D2BB5 – Take It to the Limit Traditional Geocache
D2BB5 – Take It to the Limit
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“So put me on a highway
And show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time.”
– Eagles
Dedicated to Baby Boomers, who remember when Highway 100 was at the limit and lined with lilacs, this cache is hidden in your honor.
Built in the 1930s as a New Deal works project, Highway 100 was originally conceived as a perimeter road for Minneapolis, thus the even number, 100. Proponents wanted to see a by-pass for the city that would end congestion on the city’s streets, and set out to beautify the “Beltway” by planting hundreds of lilac bushes along its right of way to give it a park-like appearance.
Opponents of it argued the highway was too far from residential limits and that it required drivers to go way out of their way to be of any use. Merchants were fearful that the new highway would decrease the traffic flow past their businesses by travelers from rural areas. And for 20 years their prediction may have had some truth to it.
However, the Baby Boom of the 1950s increased the demand for housing and led to rapid growth in the suburbs. Today, “out-ringed” by Highway 169 and Interstate 494, Highway 100 remains a main thoroughfare through the first tier of suburbs. Recent construction has turned it into a freeway and the need to widen it caused most of the lilacs to be removed. Drivers can see a few that survived in the backyards of St. Louis Park homes along the freeway.
This cache is hidden in the now forgotten Graeser Park. This park is one of five that were intended as traveler rest areas and welcomed picnickers, featuring stone picnic tables, beehive barbecues, waterfalls, and stone-walled parking lots. These fixtures provided work for local stonemasons, as a part of the WPA project. Remnants of their fine workmanship can still be seen although they are in sad disrepair. Take some time as you stroll in the park to admire their work.
We have filled the cache with a few goodies and a small prize for the FTF. Please remember to trade even, trade up.
Thanks for the great pictures, knowschad!
Additional Hints
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