Keith, Find a Grave
This cache is NOT at the posted coordinates.
Sometimes known as Swan Lake Church, Church of the Visitation was organized in 1865, but did not obtain parish status until 1942. It was closed in1989. Pastoral services were rendered by the priest of the Church of St Paul in Nicollet.
Source: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Genealogy Trails
To solve the puzzle:
On one side of the bell, assume two lines with five words on the first. A = number of letters in the middle word of the top line. B = number of letters in the first word below.
On the other side, the year is 19CD.
The cache may be found at N 44 20.(845-AB) W 94 16.(003+7(CD)).
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One of the oldest roads in the state, Fort Road was originally built by the federal government after Fort Ridgely was completed in 1853-54. Supplies were shipped from Fort Snelling to Traverse des Sioux, then transported by wagon to Fort Ridgely.
Nicollet County Road 5 runs more than 42 miles from its eastern terminus at its intersection with US Highway 169 in St Peter to the Renville County line. Old Fort Road presumably extended from Traverse des Sioux, although the portion running through the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College has been blocked off. Fort Road as an address runs from the western edge of St Peter to the end of CR-5.
In an ideal world, a paved trail would have been installed when the road was refurbished in the early 2010s. This planned geocache trail will have to suffice, but won’t alleviate my anxiety when biking here.