ForeBears Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The Stanley Park Zoo was a popular attraction for decades until the 1990’s when it became obvious most of the facilities were past their prime. In 1994, the Parks Board announced an extensive zoo modernization plan which city referendum voters promptly rejected. As a result, the zoo began to shut down displays and ship animals off to other zoos. The last exhibit was officially closed in December 1997 after its oldest remaining resident, a polar bear named Tuk, died at the ripe old age of 36.
Your journey to GZ will bring you to the bear displays which were considered state-of-the-art when they were built in 1961. After the Hudson's Bay Company donated four polar bears to the zoo in 1962, these displays quickly became the most popular attraction at the zoo. Vancouver schoolchildren were allowed to choose names for Stanley Park's newest residents, and they decided on Nootka, Jubilee II, and Prince & Princess Rupert.
On a daily basis, throngs of tourists would mingle with the locals, everyone jostling for a glimpse of the polar bears diving, swimming, and playing. Often, when the crowds were just too thick, folks would wander over to the display next door where the black bears and brown bears lived. These smaller bears weren’t nearly as popular because they seemed to be asleep most of the time.
In the years after the zoo closure, the bear exhibit area hosted a salmon hatchery demonstration. In 2008, local artists evoked memories of the bears’ heyday by positioning burlap replicas within these forsaken enclosures that Mother Nature is gently trying to reclaim. Based on what I saw during my most recent visit, the Parks Board appears to be making an effort to clean the place up a little. It was about time, too. The facility was looking pretty run down.
You will need to look atop some well-stacked rocks for the cache container. When you find it you will probably notice it is NOT waterproof so please don't leave anything inside that could get rusty or moldy, and please remember to rehide it well so muggles can't find it and walk off with it!
Please do not remove the silver cylinder from inside this cache. The outer container is NOT waterproof so the cylinder is necessary to keep the logs nice and dry! Thank you!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
unatvat va fuehof nobir jurer gur jnyy oraqf n srj fgrcf sebz qenva tengr
pbagnvare pna or qvfnffrzoyrq gb bcra ohg cyrnfr ernffrzoyr!