Welcome to Brown Deer Village Park!
This mystery cache is NOT hidden at the posted coordinates. They are for the Village Pool sign in Brown Deer, WI. That is where you will begin your journey. The total hike to the final cache - one way - is a little over half a mile over flat, mostly paved surfaces with no bushwacking necessary. All but the final stage are wheelchair accessible.
INTRODUCTION
This cache is not located at the posted coordinates. The coordinates are for the Trailhead location. To find the cache, follow the instructions below.
You will need to obtain information at multiple virtual stages to obtain the coordinates necessary to locate the final cache and sign the log. The necessary information will be derived from what you observe on your journey based on the following “roadmap.”
As one would expect, Village Park sees a lot of muggle traffic, especially on nice days. Stealth likely will be required regarding the final stage.
Good Luck!
BROWN DEER
The first European settlers began drifting into the area that is now Brown Deer in about 1835. A small farming community developed. Legend has it that a deer jumped through a saloon door and broke up a card game in progress – hence, the name Brown Deer!
The first town meeting was held in 1842, the population then totaling about 225. The population increased to 1,713 in 1850 and to 2,431 in 1875. Brown Deer incorporated as a Village in 1955. As of 2016, the population was around 12,000.
Village Park is a seven acre park located at 4920 W. Green Brook Drive, Brown Deer.
OUR JOURNEY
Final Coordinates: N43 AB.CDE W087 FG.HIJ
Your mission is to derive the coordinates of the final geocache by replacing the letters A-J with numbers based on the following:
We begin our journey at the posted coordinates (N 43 10.927 W 87 58.292), which take us to the sign for the Village Pond.
The Pond
Unlike most municipalities that use concrete swimming pools, Brown Deer emulates the old time swimming hole with a swimming pond.
The Brown Deer Pond is a one acre, chlorinated swimming facility with sand beach. The pond has a gradual slope with large, shallow water area suitable for young children. However, the Pond is eleven feet deep at the platform. The pond is open to Brown Deer residents and, for slightly higher admission, non-residents alike.
B in the coordinates equals the final digit in the year the Pond was established. B =___
Tribute Marker
From the Pool sign, we travel SouthEast for about 45 feet to the beginning of the sidewalk to the white school building. Here, you will notice a wooden sign reflecting a tribute to Carl E. Bellehumeur, M.D., identified as “Brown Deer’s first physician & civic leader.” (N43° 10.922' W087° 58.285').
A equals the final digit in the year that the Brown Deer Businessmen’s Association donated the sign in tribute to Dr. Bellehumeur. A = ___
Little White School House
Next, we travel north up the sidewalk about 70 feet to the Historical Marker about the Little White School House (N43° 10.931' W087° 58.279').
This Little White School House was the second school in Brown Deer, replacing a log structure that had been built sometime before 1860. Like other one-room schoolhouses, a single teacher simultaneously taught multiple grades. Because the schoolchildren came from the surrounding farms and needed to help with planting and harvesting, the school “year” extended only from mid-October to mid-May.
Following its retirement as a school in 1922, the building was used at various times as a church, a factory, and a warehouse. The school building was moved from its original location on West River Lane in the old Village of Brown Deer in 1972 to the Village Park and restored.
H equals the number of steps up the front stoop of the Little White School House (not counting the step into the doorway). H = ___
Veteran’s Memorial
The next stop on our journey is about 210 feet to the Southeast, near the entrance to the Village Hall (N43° 10.911' W087° 58.241'). There, you will find the pole for the American flag and, at its base, a marker dedicated to those from Brown Deer who have served in the U.S. armed services.
E equals the final digit on the Veterans marker. E = ___
(About 45 feet to the South, you will find a similar memorial “In Honor of American POW/MIA's of all conflicts.”).
Picnic Shelters
Retracing our steps along the sidewalk back toward the pond about 70 feet, we come to a sidewalk heading Northeast. Follow this new sidewalk approximately 230 feet. To your right, you will see one of two picnic shelters in the park donated to the Village by the Brown Deer Lions Club.
D equals the first digit of the year in which the Lions donated the shelter. D = ___
Playground
Continuing our travel North along the same sidewalk for another 245 feet, we come to the children’s playground. (N43° 10.978' W087° 58.219').
F equals the number of slides in the playground. F = ___
Toward the Reservoir
We now continue our journey North along the sidewalk about 180 feet until it ends in a T intersection. The East-West sidewalk at this point is part of the Milwaukee County Oak Leaf Trail. From here, it runs West past the Fairy Chasm Youth Sports Facility and on to A.C. Hanson County Park. Just past the railroad tracks to the East, it joins the Brown Deer Trail, providing connection South to the rest of the Oak Leaf Trail to downtown Milwaukee or North to the Ozaukee Interurban Trail.
The Notice Shelter
Immediately North of the T intersection, you will see a small shelter for posting notices. (N43° 11.008' W087° 58.249')
C equals the number of raised ribs on the roof of the shelter. C = ___
Just North of the shelter, we see the reservoir, and with it we likely see many, many Canada Geese and perhaps a few ducks. By this point, you probably will have seen much evidence of their presence scattered around the grounds.
West on the Oak Leaf Trail
Following Horace Greeley’s advice to “Go West, young man (or woman),” we travel West on the Oak Leaf Trail for approximately 150 feet. To our right, we see the reservoir; to our left we see a bench. (N43° 10.995' W087° 58.279')
G equals the month the Moranskis got married. G = ___
The Footbridge
Continuing our journey West another 450 feet on the Oak Leaf Trail, we come to a foot-bridge. (N 43° 10.982' W 87° 58.389')
I equals the number of diagonal metal braces on the south side of the bridge. I = ___
The Big Tree
Follow the Oak Leaf Trail back east about 300 feet (290 feet if you are measuring from the bridge waypoint). You should see a large tree just south of the trail, between the trail and the swimming pond (N 43° 10.984' W 87° 58.324'). You will notice that the trunk divides into multiple trunks between about three feet and six feet above the ground.
J equals the number of trunks at about five feet above the ground (Ignore the split at about six feet above the ground). J = ___
The Final Cache!
With this information, you should now have the complete coordinates needed to locate the Final so you can date and sign the Log, memorializing your successful completion of Brown Deer Village Park geocache.
Do not go running off to find the cache without checking your coordinates first!
The Not-So-Fine Print
PLEASE: make sure that the cache is firmly closed and replaced where you found it. You will hear a solid CLICK when each of the tabs is correctly closed. If you do not hear that CLICK, try again.
The cache location has been approved by Chad Hoier, Brown Deer Parks and Recreation.