I strongly recommend you NOT go to the listed coordinates. The cache is NOT there. They will place you in the middle of the intersection of U.S 50 and Graham Road. You will not find a cache to sign but are likely to acquire a cast for someone else to sign.
This puzzle is based on a problem from a class I took the first time I went to grad school. I have obfuscated it just a bit to keep things interesting.
I have several friends with whom I often go geocaching. You may have met them at some point out in the wilds. One couple is Bill "Loopy" and Betty "Bijoux" Abbott, who often travel with their dog Buzz. Another is Elmo "Hoot" Bellow who is most often seen in the company of his wife Amy (a.k.a. Boopsy) but will also bring one or more of their children Denny and Knox or their geodog Cello. All very nice folks
We enjoy sending each other puzzles. Recently Boopsy sent the one below to the group. She says it is a cache location. It is probably as a response to the wooden elephant puzzle I sent to Loopy and Bijoux which came disassembled and without directions. To their credit they reassembled it. What she sent out were the following coordinates:
N 81 25.981, W 66 55.391
It is obvious these are bogus. Boopsy says the she placed the cache during her lunch hour and I strongly suspect she was not able to get anywhere near Ellesmere Island in the time allotted. But this one's got us. Can one of you folks figure out where the good Mrs Bellow hid the cache? The Abbotts and I would very much like to know.
You are looking for a camouflaged 200cc pill container with a screw top. There is some room for small trade items. Larger TBs would be an issue. BYOP would be a good idea.
There is parking approximately 100 meters to the WSW of the cache. It has been known to get full (generally on Sundays) but is usually sufficient for our purposes. If it is full, there is ample parking in the general vicinity.
I had between 16 and 24 feet of accuracy when I made the screening for the location. The final coordinates were the average of a lot of readings, but going .002 either way may not be out of the question. If you have better coordinates, please let me know.
For the FTF folks out there, this is a gentle request that we share the wealth. If you could wait the number of days you have FTFs then someone else will get a chance to make a FTF. Of course, once someone finds it, all bets are off. I cannot enforce that rule but will ask nicely.
And since this is a Northern VA cache, the standard verbiage applies. Heed all signs, always use your seatbelt, and floss daily.
Update for 4/8/10 - The FTF restriction was a good idea badly implemented. I withdraw it. This cache is open to all at any time.
Congratulations to jk4va for the FTF!!
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.