The real Weapons of Mass Destruction Traditional Geocache
Captain Faisua: The cache is gone - probably victim of an overzealous park clean up person.
The real Weapons of Mass Destruction
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The cache is a 1 gallon plastic bucket hidden under some wood debris at the base of a large beaked hazelnut tree about 42' west of a gravel path. Look for a group of 1 hazelnut tree and 2 alder trees. Park access is at Gifford Place & 45th Circle. Or from a trail head on SE Sunset View Rd.
This geocache was established in honor of the travel bug "Dubya", who is on a mission to find weapons of mass destruction. Dubya visited this area in October 2009 and found clear evidence that some kind of weapon of mass destruction had wiped out the prune industry.
Camas/Washougal history records that there once was a thriving and profitable prune industry in the area. It began in the 1880's, and by the turn of the century, there were over 435,000 Italian plum trees in Clark County producing over 819 tons of fruit a year.
But the industry declined and had pretty much disappeared by the mid 1950's. So what wiped out this once thriving industry? You guessed it, weapons of mass destruction. But which ones? Various historical accounts disagree on this point. Here are some theories local historians have written about:
• Air pollution from aluminum smelters across the river is said to be the culprit according to a sign the city of Washougal once had at this site. The sign said that the pollution killed off the trees in the early 50's, and the industry never recovered.
• Air pollution from a massive fire in an orchard in Troutdale Oregon. It wasn't clear whether the fire was deliberately set or not, but this story claimed that air pollution from that fire killed off the prune trees in this area, and the industry never recovered.
• Disruption of the markets due to World War II. Germany and other European destinations were the major market for Clark County prunes, and WWII disrupted the market, and the industry never recovered.
• Competition from growers in California and elsewhere.
• Insect pests and disease are another culprit mentioned in historical records that are said to have played a role in the destruction of the area prune industry.
So, what was the real WMD? Be sure to enter in your logs what you think the Real WMD is. And it doesn't have to be about prunes.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gurer vf na vagrefrpgvba bs teniry cnguf gb gur fbhgu bs gur trbpnpur. Sebz gung vagrefrpgvba jnyx 128 srrg abegu ornevat 163 qrterrf.