GC3EYVY Cobble Hill Sightseeing Tour (Traditional Cache) in British Columbia, Canada created by cameracowgirl and bear cub mom

This cache has been archived.

Skookum Bear: As the cache owner has not indicated that they have visited the cache location to replace it if it was missing, perform needed maintenance, or verify that it is still there within a reasonable amount of time, I am regretfully archiving the cache to clear it from the active cache database and open the area to new caching opportunities. If the cache owner would like to replace a cache at this location, please submit a new geocache listing and it will be reviewed under the current Geocaching guidelines.

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Skookum Bear
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GC3EYVY ▼

A cache by cameracowgirl and bear cub mom Message this owner

Hidden : 3/19/2012

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Nano - bring tweezers and a pen. Note: GZ is wheelchair friendly, however the cache is not.

Welcome to a tour of downtown Cobble Hill. Our names are cameracowgirl and bear cub mom, and we will be your tour guide. We ask that you please keep your hands and GPSr inside the tour bus at all times during our tour. Thank you.

Let’s begin our tour with this little park that is perfectly located so a tourist can see almost all the town landmarks and heritage buildings with a simple 360 degree turn while standing at the cenotaph. The cenotaph is a memorial for those who served this country and did not make it home. Every November 11, this is a wonderful place to watch a parade and thank a veteran.

If you look to the North of the cenotaph, you will see the new park, Cobble Hill Commons. For decades it was the public works yard, but soon it will be a playground and waterpark.

NE of the park is the Cobble Hill Hall and Fairgrounds. The hall is over 100 years old and every year since it was built it has hosted a busy and exciting agricultural fair on the third Saturday in August.

SSW of the park was Barry's Automotive, a building that is briefly featured in the yet-to-be released Hallmark TV film “The Note 3” (working title) starring Ted McGinley and Genie Francis. The business that first built here in the 1920's was Barry's Blacksmith Shop and the Barry family simply adapted from horse and buggy to cars. The last operator of Barry's Automotive recently closed the gas station for his retirement, but the building itself is still owned by the Barry family and continues to house a transportation fix -it shop as it has since its humble beginnings as a blacksmithy.

SSW of the park, just around the corner, is the former Cobble Hill Kindergarten. First built in the 1940’s, this building held many laughing children. It is no longer used as a school and the public is welcome to go find the cache in the parking lot that is near the school’s old zipline tree. Photos of the building and its students from many decades ago, as well as plenty of other historical photos of the Cobble Hill area, can be found here if you happen to go inside the Old School. But for now let’s stay on the tour bus, since there is much more to see.

Looking WSW on the corner you will see a historical building that was originally constructed and operated by Tom Walton in 1911. While the upstairs is now a residence, in it's beginnings the building had a dance hall and gaming parlor on the top floor.

Also WSW of you is the Cobble Hill train station. Every morning and afternoon from the early 1970’s to the late 1980’s you could see Tom, the local ticket-seller, waving at the train as he stood beside his vintage bicycle here. The former station, the train, Tom, and his bicycle, were once featured in a watercolor painting by Cowichan Valley artist Gaylia Nelson.

Behind the train station is Cobble Hill Mountain. The mountain was featured in the 1994 movie “Little Women” which starred Susan Sarandon and Oscar nominee Winona Rider. Cobble Hill Mountain once held the blasting factory for a local quarry and after the factory closed in 1981 the land was sold and converted into a nature park. And, yes, there are caches in the park.

We have now reached the end of our tour. Should you have any postcards you would like to send home, you may go WNW around the corner onto Garland Avenue. There you will find a mailbox outside the historical building that holds the Cobble Hill post office, home of the postal code that the locals have nick-named “vorilo.” Over a hundred years ago the post office was operated from the inside of a retired caboose before the current building was put in place.

And that concludes our sightseeing tour of downtown Cobble Hill. Thank you for joining us and we hope that you enjoyed your time in our little village. Please watch your step as you leave the bus and have a great time finding the cache.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gjragl frira fgrcf Abegu bs Ubyynaq’f tengvghqr. Cyrnfr ercynpr pnershyyl. Pnpur pnzb naq ybpngvba unir punatrq fyvtugyl nf bs 11/20//15. Abg n snxr fcevaxyre urnq.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

This cache has been archived.

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Cobble Hill Sightseeing Tour Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

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Geocache Description:

Attributes

Inventory

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