Congratulations to butterfly5 for their FTF!
The “spring check” in 2019 will be the last of the regular formal checks at this location; hereafter, we will visit only when we are informed in a log or personal e-mail that maintenance is needed - so please keep us informed!
It's An Easy Cache to Do!
Please don’t report in your log that this is a “quick, easy find.” We know it is! We intend it to be! (Only because of the locations have we placed the difficulty rating at 1.5.) We hope it will attract families - among others, of course - and that kids will be able to make the finds. This is a quick two-stage multi both to draw attention to a useful skill and to bring people to a place with quite a view!!
By the way, each land-owner is aware of the existence of the stage adjacent to his property.
The Story Behind the Cache
Our goals in raising three children included ensuring that all of them were able to drive a vehicle with standard transmission. (And they have all benefitted in one way or another from having this skill!) They all had professional driver training as part of their secondary school education but, at least in our part of the country, all the cars used had automatic transmissions. So, it fell to their parents to “give ‘em the gears!” and we derived great pleasure from those Saturday afternoon (usually) one-on-one encounters.
How do you measure a person’s competence in this art? We decided that the ability to start the vehicle from a stand-still on a steep slope without stalling or slipping backwards was the ultimate skill. We chose a location for this test and the given co-ordinates will take you to the bottom of that hill - the point at which they began their attempts - and here you will find the re-direct. (The reason that this cache is a “multi” is that there was no suitable place for a regular cache at this location.) As they improved, we moved further and further up the hill until, finally, they were able to stop and start again satisfactorily from any point on the hill from the bottom to the top. It was a time of considerable family celebration when each teen’s performance was stamped “approved!”
The Re-direct
The camo’d re-direct is slightly smaller than a 35 mm film canister. It is difficult to open and close properly - no trick, it’s just tight! - so we hope it will prove to be completely water-tight. Please leave it attached in its position - simply (?) remove the lid and record the information. By the way, there is a fairly new electric fence in the area but there is no need to go near it; just warn your children, please!
The Final
Once you have the final co-ordinates, take the time to climb the hill slowly (whether or not you have standard transmission!) - and also pause at the four-way stop - so that you can take in the view which continues to be quite spectacular as you move south from the intersection. Then move on to the final - a camo’d 2.5 L “Snapware” container (no writing utensil because pens freeze and pencils dull) - and, if you wish, take a wee vehicle from the selection provided for you. We would appreciate your trading a car for a car (or truck or . . . ) to maintain the theme of the cache over time. If you are expecting to make an exchange, please bring your anticipated trade in a sealed plastic bag to keep it dry and in good condition for the next person.
In Conclusion
Enjoy this experience . . . and the memories which it may evoke!