The cache is placed in the Mines of Spain Recreation Area along the Eagle Scout Trail. The nearest parking is at the Cattesse Hallow Access area (see parking coordinates). It is located off Olde Massey Rd. From there follow the Cattesse Trail to the Eagle Scout Trail. Most of this area is open to hunting so wear the appropriate clothing during hunting season.
The cache is placed with the permission of the Iowa DNR. The Mines of Spain Recreation Area is open year around from 4 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The Chief Peosta Trail connects to the Eagle Scout Trail between this cache and the next one “The Cedars”. It is a shorter route which you can follow out to Olde Massey Rd and then down the hill to the parking area.
HISTORY OF THE AREA: Julien Dubuque is credited as being the first European to settle on what is now Iowa soil in 1788. In 1796, Dubuque received a land grant from the Governor of Spain, who had resided in New Orleans at the time. The grant gave permission to Julien Dubuque to work the land which was owned by Spain and specified the 189-square mile area to be named as Mines of Spain. Dubuque eventually married Potosa, daughter of the Mesquakie Indian Chief, Peosta. Dubuque died March 24,1810.
The Julien Dubuque Monument, built in 1897, sits high above the Mississippi River and provides the Landmark for the Mines of Spain Area. Julien Dubuque is buried on this site, which provides a scenic vista of the 1432-acre Mines of Spain, the city of Dubuque, the Mississippi River Valley, and Illinois. When Dubuque died, the Mesquakie buried him with tribal honors beneath a log mausoleum at the site where the current monument now stands.