Bridges of Bowie Multi-Cache

This is a three stage multi cache. Stage 3 is a medium cache that originally contained trade items that may be useful to hikers. I also try to keep at least one trackable in it. This is not a park and grab. It is an adventure to be savored. A flashlight may be helpful for stages 1 and 3. Bring tweezers for stage 2. Please note, stage 3 was recently moved due to flood damage. The new coordinates for stage 3 are in stage 2.

Bowie Park was once a barren collection of eroded, overworked farms. Dr. Evangeline Bowie and her sisters bought the land in the 1950s and Evangeline rehabilitated it. She hired a bulldozer to contour the land to stop erosion, creating a series of ponds that flowed into one another in the process. The contours themselves collect rainwater in the spring in the form of large puddles and vernal pools.  It is a haven for amphibians, most notably the yellow spotted salamander.  Dr. Bowie also planted, and hired locals to plant, thousands of loblolly pine trees. Loblolly pines were the species recommended by the local agricultural extension agency as being adapted to the poor soils that made up the site. These trees attract redheaded woodpeckers, another notable species in the park. 

The purpose of this cache is to encourage people to discover the beauty of this park. Many people visit Bowie Park and never get back on the trails. As you find each stage, take some time to sit quietly on the bridge and allow the wild residents to relax and show themselves.