County Line - San Francisco Mystery Cache

Over the past “five” years now… geez… has it been that long? Anyway, I have traveled throughout the State with a new perspective. Not like I used to… before I would fly through little burgs and towns without taking a second look. I have always traveled for work but never took the time to “see” where I was going. I would hit a town do my work and go back to the hotel and sit in my room clicking the clicker until the wee hours of the morning.

Now, every new town I pass through is an awakening. I thrive on the new treasures I see… monuments I have whizzed by a hundred times in my life are now new nuggets of knowledge, vista points I passed without a blink are postcard images burned in my mind, and side streets of towns are secret treasures that only non tourists find. Geocaching has made me stop and smell the roses.

Hopefully, this little puzzle will help enlighten you on the County of San Francisco and maybe make you “stop and smell the roses” too.

N 37° 49.ABC

A = San Francisco City and County was incorporated (A)/15/1850.

B & C = The California State Historical Landmarks issued landmark NO. 9(B) (C) TREASURE ISLAND-GOLDEN GATE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION, 1939-40 - This artificial island was constructed of bay sand in 1936-7. It was the site of the Golden Gate International Exposition, 2/18/1939 to 9/29/1940. Tall towers, gigantic goddesses and dazzling lighting effects turned the Island into a 'Magic City.' The exposition celebrated the ascendancy of California and San Francisco as economic, political and cultural forces in the increasingly important Pacific Region. From 1939 to 1944 the Island was the landing site for flights of the China Clipper. Treasure Island has been a U.S. Naval Station since 1941. As a side note, the location of this historical landmark is not far from where the actual cache is located at Naval Station, Treasure Island, San Francisco.

W 122° 22.DEF

D = This little island in the San Francisco Bay has had a storied history. It started out as a home for seagulls, and then was used as a lighthouse, a military fort, a home for wayward souls who broke the law, a Native American occupation, and is currently part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area run through the National Park Service. It is simply known as “The Rock”. But to answer (D) = convert the first letter of the name of the island to a number.

E = (X+Y) The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, authorized by an act of the California Legislature, was incorporated in 1928 as the official entity to design, construct, and finance the Golden Gate Bridge. However, after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the District was unable to raise the construction funds. It was not until 1933 that construction actually begun on the Golden Gate Bridge. As a side note the Golden Gate Bridge was completed and opening ceremonies were conducted on May (X)(Y), 1937.

F = The Loma Prieta earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time. Caused by a slip along the San Andreas Fault, the temblor lasted 10–15 seconds and measured 6.(F) on the moment magnitude scale (surface-wave magnitude 7.1). The quake killed 63 people throughout northern California, injured 3,757 and left some 3,000-12,000 people homeless.

Other interesting tidbits about San Francisco:

The first European to discover the island of Alcatraz was Juan de Ayala in 1775, who charted San Francisco Bay and named the island "La Isla de los Alcatraces," which means "Island of the seabirds."

How San Francisco got it’s name. This is a derivative word from sand and Francisco. In the early settlement of this country it was the custom of an old monk of the interior, by the name of Jeremiah Francisco, to perform a pilgrimage to this place every month, to visit the tomb of a brother of the order whose remains he had here interred. The wind “blew like mad” here, and upon his return he was usually so covered with the dust and sand, that his neighbors were unable to recognize him; hence they soon began to call him sand Francisco. On one of his pilgrimages he happened, by mistake, to die here, and the place ever after was called by his name. From the difficulty of enunciating the d, it was usually called SAN FRACNISCO, and has so continued to this day. The present popular notion that the place was named after the St. Francis Hotel is an error!

Some facts on the Golden Gate Bridge: The two towers of the bridge rise an impressive 746 feet. The pier of the bridge is only 1,215 feet from the shore, the distance between the two towers that support the cables, which in turn, support the floor of the bridge is 4,200 feet. These two cables are the largest bridge cables ever made at a little over 36.1 feet in diameter.

At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and Northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, ruptured gas lines ignited fires that would spread across the city and burn out of control for several days. With water mains out of service, the Presidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain the inferno by dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks. More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost the entire downtown core.

I could go on and on…

As always, enjoy.

You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.

I would also like to thank Smilin' Dawg for volunteering to be my sponsor in the area for this cache.