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Interstate 70 passes through 10 states between Maryland and Utah. This 6-stage multi recognizes I-70 in Kansas as it passes from the Colorado border to the Missouri border, a distance of 424 road miles. You will cover about 410-420 of them, including the first stretch of interstate ever laid out just west of Topeka.
As a lifelong Kansan I have driven thousands of miles and lived a majority of my life within a few miles of I-70, including the cities of Hays, Salina, Abilene, Manhattan, Topeka, and Kansas City. This cache is laid out as a tribute to the road I've spent more time on than any other. I hope you will enjoy the cache and
your time in Kansas, and take time to stop and see the people, places, and events scattered on or near I-70 across the state.
The cache begins at the first exit, near Kanorado, and runs to Kansas City. There are 4 intermediate stages ranging from about 60-100 miles apart. No stage is more than a mile off interstate with few if any turns necessary. Only at the final stage will you need to step out of your vehicle, but you may want to take the time to stretch your legs--it's a long trip.
Each stage represents a theme important to the history, culture, and heritage of Kansas and/or I-70. The themes are I-70, agriculture, faith, history, transportation, and commerce. At each stage you will find signs or markers of various types with which you will need to find information to figure out the coordinates to the next stage. I recommend taking photos in case you forget, lose your notes, or run the course in more than one trip.
Notes:
*On the next-to-last stage, there are a pair of "verifier" questions that refer back to prior stages. This makes sure the final can't be found by a lucky guess, no matter how unlikely, just by finding the next-to-last stage. You may want to look ahead to those questions before starting, although the information is readily available on your GPS.
*The stretch from Topeka to Kansas City is a toll road, so have a couple bucks ready (none of the stages are on the tolled part of the highway).
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And now, on to the cache:
Stage 1: I-70
I-70 enters Kansas near the town of Kanorado, a name derived from the names Kansas and Colorado. Coords for S2 are N 39 ab.cde W 10f gh.ijk You are looking for a group of 10 signs clustered together. Look on the front side only.
a: The number of times the letter "D" appears on the signs.
b: The middle digit on the highest numbered sign.
c: The most common digit greater than five on all the signs
d: The number of times the letter "O" appears on the signs.
e: The number of signs without blue on them.
f: The number of signs without numbers or letters minus 2.
g: Subtract the smallest most-common digit from the largest most-common digit. (ex: in 4556 and 311, 5-1=4)
h: The number of times the letter "E" appears on all the signs.
i: The total number of letters divided by 7.
j: The total number of signs with letters, numbers, or both.
k: The number of signs with yellow on them.
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Stage 2: Agriculture
Agriculture is Kansas' most important industry. As you travel down I-70 you will see various kinds of livestock including cattle, horses, and bison as well as a number of crops including corn, soybeans, milo, sunflowers and most importantly, wheat. Kansas is the nation's leading wheat producing state. This location is at an important link in the wheat production in this area. Look at the two buildings near you and answer the following for the S3 coordinates.
Note: on each stage the letters start over again. "A" on stage 1 does not necessarily equal "A" on stage 2, and so on.
N 38 ab.cde W 9f gh.ijk
You will get info from the tall building to the east. (Note: This entry was edited as there used to be a smaller building to the west that some answers could be derived from. Apparently this building has been torn down, so only the taller building will be used.)
a: Number of times the red letter "D" appears on section 11 plus 3.
b: The number of times the letter "Q" appears in red letters on each section of the building to the east (not a total of all sections).
c: The number of red letters painted on the bottom row of each section of the tall building.
d: Number of red words painted on both sections 11 and 12 total.
e: Number of times the red letter "D" appears on section 11.
f: The total number of "seeds" or "grains" painted on the plant high on the side of the tall building
minus 7.
g: Subtract the number of red words on section 11 from the number of red words on section 13.
h: Double the number you got for "f" minus 9
i: The number of times the letter "E" appears on section 11 multiplied by zero.
j: The total number of "seeds" or "grains" painted on the plant high on the side of the tall building
minus 10.
k: The number of times the letter "N" appears painted in red on section 5.
