2020-04-05: Geocaching Counties Around Georgia and Finding a Covered Bridge, an Old Jeep, Cemeteries and More

Welcome back to the AwayWeGo Geocaching Adventures blog. Our job has us traveling all across the country. We prefer the rural backroad and byways when driving from jobsite to jobsite because they have the most interesting places. We find most of these historic and roadside attractions because of geocaching, but then there are often a lot of unexpected surprises too.

In today's edition, we've been in Georgia working for a week now and it's our first day off. So of course it's time for a mini-roadtrip around the backroads of Georgia to add some new counties to the geocaching map. So hop on in the GeoJeep and let's go see what we can find!

A short drive down the road on the way to our first geocache, I pass by this house with some old rusty farm equipment off to the side. But what caught my eye the most was the old rusty Jeep. Along with the trucks back within the trees, it's kinda sad that they're just abandoned and left to rust and rot away.

Now in Webster County, it was a quick roadside geocache stop for the county (GC1W1MN).

Driving north on Georgia Hwy 41, we arrived in Marion County. Right at the county line is what remains of the ghost town community of Church Hill (GC71HPY). As early as 1812, Methodist missionaries came into this area and found the Indians to be receptive to the Gospel, so missions were established to teach and minister to the Indians. Following these missionaries came large numbers of immigrants from the eastern United States and from North and South Carolina. The mission points were established along trading paths which developed into the "Old Salt Trail" and later St Mary's Road from Columbus to the coast.

Here near three crossroads, a large church community developed. Five churches soon sprung up in this community originally known as Searsville. After the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Bible Baptist, and Christian Church's were established the area was more commonly known as Church Hill. The Shiloh-Marion Missionary Baptist Church is the only remaining church of the five. What began as a Baptist Missions Point in 1812, became Shiloh Baptist Church in 1835 with 8 members. At its peak it grew to 150 members. Presently there are about 12. A time capsule was placed back in 1995 to be opened in 2045. (For a full recount of the history of Church Hill with photos and more, visit https://ursa.mercer.edu/handle/10898/12398)

Across the street is the Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery. Many of the communities early pioneers and Civil War veterans are buried here. There are also some smaller cemeteries nearby and all that remain of the other churches. Among the cemeteries are segregated sections, one for slaves and another for Native Americans.

Also in Marion County and further north in the town of Buena Vista, we stopped for another geocache behind the historic old Gypsy Camp Grist Mill (GC71K1Q). There were a LOT of logs out behind the building and I spent a LOT of time looking at all the possible hiding places. But I wasn't able to find the cache and had to DNF it. But I did learn some history.

The Gypsy Camp Grist Mill was moved from its original location to its current site on the Murray Estate in 1930. At the time, the mill was a key agricultural asset to the community. It used electricity to power a network of chutes and belts woven through the three-story building to grind corn into meal. It operated for thirty years, closing in the early 1960's. Gypsy Camp Grist Mill got its name from a nearby campground and store where for a few weeks every winter ‘gypsies’ made their home, purchased supplies, and traded. The gypsies were believed to be of Serbian and Russian decent and migrated to the United States during the 1850's.

Crossing the line into Talbot County, I make a quick stop to find a geocache in an old pay phone (GC51AA7). Then at the top of the county there was another geocache at this historical marker (GC3XR5X). A large memorial which reads: "In Honor of Our Confederate Heroes, Sons of Confederate Veterans 1896, Echols Guards Camp #1711 S.C.V., 2005"

Next up in Meriwether County, in the town of Manchester, is this train car and my next geocache (GC70TEH). It's called Elliott Station as a memorial for Tyron Elliott, a prominent member of the community.

The next two geocaches were at the Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge (GC2885, GC6QDNP). Also located in Meriwether County, this bridge was built in the 1840's by freed slave and noted bridge builder Horace King (1807 - 1885). Constructed on the town lattice design, the bridge's web of planks crisscrossing at 45- to 60-degree angles are fastened at each intersection with a total of approximately 2,500 wooden pegs, or trunnels. Although King is credited with the construction of many covered bridges throughout West Georgia, this is his only surviving bridge of this design. At 391 feet, including the approaches, this structure is the oldest and longest wooden covered bridge in Georgia. And you can still drive across it!

If you look carefully down the side of the covered bridge you will notice a change in the wood forming a line about 2/3 of the way up the side. On July 7, 1994, the river flooded over and rose up to that height.

