I would like to extend best wishes to all hiders and seekers involved in Fall Favorites 2020. My intent with this simple two stage multi is to entice cachers, young and old to a colorful spot in the fall , to learn a bit about one of Fredericton's famous residents - poet Bliss Carman - and then take home a little reward for having done so. There is lots of interesting information about him on the Internet . Bliss Carman believed in the spirituality of nature and wove this theme into many of his poems. One of his more famous poems that is in the public domain just seems to be so appropriate for those of us who love to partake in Fall Favorites.
A Vagabond Song
by
Bliss Carman
There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood—
Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.
The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry.
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.
There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.
So all ye vagabond cachers all you need to do to find the cache is to visit Bliss Carman's grave at the posted co-ordinates and count the number of words on the back, not including his name. Add this number to the seconds portion of both the North and West Co-ordinate below to get the location of the final which is approximately 230 metres away from Stage 1, as the crow flies. You can easily drive to within a few metres of the cache. However you choose to get there, I highly recommend that you spend a few minutes at the top of the cemetery to take in the view.
N45 56.276 W66 38.307
****Jan 1, 2022 the co-ordinates on which to do the math are now N45 56.288 W66 38.307*******
I hope you find the cache to be rewarding in more ways than just the earned smiley. Inside the container you will find "wishing rocks" which are individually packaged with an explanation of the legend associated with them. I have gathered these rocks at The Sea Caves Beach in St. Martins,NB over the 11 years that I have been going there as a tour guide for cruise ship passengers visiting the port of Saint John. If you do some research on the internet regarding "wishing rocks" or "wishing stones" you will find that there are slight variations on the legend depending on the location. The one I have included is said to have originated with the Mi'kmaq who inhabited the Quaco ( St. Martins) area before the Loyalists arrived there. It says that if you find a rock with one continuouis ring around it you should make a wish, keep the rock in your possession until the wish comes true, and then gift the rock to someone else so that they too can have a wish granted. So help yourself to one package and please let me know when the packlages get down to 5 so that I may re-stock the cache. May all your wishes come true!
**** Congratulations to Ranger170 on FTF # 418 by being the first to snag this cache and claiming a wishing rock ****
As of Jan 25,2021 the cache is now in a Winter Friendly location. The roads through the cemetery are not ploughed in winter so I have added parking co-ordinates as well as a May Require Snowshoes attribute.