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2 Benchmarks, a Monument, and a National Landmark Mystery Cache

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everplaid: My fave everplaid cache

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Hidden : 12/23/2012
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

{Easy puzzle cache - basically a puzzle park & grab.}

Welcome to a motley jumble of coolness! Who needs a museum when you've got such an unexpected collection of tidewater folk culture right here at the entrance of the trailer park?

Yea Prokudin - Christmas FTF!!!

* Parking: The puzzle coordinates are a good place to park. *

Notes of import:
(1) Safety. You have to cross a well-used parking lot and visit a waypoint feet from Wythe Creek Road. If you bring the kids or dog, keep a tight rein on them.
(2) Stealth. Folks here LOVE to walk around all the time and you have absolutely no cover from the road.

1. Recent history - the National Landmark: Walk south across the parking lot towards the river. Across the Back River is NASA's Impact Dynamics Research Facility. Unless you're allowed onto NASA, where you are standing is about the best view of this mega-scaffolding structure most people get to see. Back in the day, this structure was called the Lunar Lander Research Facility. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin practiced landing the Lunar Lander here. Learn more about this national landmark: (visit link)
I've had the opportunity to visit the facility. It is truly impressive! My favorite part, however, is what's written on every door of the bank of garage doors adjacent to the facility, reminding us that NASA folks are people, too: (visit link)

2. Further back - the Dictoris Christmas Patent Monument: Back in the days when this area was a "Shire" and not a "County," an entrepreneurial colonist named Dictoris Christmas found his fortune in real estate (he also ran a ferry). Records I've found indicate at least 9 transactions of his involving land. Walk over to N 37° 06.516 W 076° 23.593. Here, you should find a rectangular monument discussing a 300-acre purchase Mr. Christmas made on 21 November, 163A.
The last digit of the year = A.

3. Modernity - Two Benchmarks: A few feet to the southwest of the Christmas Patent monument is the Geocaching-loggable benchmark GV6027, York County #119 (visit link) Might as well find it while you're here for a benchmark smiley! Here are a couple pics to help you find this slightly below-surface level mark: (visit link) (visit link) .
(Find out how to log a benchmark here: (visit link) )
Back where you parked is another benchmark, one of the first the City of Poquoson placed back in 2006. Today, with the help of NASA, Poquoson has 53 GIS monuments scattered around the City. Unlike York County's marks, none of Poquoson's are in geocaching.com's database, so this cache mitigates that injustice a bit - you find the benchmark and get a smiley. Anyway, walk back to N 37° 06.537 W 076° 23.579. This coordinate is the benchmark set in the southwest corner of a cement block foundation for a sewer pump station - here's where you want to go: (visit link) This is one if the very first GIS monuments Poquoson established. You'll see "POQ" followed by a number.
B = the number on the benchmark.

4. The tie that binds - fish: the fish market here only takes cache (oops - cash) or check, but everything's fresh. Fish has been a staple of Tidewater from time before European colonization until now. If we manage things right, fish will remain a strong part of our local culture millenia after this cache is gone. (And it's nice to have a market so close to home!)

Hope you enjoyed all the coolness! Now it's time to find the cache.

The final location is at N 37° 06.5B3 W 076° 23.A93.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fbzrgvzrf, vg'f orggre abg gb trg fb uhat hc ba uvagf. Uvqr gubfr QAS vafrphevgvrf jverq va lbhe oenva va n cebgrpgvir furngu. Lbh pna svaq guvf pnpur ba lbhe bja!

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)