“INDIANA SPIRIT QUEST”
The Indiana Spirit Quest series of
geocaches will take you to a number of historic cemeteries
and historic sites built by Hoosier Pioneers. In almost four
years, the quest has grown to over six hundred caches hidden in
Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, and the hiders have grown to
over forty cacher teams, most of which are comprised of Dogs and
their Humans. Over 1,000 cacher teams have
logged over 50,000 finds.
(Photos by Team Itchy & Scratchy)
INDIANA
SPIRIT QUEST #624
"Gods
of Thunder"
This is a two stage
cache. The first stage is at the posted coordinates. To find the
second stage, you must find 6 numbers on the object. Take the first
3 numbers and add it to 39 47.024 and take the last 3 numbers and
add it to 84 48.252. The corrected coordinates will take you to
your final destination...a pioneer cemetery, of course, with a
marker honoring a specific Thunder Warrior.
Through 60 colorful
years of naval carrier aviation the Black Panthers saw many
changes. They saw action on 28 U.S. and one British carrier,
ranging from the old straight wooden decks of the USS RANGER (CV 4)
to the steel decks of the nuclear-powered supercarrier, USS
THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71).
Originally designated
VB-3B, the Black Panthers deployed aboard USS RANGER (CV 4) flying
the fabric covered Great Lakes BG-1 biplane. During the next 60
years the squadron would fly the SB2U-2 Vindicator, SBC-4
Helldiver, two 2 versions of the SBD Dauntless, 4 versions of he
SB2C Helldiver, 2 AD Skyraider models and 7 A-6 variants.
The 1960's: In September 1965, the Black Panthers received their
first Grumman A-6A Intruder, an aircraft that was destined to
become the workhorse during the Vietnam conflict. With its highly
sophisticated ground-mapping radar and computerized weapons
systems, the A-6 was able to deliver its ordnance against
significant North Vietnamese targets in all weather
conditions.
In 1980, the Black Panthers became the first operational A-6
squadron to deploy with the forward looking infrared receiver and
laser equipped A-6E TRAM aircraft.
The 1990's: The squadron deployed once more for what promised to be
a relatively easy summer Med cruise. Operation Desert Shield/Storm
put an end to that idea quickly. The men of VA-35 would set many
Navy firsts before their eight month combat cruise ended. Flying
from the deck of USS SARATOGA (CV 60), the squadron was the first
Navy squadron to drop bombs on Iraqi targets, the first to use
Night Vision Devices in combat (over 300 combat hours with NVDs),
and the first fleet squadron to drop high altitude Rockeyes,
Gators, and DSTs (destructors) on Iraqi targets. Additionally, the
Black Panthers flew nearly 400 strike sorties (all over 5 hours
duration) and expended over 1.7 million pounds of ordnance.
On January 31, 1995 VA-35 was disestablished after 60 plus years
of continuous service.
THUNDERBOLT!
HandiCaching.com rating: H12112
The cache is a
matchsafe container with room for small trades. As usual, the
cache is hidden away from graves, no ISQ searching after dusk
and remember cache in – trash out. Have fun and please leave
the cache exactly as found.
"Indiana
Spirit Quest" is brought to you by the following fellows of
GEOISQ*: SixDogTeam (Earthdog Patrick, Lead
Dog, Wheel Dog), Kodiak Kid, THE SHADOW, Team Shydog, Rupert2,
Torry, ~Mystery Dog~, Team Tigger International, bbSurveyors,
DoverDuo, -{Los}-Xile, Prairiepartners, WilliamsFamGC, Bean Blossom
Gang, Team Itchy & Scratchy, Wishbone86, krisNjoe,
Bikinibottomfeeders, Awsome Ev, Lord Elwood, 501_Gang, donsdi,
Joypa, dougsmiley, doobies, Che K, Indgeodog, jcurtis55, nursenine,
S Keillan, CAR 54, Cowboy, Team Lost in the Woods, ICQ Cache Crew,
ClayC, Infarmfamily, Jenischmeni and a host of others. If you are
interested in spreading the Quest to your neck of the woods AND
WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, email
SixDogTeam.
*Grand Exalted Order
of the Indiana Spirit Quest
