As many of you may know – I love history – especially local history that you can put your hands (and eyes) on. One of my other “interests” is anything to do with railroading. Put those two together with geocaching and ….. you have the 3rd cache in my new “Then and Now” series of geocaches.
This railroad trestle was built in 1883 by the Northern Pacific RR. Originally it was all wood but only two years later they replaced the wood supports with steel and this photo was taken in 1885 while that work was in progress. It is 226 feet high and 668 feet long.
At the time I am placing this geocache this bridge is 137 years old! But it does remind me of seeing George Washingtons hatchet in a museum! Yes, his original hatchet! Of course the handle has been replaced many times and the head has also been replaced many times, but it is his original hatchet! LOL! I think this trestle bridge is similar!
According to Hayes Otoupalic who owns and lives on the foreground property, at least 15 Railink trains cross this trestle every day. In his near 60 years of living here he has seen multiple improvements and renovations of the bridge over the years and is full of interesting stories about it, being an avid historian himself.
PLEASE do NOT go past the chain link fence even if the gate is open unless you have specific permission from the property owner. The geocache is on the highway side of the fence and was placed with his permission. Be especially careful with children and pets as traffic is very fast on the highway! There is room to park safely off the highway and not block his driveway and gate but it comes up fast - careful!
Note: Use caution in parking - high grass hides a drainage ditch near the cache!
Note: While I did not intend this to be a TB Hotel - it does seem to be a good unintended use for it!