Flag Day in Flag City: Flagless City Multi-Cache
Hidden : 6/11/2016
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Cache is NOT at the posted coordinates.  Don't go there unless you'd like to swim to take a boat ride.

However, you will have to make 1 stop before going to the final.

This cache is part of a series called "Flag Day in Flag City."  Findlay, Ohio, is officially designated "Flag City, U.S.A." and is the Flag Capital of the United States.  As such, it seemed only fitting that there be a flag GeoArt in the area to commemorate this fact.

All cache GZs have accessible parking at the reservoir, in a park, or in a cemetery.  Please only go for the cemetery finals during daylight hours, and respect all posted hours at any parks.


As mentioned in the first line of the cache page, you do not need to go to the posted coordinates, but you will need to go the additional waypoint in the Riverbend Recreation Area north of the reservoir. At said coordinates, you will find a flagpole with a single flag: Is that flag the:
  • United States flag
  • Ohio State flag
  • Hancock County flag
  • Findlay Park District flag
You will need this information to find the final. If the flag is not on the pole, as an alternate piece of information check with cardinal direction the light fixture that lights up the flag is RELATIVE to the flag (is the light North/South/East/West of the flag?): North=Ohio, West=US, South=Park District, East=Hancock.

In addition to the UN, countries, states, counties, schools, and various part of the military, some cities also have flags. Embarrassingly, Findlay (Flag City, U.S.A.) does not have its own flag. You might assume that only big cities have flags. For example, here are the flags for Chicago (the closest city relative to my home town) and Toledo (the closest big city relative to me now):


However, plenty of smaller local towns have flags too:
  • Fostoria:
  • Bluffton:
  • Lima:
  • Tiffin (proposed):
So, obviously, there's no shortage of nearby towns with flags. Naturally, Findlay should have one. But what makes a good flag? The North American Vexillological Association has 5 general rules:
  1. Keep it simple.
  2. Use Meaningful Symbolism.
  3. Use 2-3 Basic colors.
  4. No Lettering or Seals.
  5. Be distinctive or related.
Generally speaking, if a child can draw the flag, it's a good starting point. Flags should be distinct and legible from a distance from which most flags are seen. Seals and lettering usually can't be read from a large distance. Following these 5 rules, Chicago's flag excels, and was actually ranked 2nd in the country in a poll several years ago. Of the Ohio flags on this page, Bluffton best follows these rules, followed by Northwood.

In designing Findlay's flag, we should start with with a few points:
  1. Keep it simple: Self-explanatory.
  2. Use meaningful symbolism: Symbols from the town's history should be used, related to oil, for example.
  3. 2-3 colors: The US, Ohio, and Hancock county all use red, white, and blue, so Findlay reasonably could follow suit.
  4. No city seal: It won't be legible from a distance.
  5. Be distinctive/related: As Findlay is the county seat, the flag could draw on elements from the Hancock County flag.

Please include any suggested designs in your logs!

Onto the cache itself. You'll need to recall which flag was at stage 2. The final is located at:
N 41° 00.ABC W 083° 34.DEF:
  • A: How many colors are on the Chicago flag?
    • US flag: ADD 6 to your result.
    • Ohio flag: ADD 5 to your result.
    • Hancock flag:Ohio flag: ADD 4 to your result.
    • Park district flag:Ohio flag: ADD 3 to your result.
  • B: what is the 2nd digit of the year on the Toledo flag?
    • US flag: SUBTRACT 0 from your result.
    • Ohio flag: SUBTRACT 1 from your result.
    • Hancock flag: SUBTRACT 2 from your result.
    • Park district flag: SUBTRACT 4 from your result.
  • C: How many LARGE letters are on the Fostoria flag?
    • US flag: SUBTRACT 15 from your result.
    • Ohio flag: SUBTRACT 12 from your result.
    • Hancock flag: SUBTRACT 21 from your result.
    • Park district flag: SUBTRACT 18 from your result.
  • D: How many colors are on the Bluffton flag?
    • US flag: SUBTRACT 1 from your result.
    • Ohio flag: SUBTRACT 0 from your result.
    • Hancock flag: ADD 1 from your result.
    • Park district flag: ADD 2 from your result.
  • E: How many stars are on the Lima flag?
    • US flag: SUBTRACT 8 from your result.
    • Ohio flag: SUBTRACT 7 from your result.
    • Hancock flag: SUBTRACT 3 from your result.
    • Park district flag: SUBTRACT 11 from your result.
  • F: On the proposed Tiffin flag, how many distinct colors are there counting the border?
    • US flag: SUBTRACT 4 from your result.
    • Ohio flag: SUBTRACT 2 from your result.
    • Hancock flag: SUBTRACT 0 from your result.
    • Park district flag: ADD 2 from your result.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

[Puzzle]: Abar arrqrq. [Cache]: Irel rqtr bs gur ebpxf, irel fznyy cvyr bs 3 ebpxf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


Attributes

No attributes available

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