MSPCGT:Negwegon SP-Birds of Paradise Mystery Cache

Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour (GT93)

UPDATE: 3/1/2024:

2019 was the 100^th Anniversary of Michigan State Parks and we're still celebrating!. Join the Michigan Geocaching Organization (MiGO), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Geocaching.com for the first official GeoTour in Michigan.

This tour was originally scheduled to run for three years, kicking off on Friday of Memorial Weekend in 2019 and continue through May 31, 2022. The success of this awesome tour has not gone unnoticed. On February 2, 2022, The DNR announced the extension of the GeoTour through September 24, 2024! Join us in making a final push to complete this very popular and very successful GeoTour before the sun sets on it.

Each geocache is in one of Michigan's state parks. The geocaches are arranged by MiGO Region, with twenty-five geocaches per region. The Ticket to Celebrate 100 is available for download from the DNR's Geocaching page. It explains how to qualify for prizes in each of the four regions and for the GeoTour as a whole.

Day use areas of state parks are open from 8AM to 10PM. Geocaching is limited to those hours. Entry into Michigan's State Parks requires a Michigan Recreation Passport. See the Resources section below for more information.

The sun will set on the MSPCGT at midnight Tuesday, September 24, 2024. The MSPCGT will go off the air as a GeoTour and the caches will disappear from the map. There is a lot of construction going on in our State Parks in 2024. Some of the GeoTour caches will have to be pulled earlier. The remaining geocaches in the tour will be archived October 1, 2024. Players will have until December 31, 2024 to claim any prize they have earned. Hiders will be contacted to request removal of the geocaches they hid unless they have made arrangements with park managers and have their own permit in place to keep the geocache in play, with a new GC Code.

Now for some good news: MiGO and the DNR are busy working on a new project that will kick off in the Spring of 2025, code named MSPGT 2.0. Are you interested in helping? Keep your MiGO Membership up to date and stay tuned to the website.

Cache:

This cache was hidden as part of the Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour, presented by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Geocaching Organization. Record the codeword printed on the log book and on a label inside the cache container to the appropriate box on the Ticket to Celebrate 100 form. See the instructions on the form to claim prizes.

This is a simple mystery gadget cache that is hidden at the posted coordinates. It includes clues to the combination for a locked compartment that holds the actual cache container and the ever important codeword for the GeoTour. The questions you will be asked at ground zero are included below:

• This cheerful friendly songbird lives in Michigan all year.
• This bird flies away with seeds from the feeder to store them away to eat later.
• Massachusetts claims this bird as its state bird.
• This bird sings it name.
  
  

• Consider yourself blessed if you see this colorful songbird in the summertime.
• This bird mainly eats insects.
• New York and Missouri claim this bird as their state bird.
• To attract this bird to your yard, built it a house and put mealworms in a feeder.
• You may start happily singing Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah when you see this songbird.
  
  

To open the lock; find the grid locations of the two mystery birds.

Please return everything as good or better than you found it and help keep the cache clean.

Thank you Pirate Sunflower & ORM3757 for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.

^{Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources}
Rocky Lake Huron Waters

Negwegon State Park:

Negwegon State Park is a rustic, undeveloped area open for hunting, walk-in camping and hiking. The terrain is a mixture of low land areas, with small ridges, mature pine forest and some hardwoods. There are pockets of open meadows mixed in. There is also a long, sandy beach on Lake Huron.

History:

The land was purchased in 1962, then named Alpena State Park. The park was renamed in 1970 in honor of the Ojibwe Chief Negwegon. This 3,738-acre park lies in Alpena and Alcona counties, just 5 miles southeast of the small town, Ossineke. There are 11 miles of hiking trails, 4 primitive back-country camping sites and a sandy beach for swimming. The park has 6.5 miles of Lake Huron shoreline. There are is an abundance of wildlife, including bear, so be cautious while hiking and camping.

^{Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources}

Activities:

Please use caution when visiting Negwegon as the roads into the park are often so sandy that a four-wheel drive vehicle is needed. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trails or off-road. The Michigan DNR has published a backcountry Guide for this park. You can download the guide as a PDF here: Negwegon State Park Backcountry Guide

^{Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources}
Beach on Lake Michigan

Information:

For more information, reservations and a calendar of events, follow this link to Negwegon State Park.

Special thanks to smilch for help with this geocache.

Special thanks to Are You Geocacher Enough? Road Rally for the Northern Lower regional prize.

Resources:

• State Parks Centennial GeoTour - Download the Ticket to Celebrate 100
• Michigan.gov/StateParks100
• Michigan DNR Recreation Passport
• When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?
• Michigan Geocaching Organization (MiGO)