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CJS - Cedar Hill Park Marina Traditional Geocache

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CAJO Ranger: Construction has prevented safe access to the area.

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Hidden : 6/2/2011
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:




Come on a journey to remember and commemorate the history and travels of Captain John Smith!

Over four hundred years ago, Englishman John Smith and a small crew set out in an open boat to explore the Chesapeake Bay. Between 1607 and 1609 Smith mapped and documented nearly 3,000 miles of the Bay and its rivers. Along the way he visited many thriving American Indians communities and gathered information about this “fruitful and delightsome land.” In December 2006 the U.S. Congress designated the routes of Smith’s explorations of the Chesapeake as a national historic trail—the first national water trail.

Are you ready to follow in the wake of Captain John Smith? Visit sites along the National Historic Trail and learn about the native cultures and the natural environment of the 17th-century Chesapeake through the Captain John Smith Chesapeake Geotrail. The Trail provides opportunities for you to experience the Bay through the routes and places associated with Smith’s explorations. Caches will be located in museums, refuges, parks, and towns in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware along the rivers and creeks that Smith and his crew explored four centuries ago.

The Captain John Smith (CJS) Geotrail launched June 4, 2011 with over 40 caches within Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. A trackable geo coin will be awarded to the first 400 geocachers, while supplies last, for locating at least 15 CJS caches. To be eligible for the coin, geocachers must download a passport from either the CJS Geotrail or Maryland Geocaching Society website. Geocachers must find and log at least 15 finds, record the code word from each cache on their passport and post a picture of themselve at each cache location. After discovering the 15 required caches, geocachers may have thier passports validated in person or via mail at the National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Office located at 410 Severn Ave, Suite 314, Annapolis, MD 21403. Please refer to the passport for complete validation instructions.

Participating in the CJS geotrail is fun and we hope that many people join in. However, it is not a requirement for logging your find on this cache once you find the container.

You are seeking a traditional hide. The cache is a camouflaged 2 Qt. Lock&Lock hidden less than twenty feet off a trail. Ground cover is minimal and no bushwhacking is required.
The area is open only between sunrise and sunset. You are encouraged to enjoy the spectacular view from the bench swing on the hill near the fence line.
Cedar Hill Park & Marina span 85 acres on the scenic Nanticoke River. It offers a Softball Field, Basketball Court, Tennis Courts, Multi-Use Field, Stadium Seating, Playground, Picnic Area, Pavilion, Beach, Hiking Trail, Restroom, Boat Ramps, Boat Slips, Fishing Area, and a Horseshoe Pit.
In the playground area is a gravestone from the 1800's. It is a fascinating story.
Located less than 10 miles up the Nanticoke River in Bivalve, Maryland, the Cedar Hill Marina offers a full-service stop for boaters exploring the scenic Nanticoke. The marina offers ample free parking, two boat ramps, and 140 peaceful boat slips. Additional amenities include showers and toilet facilities, pump-out, a picnic area and pavilion, a playground, nature trails, basketball courts, tennis courts, a softball field and more. Nearby Roaring Point offers a secluded beach on the Nanticoke River for sunning, fishing and crabbing.

The village of Bivalve lies within an area known in the original land grant of the 17th century as Nanticoke Hundred, Somerset County, in the Province of Maryland. In 1883, the village was called Waltersville, named such because it was the boat landing for the Walter family plantation, located about one mile east of the River. Later, the village took the name of Bivalve since another Maryland town called Waltersville had first dibs on the name.

Presumably, Bivalve is a reference to the oyster and the major commercial enterprise of oystering, particularly in the 19th century. The eastern oyster is a bivalve mollusk with rough shells that vary in color from grayish to white. They are found in shallow areas of the Bay and its tributaries, in brackish to salty waters, from depths of 8 to 35 feet. Oysters are concentrated in areas with shell, hard sand or firm mud bottoms. These areas are called oyster bars, beds or rocks. Oysters attach to one another, forming dense reefs that provide habitat for many other fish and invertebrates.

Captain John Smith reported seeing oyster reefs so large that they broke the surface of the water. In Smith’s time, the Bay’s giant oyster reefs were hazards to navigation but served as a major food source for Indians as well as later colonists.
Thanks to Run & Hike for helping with this hide and to the Maryland Geocaching Society for assisting with this project!

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