This cache is part of a series of caches dedicated to the reminiscence and admiration of Roseville’s early dwellers. It is part of a series of caches called: “CACHE OUT IN ROSEVILLE”.
The coordinates shown on this page take you to a sculpture entitled “RENAISSANCE” by Yoshio Taylor, located next to Civic Center in downtown Roseville. There is free parking close by. What was once a parking lot has been turned into a beautiful town square with a stage, water feature, and fire pit. Enjoy the sculpture, look at the details, and answer the questions below. Daylight hours are recommended to see all the details in the sculpture. The answers should take you to the final stage, within the same block.
But first, a little background. Before the Gold Rush and before the railroad, there was the land. Early descriptions told about mile after mile of waving grasslands. Towering over all this were thick groves of valley oaks. Also covering the plains as far as one could see were wild flowers like golden poppies, buttercups, wild pansies, mustard, lupine, bluebells, Johnny Jump-ups, and the wild roses for which Roseville was supposedly named – all along the river streams. Wild animals such as deer, antelope, valley elk, and an occasional grizzly bear roamed over the grasslands, while California quail and other game birds frequented the thickets and brushlands. A grouping of Maidu Indians inhabited the area of Roseville. The principal Maidu village here was along the banks of Strap Ravine, east of downtown Roseville, on lands which later became part of Johnson Ranch. James Marshall’s historic discovery of gold in Coloma in 1848 drastically changed the land. At first, the intention of the miners was to get a pile of gold and return home as soon as possible. However, most miners found the elusive yellow metal was not as easy to obtain as they originally thought. As a result, many disappointed miners returned to their former occupations – farmers, storekeepers, those raising stock, and many other professions. Many stayed in Placer County. The difficulty of getting the products to market was a continuing problem. Slow-moving farm wagons were unpredictable and expensive. Many demanded that a railroad be built – just like on the east coast. Finally the first line of the railroad was completed in February 1856, extending 22 miles from Sacramento to Folsom. This line did little to benefit the residents of Placer County and the mining countries lying to the north. Others routes were surveyed. Finally, the dream of a transcontinental railroad became a reality, with work started in 1863. The line started in old Sacramento and crossed the American River by a specially built railroad trestle. The town of Roseville would later evolve around the junction of the Central Pacific and the California Central railroads. (Thanks to Leonard M. Davis and his research in “The Story of Roseville, California, Milestones & Memories 1850-2000”, published by the Roseville Arts Center, 2002) The sculpture, “Renaissance” depicts this early age in the City of Roseville.
And now, on to the cache location, which is:
N 38 44.ABC W 121 17.DEF
At the sculpture, count (add and/or subtract) the items. A checksum
is given in the hint to make sure you’re on the right track.
A. Count the number of granite rocks that used to encircle the horizontal surface of the sculpture. At last
count, one was missing and another one was there, but no longer cemented in place. But you can still figure out
how many were there originally. That number is: ____________. Also: subtract the number of trains that
appear on the back of the sphere from the number of rocks . That final number is: ___________
B. Now add up all of these items:
Number of frogs holding up the sphere? ___________
How many fish? __________
How many birds? ___________
And now count 1 item for each of the following plants or leaf
varieties that you discover (not individual leaves, just the
variety):
Cattails __________. Valley Oak leaves ____________
Grapes ___________. California poppies____________
That final number is: _____________
C. Count the number of roses that surround the column under
the sphere. Geocachers in the past have gotten dizzy trying
to figure out this one, so we’ll make it easy. Number of
roses, __________, But just use the first digit, not the second
digit of this two-digit number. This will help save your
sanity. That number is. ________.
D. Number of Native Americans located within the sphere
___________.
E. Now add the answers to the two following questions: 1).
How many materials (according to the plaque) make up the
composition of this sculpture? _____________. Plus How
many mammals are there in the sphere? ____________. The
total of these two items is _____________.
F. And finally, on the plaque, look for the year that this sculpture
was dedicated. Add the four digits together to get the last
number which is ____________.
The final location is hidden within this city block. The hint will give you more information plus the checksum for both north and west coordinates.