Welcome to the Farewell to Finder’s Fest geo-art, brought to you by the Forest Minions! This series celebrates weird and unusual things throughout the Sunshine State. Please do not go to the posted locations. Rather, solve the challenging quiz found at the bottom of each page, for the final location. For the letterbox caches, please leave the stamp in the cache. They are not trade items. For the discerning traveler, we’ve included the GPS coordinates for these bizarre locations, when we were able to establish them.
Chicken Church – Location 27.7937, -82.7907
Built in the 1940’s, on a wing and a prayer, (pun intended), the Church by the Sea has served the spiritual needs of Madeira Beach residents for more than 70 years. But it’s the church’s unusual architectural feature as much as its history that brings out flocks of curious visitors. A central feature of the building is the Spanish style tower with circular windows and a 25 foot mast and beacon served as a nautical landmark to guide ships safely home.
An unintended feature of the tower is that it resembles a giant chicken. Today, the nondenominational church remains a landmark and a hub of community life. And while the congregation may seek to downplay the tower’s resemblance to a chicken, no one can argue that it brings people out to visit the church.
Here is the super duper, way challenging, really hard trivia question, which, if solved properly, will lead you to the final coordinates:
Question: This town is known for their annual Coffee Break Festival.
A: Mordor = N29° 28.062' W81° 51.563'
B: Hobbiton = N29° 28.062' W81° 51.573'
C: Stoughton, Wisconsin = N29° 28.062' W81° 51.583'