Now in Coweta County in the town of Senoia, there's another bridge. This town in Georgia is often used in filming the TV show "The Walking Dead." In The Walking Dead, this old bridge, which crosses over railroad tracks, is in the fictional town of "Woodbury" in the TV show. While I didn't find the geocache (GC86RNR) on the bridge, I still like finding old bridges.

Here's the GeoJeep in downtown Senoia. You might recognize this street scene and a gazebo where a virtual geocache (GC89183) is located in other films such as "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Fried Green Tomatoes."

Crossing Line Creek into Fayette County, I stopped for a quick park & grab Challenge Cache (GC6JM2D). A Challenge Cache is usually a simple cache to find. However you have to meet certain achievements in order to log a find on it. This one requires you to have found 1000 geocaches before logging a "Found It." I passed that accomplishment a long time ago! And then there was the State Souvenir Challenge cache (GC7QN34) up the road. That one required you to find a least one cache in 10 different states. Yep, passed that one a long time ago too!

From there taking GA-34 over into Heard County and the town of Franklin, I make a quick find at the Veterans Memorial Park (GC69X5M).

Nearly 8 PM and heading south, I make one more stop as it's getting dark for a quick cache in Troup County (GC2D30C). We picked up nine new caching counties on this run today. Still a little more than 100 miles of driving to get back and I gotta work tomorrow, we drive straight there. Found a lot of history on our adventure today. I hope you have enjoyed the ride and come back soon. See you next time...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using you favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, and Instagram. These all link directly to my profile. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2019-05-25: Roadtrip Day1! The North Carolina County Challenge: Finding Bigfoot, an Alien, a Miniature Village and More!

Welcome back roadtrippers, Geocachers, travelers, history buffs, Jeepers, friends and family to another entry in my AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures blog. It's a 3-day holiday weekend which will allow me more time to venture farther into western North Carolina. Today's geocaching roadtrip adventure is Day 1 of an attempt to find at least one geocache in the remaining 47 of NC's 100 counties.

       

Here's the map of the targeted geocaches for the weekend. We've got a lot of miles ahead of us, history to see, and roadside attractions to discover. So hop on board the GeoJeep and let's go for a drive...

So I get an early sunrise start from Blounts Bay and make my way over to NC-33 westbound. On the way to my first geocache I spot a "roadside attraction" that was waving me down for a photo opp. I just had to get a picture of the GeoJeep with a Yogi Bear statue at the mini-storage lot.

Arriving in Greenville, almost to my first geocache, I pass by another "roadside attraction." This cool metal yard-art sculpture of a sailing ship at the Villa Verde restaurant was also asking for a photo opp. There were a few other pieces of metal sculpture of animals out front, but this sailboat was the best.

My first two geocaches were challenge caches. Those are usually fairly simple to find caches that require achieving certain goals in order to claim a find. In the city of Greenville in Pitt County, was the 1,000 Finds Challenge (GC40YX9), which I qualified for long ago. After that in the town of Tarboro in Edgecombe County was the 366 Day Calendar Challenge (GC53AT0), which I also qualified for several years ago.

Driving over into historic Rocky Mount located in Nash County, Europeans began settling the area along the Tar River in the early 1700's. The Falls of the Tar River Primitive Baptist Church was established in 1757. With the establishment of the post office in 1816 (GCA855), the name of Rocky Mount became official.

Rocky Mount Mills (GC7D3B), the second oldest cotton mill in North Carolina, was built in 1818 on a 20-acre tract of land at the falls of the Tar River. The mills were operated initially by Joel Battle and two partners, but by 1825 Battle was the sole proprietor. When Joel Battle died in 1829, his son William took over the operation of the mills. Built from local granite, the facility was three stories plus a basement; within the building, the Battles operated both cotton and grist mills.

A large industrial complex, Rocky Mount Mills was raided by Brigadier General Edward E. Potter’s Union cavalry on July 20, 1863. The mills, outbuildings, cotton, and yarn were destroyed by fire. William Battle rebuilt Rocky Mount Mills on the original foundation between 1866 and 1867. The new brick building, four stories with a basement, burned in 1869. Battle again rebuilt the mills. During the height of its nineteenth century production, the cotton mills, with about 50 employees, could process about 700 pounds of raw cotton per day.