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Stage 3: Faith
As of the 2000 census, 86% of Kansans claimed to belong to the Christian faith, the largest denominations being Catholics, Methodists and Baptists. Religion has played an important role in the state's history, from its leading role in the abolition movement against slavery to the prohibition movement against alcohol a century ago, Kansans have
never been shy about professions of their faith. This site is a good example from one of the denominations that made their way to Kansas.
N 38 ab.cde W 9f gh.ijk
You will get info from the gate and first marker inside on the right, initialed M.C.T.
a: Total number of letters in the first and last name of marker, divided by 2.
b:Born in year 18_2.
c: Number of times the letter "E" appears above gate.
d: Add the digits of the death year and subtract 6.
e: Number of white "points" (not crosses) on top of gateway.
f: Add the 2 digits on the birth date (not year)
g: Number of times the letter "D" appears on marker. h: Number of times the letter "T" is on the gate.
i: Died on April 2_, xxxx (find the _, not the xxxx)
j: Number at the end of the third line of text on the white sign on the fence just north of the gate.
k: Number of letters in the first name on the marker.
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Stage 4: History
Kansas has a varied history from the plains Indians, to the explorations of Lewis and Clark, to the Civil War, the Wild West, Carrie Nation hatcheting saloons in her crusade against alcohol, and a native son called "Ike" who was sent off to war, came home a hero, and rode that popularity all the way to the White House. History is still being made today. Heck, it's the home of the world's oldest active geocache!
N 39 ab.cde W 9f gh.ijk
You are looking for a pair of information signs next to a parking lot.
a: On the city map sign, #18's address is 20_ SE 4th.
b: On the national map, the text begins "In August 197_"
c: In the 2nd paragraph of the same sign, "On June 29, 19_6".
d: On the same sign, the number of interstate shield logos on map.
e: On the city map, the place number for the site with the address of 3rd and Broadway.
f: On the city map, the total number of black letters in the orange field just below the map.
g: On the national map sign, in the first paragraph it says, "His dream originated in ____." Subtract the first half of the year from the last half of the year. (ex: 1994, 94-19=75)
h: On the city map, the site number surrounded by 3rd, 4th, Walnut and Mulberry streets.
i: The Kansas Visitor Center is on this numbered street.
j: On the national map sign, the total number of letters in the first name and middle initial of the
man pictured.
k: On the city map, going east on 1st street, the next town is _ miles away.
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Stage 5: Transportation
In the mid-1800's, settlers came west to Kansas in covered wagons and the Pony Express brought mail through the state on horseback. Then came the railroads, to which many towns owed their survival or demise. Airplane manufacturing came to Wichita in the 1920's and is still vital to the city's economy. Then came the interstate highway system, including I-70 and I-35. Kansas remains a leader in transportation of people and goods.
N ab cd.efg W hi jk.lmn
You are looking for artwork with accompanying text.
a: Number of letters on the 6th line of text.
b: 3rd digit on year at bottom
c: Number of times the letter "B" appears on text.
d: Sum of the first and last digits of the year. e: Number of words on the first line of text.
f: Number of times the letter "O" appears on text.
g: Last digit of year
h: Total number of words (not numbers) in last three lines of text.
i: Number of words in line 2 of text.
j: Number of words in line 5 of text.
k.lm: Add the nearest exit numbers you should have taken to get to stages 1-4 and add 1.
n: Subtract the exit numbers at stages 1, 2, and 3 from the exit number at stage 4. Use the second digit.
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Stage 6: Commerce (final)
Kansas: birthplace of Pizza Hut, White Castle, Cessna, Beechcraft, Sprint, and thousands of smaller companies. Business, trade and commerce have always been vital to the state. The Interstate has generated billions of dollars of revenue for Kansans since its construction. This site is but a small link in a vast chain of commerce on I-70 Eastbound in Kansas. Hope you enjoyed the tour!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre ebpxf.