Old Bet

How can you help Old Bet?

1. Move her from cache to cache as frequently as possible.
2. Attempt to keep her moving in a south westerly direction towards New Mexico.
3. Take pictures of her adventures and some of the smiles she generates.
4. Take a picture of her near the Big Top.

Old Bet is beginning her journey from her hometown of Somers, NY where she lived and performed for many years till popularity and dreams of prosperity prompted Hachaliah Bailey to bring his show on the road. Shortly thereafter Old Bet met her untimely demise. On July 24 1816, while on tour near Alfred, ME, she was shot and killed. The angry farmer who murdered her thought that it was sinful for poor people to spend money to see an elephant. You can read more about her at Roadside America

Old Bet would like to continue her circus tour and get the feel for what the Big Top is today. Though she is well loved at home she does not feel the townspeople take her seriously as a circus elephant, we all know her as our friendly local Pachyderm that used to bathe in the pond down the road, gets dressed in green every St. Patrick's day and is the mascot of our schools (Go Tuskers!) Old Bet would like to create as many smiles, old and young, as possible in her travels and she would like to try to visit 2 special little boys in Los Alamos, New Mexico that recently went to their first circus and there were NO ELEPHANTS! Please help her along her way and make sure to log in her travel bug. If possible send a picture home next to the Big Top so she can prove to the town she is truly a Circus Elephant !

She's pretty weather proof so if you can provide her with a raincoat (ziplock) I'm sure she wouldn't mind standing sentinel over a cache if she doesn't fit, I mean how many places does an elephant really fit? If you've read her Roadside America Story you'll realize she's traveled in much more exposed condition and still pulled in the crowd.

Good Luck and be nice to Old Bet... she's a good old friend. We wish her well in her travels. Please email me to get an address to send pictures to for scanning or with any fun, questions or problems to address in Old Bets tour.

Found under the Pavillion in Bailey Park less then 24 hours
after jumping her pedestal.
October 27 by Alysn (72 found)
Took an early morning trip to see if I could meet up with Old Bet and get her started on her journey to warmer climes. Had a little trouble getting to her since they chose this morning to repave the road between the Elephant Hotel and the memorial gazebo. I found her shivering in a dark corner and tried to bundle her up in my fleece - Whew! what a load! She managed to put a footprint in the new road they just layed today, so she got quite a look from the road crew. I wasn't sure how I was going to fit her in my little car but, with a little pushing, prodding, and a peanut or two for coaxing, she finally got into the back seat. I wondered how many caches it would take before my little car was damaged beyond repair - looks like the 69th cache did it! I'm going to take her a bit south today and see if I can establish her in a new home in New Jersey. I left a www.wheresgeorge.com dollar at her previous abode so someone might figure out that she had moved on if they set out to meet her today. If not, someone will find it sooner or later.

Click the Collage to enlarge it or
The Photo Links Below
to hear the story behind the picture.