In 1883 financial difficulties led William Battle to relinquish control of the mill. Thomas A. Battle, great-grandson of Joel Battle, was secretary to the mill’s new board of trustees. He eventually became president and the mills thrived under his leadership. Battle constructed additional buildings in 1889 and 1894. When Rocky Mount Mills closed in 1996, it was believed to be the oldest operating cotton mill in the South. It now comprises a local historic district and has been redeveloped into residential, retail, dining, and office space.

Also on the 20 acres next to the mills is the Battle House (GC78k8M). Constructed in 1835 by Benjamin D. Battle, a son of Joel Battle. In 1863, when the Federal cavalry burned the mill, the officer in charge spared the home because he and the superintendent of the mill were both Masons.

A village of small homes were built around the mills for those families working in the mills. In 1918 this village community house was constructed. It is now a gastropub.

Heading north up into Halifax County, I stop for a quick roadside geocache and get a good laugh also. The "Little Green Men" cache (GC4J08N) turned a simple cache find into a little bit of fun.

Driving the rural backroads around the country, I often stumble upon unexpected pieces of history. Passing through the community of Centerville, NC in Franklin County, I saw this old church building and had to stop. Centerville was established in 1882. This abandoned building was once the Serepta (sometimes spelled Sarepta) Methodist Church. In my research, I couldn't find any history on the church. However the nearby church graveyard has 33 interments which date back to 1879, a 35-year old Confederate Col John Preston Leonard. The towns charter was officially dissolved in 2017 due to lack of growth and population of less than 100. If you know anything more about this church, please send me a message.

Moving right along picking up some more quick roadside geocaches in the new counties of Franklin County (GC1QA2W) and Vance County (GC1KBYM). Then over in Granville County right off I-85 was a Travel Bug Hotel cache (GC1C8A2). It gave parking coordinates at the gas station next door, then a short hike over to trailhead, and then to cache. I arrived at the gas station to see a sign that said "Customer Parking Only." So I drive over to the trailhead. Didn't see any signs that said hiking or Jeeping. Looked like a GeoJeep trail to me. I was able to drive right up to within 50 feet of the cache.

On the way to my next county cache and again driving the backroads, I pass by this old house. With the modern appliance and power lines, does somebody live here or is it abandoned? Too bad I can't go exploring.

Speaking of exploring abandoned places... that brings me to my next geocache. Over in Person County is the Castle Mont Rouge (GC6H90P). An abandoned castle located 3/4 of a mile from this cache at the end of Mountain Brook Road. This Castle was designed and built in 2005 by American Architect Robert Mihaley. Abandoned in 2008, rumored because of the death of his wife. Some time after 2009 it was significantly vandalized in and out which allowed the elements to work on the interior structure. Because of the vandals, now there's a gate, fence, and no trespassing signs. So now you can't even drive up to see the castle.

Just a few miles away across the line into Durham County, is my next stop at the Blalock-Chambers Families Cemetery (GC6K69Y). This cemetery dates back to Justin Ruffin Blalock in June 1860. There are nearly 200 interments here in total. And they are "Never Alone."

Another few miles away in Orange County was another quick roadside cache (GC6K6BA). Staying on Hwy 57 south towards my next geocache, I encountered another of those surprise roadside attractions. Two life-sized horse sculptures, one made of scrap metal and the other of wood.

Making my way into Chapel Hill, I stopped at Battle Park to go hiking in the woods for the North Carolina Challenge Cache (GC19YRC). While I haven't yet completed all 100 counties yet, I can still sign the log as a "Write Note" for when I do find a geocache in each county. Hopefully by the end of this 3-day weekend.

I'm driving around trying to find a close parking spot to the cache but it's all residential with no public access to the park. So I turn around back to the west end where I remember passing by a few parking spots along the road at the edge of the park. But now instead of a 200 feet hike, it's closer to a quarter mile hike. I grab the hiking stick, more for poking in the ground and leaves listening to that "thump" sound of hitting the cache container, and a bottle of water and begin my journey.

On the plus side of parking where I did, my hike starts me off into this outdoor theater. The Forest Theater at UNC staged its first drama in 1916 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. William C. Coker, botany professor and founder of the Coker Arboretum, chose this particular location. A few years later, Professor Frederick Koch, founder of the Carolina Playmakers, developed the location into a permanent theater. Forest Theatre was rebuilt with Work Projects Administration funds in 1940 and was further improved in 1948. After taking a few photos, I headed for the woods.

