The Rock Multi-Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A two stage multi-cache in honor of a very good doggie. The first
stage holds the coordinates to the second stage.
I first saw Rocky at a campground in Missouri. He was a puppy, ten
weeks old. Rocky was tied to a tree in a campsite. When we turned
the corner and he first came into view, I said to my wife, "That's
the kind of dog I want!"
We walked over to speak to the owner. The nice man, who was camping
with his young son, told us that he had found the pup wandering in
the woods three weeks prior. The dog had been full of burrs. He
cleaned up the dog and fed him. He told us that he made flyers to
try and notify the owner of the dog that he had been found, but had
gotten no response. He did his best to take care of the dog, but
couldn't afford to get him vaccinations.
Someone had cared for this dog before: He had his "dew claws"
removed and his tail had been clipped. Then he became lost - at
seven weeks!
Talking to the man in the campground, he finally asked if we wanted
to take him! We were stunned! We had come over simply to admire the
dog. The man explained that he couldn't afford the dog. He had a
younger toddler at home that was getting knocked over by the pup
and that his wife was expecting a third child. His wife had
encouraged him to get rid of the dog.
This man asked his son, "Do you want these nice people to take this
dog?" The boy answered, "Sure!" I told the man that we needed to
think it over and that we were leaving the next morning. My wife
and I talked about it and decided that we would love to have this
dog. The next morning, we picked up the puppy and left $50 on the
seat of his car. He had not asked for anything but it seemed like
he could use the dough.
That was in 2000. The park at which we were camping is called
"Table Rock State Park" so we named him "Rocky." It was especially
fitting because I really like rocks. Since then, we "house trained"
Rocky, taught him to "sit" and come when called. He is friendly
with people, good with small children, and appreciates attention -
especially being scratched behind the ears.
We call him by various names: "Rock," "Big," "Big Dog," "B." And we
frequently tell him that he is a very good doggie.
When we started geocaching, we needed a "handle." I tried all kinds
of variations on "Rocky," but they were either not allowed or had
been taken. Finally, in frustration, and trying to prove to myself
that perhaps the problem was the word "Rocky," I tried a phrase
that we speak often in this house: "rocky is a very good
doggie."
If you ever have the opportunity to meet "The Rock," you will find
him greeting you enthusiastically, wagging his stubby tail happily
all the while.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[stage 1]: oyhr