I have finally decided it's time to downgrade the difficulty level and make this solvable by most anyone. Each story has changed to some degree from the original.
Here is another in my bird house themed caches. This one is purposefully designed to be challenging. In fact, I had to enlist the help of a super smart computer programmer to write a custom program just to plot the location of all those holes. Once you get to the cache, you will understand what that means. Since stage one is a birdhouse, look for something to hold it up. It is accessible within 15 feet of the paved trail unless the vegetation has gotten wild. While I am not wanting to make this a premium member only cache, there is a lock on the upper lid so the contents don't accidentally walk off. The combination to open that lock is as easy as 1-2-3 (or maybe 3-2-1 or...).
Please do not take anything away and please see to it that you put everything back the way you found it.
I have removed the easily-defeated lock from stage one. You must solve the puzzle in order to obtain the final coordinates. I've added a Certitude checker to ensure you're onto the correct final stage.
Random helpful words: ticks, briars, snakes, PEMDAS, spiders. Good luck.
Short stories
I always hated writing short stories in school and yet, I have written five short stories that will take you on a journey. Not a huge journey, not a fantastic journey, but at least to a couple of places in Searcy that don't seem to get much visitation otherwise. In fact, both locations are near water. Depending on the time of year, there can be some cool wildlife at each location. And since you have to sign the log to claim the find, the name for this cache became evident. So now, without further ado, the five original short stories...
Story One
After six years of chasing storm systems across “Tornado Alley”, Harrison was considered a veteran chaser but that still did not ease the fatigue of endless driving. Each year, he had to contend with newbies, being obtuse and clueless of what lay before them but were filled with unending questions. It was something that goes with the territory. Very few people make it past their first year before some close call renders them frozen, filling them with fear, which is promptly followed by the packing of bags and returning to wherever they called home.
The latest radar readings showed a super cell that looked like a big blue and red spider crawling its way east. The team was in place and heading down the road.
At the moment, Harrison was listening to the chatter on the CBs that the team used for inter-vehicle communication. The team was divided among three different vehicles. It was his turn on the driving cycle for "the bus", which meant riding in the most uncomfortable seat in the fleet of vehicles. Too many people had sat in that seat too many times wearing out the cushioning.
Screaming through the microphone, the meteorologist was spewing directions faster than anyone could interpret. The group was at the leading edge of a super cell that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. No storm had come together so quickly out of seemingly normal conditions as what was now bearing down on them. With no time to react, a twister touched down right in front of Harrison. He slammed on the brakes and headed for the ditch. The last thing he would ever notice was the sound of a freight train.
Story Two
Working at the utility company was often quite boring, at least in Jared’s mind. Despite the day to day operations, Jared lived for those moments of sheer panic. At least the higher-ups on the other end of the phone seemed to think they were moments of sheer panic. People want their power and they never want their electronics to suffer the misery of being without it.
Jared was assigned to a crew called The Terrible Three. The crew had gained this reputation from the numerous pranks and feats of stupidity that they added to their repertoire almost daily. For instance, there was a time when Jared had connected two electrodes from the high voltage line conditioner up to a watermelon and threw the switch. Within the first two seconds, the watermelon began to ballon. By the third second, he had created a new cologne as the watermelon had vaporized and covered every surface or person within a 30 foot radius. Try explaining to the boss why her coffee tasted like watermelon for the next week and keep a straight face while doing so.
Late one night, each member of The Terrible Trio received a panicked call. Lights were out all over the town. The boys had the trouble located quickly enough and were already in the boom trucks by the time the supervisor rolled up. Jared’s boom was extended at an obtuse angle so that he could reach around a large tree. Without warning, the ground gave way under his truck, tipping over and dumping him into the nearby field. Jared jumped up just fine but was covered in the worst smelling substance he had yet to encounter and spitting out some horrible tasting mud. Apparently someone had placed a pig farm right next to the road and had forgotten to mention that to the crew. In spite of the tumble, he finished the work and had the lights burning brightly before heading home and getting a much deserved shower.
The next day, Jared noticed that everyone at work would congratulate him but always with a twinkle in their eyes. As he turned the corner, there waiting for him in the lounge was a crowd and several cakes, each with brown chocolate frosting and miniature pig figurines on top. Bursting out in laughter, Jared said, “This sure takes the cake and beats what I had for snack last night.” and proceeded to tell the “proper” version of the story.
Story Three
Long was the climb in air too thin to be called air. Her lungs were about to burst through her chest. Her heart was beating so loudly that she thought her friends could surely hear it. Having left base camp early this morning, the group finally made it to the top shortly after lunchtime.
Susan collapsed onto the ground. It would take her a few moments before she could stand to take in the view that surrounded her. Struggling to her feet, she realized that she was not standing directly on the mountain but upon layers of frozen water that had built up year after year which only served to multiply the fears she had to overcome. One slip of the foot and it was a long but rapid descent to the bottom.
Susan turned slowly in place so that she could get a feel for just how expansive the view was. From this vantage point, she saw the lush green of Mesa Verde far below, stretching out to the east. Unfortunately, clouds were building over the mountain range and moving rapidly towards the tired group. Susan pulled her camera from inside her blue coat and snapped a few pictures before hearing the words she feared were coming. “Time to pack up quickly and head back to camp before we become trapped in a storm up here.” It was a sad moment, having to leave the solitude and humbling view but Susan also relished the thought of soaking her tired, cold feet in the hot tub later tonight.
Story Four
It had been a quiet morning but foot traffic was arrested so much by mid-afternoon that Samuel was growing quite anxious. He had gone over the financial statements twice and had even wound the old cuckoo clock that hung close to the front door. Ever since the alpha tramlaw had opened up eleven months ago to exponential growth, fewer and fewer people seemed to grace the threshold of the quaint, old hardware store. There was so much history lining the shelves. There were so many memories of growing up, working in this store with his father and grandfather. It was hard to think that this was it.
A proper appreciation of the store would be best served by going back to the beginning. Samuel’s grandfather had opened the store with a small investment that should have been his college fund. Instead, his grandfather scraped and made do with very little in those days just to keep the doors open. Years passed and Samuel’s grandfather was asked to join the city council, finally receiving the credit for all of the hard work that had gone into making the store what it had become. The store passed from father to son and again, father to son, until Samuel was now the sole owner.
Time moved slowly the rest of the day until the cuckoo finally struck five. Very little money had come in but so much more had to go out. It was with great sadness that Samuel turned the key in the lock one last time, turned around and walked away.
Story Five
This is the story of how I was arrested for contributing to the general frustration level of society. I started out the day just like I would any other day. I grabbed my red robe and ruby-encrusted crown, sat down at my computer and began to type. Knowing that I was king of the keyboard, I set about to write stories that would confound and confuse people. I hit the “Submit for Review” button and waited anxiously. Little did I know that payment was about to be subtracted from my hide because of my hide (you saw what I did there, right?).
As I spend way too much time on the computer, I did not have the power to repel the invaders. They showed up at my house, chanting in some strange language that “muggles” seemed to ignore. I guess I had pushed them too far. No amount of money would dissuade them from pressing in on me.
My wife has tolerated my pastime with mild amusement and sometimes showed interest. However, she stepped back with a smile on her face and took plenty of pictures, despite my cries for help. As they carried me out the door, one of the geocachers turned to my wife and said, “Don’t worry, hon, we know all of the best places to bury the body.”
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.