It was a nice little jaunt hiking the Battle Branch Trail through the green forest. Once inside, it's hard to believe you're in the middle of town with houses and office buildings all around you. Even had a raccoon quickly scurrying along about 100 feet away. Tried to get a pic but it was too fast moving through the brush, trees along a creek. All I got were blurred photos with the phone. The one time I leave the Nikon in the GeoJeep.

I get to the geocache location and begin my search. I find the perfect hiding spot in this hollowed out fallen tree but no container. I expand my search looking all over but after 30 minutes there's nothing to be found. I even search further down the hill just in case it got removed by a critter and washed downhill. Nope no luck. The previous searcher just a week prior couldn't find it either. Well instead of a "Write Note," I'm gonna have to leave a DNF. Looks like I'm gonna have to make another trip back here.

On the way to my next geocache, I passed through the town of Cedar Grove, NC. In the mid-1700's, Scotch Irish, Germans, and English settlers migrated from the coastal regions to this back country area. The Cedar Grove Male Academy opened in 1845. By 1850 the towns businesses included a tanner, a coachmaker, a physician, a store and post office.

The Presbyterian Church erected in 1834 and renovated in 1901. Also built in 1834 was the Methodist Church. In 1939, a new Cedar Grove United Methodist Church was constructed and is the largest of the rural churches in Orange County built before World War II. After the Civil War, freed blacks began establishing their own communities and churches. In 1918, Lee's Chapel Baptist Church appeared at the outskirts of Cedar Grove, becoming the focal point of a small settlement of black farmers. 

The first of the photos I took was of the C.H. Pender Grocery Store. This two-story weatherboard building dates back to the 1880's. The one-story addition on the left side once housed a post office. It was moved across the road to its present location in 1900. Like the exterior, the inside still has its wooden shelving and glass display cases arranged along the side walls. The Allison Family first built the store back in the 1880's. The Oliver Family acquired the store in October 1907. Irene Oliver married C.H. Pender and they acquired the store in the 1960's.

Below is the Ellis Store built in 1923. This quarter-acre lot was first owned by Thomas C. Ellis who operated a store from 1871 until his death in 1892. In 1902 the lot and store were advertised for sale. At some point the store was acquired by W.J. Hughes from whom Thomas's son, Allen A. Ellis, purchased it in 1921. It was Allen Ellis that had this new building erected in 1923 and operated as a general store and post office. Allen Ellis retired in 1943 and his son Tom Ellis took over the business until he died in 1982. His widow Lucille eventually sold the property in 1995.

Heading north up into the town of McDade, I stopped for photos of this old abandoned gas station. This type of gas station and general store was built in the 1920's, a more modern and convenience version as the automobile became the mode of transportation replacing the horse and buggy. The front overhang protected the gas pumps. This store replaced an older 1880's store which was once across the street. Charles Samuel McDade owned and operated this store by 1940.

Moving along and driving north into Caswell County, I arrive at a virtual geocache called Rock City (GC9EF3). This miniature city, Shangri-La, began construction in 1968 by a retired tobacco farmer. For nine years this farmer built the tiny village out of rock removed from his farm land, concrete, and thousands of arrowheads. Among the miniature houses, the village includes a hotel, a mill, water tower, theater, a church, and more. There were 27 buildings in all. At the time of his death in 1977, he was working on adding a hospital to his village.

Moving right along, I stopped at a Bojangles in Yanceyville to grab a bite to each. While there I noticed a geocache in the parking lot (GC35H5Z) and of course I had to find it while I was there.

Going into Rockingham County, my next geocache was one of my favorites. A historical church with a graveyard. Wentworth Methodist Church (GC5NPD2) was organized in 1836, and the present sanctuary was constructed in 1859. It contains a slave gallery and is the last antebellum Methodist church building in Rockingham County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Slaves and free blacks are buried in the cemetery behind the church, as well as members of the predominantly white congregation. Other officers and soldiers are interred here. Lt. E. Wheeler Hancock, who served in the Mexican War, became colonel of the 77th Regiment, North Carolina Senior Reserves, during the Civil War. Surgeon John R. Raine served in the 45th North Carolina Infantry. Lt. John P. Ellington, 72nd Regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, drowned near Fort Fisher. Capt. Berry J. Law, a native of England, served in the 69th Regiment, North Carolina Home Guard.

