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The oldest, coolest, and most dangerous geocache


komickaze

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I visited the site this morning.

The stump in question is a palm tree stump.

Palm trees do not have big roots that point in any discernible direction, like a cottonwood, elm, or whatever...

The building just to the east has an olive tree in the yard...and the building is also 'abandoned'.

Olive trees probably do have larger roots that could be said to point in a specific direction.

 

Personally, I think there are some issues with the OP's story.

 

Definitely not a very prosperous neighborhood, but not particularly 'scary' either.

 

If I were to dig there, I would want to be certain of the site, 'cause I'm only digging one hole.

The OP needs to come up with whatever details he remembers to increase the odds of success. Also, if this is going to be found, now's the time. A month or a year from now, an investor will start rehabbing, & then it will be too late.

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No reply to two PMs to the OP.

Why should I bother?

 

PM's as in here in the forums? I can see someone missing those. Definitely try email, unless that's what you meant to say.

 

I have adopted your name at a few websites, and I first heard about it via Geocaching. Saw this guy's name in a paper log in a cache in Central New Jersey in 2003, one of his 8 finds. :ph34r:

Edited by Mr.Yuck
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No reply to two PMs to the OP.

Why should I bother?

You should bother because you are curious. ;) I have a job, a wife, two kids, and I'm not a frequent visitor to this forum. Pardon me for having a life outside of here.

 

I posted this request because this community IS generally curious, and finding a mysterious buried box is what geocaching is all about. Am I wrong?

 

I lived at 4034, apartment D. This is the adjacent building to the east in the apartment on the northwest side. My memory has me walking south between the two buildings and over to the tree on my right. Now that I think about it more, I remember the tree being closer to the sidewalk than the stump is. And now that you mention it, I think there were two trees. I do remember there being a palm in the middle of that grassy area (yes, it WAS grass then) and another tree nearer the sidewalk.

 

I went to Google Earth and had a look at the historical images and found both trees were still there on the 04/29/97 image. By 05/06/02, though, they were gone. Odds are the box is gone along with it. :(

 

I'm sorry to have wasted everyone's time with this. I should have checked the historical images and not just relied on my memory.

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I posted this request because [...] finding a mysterious buried box is what geocaching is all about. Am I wrong?
Well, as you've discovered, geocaches aren't buried.

 

And the point of geocaching is to find the container using GPS coordinates, to sign the log, and to replace the container as found. Ignoring the whole "using GPS coordinates" thing for now, replacing the container as found might be difficult with a metal box buried among the roots of a tree 25 years ago.

 

But other than that...

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Andy: There's a big hayfield up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is?

 

Red: Well, there's... there's a lot of hayfields up there.

 

Andy: One in particular. It's got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It's like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It's where I asked my wife to marry me. We went there for a picnic and made love under that oak and I asked and she said yes. Promise me, Red. If you ever get out... find that spot. At the base of that wall, you'll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. Piece of black, volcanic glass. There's something buried under it I want you to have.

 

Red: What, Andy? What's buried under there?

 

Andy: You'll have to pry it up... to see.

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I'm sorry to have wasted everyone's time with this. I should have checked the historical images and not just relied on my memory.

Personally, I found it to be a great story. I was hoping someone would be able to find it. I love stories like this.

Yes, intriguing story!

 

But in the end, we discover the cache to be muggled! :sad:

Edited by wmpastor
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Andy: There's a big hayfield up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is?

 

Red: Well, there's... there's a lot of hayfields up there.

 

Andy: One in particular. It's got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It's like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It's where I asked my wife to marry me. We went there for a picnic and made love under that oak and I asked and she said yes. Promise me, Red. If you ever get out... find that spot. At the base of that wall, you'll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. Piece of black, volcanic glass. There's something buried under it I want you to have.

 

Red: What, Andy? What's buried under there?

 

Andy: You'll have to pry it up... to see.

Lol thats exactly what came to mind for me reading this :)

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I posted this request because this community IS generally curious, and finding a mysterious buried box is what geocaching is all about. Am I wrong?

 

I lived at 4034, apartment D. This is the adjacent building to the east in the apartment on the northwest side. My memory has me walking south between the two buildings and over to the tree on my right. Now that I think about it more, I remember the tree being closer to the sidewalk than the stump is. And now that you mention it, I think there were two trees. I do remember there being a palm in the middle of that grassy area (yes, it WAS grass then) and another tree nearer the sidewalk.

