Garrison's View Traditional Cache
NCreviewer: It looks like your cache has been under the weather for some time. While I feel that Geocaching.com should hold the location for you and block other cachers from entering the area around this cache for a reasonable amount of time, we can't do so forever. This cache has been archived due to lack of action or response from the Cache Owner.
Please note that if geocaches are archived by a reviewer or Geocaching HQ for lack of maintenance, they are not eligible for unarchival.
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The cache is magnetic and located on the east side of the Pee Dee River. Parking is close by if you cross the river from the East.
This is one of our favorite views in Montgomery County, and historical too.
Looking north from this vantage point you can see the Uwharrie Mountains chain and Morrow Mountain State Park. There are four major peaks in the park—Morrow, Sugarloaf, Hattaway and Fall. Morrow Mountain is the tallest in the park at 936 feet.
The Uwharrie Mountains were formed over 500 millions years ago, and are the oldest mountain chain in Northern America, probably the oldest land mass in the Western Hemisphere. Thought to have once towered 20,000 feet, the Uwharrie chain has been worn down by wind, water, and time. The Uwharrie Mountains were designated a U.S. National Forest in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy.
Looking north, the Pee Dee River is formed when theYadkin River meets the Uwharrie River just beyond Sugarloaf, the double peaked mountain. To the south, the Pee Dee River courses through eastern SC to the ocean. It is joined along the way by the Rocky River, the Lynches River, the Lumber, the Black River, and the Waccamaw before it reaches the sea at Georgetown, SC. The Pee Dee used to be used mostly for the transport of pine and pine products from the Carolinas, but the river is no longer extensively used for navigation. It remains an important source of electric power, public water supplies, and recreation.
Six man-made lakes lie along the Yadkin-Pee Dee river chain including (from north to south) High Rock Lake, Tuckertown Reservoir, Badin Lake, Falls Lake, Lake Tillery and Blewett Falls Lake. You are standing over Lake Tillery.
At low water and perhaps 100 yards south of Highway 24-27-73 can be seen the remains of the original bridge over the Pee Dee River. Built in 1922, it lasted only 4 years. Carolina Power & Light obtained water rights for this portion of the river, and planned to dam the river about 6.7 miles south of this spot, creating Lake Tillery. This lake would span 15 miles and cover 5000 acres of land, including the old bridge. CP&L turned over the bridge to the military Corps of Engineers for removal. Engineers were unable to break the bridge by loading it with weight so the Air Force dropped bombs on it, then an artillery division shot at it. It finally took a ton of TNT to bring the bridge down. Once the bridge was demolished, the dam was begun. Completed by 1928, the Norwood Generating Station (as it was then called) was the largest of its kind. The hydroelectric plant and lake were named for past CP&L president Paul Allen Tillery.
A new span was opened in 1927, the year Lake Tillery was created. A plaque commemorating this effort should be right in front of you, though paritally covered by guard rail now. A more modern parallel span was opened in the 1970’s, and in 2005 the refurbished “old bridge” was designated to carry westbound traffic, while the newer bridge carried eastbound traffic. The two crossings are named in honor of James B. Garrison, a former NC State Senator.
FTF will discover "gold"!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ab uvag arprffnel!