Welcome back to Iowa...... (Hill, that is....)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is a replacement of my original Iowa Hill Cache. (GC546A) The old cache had a good run, (4 years), but it unfortunately lost a fight with a bulldozer. When ammo can meets bulldozer, ammo can loses every time. The new cache is MUCH closer to town, and is in a new green Ammo can. (I still haven't found them in any other color. :)
The cache is very close to what you would call "downtown" Iowa Hill. (The Iowa Hill Store.)
The town has a lot of history. After the initial gold rush of 1849, miners were moving further up the creeks and ravines looking for the next big strike. A group of miners from Iowa found gold here back in 1853. The town of Iowa City, (Later Iowa Hill,) went from one tent and three log cabins, to a population of between 1400 and 1600 almost overnight.
By 1856, the mines in the area were producing over $100,000 in gold a week. By 1880, over $20 million in gold had been mined. Here is some info I found out about the town on the internet:
Iowa Hill
Located on a ridge between the American River and Indian Canyon, Iowa Hill began growing in 1853 around the Jamison Claim, famous for its gold production. The Jamison was drift mined and later hydraulically mined. The North Star Mine in this area was the first in the state to use a stamp mill to break up cemented gravel that was extracted from the mine. At one time during the boom days, there was a proposal to divide Placer County and make Iowa Hill the county seat. During the area's good times, daily stages ran to Illinoistown (now Colfax) and connected with stages for Dutch Flat and Auburn. The road to Colfax (now paved) is still used today and is still very steep and narrow - a real thrill ride, especially when meeting oncoming traffic.
An 1861 historian said "The business portion of Iowa Hill consists of three large grocery stores, four hotels, five dry-goods and clothing stores, one fancy store, three variety stores, one brewery and soda factory, two hardware and tinware stores, and two butcher shops, besides the usual number of bowling alleys, billiard and lager beer saloons. Iowa Hill also has a splendid Catholic Church, a Methodist Church, a Masonic Lodge, and a Lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also a public school and a theater."
Three times, the town was destroyed by fire. Now the town consists of a one-room schoolhouse for kindergarten through 8th graders, a volunteer firehouse, community club and park and a charming combination store, post office, tavern and café. It still does not have telephone or electric service, public water supply or daily mail service. The local graveyards provide a fascinating glimpse of the past as there is a log telling of the fates of those who are buried there. Several miners died as a result of a dam breaking upriver during a rainstorm. Mining was clearly a dangerous occupation and caused many premature deaths.
Because of the steepness of the canyon, the town has no electricity or phone service. The people have to rely on solar power, batteries, generators and cell phones. (The town *finally* got telephone service in mid-October of 2010.) As for electricity, that is still probably a long way off.
The cache is very full, so help yourself. When the cache was originally placed, 4 years ago, the contents were:
3 Cal Neva "Drink Tokes"
An "American Air Power" computer CD
A Weird Al Yankovic "Running with Scissors" CD
Some refrigerator magnets
A bicycle tire pump
The book,"The Call of Gold. Stories on the gold road to Yosemite".
Please respect the cache area, and hide the cache better than you found it. You can reach the cache area starting in Colfax or Auburn.
If you start in Colfax, take the Iowa Hill road up to the cache. Before or after finding the cache, stop at the Iowa Hill store for a cold beverage, (adult or otherwise). Be sure to get an "I drove the Iowa Hill Road" bumper sticker. There are also 2 cemeteries just outside of town. One is the Banjo Hill Cemetery, which I believe is the Masonic Cemetery, and the Catholic Cemetery is right across the street. Both have lots of history to them.
From Iowa Hill, you can continue on to Sugar Pine Resevoir, (A great place to camp, boat, or just stop for a swim), and continue on to Foresthill and Auburn. From Auburn, just do the same route in reverse. It's a beautiful drive in either direction. Gas is available in either Auburn, Foresthill, or Colfax.
The Iowa Hill road *IS* very steep and winding, so be careful. The first time I drove it almost 20 years ago, it was still gravel, and I was on a motorcycle with a passenger on the back!!!! It's paved all the way, now.
One more thing. If you found this cache before, come on back up and find the new one. I'll allow it as a new find.
ENJOY THE CACHE!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
V frr qrnq crbcyr............
Ybbx sbe gur "I"