Please park in a regular parking space out front in the shopping plaza and take a short walk to the cache site. Parking right by GZ might attract muggle attention, so please use normal caution when seeking this cache amidst possible prying eyes...
Geocaching can be an 'escape' from the everyday aspect of life... a big adventure in the great outdoors to go find a hidden treasure... Recently, some local cachers might be able to argue that new weekend employment that I have undertaken since August 2019 (within this shopping plaza) has had me 'escaping' from geocaching (although I have continued to make my minimal finds to keep a certain caching schedule).
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I had the privilege of having one of my local caching friends come visit me for an 'escape' of his own with his family and friends, and in a conversation I had with him that day, I began thinking about adding a cache within the edges of this plaza where I usually find myself several days a week. (Thanks for the inspiration, beat62!)
The weekend this cache is likely published is the weekend where I normally mark the anniversary of the first cache I placed, a "Green-Hippo" cache, GC6XN0Z, the 100 Mystery Cache Challenge, back in early December of 2016. There is another challenge coming soon, of a different cache-type nature, but until the primary hunting season ends, I thought this might make a good cache placement alternative for a mrGreen317 cache to hunt on this weekend for any who might be interested. (Plus this type of cache might help some get closer to the goal of the upcoming challenge cache.)
This is not too complex of a cache. Just look for six pieces to a fairly simple field puzzle at ground zero, and then organize what you see into something that would resemble the coordinates to the final, like:
N 40 32.??? W 78 23.???
The final container is not far, and you probably do not even need to move the car. No streets need to be crossed to get to the final.
Please return the items at the posted coordinates back as you found them (information side down) and feel free to mix them up a bit for the next finder.
Be sure to bring a pen or pencil to the final. The log slip is rite-in-the-rain paper. Water-based inks will not do well on this paper, but ball-point pen and pencil should work well. If the log paper is wet when you retrieve it, simply wipe the water off before signing.
The idea for this field puzzle is thematically based on a puzzle currently featured at my place of employment that involves 12 items of this kind that may or may not have something to do with a needed lock combination to help rescue a lost researcher from 'Bigfoot'. It should be noted that the puzzle I have created here outside for geocaching plays a bit differently from the one that is encountered inside where I work.
If any of the puzzle items go missing, I should be able to make more with the supplies I have available, so please alert me of any cache issues through the geo-messenger or by email via my geocaching.com profile. Since I work nearby, I should be able to keep a regular eye on both stages of this mutli-cache.
This cache is not recommended at night, but I leave the discretion up to the geocacher. In winter, when it gets dark early, this cache likely can still be done after sundown with a flashlight. I would just suggest not doing this cache after hours when most businesses in the shopping plaza would be closed (after 9 or 10 PM) as that might arouse undue suspicion to your possible activities.