The geocache you seek is NOT at the listed coordinates, but that is a great place to start. Free Public Parking is available at both stages and it is only a few minutes by car or by foot between stages.
Cowley Park
You will begin in Cowley Park, known on the National Historic Registry for being Spokane's first school. This marker is a memorial to the location of the school, first held in January of 1875 with Rev. Henry Thomas Cowley as the teacher. Rev. Cowley, along with his wife, Abigail Peet Cowley, were Presbyterian missionaries to the native Spokane Indians, who established their winter quarters here. The Cowley's were one of the first four families to establish a home in Spokane. Although none of the historic buildings that surrounded the park remain Cowley Park exists today as a tribute to the work Cowley did to strengthen relations between settlers and the Spokane tribe.
The 2nd (and final stage) is a Spokane Park, formed in 1945 on the National Historic Registry and is known for being the neighborhood of Spokane elites. Bankers, senators, businessmen, mining and lumber entrepreneurs, doctors, architects, and lawyers built their mansions along the base of the basalt bluff. The park's historic gardens included a tea house, a perennial garden, a rose garden, and a pond.
You will need to solve this puzzle at the monument (above Coordinates) to obtain the final coordinates to find this cache:
N 47° 38.ABC W 117° 25.DEF
A=2nd digit in the number at bottom of top marker
B=1st or 2nd digit in the date they Cowley's organized church in their home
C=3rd digit in the year the Cowley's settled here
D=Number of places to sit at GZ
E=2nd digit in the year the park was placed on the national park services register
F=Number of words on first line of lower plaque
North Check Digit = 18 (add A+B+C)
West Check Digit = 13 (add D+E+F)
Good Luck and have fun!
2015 was the inaugural year of Spokane Geocache Tour. This Spokane County tour sent geocachers on a trip through Spokane History, finding caches in areas of historical significance. Visiting urban and rural gems, historic farming communities, forts and geological marvels. The Spokane History Geocache Tour rewarded those who completed with a commemorative Geocoin featuring the native Spokane Salish language.
Visit SpokaneGeoTour.com for additional details on the current Geocache Tour.
Spokane History Geocache Tour: sponsored by Spokane County TPA, Cache Advance, and Washington State Geocaching Association (WSGA)
