Snow and Merry Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Located near one of the access points to "Old Town" Negaunee. The cache is placed near the corner of Snow and Merry Streets.
In the late 1950s and 1960s, a significant portion of Negaunee was closed off due to open pit and underground mining activity in the area. The area was deemed "caving grounds" and fenced off. Many houses were moved to new locations, and those that couldn't be moved were torn down. The area sat largely forgotten and unused for the better part of 50 years.
The city of Negaunee has purchased the tract of land back from Cliffs, and after careful study, determined that portions of the area were safe to enter. Much of the area has been reopened for public use, and a recreational trail system is being developed.
My first visit to "Old Town" was one evening when my wife and I took a walk through part of the area. I enjoy ghost towns and abandoned buildings, and was fascinated by the concrete stairs in this block. I tried to imagine what the homes looked like that the stairs used to lead to.
Other areas in Old Town include the site of the Jackson School, the LS&I railroad depot, open pit mining sites, and the original site where Marji Gesick showed early explorers iron ore in the roots of a tree, leading to the iron mining boom that has shaped the local economy for over a century. Be sure to check out the caches by zooz/bhuji elsewhere in "Old Towne Negaunee."
Starting contents: $1 for first finders, key holder, pin-on compass, several keychains including a bison tube a level and a tape measure, and two handwarmers. Also included is a baggie of iron ore pellets collected from near a former trestle in Old Town, about a block west of the cache location.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Hcghearq fvqrjnyx