This is a 2 stage multi-cache that takes roughly 30-45 minutes to complete. While at stage 1, explore the signage to learn more about the history of Hanscom Park and H.W.S. Cleveland to solve the puzzle below for the final coordinates. To enter new coordinates, scroll down on the cache menu to 'Waypoints'. From there, click the + on the upper right and enter the coordinates to find the final cache. No need to refill the cache, it will be periodically restocked with NRD freebies. The cache is located in Hanscom Park, open daily from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00pm. Restrooms, playgrounds, and nearby parking available.
Puzzle to Final Stage - N 41° 14.AB8 W 095° 57.51A
Answer the questions to achieve the coordinates to the final cache.
When the question asks for a word, it is looking for how many letters in the word unless otherwise instructed.
A - The H in H.W.S. Cleveland’s first name stands for _________ . 6
B - _________ Square was demolished in 1969 to make room for Interstate 480. 9
Hanscom Park: Water Facts
Hanscom Park, Omaha’s oldest park, was donated to the City for use as a park in 1872, with park improvements designed in the early 1890s by the noted landscape architect, H.W.S. Cleveland. The 58-acre park includes extensive natural green space, picnic areas, a playground, small informal soccer and baseball fields, an indoor tennis center, a splash pool, a dog park, a lagoon, formal gardens, the City greenhouse, and a pavilion.
The Hanscom Park Green Infrastructure Project explored the possibility of creating green infrastructure features including cascading bioswales, grassed swales, and other above-ground green infrastructure features to better manage area stormwater runoff within the park. These features increase the amount of rainwater infiltration within the park’s natural areas, reduce runoff from the surrounding neighborhoods and reduce the magnitude, frequency and duration of overflows.
Two areas within the park were examined. The large ravine in the park’s northeast quadrant was studied to determine how water could be detained, to increase the amount of groundwater recharge in this natural area. Any improvements within the ravine were designed to enhance and blend with natural existing conditions and habitat. Stormwater from the park’s southwestern corner and the adjacent neighborhood to the west was studied to determine how best to convey this water to locations in the park where it can infiltrate into the ground. In the southwestern corner, water cleansed by the green infrastructure features is used to supplement the water level in the lagoon. One other stormwater management technique is the possibility of storing additional water in the park’s lagoon for short time periods after large rainstorms. This involves adding an automated water level control device to the lagoon’s outlet structure. It allows the City to release this excess water into the combined sewer system after peak storm flows. Controlled release of this water helps prevent sewer overflows and avoid taxing the city’s water resource recovery facility. The device might also be used to lower the lagoon’s water level prior to large storms to increase the volume that can be stored in the lagoon during storm events.