***** Sept. 24, 2004
*****
The original orienteering post seems to have disappeared. It is
still on the Rockwoods Range orienteering map but I could not
locate it. So...I located another orienteering post in the area
(new coords at the top) and adjusted the formulas to give you the
numbers needed for the springhouse.
The area consists of a very small springhouse and a small
watering hole for the horses, located between the spring and the
creek. I was told that some of the remains of the hotel is still
there but I cound not find any evidence of that. This springhouse
is at the very edge of the park which butts up to private peoperty.
The spring and watering hole ARE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY (Park
property), but the "Keep Out" sign is on the wrong side of the
spring runoff which goes to the creek.
On the left is PA, the birthday boy, JanS03, and Glenn. Link for
a larger picture is below.
Below is a little history:
- Butterfield Stagecoach
Line
As St. Louis and Springfield exploded with
growth, the need for improved communications was recognized and as
a result of this need, Joseph Burdin of Springfield was awarded a
contract in 1846 to carry the mail between St. Louis and
Springfield using two-horse stage coaches. The whole country was
experiencing unprecedented growth and Congress in 1857 passed a
bill providing for a Transcontinental Mail System using
stagecoaches. John Butterfield was awarded this lucrative contract
and the first of the famed Butterfield Stage Coaches made its first
stop in the town square in Springfield on September 17, 1858. The
Butterfield Stage followed the time honored route between St. Louis
and Springfield and the roads place in history would now grow in
importance and play a decisive role in history as the Blue-Grey
clouds of the Civil War began to form and darken the
land.
- Butterfield Stagecoach
Route
In 1858 John Butterfield began operating the
longest stagecoach run in the history of the world. Butterfield’s
mail coaches ran from Tipton, Missouri to San Francisco, right
through Northwest Arkansas. The mileage of the route was
approximately 2,800 miles. Coaches were to run each way twice a
week. Having 25 days to make each run, the coaches traveled day and
night to meet this deadline. There were stage stops every 20 miles
or so to change teams. The first westbound Butterfield Stage
stopped at Callaghan’s Station in present day Rogers on September
18, 1858, a Saturday morning. It was then down through Cross
Hollows on the way to Fitzgerald’s Station in modern day Springdale
(then Shiloh). The stage arrived in Fayetteville at 11:00 a.m. that
Saturday morning and left at 10 minutes till noon on the way south
toward the rugged Boston Mountains on the way to Van Buren and Fort
Smith. Of the route from Fayetteville to Fort Smith it was said by
one of the first riders, “I might say the road was steep, rugged,
jagged, rough, and mountainous and then wish for more impressive
words”. This first westbound stage arrived in San Francisco on
October 10, 1858, one day ahead of schedule. The Butterfield
Stagecoach ran from 1858 till 1861. It is said that Texas and
Arkansas Rebels confiscated many of the coaches and horses for the
war effort.
Click here for
more details.
Locating the cache will require quite a bit of bushwacking since
there are no trails leading to the area. At times you may be able
to use an existing trail to help you along, but in the end it's
through creeks, poison ivy, ticks, stinging nettle, and whatever
else is in the woods.
Suggested parking is at N38° 30.242
and W90° 42.127.
Now the details.....
The coordinates above for the first waypoint is an Orienteering
post. On that post you will find a Letter followed by a single
digit number. Below that you will find a 2 digit number. Add the
numbers together (ignore the letter) as though they are 3 different
numbers. IE, if H7 and 42 were what you found on the post, then add
them together as 7 + 4 + 2 for a sum of 13, which will be called
"X".
Next multiply your sum for "X" by 49. That answer will be Y.
Then multiply "X" by 177 and that answer will be "Z".
The sum of "Y" and "Z" is 2034. (This is the total of the two
numbers added together, not a checksum of the individual
digits)
Next is the substitution for the final coordinates. Using the
coordinates above, replace the calculated
value for "Y" in the Latitude coordinates (N38° 30.YYY). Do the
same for the calculted value for "Z" with the Longitude coordinates
(W90° 4Z.ZZZ)
IE. If "Y" was 567 and "Z" was 3456, then the coordinates would be
N38° 30.567 and W90° 43.456.
The springhouse is starting to look a little worse for wear.
The whole purpose of this cache was to bring you to the area to see
the springhouse and watering hole. I've decided to place a normal
Rubbermaid container about 100 feet away to protect the springhouse
from any more damage. Once at the springhouse, face the front and
follow a bearing in a Northern direction (0/360 degrees) for about
100 feet. Cache is located under a dead tree in a large
depression.
|
NOTICE: Please be respectful of the posted park
hours. If you enter the park after hours you are trespassing.
If you are stopped you can be ticketed or arrested and will
put the future of geocaching in the parks in
jeopardy. |
Special permission to hide caches in St. Louis County
parks is NOT needed as long as the Groundspeak rules are followed.
"Blanket Permission" has been worked out in advance with the park
service. DO NOT CALL THE PARK as they cannot handle the calls. The
Groundspeak cache reviewer does need to know exactly how and where
the caches are hidden and what type of containers are used. The
geocaching liaisons will notify the park service of new caches.
Remember NO AMMO BOXES or PVC PIPE
caches.