These obelisks mark the graves of George D. Boyd and three of his sons who died in Confederate service.  Capt John H. Boyd, Co I, 21st NC Infantry, died in Richmond, VA in 1861. Lt George F. Boyd, Co E, 45th NC Infantry, was killed in 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg. Capt Samuel H Boyd, also of Co E, later was promoted to Colonel and was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, VA in 1864. A fourth brother, Lt Col Andrew J Boyd of the 45th NC Infantry and later of the 22nd Battalion NC Home Guard, survived the war and settled in Reidsville, where he died and is buried.

Passing through the corner of Stokes County, I grab a quick parking lot LPC (GC61GYQ) at a Dollar General to claim that county. It's 8PM now and I've been going on fourteen hours. I decided to drive down into Forsyth County to find a hotel closer to my next cache in the morning. Along the way, another "roadside attraction" at a giant Bigfoot statue. Gotta get a selfie with this one. Can you see a resemblance? 

Well that's it for day #1 of my long weekend roadtrip. If I keep stopping for all these unexpected roadside attractions, I may not make all my planned county goals. But then that's a part of the journey and makes for a better backroads experience. Time to get some sleep. See you bright and early again tomorrow.

2019-04-14: Geocaching Fossils, a Cemetery, Dams and Aqueducts in Central Texas

So I got a late start this morning on my Sunday drive of 360+ miles from Killeen, Texas down to Roma, Texas for a week of working. But I still managed to squeeze in some geocaching in the San Antonio area. Let's get going...

My first stop was at Cibolo Creek for some fossils and an earthcache (GC3CC0F). Here I found the same kinda fossilized rock used on the fort at St. Augustine back in Florida. After getting the answers I needed to get credit for the cache, I went to look for the traditional geocache that was hidden here as well. I wasn't thinking clearly about that one though. It was called "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (GC20H46). I had forgotten that I was down by the creek for the earthcache. I looked all around for about 15-20 minutes unsuccessfully trying to find it. Had to log a DNF on that one. Thinking back on it now though, it's rated a 1.5/1.5 cache and probably an easy find up by the road on TOP of the bridge! Oh well, maybe next time.

Continuing down the road to a quick roadside park and grab geocache. It was an easy cache to find, but a challenge cache to log a find (GC329EA). The challenge for this one was to find 150 geocaches hidden by the same geocacher. Currently I have found 150 geocaches each by eight different cachers.

My next two geocaches are at the Mission Burial Park Cemetery (GC6JVNP, GC6KY0W). With interments dating back to the 1850's, there are nearly 50,000 burials here. The one that caught my attention most was this Sanderson Family Mausoleum. Containing six members of the family, beginning with David D. Sanderson (1822-1892). The entry is guarded by two sphynx looking statues.

Next door to the east of the cemetery runs the San Antonio River. There you'll find a virtual geocache called "Dam, Ditch, and Aqueduct" (GC4CB0). This was a two-part multi-virtual. My wife and I were here back in November and found the first stage but never made it to the final. Today I'm back to complete the find. Along this section of the river is the Espada Dam and Aqueduct.

From the historical marker: "This is the oldest continuously used Spanish built diversion dam in Texas. Has provided irrigation water since its construction sometime between 1731 and 1745. The dam originally 270 feet long, is built on a natural rock foundation. A portion of the east wing is now covered by the nearby flood control levee. Despite a true reverse buttress making an angular turn at the center of the channel the dam has withstood many years of destructive floods with only minor repairs required to maintain its sound condition. The 8 foot tall structure diverts approximately 4500 gallons of water per minute into the 4 mile long irrigation ditch known as "Acequia De Espada." By gravity flow the acequia provides irrigation water for 400 acres of land in the vicinity of Mission San Francisco De La Espada. The mouth of the acequia may be seen on the opposite bank of the river just upstream from the dam. The dam and irrigation system was engineered by Franciscan Missionaries and constructed by Indian converts, a remarkable feat at that time."

So that was it for today. Grabbed some lunch and gas afterwards and then straight driving all the way down to the Rio Grande Valley. I'm glad you rode along with me and I'll see you again next time.

2019-03-07: A Packed Geocaching Roadtrip Returning from Minnesota to Texas: Day 1 Exploring Minnesota

Welcome back to the frigid cold of Minnesota in early March! After two days of sitting in a meeting room for some surveyor training for the latest Trimble software, it's time for me to get behind the wheel of the GeoJeep and head back to Texas.

