"Water, water,
everywhere, and not a drop to drink!" --S. T. Coleridge, The
Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
When my wife and I moved out to California, we were very
impressed by the water reclamation systems we saw all over Orange
County. They really are unique to this area--we haven't seen them
anywhere else. Initially we thought they existed simply to make
slopes look nice, but we soon learned that they are essential to
preventing wildfires and soil erosion.
The cache title refers to a 1965 hit song by
Stonewall Jackson. It was covered on the pop charts in 1966 by
Johnny Rivers, but it is probably best known for the cover that
Elvis Presley did. As my wife and I now know, reclaimed water
isn’t recycled, so you can’t drink it—
This cache is our tribute to water reclamation in Orange County.
It is located in Canyon View Park in Aliso Viejo, where we now
live. As you arrive at the cache site, take a look at the water
reclamation system that runs the entire length of the park. It is a
closed system, and used water is reclaimed and recirculated. The
cache is hidden in the bushes at the coordinates shown. The cache
is heavily camoed micro-cache, with no room for swag. However, it
does have a pencil for signing the log, and it should be an easy
find if you know what you are looking for.