John Adams
"Always stand on principle...even if you stand alone."
John Adams was the first Vice President in US history, serving under George Washington. He was then elected as the second president in US history. I've created a two-stage letterbox-hybrid for our second president.
If you were to ask historians where John Adams falls in the presidential pantheon, many would say in the middle of the pack. John Adams was one of the most important Founding Fathers of the US, but his presidency was probably one of the low points of his career, specifically the Alien and Sedition Acts. Thankfully, when we he lost the election of 1800, he provided a clean transition of power, helping the young nation to see what it meant to stand on principle. Adams believed preserving the nation was one of his highest priorities.
Geocache
Read carefully, as there are two distinct parts to this letterbox-hybrid.
Part 1
Solve this puzzle to get the coordinates to the final cache. Draw a line from each president to their vice president. The number that the line goes through, will be the number you need for the coords to stage 2. I've drawn one for you as example. So for "Washington" below, the number is 8.
N 42 46. Washington, Roosevelt, Lincoln
W 086 02. Grant, Jefferson, Kennedy
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.
Part 2
Now that you have the coordinates to the cache, you will have to solve another puzzle at the cache to gain access. Identify the following presidents. Then use the number associated with them on the puzzle at the cache to get the combination.
- First Number: I was the first Vice President, and the second President of the United States. My wife's name was Abigail, who was an important adviser to me during my political career. She is considered to be one of the most influential first ladies in United States history.
- Second Number: I served as Vice President for almost 3 months before becoming President. Before getting into politics I owned a haberdashery store in Kansas City, MO. I'm the only President to authorize the use of nuclear weapons in war.
- Third Number: My picture can be found on the $20 bill. I was many things in my life, including a senator, congressman, governor, judge, general, and president. While my presidency is not well regarded today, I am the only president to pay off the national debt.
- Fourth Number: I'm the only president who was never elected to the vice presidency or presidency. My birth name was Leslie King Jr., but that's not what you know me as. While I was not born in Michigan, I grew up there, and played football for the University of Michigan, winning national championships in 1932 and 1933.
- A note about the lock: once all four numbers have been correctly lined up, push up on the lock and it should unlock.