Description:
Hidden in Wild Cat creek park as a memorial. It was the first cache that my wife ever found -- in March of 2003 -- thus starting her love of geocaching.
A bit of history
"Huh?", you may be wondering, "how can RPW's wife have already found a cache before it was placed? Especially 22 months before it was placed?" Well ... this cache has a interesting history. The initial Wild Cat cache was hidden in Dec. 2001 by Team Teddy Bear. Unfortunately the first Wild Cat cache went MIA and the second was supposedly washed away in the big flood of July 2003. The third placement still exists.
"Supposedly?", you may be thinking, "why the word supposedly?". It turns out that the cache was not washed down the WildCat creek, swept down the Wabash and Ohio rivers, and onward to the Gulf of Mexico. Rather it simply floated down the creek to a nearby field. Some non-geocachers found it and turned it into the Tippecanoe parks department. During an idle conversation with Brenda of the department she told me about this development and I was naturally excited about the prospect of bringing the cache back into geocaching. When I finally got my hands on the cache the log book was a bit damp but other than that it was still in good shape. I tried to contact Team Teddy Bear however they were unavailable and thus I have put out this cache as a new one for all to enjoy. It uses the original ammo box container and has the original log book and swag as well as a new log book and some additional cache goodies.
My wife and I found the cache in March, 2003. It was the start of a very nice geocaching day that took us to Adams Mill, France park and the discovery of the GeoGus travel bug. It sparked my own increased interest in Geocaching. Thus I dedicate this current cache not only to its own miraculous reincarnation but to a sport that provides a fun time for my wife and myself.
Look around you
As you walk around the park look at the flood aftermath from 2003. Mighty forces from a small creek, eh? Also look around at the wildlife. Especially in the winter you can see rabbit tracks, deer tracks, and places where deer lie down for the evening. The burble of the creek, the flow of the ice on the creek .. all wonders of winter caching.
Will the hint be useful?
Unlike many of my caches which have fairly obvious hiding spots this cache is not in such a location. I could not find any super interesting tree or rock or bridge or other structure that would stand out among the rest of the trees, rocks, etc. The hint itself refers to a non-permanent item and so may not be useful. Just look for an ammo can in a place that might be protected from a flood.
Thank yous
Thanks to Team Teddy Bear for hiding the initial cache; to the non-geocacher Robins for finding and taking care of the cache after the 2003 flood; to Brenda of the Tippecanoe county parks department for holding on to the cache and getting it back to the geocaching community; and finally to the parks department as a whole for allowing geocaches in the parks that they operate.