My traveling geocacher sidekick CuteLittleFuzzyMonkey (CLFM) has been out driving all over Minnesota and Wisconsin the past two days finding geocaches. He'll be back in the passenger seat navigating the return trip and choosing which caches to go after.

We're up and out at sunrise to hit the road and beat the Minneapolis morning rush hour traffic. Our first two caches were just around the corner in a shopping center parking lot. These were two challenge caches hidden under a lamp post skirt. Normally easy park-n-grabs, but the snow and sub-freezing temps had these hard to lift open. Probably would have skipped these except being challenge caches, meaning that you had to fulfill the required challenge in order to claim the find. These were called 10x10 (GC37PR0) and 15x15 (GC3D5K7) Challenges. The requirement was to have found at least 10 caches in each of 10 different states and 15 caches in each of 15 different states. And as much as we get around, this was accomplished long ago!

Next up and also nearby was a virtual cache called Surveyor's Error (GC5882). As a surveyor myself and in town for some surveyor training, how could I even think of passing this one up! The piled up snow didn't make this one easy. (CLFM had already gotten this one 2 years earlier when he was in town on another trip.) At the location was a boulder with a plaque on it. It marked the Latitude of 45° 00' 000' which is the halfway point between the equator and the north pole. I got the required info I needed and we moved on. 

Passing through a neighborhood on the way to our next geocache (GC6CDV8), we saw this humorous sign by one of the residence. I just had to stop for a photo. I've always felt that snow was nice to go visit and see, but not to live and work in!

Slowly working our way north... wait Texas is south? But there are still virtual caches and geocaches of interest to the north! Like this virtual geocache at a Veterans Memorial at Bunker Hills Regional Park (GC74C7).

Heading northbound on I-35, we made a quick exit to grab a "Welcome to Wyoming" cache (GC5QW44) at the welcome sign for Wyoming, Minnesota. This also gave us Chisago County. Further up another quick stop for a virtual in Pine County at the Hinckley Museum (GC7B7YK). Got the info we needed on the outside, but the inside was still closed.

Then in Carlton County was a virtual geocache (GC8EB7) at a historical marker in a roadside picnic area to commemorate the early Finnish Settlers who came to the area in the 1870's. What caught my eye about a hundred yards behind it was the old church. And with all the snow on the ground, it made for a nice photo.

As with the first photo above, sometimes you see things that make you laugh and you have to stop and take a photo of it. Driving through Cloquet, we saw this laundromat and car wash combo. Ummm do you like drive through the car wash with your windows open and have your laundry washed at the same time? Do they have super-sized dent-less tumble driers for the cars? I'd hate to be in the car during the spin cycle! LOL!

Arriving in Duluth, MN with its rich history, there were several on our to-do list. First up was a virtual geocache at the statue of the mini-Lady Liberty (GC89E9). These are scattered all throughout the country. I remember my hometown back in Orlando, Florida had one.

Next up was a puzzle cache called "Hurry HARD!" (GC16REQ). Something about the sport of Curling. Anyway, I hate these puzzle caches because most I'm usually clueless on how to solve them. But CLFM is the Master Puzzler! So we found and signed the log for that geocache.

The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge virtual cache was next (GC7B69H). The Aerial Lift Bridge was originally built in 1905 as a gondola bridge. It was converted to the lift bridge that you see today in 1929-1930. The bridge span weighs approximately 1000 tons (2 million pounds!). The weight is offset by two 500 ton weights on each end that allow the motors to move the span up and down with little effort. The horn you hear from the lift bridge is actually made up of two Westinghouse Airbrake locomotive horns. The span is 15' above the water when down and can raise as high as 135' above the water if necessary. It takes approximately three minutes for the bridge to rise to the top. When large ships are entering, the bridge will start its ascent when the ships are approximately a mile and a half from the bridge.

Being on the bridge, I couldn't get a decent photo of the bridge from the side obviously. However, it did allow me a great view of a frozen Lake Superior with both lighthouses: the Duluth Harbor South Breakwater Inner Light on the right forefront and the Duluth North Pier Lighthouse way out to the end on the left side of the photo.

Then there's an earthcache for a giant piece of floating copper (GC19AXB). This huge chunk of metal was dredged up in 1937 from the Keweenaw Waterway in Michigan.

