This city park is located on the highest hill overlooking Blair.
The park derives its name from Black Elk, a Lakota Sioux Indian
chief of whom John G. Neihardt, Nebraska's Poet Laureate in
Perpetuity, wrote in his epic Black Elk Speaks. Throughout the park
are reminders of the vision of Black Elk, including the Tower of
the Four Winds, a 45-ft. tall mosaic comprised of approximately
50,000 pieces. The work depicts a messiah figure with outstretched
arms and conveys Black Elk's message of peace and unity for all
people. Four smaller mosaics located on the park's paved walking
trail further interpret Black Elk's vision.
See this
site for an on-line version of the book to familiarize yourself
with Black Elk's vision (with explanatory hyperlinks) courtesy of
the University of Nebraska.
There are several picnic tables under an architecturally unique
covered pavilion at the site and more picnic tables with a
playground just to the north. It would be a great place to have
donuts and coffee while watching the sun rise early in the morning,
or maybe a picnic while watching the sun set in the evening. No
motorized vehicles are allowed on the paths. Mountain bikes are
okay. Dogs must be on a leash and must be "picked up" after.
Starting Point coordinates are provided above and the starting
point location will be obvious as you arrive at the site. Search
the starting point coordinates area for a new set of coordinates.
When you find the new coordinates, enter them into your GPS
receiver as the GOTO for the next set of coordinates. This
methodology will be repeated three more times. Pretty simple, but
good practice at entering coordinates by hand.
Total distance for this trek is approximately 1.6 miles and it
should take about an hour. Portions of the hunt have areas with
approximately 40% uphill grade. A combination of concrete sidewalk
and walking paths mowed through the prairie grass are provided.
Some rest benches are also available at strategic locations. If the
correct paths are chosen, no bushwhacking is necessary - except for
the last leg, which requires an off-the-path excursion to find the
cache.
The cache will initially be very well stocked, including
business card size cache souvenir cards. There is a disposable
camera to leave a record of your visit. I've tried to include
something for adults and kids.
The park can be pretty busy on some days. Please be discreet
when searching for clues and for the cache.
PLEASE RE-HIDE THE CACHE WELL SO IT DOESN'T GET PLUNDERED
AGAIN.