For 100 years, the National Park Service has preserved America’s special places “for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” Celebrate its second century with the Find Your Park GeoTour that launched April 2016 and explore these geocaches placed for you by National Park Service Rangers and their partners.
geocaching.com/play/geotours/findyourpark
| This cache is part of the Seven Wonders of Pike County, a project developed by a team of teachers with the support of the Pike County Conservation District, dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of the great natural and historical sites in Pike County, PA, through education and recreation. There is a limited-time prize available to those who complete all of the Seven Wonders, described on the project's web page. |
Lackawaxen is a town small in size, but large and varied in the rich history that can be experienced in a very small area here.
The town takes its name from the Lackawaxen River (the name coming from an Indian word meaning, "swift waters"). The Lackawaxen flows into the Delaware at this location, creating one of the more picturesque vistas around Pike County. This multi-stage cache takes you to observe some of the amazingly varied important features of this small town. The posted coordinates are for parking only. From parking, you'll take a short walk around some of the interesting spots in historic Lackawaxen and gather some information that will help you find the final cache.
The Story of a Storyteller
First, walk to Stage 1 in front of the Zane Grey House, named for the well-known author of many adventure novels about the Old West. While boating somewhere on the Delaware River behind you, Zane Grey met Lina Roth, known by Zane as "Dolly", and whom he married five years after and with whom he lived in this century-old farmhouse that is now a museum. In front of the house take note of the historical marker sign; based only on the information on the sign, how old was Zane Grey when the book mentioned on the sign was published? Call this number A.
Winter Guests
Now proceed to Stage 2. Here you'll see the confluence of the Lackawaxen and Delaware Rivers, an important location for the bald eagle in the Winter, when nearly 200 eagles take advantage of the warmer water to hunt and feed on the many fish available here. This makes it a prime spot for eagle watching in January and February. If you come at that time, respect these creatures by viewing them from a distance and avoiding behaviors that would disturb them. At this location, Eagle Institute volunteers come and monitor the eagles and the condition of their habitat, in an effort to protect this endangered species and preserve its habitat. Post a photo of yourself with your GPSr at this location, with the Delaware River but not the bridge in the background. Please do not show the bridge in any posted photo. (Posting a photo is not a requirement to log this cache, but it is required to be eligible to complete the Seven Wonders of Pike County series).
Roebling's Bridge
From this location, look down the river and you'll see an important historical structure, the Delaware Aqueduct, or Roebling Bridge as it's now known. It's the oldest existing wire suspension bridge in the United States. During the 1840's, the Delaware & Hudson Canal was looking at ways to speed up service along its route. One of the major bottlenecks was where the canal reached the Delaware River. The D&H had previously used a rope ferry to pull traffic across the Delaware. The time required to pull the canal boats across the river created great bottlenecks. So in 1847, the D&H commissioned John Roebling, who would later gain greater fame for the Brooklyn Bridge, to construct a suspension bridge that would carry canal traffic above the Delaware. Roebling's suspension design allowed for more room than other designs of the time for downriver traffic and the dangerous ice floes to pass through. Two years later in 1849, Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct opened to canal traffic. The immediate success of this bridge led to the building of three others along the D&H route. The aqueduct remained in use until 1898 when the canal was closed, and the aqueduct was then converted into a toll bridge between NY and PA. Take note: how many bridge supports are there in the middle of the bridge going down to the river below? Call this number B.
Fall of the Unknown
Go to Stage 3 to find the grave of an unknown soldier. In 1847, a burial was discovered here that is believed to be the remains of a casualty from a nearby battle of the Revolutionary War. The site now serves as a memorial tomb for unknown soldiers of that war. Note year of death given for the soldier buried here. Take only the last two digits of the year and call this number C.
A Final Resting Place
Now proceed to Stage 4, where you'll find a notable gravesite, marked by a single stone for a man, born in 1872, and his wife. According to this gravestone, by how many years did the woman outlive her husband? Call this number D.
Now for a little calculation:
Starting from the posted coordinates, project a waypoint a distance of 10(A+D)+B meters at bearing of (B*C - 4*D - 1) degrees. Go to this location, and you'll find the small container with the log to sign for this cache. If you're trying to complete the Seven Wonders of Pike County series, remember to post your photo with your log. Do not post any content, text, photo, or otherwise, that would serve as spoilers for other cachers; logs including spoiler content will be deleted.
Many thanks to the National Park Service at the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River for their support for this project.