Big Woods - Quick Cache Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size:  (micro)
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This is a quick cache in a new developing park in Hassen Township.
Below is the story of this new park. This is a winter friendly
quick grab that would be good for kids. This can start your
exploration of the "Big Woods". Thanks for hunting.
In the 1980s, about the time suburbia began to expand rapidly along
Interstate 94 in northwestern Hennepin County, developers and real
estate agents began knocking on Lloyd and Evelyn Henry's farmhouse
door. They envisioned converting the 60-acre forest that occupies
the northwest corner of the Henrys' farm into secluded lots for new
houses. The Henrys knew they could sell their forest for a good
price, but they were determined to see the forest preserved, both
as a memorial to Lloyd's grandparents, who bought the farm near
Rogers shortly after the Civil War, and for people who enjoy the
tranquillity and sense of history that old forests provide.
"Over the years we've had many visitors to the woods when we've
made maple syrup. People love to be out in these woods in the
spring, and I'd like for them to continue to enjoy it."
The forest, it turns out, is one of the best-preserved remnants of
deciduous forest in the Twin Cities area, strengthening the Henrys'
resolve to see it protected.
Forests of elm, sugar maple, basswood, and oak once covered more
than 2,000 square miles of south-central Minnesota, extending in a
band 40 miles wide from Mankato to Monticello. This band of forest
contrasted markedly enough with the surrounding prairies, savannas,
and brushy oak and aspen woodlands that French explorers traveling
through Minnesota in the 1700s designated it the bois fort or bois
grand, which English-speaking inhabitants later translated as "big
woods."
Thanks to the Henry family for this great piece of forest we can
all now enjoy.
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