cache so it is still
active. Rewards are no longer available for this cache, but we will
be launching the Virginia State Park Blooming Adventure in March
2012. For upcoming information on the new series go to:
www.virginiaoutdoors.com.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gbb rnfl sbe n pyhr!