This cache is one in a series of "Tucked Away Treasures" inviting you to discover scenes of nature easily overlooked in the State College area. It is intended to be easy to find. The hint below is a giveaway.
This cache celebrates cattails, whose green, sword-like leaves and brown corndog-like flowerheads are known throughout much of the world.
From the cache location, you can see two stands of cattails growing in a drainage basin. Please do not disturb the cattails.
Internet research reveals that parts of cattails have been used as food, to make medicines, to make paper, to construct rafts and boats and even as a source of starch to produce ethanol. The downy material of cattails was used by some Native Americans to line moccasins, and for papoose boards. The seed fluff was used as tinder, stuffed into bedding and pillows, and during WWII was stuffed into life vests and seats cushions for tanks and airplanes.
Please do not trust your car GPS to take you to nearest the cache because it will direct you instead to the roadway I-99 or its ramp. This cache CANNOT be accessed directly from I-99 or the on-ramp to I-99. The best way to reach the cache is to park at the parking coordinates which are at the far end of Colonnade Boulevard, the road between Outback and Olive Garden restaurants. From the parking coordinates, walk for about five minutes over grass to the site.
You are looking for a camouflaged film canister hanging in a tree. The cache only has a log. There is no room for trade items. Please bring a pen or pencil and be discreet.