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Casco Castle Mystery Cache

Hidden : 10/3/2009
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE LISTED COORDINATES.

The Story of Casco Castle, a visit to a unique historical spot.

The tower of Casco Castle still stands in a small village once famous for shipbuilding. The area was reached by railroad, plus in summer, steamboats from Portland and the islands. Local travel was by horse and buggy or sleigh.

The building of Casco Castle in 1903 is linked to the arrival of the electric trolley car, then regarded as the ultimate in rapid transportation.

Amos Gerald of Fairfield, Maine, a natural promoter, dreamed of making a fortune in the street railway business. To increase use of the trolleys amusement parks were built, the grandest was Casco Castle and Amusement Park.

The Castle was built on a high rocky hill overlooking Casco bay. A flight of steep steps led to the hotel which was built entirely of wood with gray shingles to simulate stone.

The Castle was a “Yankee’s dream” of a Spanish castle. The tower is a remarkable piece of work. The contractor and builder was a local man, Benjamin Franklin Dunning. The views of the bay and the countryside from the top of the tower were magnificent. The hotel had accommodations for a hundred guests.

The amusement park surrounding on three sides was open to the public. There was a small zoo and the formal gardens were worthy of the name. The gardener was an expert and made the most of the rocky hillside. The Castle ballpark was a delight of local fans and the picnic grounds probably attracted more people than the hotel dining room.

The rapid rise of the automobile led to the decline of the trolley, and tastes for amusements changed. After a few seasons the hotel was closed. It reopened several times, the last was in 1914 and ended in disaster. In September, as the guests were packing to leave, fire broke out, and the entire hotel structure burned to the ground. The wooden stairs in the tower sent flames shooting high into the air. The masonry of the tower withstood the heat and flames and today is a well-known landmark for the fishing and pleasure boats that throng the bay. The stone tower of the Casco Castle stands today on private property.

Since the tower is on private property the coordinates given will take to a street view of the tower. As you look at the tower there is a yellow house in your field of view. On the end of the house closest to you, you need observe how many window openings face you in the nearest wall. Call that number A. What is the total of the panes of glass in the windows that make up A? Call that number B

Take those two numbers and apply them as follows to obtain the final coordinates.

N 43 49.703 Plus AB W070 06.660 Plus BA

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Uvqr: Ybt va jbbqf whfg bhgfvqr bs przrgrel. Chmmyr: Gb purpx inyhrf bs N naq O lbh pna frr vs guvf vf gehr. N + O = 12

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)