GC1JDJQ Finnon Lake Recreation Area (Traditional Cache) in California, United States created by Zin Fan

This cache has been archived.

Nomex: The cache owner is not responding to issues with this geocache, so I must regretfully archive it.

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GC1JDJQ ▼

A cache by Zin Fan Message this owner

Hidden : 11/24/2008

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

An easy find and a pleasant journey. Not ADA accessible.

The new dam is completed and Finnon Lake Recreation Area is in full operation. The droughts from 2012 to 2014 left the lake only about half full (as of October 2014), but it is still a beautiful place and good camping and fishing.

For more information about the park, go to: (visit link)

The Finnon brothers owned this property until 1905 when it was purchased by the American River Electric Co. (AREC) A dam was built by the Finnon brothers to provide back-up water for AREC’s power house on the American River. The dam was completed in 1907. The property was sold to the California State Wildlife Conservation Board around 1955 and included water rights from Slab Creek, about 20 miles to the East. The property was developed into a public recreational facility called Finnon Lake, leased to El Dorado County and run by a concessionaire until 1997.*

In 1997, the State of California declared all dams built with the construction techniques used at Finnon to be seismically unstable. Realizing the cost would be high for the state to replace the dam, the property was sold to the Mosquito Volunteer Fire Department (now the Mosquito Volunteer Fire Association (MVFA), a nonprofit charitable organization) for $1. The MVFA operates Finnon for the benefit of the public and to support it’s charitable functions which include the Mosquito Fire Protection District.

The dam was replaced during the summer of 2011 under the oversight of the El Dorado and Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation Districts utilizing grants from The Sierra Nevada Conservancy and El Dorado County Water Agency. The grants required several additional modifications to the park and those tasks have been undertaken over the last 3 years and completed in early October, 2014.

*Reference: Mosquito Memories; A booklet published by The Mosquito Volunteer Fire Department, Mosquito, California; 1993; Edited by Patricia Relfe and Lela Edson; with tales dictated by Lois Pearson.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Qba'g qvfgheo gur pbjf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)