A Man of Stature, 2164, and the Spoils
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This multi-cache consists of three parts: Two virtual caches where you will gather data, and a standard ammo can cache whose coordinates you will determine based on the information culled from the first two locations. The terrain is easy at the first two locations, and gets difficult at location 3. If you are heading north out of Bismarck for any reason, this cache might be one to do along the way.
Location One, "A Man of Stature", is located at the coordinates shown above. At this location, you will find a man's name. Subtract the number of letters in his first name from the number of letters in his last name. Write this number down, assigning it as variable "A". If you look closely, you'll find a coin embedded in the concrete just a few feet away from you. I'm surprised the politicians haven't chipped it out and spent it on something by now. Next, you may proceed to the second location given below. You may wish to spend some time on the state capitol grounds enjoying the scenery. A trip to the top of the capitol building will reward you with a splendid view of the city. North Dakota's capitol is, I believe, the only high-rise state capitol building in the US. The original capitol building burned down. Behind the cornerstone of this building is a piece of paper with the name "Margaret Murphy" on it. The old woman who slipped it in there during the construction of the building in the early 1930's, told me about it. She is now dead, and now you know her secret too.
Location Two, "2164", is a virtual cache at the following coordinates:
46 degrees 48.310 N
100 degrees 47.409 W
At this location you will find the number 2164 on some object. You will want to learn about this object. A closer examination will reveal information on its date of manufacture, as well as its date of "retirement". Subtract the year of manufacture from the year of this object's retirement, and you will have its service life, in years, which for our purposes, will be assigned the variable "B". Also, assign the last two digits of the year of manufacture as the variable "C".
Now you have all the data you'll need to arrive at location 3, "The Spoils." Next, place the numbers associated with variable "A", "B" and "C" into the following, to produce the coordinates for the third and final location:
(A+B) degrees (C) .530 N
(B+54) degrees (B-2) .372 W
This is not typical algebra, so forget about multiplying anything times the quantities in the parentheses. Just substitute the numbers and add or subtract as shown. No need for a calculator. Why should anyone have to use one of those in their free time?!
If you are worried about your math, let me reassure you. It is indeed a distance of approximately 24.5 miles from location 2 to location 3. Check your gas guage.
At location 3, "The Spoils", you will find that the terrain is quite a bit more challenging than the first two locations. There may be a less strenuous, though longer way to get to this one by following a ridge. I needn't say more. You'll see. Overall I rate the terrain as a 2, averaging the three locations. It was icy and rather slippery the day I placed this cache, and the route I took was a bit difficult. This cache is typical. It consists of a 50 cal. ammo can, with "www.geocaching.com" painted in white letters on its lid. The contents when placed, were as follows:
A log book
A pencil and sharpener
A pen
A 6 piece precision screwdriver set
An 8 piece allen wrench set
A spark plug gapping tool
Bullet hole stickers
A rubber rattle snake
A lighted bouncy ball
A squishy ring
Enjoy the hunt. And if you get caught, eat the documents!
Regards,
Agent 6
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ng ybpngvba 3, n gnyy cvar njnl sebz gur bguref cebivqrf n terng ivrj bs gur cbaq.