The Ridge Traditional Geocache
butchmouse: Unable to maintain.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Flat, limited parking, no swag.
Micro Hide #1: This is the first of 10 micro caches I plan for the northern peninsula. Help me out by commenting on the ratings and coordinates.
This geocache is dedicated to vaccine who has given me both pleasure and pain with his settings!
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Ridge was probably grassland and may have been used by the Ohlone Indians for seed collection and hunting. In the late 1700's, the Mission San Francisco de Asisi established farms in the San Pedro valley and in San Mateo to supply the mission and the hills were used to graze livestock. The secularization of the missions resulted in the hills of Pacifica becoming Rancho San Pedro. The Rancho was granted to Francisco Sanchez on June 26, 1839. Sanchez served as alcalde of Yerba Buena and was acting commandante of the Presidio of San Francisco when American forces took over.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, there was a rush to build defense emplacements on the East and West Coasts. The Ridge was chosen to be part of the San Francisco Bay coast defense. It was the site for a six-inch gun battery designated as "Battery Construction 244". The "Knob" command post was located in a large bunker, at the northern point of the ridge. Two small bunkers above and below the command post were used for coast surveillance and were manned by soldiers with machine guns.
In the 1950's The Ridge was again used for defense in the cold war. A NIKE missile site was established at the Ridge. A large section of the site was excavated to provide underground storage for the missiles. On the surface, a large area in the center of the park was paved. Bleachers erected by the missile elevators enabled visitors to view elevation of the missiles to firing position. The administration buildings and barracks for the NIKE installation were located near the gate to the park and have been replaced by private townhouses. At the end of the Cold War the site was dismantled and turned over to the city of Pacifica. All that remains of the NIKE site are the two missile elevators that were sealed with concrete and other military junk that occasionally surfaces. In the 1960's, the City of Pacifica used the bunker as a police station, jail, and civil defense center. It was also used to store old city records for a brief period.
Over the years the park became a popular place for local residents to walk, hunt, to run their dogs. The old bunkers were, and still are, popular but possibly dangerous play areas for youngsters.
Please replace EXACTLY as you found it. Bring a pen to sign with.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Abg arne gur CB! Orrgyr'f fbat "Jr nyy yvir va n "_______" fhoznevar"