Arrows Across America ~ Strevell ~ Traditional Cache

Strevell Idaho ~
Cache is located near at Large Concrete Navigation Arrow used in the early days of the U.S. Air Mail Service. The actual arrow coordinates are N 42 00.658 W 113 12.350. )

On August 20, 1920, the United States opened its first coast-to-coast U.S. airmail delivery route, just 60 years after the Pony Express closed up shop. There were no good aviation charts in those days, so pilots had to eyeball their way across the country using landmarks. This meant that flying in bad weather was difficult, and night flying was just about impossible. The Postal Service solved the problem with the world’s first ground-based civilian navigation system: a series of lit beacons that would extend from New York to San Francisco. Every ten miles, pilots would pass a bright yellow concrete arrow. Each arrow would be surmounted by a 51-foot steel tower and lit by a million-candlepower rotating beacon.

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