This cache is part of the Fargo-Moorhead GeoTour, the first official GeoTour in the states of Minnesota & North Dakota.
To participate, download a passport here or pick one up at the Fargo-Moorhead Visitor Center. Use the passport to track your progress in collecting “code words” at each location. Find 20 of the 24 Fargo-Moorhead GeoTour caches to earn an official GeoTour coin, and find all 24 caches to earn a virtual souvenir from HQ.
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This cache was placed with permission and is available for all to enjoy during daylight hours. The cache is quite a bit larger than its nearest neighbor (GC8CQCM), but I think most geocachers will enjoy the contrast in container size. Due to the location, this doesn't require the typical amount of stealth.
TO UNLOCK: 1859
Please enjoy your visit to this historical location and feel free to spend time exploring the nearby grounds of Probstfield Farm. Please park using the posted coordinates. Though the sign on the gate to the west says "no trespassing," you are welcome to explore the area beyond on foot.
ABOUT THE LOCATION
The posted coordinates will bring you near the Old Trail Market and the Gesell house, both of which were owned and operated by the Probstfield Family. The actual Probstfield farm is across the road to your west, on the banks of the Red River of the North.
Randolph and Catherine Probstfield settled the farmstead in 1868, three years before the city of Moorhead was founded. The Probstfields came to the region in 1859 as German immigrants. Randolph (or R.M. or Matthew has he preferred) was an agricultural experimenter who worked to see what could be grown in the Red River Valley soils and climate. Most of his journals survive in the archives of Minnesota State University Moorhead.
If you choose to walk across the road to search for GC8CQCM, please enjoy the detailed descriptions of each building provided by Paul Sando and the board of Probstfield Farm Living History Foundation.
Special thanks to Wes Sorenson (onionpond) for constructing this geocache and helping ensure its safe placement.