I wound up on a scout outing to Caveman Ranch. On the way home
we decided to let the scouts do a little rapelling near this cache
site.
As the other leaders were setting up, I found a spot to place
this cache. I walked down from the Jaycee Park parking lot. I
stayed at road level till I found a little gully and walked up the
first level of rock. It should be an easy walk, but you could make
it much harder if you tried.
I was surprised with the amount of Mormon Tea or Brigham Tea
growing in the area. Here is a little more information about Mormon
Tea:
Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in its
family, Ephedraceae, and order, Ephedrales. Ephedra grows in dry
climates over wide areas of the northern hemisphere, including
southwestern North America, Europe, north Africa, and southwest and
central Asia, and, in the southern hemisphere, in South America
south to Patagonia. In temperate climates, most Ephedra species
grow on shores or in sandy soils with direct sun exposure. Common
names in English include Joint-pine, Jointfir, Mormon-tea or
Brigham Tea. The Chinese name is mahuang (simplified Chinese: ??;
traditional Chinese: ??; pinyin: máhuáng; Wade–Giles:
ma-huang; literally "cannabis yellow"). Ephedra is also sometimes
called sea grape (from the French raisin de mer), a common name for
the flowering plant Coccoloba uvifera.
Earliest uses of Ephedra spp. (Ma Huang) for specific illnesses
date back to 5000 BC. Ephedrine and isomers were already isolated
in 1881 from Ephedra dystachia and characterized by the Japanese
organic chemist Nagai Nagayoshi of the 19th century. His work to
access Ephedra drug materials to isolate a pure pharmaceutical
substance, and the systematic production of semi-synthetic
derivatives thereof is relevant still today as the three species
Ephedra sinica, Ephedra vulgaris and to a lesser extend Ephedra
equisetina are commercially grown in Mainland China as a source for
natural ephedrines and isomers for use in pharmacy. The application
of botanical extracts from Ma Huang as a stimulant and anorexic
drug has no validity in either TCM or modern Western medicine. E.
sinica and E. vulgaris carry usually six optically active
phenylethylamines, mostly ephedrine and pseudoephedrine with minor
amounts of norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine as well as the three
methylated analogs.(wikipedia)
My GPSr was only giving me 30 foot accuracy at the cache site,
so I recommend using the spoiler photo. Good luck.