**Congrats to Night-Hawk,
who sailed through Saturday's small window of opportunity to become FTF!**
Perhaps because I grew up with the usual answer to my endless questions being, "Go look it up," I became pretty familiar with the Dewey Decimal System. When Geocaching came along, it was just a short hop for me to associate the location of geocaches to their coordinate numbers, like associating the location of library materials to their call numbers. Those unique sets of digits tell you where to go to find what you seek.
The Collinsville branch of the Blue Ridge Regional Library (BRRL) is on a major thoroughfare, sandwiched between two businesses, beside a strip mall, and near what I call Fast Food Row. This high muggle density drove the decision to make part of this hunt indoors. For that reason, I've included the broadest of hints on the location of Stage 2. After solving an easy puzzle, the library's system of coordinates will lead you to the final stage...where you will have to figure out one more thing before you can sign the log.
While this one could be a good activity to do with the kids during inclement weather, I hope you won't just save it for a rainy day. It's designed to be quick and easy, with some interesting subjects near the cache. One final planning note: The cache is rather shallow. For example, a golf ball is too tall.
Now, on to the hunt!
Stage 1 is at the posted coordinates. You will need the clue you find here to solve the puzzle.
Stage 2: You should find yourself standing at an electronic, single-purpose tool. The library allows the use of this tool free of charge to the general public. (If you happen to have an enabled device, you are welcome to jump on their free WiFi to access this tool - see the Related Web Page above .) You MUST use this tool for the job at hand: Find answers to the following questions about the Stage 1 clue. By the way, the library provides scratch paper and pen right next to the tool.
NOTE: If a solution is a letter, use this formula: a=1, b=2, c=3, etc., all the way to z=26.
A: How many letters are in the author's first name?
B: What is the author's birthdate? Second digit.
C: What is the Publisher's middle initial?
D: The check digit of the ISBN is a Roman numeral, not a letter. Multiply it times 5, then add 5.
Your final answer to the puzzle uses this format: ABC.D Add the Roman numeral for 5 to the end.
You now have all the information you need to locate the actual geocache ... and access the log.
There are desks on the far wall, at the end of every couple of rows. That could be a good muggle-free place to take the cache to log your find.
-->As with all caches, please replace *exactly* as found so those that search after you can enjoy the hunt.
-->Please do NOT post photos of the cache itself or its location. I thank you kindly.