Nut Tree Airport Traditional Cache
TeamMoehrke: This hide proved too problematic to survive.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This area has been begging for a cache hide forever.
Parking available at Lowe's Home Improvement Center.
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The Nut Tree Airport was established in 1955 as an addition to the famed Nut Tree Restaurant complex. The Nut Tree itself had been around since 1921 as a roadside destination for weary and hungry travelers on the Lincoln Highway and later, Highway 40.
According to an article in Vacaville Magazine, the first aircraft operation in Vacaville took place in 1929 when Barnstormer Ernie Smith made a forced landing in a field behind a small fruit stand along Old Highway 40. Years later in 1955, Ed Power, (the son of the owners of that small fruit stand) scraped out a 1,900-foot dirt strip behind the family restaurant.
Two years after the dirt strip was constructed, the newly formed Solano County Irrigation District was looking for land to purchase for one of its major water canals. A portion of the land where the dirt strip lay was sold to the irrigation district and the money was used to realign and pave the runway.
Since that time Nut Tree Airport has grown continually and in 1970, the Airport was officially donated to Solano County.
Nut Tree Airport historically served as a tourist destination. Those traveling along I - 80 in between Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area would stop at the popular "Nut Tree" (including its restaurants, shops, orchards, gardens, etc.) in Vacaville . A 3/4 mile small gauge railroad track was constructed in 1955, running from the Nut Tree Restaurant to the Airport, to provide direct access for pilots visiting the area. As a teenager I worked on the successor train that ran from the Toy Shop out to the Airport, shuttling tourists around the ground and delivering flyers to the restaurant for food and relaxation. Good times!
The railroad track has since been relocated to the Nut Tree Amusement area for use by the new development. Nut Tree Airport now serves the general aviation needs of Solano County by providing many aviation-related services, including: business-related flying, recreational flying, flight training, aircraft charters, and other aviation - related activities.
(Source: Vacaville Magazine November/December 2009)
Additional Hints
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