This is the first in a series of caches that I will be hiding that
have a historic theme pertaining to the Plains of Northeastern
Colorado. The Fort Morgan City Parks Dept. has graciously given
permission to hide a cache in Riverside Park Nature Area. Finding
the final cache will be a short historic tour of the area near and
along the S. Platte River. You will have to visit the two way point
before getting the location of the Cache.
Cache site
N40° 15.aaa / W103° 47.bbb
Step one goto
N40° 15.684 / W103° 47.952
You should find an historic marker which denotes the location of
the military fort that was located on the Overland Trail. The trail
was used between 1858-1868 to travel to the gold fields west of
Denver. The trail followed the S. Platte River branching off the
Oregon Trail at Julesburg. A stage station was located every 10-15
miles along the trail and every 75 miles was a home station. A fort
was established at this location in 1864 when the Denver Cut-Off
was built which took a direct Southwest route to Denver. The Fort
was first called Camp Wardwell and later renamed Fort Morgan. There
were one to six companies of soldiers garrisoning the fort during
its existence. Troops from the fort were to protect the stage
coaches with its mail, the telegraph line that followed the trail
and the travelers. In July of 1865, 100 freight wagons a day was
passing through Fort Morgan. The Fort was closed in May of 1868
because the Union Pacific RR had reached Cheyenne Wyoming and
supplies could than be shipped to Denver from there.
On the historic marker there is a dedication date subtract 995
from the date to get the aaa coordinate.
Go to the second point
N40° 16.062 / W103° 48.068
This way point is the location of the Rainbow Bridge. The site
is registered on the National Historic Registry. Technically called
a Marsh Arch Bridge it represents the development from steel
bridges to concrete and steel. The design was developed by James
Marsh, an Iowa Engineer. This type of bridge was common in the
midwest. But most of these bridges that they were one to three
spans. This bridge is 1110 ft. long, 19 feet wide and has eleven
spans. More arches than and other bridge of this type. It has
survived two major floods in 1935 and 1965. By 1987 age and traffic
had taken its toll and bridge was closed to traffic. In 1996 the
City of Fort Morgan and Colorado Dept. of Transportation with a
grant from the Colorado Historical Society renovated the bridge.
The bridge is now a part of the Riverside Park and is used for
pedestrian traffic but could be used for vehicles in emergencies..
To find the coordinates bbb subtract 1716 from the date on the
bridge marker.
For more information on the bridge and the Old Fort Morgan visit
the newly renovated and expanded Fort Morgan Museum. N 40° 15.139 /
W103° 48.059
TO THE CACHE
There are established trails you can use to walk to the cache.
You can take the trail starting at the bridge or go to the parking
lot at N 40° 15.986 / W103° 47.778 both will get you to the cache.
Start by taking the either the north or south trail from the
parking lot. The nature area is the home to deer, beaver, wild
turkey, Canada Geese, Ducks, other small furry beasts and the
occasional Bald Eagle. The distance from the parking lot to the
cache is .5 mile as the crow flies. This is a child friendly walk.
For more information visit the Fort Morgan Museum at N40 15.135,
W103 48.033 or 414 Main St. PLEASE RETURN CACHE TO ITS LOCATION AND
HIDE IT AS YOU FIND IT. BEWARE OF WALKERS WHO MAY SEE YOU WITH THE
CACHE.
" Happy Trails to You" Roy
Inventory:
Golf tees, hand puppet, hat pins, toy
soldier,