 

I went to Google Earth and had a look at the historical images and found both trees were still there on the 04/29/97 image. By 05/06/02, though, they were gone. Odds are the box is gone along with it. :(

 

I'm sorry to have wasted everyone's time with this. I should have checked the historical images and not just relied on my memory.

 

I'm a bit late chiming in, but trying to make some comments...

It's not quite what we think of as Geocaching... but as you say something is/was hidden and people will try to find it IF the information is as good as possible and conditions permit. For me it has been a bit of a learning experience, but then for me everything is a learning experience. Memory is not as accurate as some people think at the best of times. So like most good puzzles it's best to try to get as much information as possible. First!

 

I found your image reference and can see the trees as you stated, so good for you, the image following that one is just plain bad viewing... and in your second one they are indeed gone. Small trees might have been simply ripped out, leaving whatever was under them behind, or the whole thing might have been dug up and moved complete with root ball. I'm assuming they were not deep rooting plants and they were young/small. Not that that means much. I found myself wondering if they might have been 'transplanted' to the south side of the street or elsewhere. Not likely to be determined, but that area seems to have come and gone over the years.

 

I stuck a GE map pin on the photos that are current showing the location before going to the historic images.

Realized that GE registration wasn't so good back a few years... that pin appeared to move around a lot as I went back in 'time', but I had no problem keeping the houses straight... hope you did.

 

One bonus for me, although it wasn't much use either, but still a good point of GE usage for this sort of hunting, was the discovery that GEStreet view also kicks back in time when the historical images are on.

Quite a bit different (but similar) view in 2011. To bad they didn't have Street view when the two trees were still there, then we might have had something... You don't have any photos from back then do you? Say the street view of that walkway or something out front that shows the buildings and the trees there. Anyway. Thanks for jogging the mental juices for most of us. I learned something new which is good.

By all means, give your kids the chance to time capsule something themselves, but document it for them and don't depend on temporary landmarks alone. Good luck with the project. Get out caching as well if they are up to it.

At least they will understand your story better as to why. Now if the snow would stop so I can get out to cache. Terrible when -10C is a warm day.

 

Doug 7rxc

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No reply to two PMs to the OP.

Why should I bother?

You should bother because you are curious. ;) I have a job, a wife, two kids, and I'm not a frequent visitor to this forum. Pardon me for having a life outside of here.

 

I posted this request because this community IS generally curious, and finding a mysterious buried box is what geocaching is all about. Am I wrong?

 

I lived at 4034, apartment D. This is the adjacent building to the east in the apartment on the northwest side. My memory has me walking south between the two buildings and over to the tree on my right. Now that I think about it more, I remember the tree being closer to the sidewalk than the stump is. And now that you mention it, I think there were two trees. I do remember there being a palm in the middle of that grassy area (yes, it WAS grass then) and another tree nearer the sidewalk.

 

I went to Google Earth and had a look at the historical images and found both trees were still there on the 04/29/97 image. By 05/06/02, though, they were gone. Odds are the box is gone along with it. :(

 

I'm sorry to have wasted everyone's time with this. I should have checked the historical images and not just relied on my memory.

 

Yes, I was curious, which is why I took time to go to the location and take a look.

Since I know palm trees have grass-like roots (and not big roots that can be said to point in any particular direction) I sent you an email to ask for clarification on the type of tree. (I kind-of thought it would have been common courtesy to reply. :unsure: )

 

Apparently that was a well-founded question to ask! :)

 

Anyway, not really a waste of time...but not the results either of us would have preferred. :(

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! B)

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So is the tree stump in the Google Street View the one in question? I live in Phoenix.

I went to Google Earth and had a look at the historical images and found both trees were still there on the 04/29/97 image. By 05/06/02, though, they were gone. Odds are the box is gone along with it. :(

 

I'm sorry to have wasted everyone's time with this. I should have checked the historical images and not just relied on my memory.

 

Actually, he buried a body there and thought it would be fun for someone else to dig it up. After a few days the vicodin wore off and he thought it was a bad idea.

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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So is the tree stump in the Google Street View the one in question? I live in Phoenix.

I went to Google Earth and had a look at the historical images and found both trees were still there on the 04/29/97 image. By 05/06/02, though, they were gone. Odds are the box is gone along with it. :(

 

I'm sorry to have wasted everyone's time with this. I should have checked the historical images and not just relied on my memory.

 

Actually, he buried a body there and thought it would be fun for someone else to dig it up. After a few days the vicodin wore off and he thought it was a bad idea.

Well heck there's bodies involved?!! Count me in I'll bring my special body hole digging shovel.

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