Indiana's State Highway 3 figured prominently in my youth. Growing up in one of the small towns outside of Muncie in Delaware County I was fully aware of the impact Hwy. 3 had back when it still ran through the heart of the "Big City". My family travelled on Hwy. 3 north of Muncie to get to family in the small town of Eaton and in Wells County, and took the highway south through New Castle on the way to ballgames in Cincinnati. Years later I moved to Fort Wayne and continue to use the old highway to get back to family in Delaware County. When looking for a reason to hide my first cache I took inspiration from AriEthan's "Geocaching 101" series and T-Hunter's additions to HWY 127 Power Trail in Ohio.
SR 3 is the third major highway running north-south in Indiana after SR 1 and US 27. It once ran the length of the eastern third of the state from near the Michigan state line to the Ohio River just north of Louisville. The highway was broken into two sections in 1972 when a long stretch of the old road in the Fort Wayne-area was decommissioned upon the completion of I-69. SR 3 currently traverses 223 miles of Indiana roadways.
This hide is located near the northern boundary of Allen County. It is hidden along a stretch that was decommissioned when the state expanded SR 3 to an expressway between Fort Wayne and Kendallville. Not far from the current alignment of SR 3, this stretch of road isn't too busy so the cache should be a quick and easy hide for Geocachers of all levels of experience. The container is small and contains only the log, so bring a writing instrument. There is room for small SWAG if you're so inclined.
Please post any DNFs or if the container or its contents need maintenance.
This is my first Geocaching hide. After nearly three years of looking for these things it became apparent that I was in this hobby for the long haul rather than the typical one or two years followed by burnout. It's time to start giving back.