The next virtual was a monument dedicated to remembering three men who lost their lives one dark day in Duluth back in 1920. Clayton, Jackson, and McGhie (GCGMGH) suffered an injustice that day and this memorial was built to remind us and not repeat the wrongs of the past.

Back in 1920 in Duluth, Minnesota there was an old fashion lynching. A young white girl made a claim that some blacks from the traveling circus raped her. The local police arrested several of the workers and placed them in the Duluth city jail. The news of this alleged rape spread through town like wildfire. Soon, a mob formed in front of the jail demanding justice. The police made a valiant effort (they were ordered not to use guns to stop the mob) but were not able to stop the mayhem. Three of the young black men were dragged from their cells and were savagely beaten and given a "kangaroo court trial". All 3 were then hanged from a lamp post while the mob gathered around for photo opportunities. The picture even was used as a postcard for several years.

Turns out the girl "more than likely" made up the story anyway. Another black man was convicted of the rape, then freed after serving 4 years of a 30 year sentenced because the evidence was later believed to be false and politically motivated. Three of the men in the mob were convicted of rioting and served about two and a half years for rioting. None for murder.

Around the corner on the next block I spotted this great architectural building and took a photo. Turns out it was the Old Central High School built in 1892. After a new high school was built in 1971, this building was granted historical designation. Today the Old Central High School houses offices for the school district, Education Equity, Indian Education, and the St. Louis County Soil & Water District. It also contains an 1890s classroom museum.

Arriving over in Aurora, we stopped at another historic building for another virtual geocache. Centered in Saint Louis County, MN, Aurora was plated in 1898 and a post office established in 1903. A few years later this historic City Hall was built (GCG4WF). On the north side of town was another virtual geocache at another not-as-old building (GCG4WM).

Now the main reason for sticking around here in Minnesota was to go for the oldest geocache in Minnesota. "Alvin's Phone Line" (GC9FF) was hidden November 5, 2000. This was definitely ranking in the top 5 of most challenging I've ever attempted!! Bushwacking the scrubs and swamps of Central Florida for 6 hours in 98° temps is the complete opposite but just as tough. We definitely needed proper clothing, snow shoes and perhaps a snowmobile for this one. But us southern cachers only come with jeans and work boots.

We drove up before sunset and went in about 300 feet and quickly turned around. Our legs and ankles were already frozen from the thick snow that soaked our jeans and snuck into the boots with each step. CLFM sent a message to the CO. To our delight and surprise he got a call right back. He quickly started the conversation off with y’all are stupid. We got some much needed advice and his hospitality was great. Now back at the GeoJeep we pondered while thawing out.

Looking around at what we had, I noticed some heavy duty jumbo sized trash bags and duct tape I use on the job site. We quickly grabbed a few and rigged ourselves some plastic bag waders. You know what they say that duck tape fixes everything. I don’t know about that but in this case it was a savior. CLFM put on his jolly green giant knit cap he bought at the museum the other day and used a pair of clean boxers to cover his face. I wasn't so bold and just tightened my hoodie!

Now we looked awfully funny, but we weren’t wet and cold and that made all the difference in the world. Probably should invest in some snow shoes and winter clothing. But would we ever get the chance to use them again? Lots of caches and their attributes steered us wrong today but you better heed the warning on this one and read the logs. Hardest T3 ever! More like a T10 in the winter!

We got back to the GeoJeep and said "Damn, we gotta go back to take pictures!" NOT!! It's gonna take us a MONTH to thaw back out again! LOL

Heading south now down in Crow Wing County, we stopped for another virtual geocache in the town of Pequot Lakes. This one is called "The Bobber" (GC7B8N8) due to the fact that its water tower is painted to look like a fishing bobber. It is kinda hard to tell in this photo cause it's nearly 9 PM when we arrived here. Going on 14 hours of geocaching and we're not done yet.

Continuing southbound, we made a quick stop in Little Falls, MN for a park and grab cache (GC65TQ3) to claim Morrison County.

Finally, we arrived down in St Cloud, Minnesota at about 10:30 PM and checked into a Quality Inn to call it a day. After a LONGGGG DAY it was finally good to stretch out and get some sleep. My back was starting to ache again due to that hike in the snow. A couple of Advil and I was out quick.

Thanks for riding along. Come back tomorrow to see where we'll end up.