The staff at geocaching.com said they could find several places to hide a microcache right here in this picture, and wouldn't allow it to be a virtual geocache when it was originally submitted.
8/14/04 NOTE: After replacing the hidden container and log three times, I am changing this microcache to a virtual geocache. The area has no secure place to hide a container. It is a popular spot for homeless people at night. Hence, the cache box will continue to be found and removed by the people who frequent the area. Please continue to enjoy this adventure as a virtual geocache!
When you visit this spot you'll meet a famous mule named Sal. As you search for the cache box you can sing a canal song written by Thomas Allen back in 1905. Everyone who goes to school in New York State learns it in grade school, so perhaps you already know it.
Low Bridge! Everybody Down!
I've got a mule, and her name is Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie canal,
She's a good ol' worker and a good ol' pal,
Fifteen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
We've hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lum-ber coal and hay,
And ev'ry inch of the way we know
From Al-ba-ny to Buff-a-lo OH
Low bridge ev'-ry bod-y down,
Low bridge for we're com-in to a town,
And you al-ways know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
If you've ev-er navigated on the Er-ie can-al
We'd better look round for a job old gal,
Fif-teen miles - on the Er-ie can-al,
You bet your life I wouldn't part with Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
Giddap 'there gal we've passed that lock,
We'll make Rome fore six o'clock,
So, it's one more trip and then we'll go,
Right back home to Buff-a-lo OH
Chorus
Oh, where would I be if I lost my pal?
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al.
Oh, I'd like to see a mule as good as Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
A friend of mine once got her sore,
Now he's got a busted jaw,
'Cause she let fly with her iron toe,
And kicked him in to Buff-a-lo OH
Chorus
Don't have to call when I want my Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
She trots from her stall like a good old gal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
I eat my meals with Sal each day,
I eat beef and she eats hay,
And she ain't so slow if you want to know,
She put the "Buff" in Buff-a-lo OH
Chorus - One last time!
Just for Tourists: Close to the cache location you will see the Erie Canal Museum. This is the only surviving weighlock building in the entire Western Hemisphere! To find out what the museum has to offer, click
here.
Just for Teachers: Looking for a lesson plan? Here's one for 4th grade students.
Document Based Question: Erie Canal
"Transportation systems often have a big impact on communities. In 1825 the Erie Canal opened in New York State. Read the documents below. For each document answer the questions that follow. After reading the documents and answering the questions, write a composition that explains how the Erie Canal affected New York State’s development."
Here are the rules to log this cache. Please read them carefully.
1. Use your GPS to navigate to the cache location. You'll get to the spot easily enough, but finding a convenient place to park will be more of a challenge. Hint: Park on the "water" instead of the canal.
2. Find the words to fill in the blanks in this sentence, and write them down to use in the next step.
"This corridor of _____ and _____ , extending from Albany to Buffalo, made New York the empire state."
3. Complete the sentence shown above, and send it to me in an email. I will send a reply to confirm that the sentence was completed correctly. Please be patient and wait for the reply before submitting your log.
4. After you receive a confirmation reply for completing the required tasks, you may submit your log report. Logs submitted without first completing the confirmation reply process will be deleted - no exceptions. Feel free to upload photos of your visit. Stand next to Sal, and give us a big smile! See my photo below for an example. Note: Photos may not show the words that answer the cache question!