GC26HW2 Carkids Cache (Traditional Cache) in Connecticut, United States created by pcgeekess & carkids

This cache has been archived.

pc.geekess: I can not believe this cache was muggled way out where it was. Wow, our first cache was this one and Geek Chic placed the same day. Hopefully this season brings more families to the park and perhaps more caches eventually.

GC26HW2 ▼

A cache by pcgeekess & carkids Message this owner

Hidden : 4/11/2010

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Cache Details:
Ammo box quite a bit off from the yellow trail. DON'T USE THE "driving directions" link on the GC weblink. Use the main Bates Woods entrance on Chester Ave. All the trail heads start in the back of the park after all the pavillions.

At the time of placing the cache there were animal (or unmarked) trails to the location but will probably be overgrown in the summer since this park is not used very often.

The Carkids created this cache so there is quite a bit of kids swag and some items I was able to sneak in as well. FTF gets the key. :)

Historical (maybe even political) content:
Synopsis of The Day Paper, Front page news on Sept 18, 1982 when the 12 acre landfill located on the south side of the property was purposed to be closed and a new recreational area to be built at the north east entrance on Chester Rd:

The park property was acquired by the city of New London in 1912 by the late Joseph F. Bates and his family. The property, when conveyed to the city by Bates, was described as one of the finest pieces of farmland and woodland property in the vicinity.

Until the early 1980’s the 95 acre tract was best known as the home of the city’s dump and the Herbert F. Moran Zoo. During the Depression, crews employed under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) carved roads through Bates Woods, built stone walls, dug ponds and cleared hiking trails and picnic sites.

The more recent purposed (Sept 2009) renovation plans have not made the newspaper yet, and time will tell if / when it will get started. It is evident that there have not been any renovations made to the park since the original changes made in 1983. The similarities of concern from the 1982 article and the 2010 plans posted at the city website, as to the park being under utilized, the park's potential, wildlife preservation, and trash problems are most ironic.

Update on the park: Surprisingly the 2010 renovations at the park were started and some are already finished. There is a fabulous safe playscape in the park, another new pavillion and many of the trails have been covered in mulch. It is a completely different park now. Somewhere I would and have taken my kids again. The is still a trash problem, but the park is being used a lot more, and people are biking and walking the trails again. I believe the speed of the 2010 renovations had a lot to do with a grant to do so. Please enjoy this park again, I think you will be surprised.