New to the nps cache series by nsearls25, or want to learn more about it (including the history, and the best way to plan to find all the puzzles)? Visit GCA0X01 nps - information cache!
This is a puzzle geocache. There is no container or relevant information at the posted coordinates.
The United States has 63 National Parks. All of these parks have different beauty between each other. The oldest is Yellowstone (1872), and the newest is New River Gorge (2020). Each National Park has a 4 digit “Alpha Code.” The Alpha codes are made up of the first four letters of the park name. But if the park has more than one word, it takes the first two letters of the first two words. But there are some exceptions.
Examples:
1 word: Yosemite - yose
2 word: Petrified Forest - pefo
2+ word: Black Canyon of the Gunnison - blca
Exception: Carlsbad Caverns - cave
I will hide a geocache to honor all of these parks. I will do 6 groups of 10 caches. Each of these are a puzzle with 6 questions.
I used Wikipedia for this information, as it gives it all on one page. Also say in your log if you have been to this park. If you have, please post pictures.
FTF Prize:
This is 1 of 8 caches in nsearls25's nps series that were given away as FTF prizes at KCSearcher's GC8M906 - CCE: DeLorme Challenges + State County Challenges event. For those attendees that received this as a prize, they had an 8 day head start on those that didn’t attend the event. The prize winners were instructed to sign the log in the “Pre-Publication FTFer(s)” space.
However, for the FTF Hounds that were not able to attend, they too had the opportunity to be FTF on this cache after publication that was targeted for Sunday, November 6, 2022 @ or around 8:00 AM Pacific Time. All they had to do is find the cache and be first to sign in the “Post-Publication FTFer(s)” space on the log.
Thanks CarlottaP for helping check the puzzles.
The final container is at: N 38° 01.ABC W 122° 08.DEF
A. White Sands National Park was originally designated White Sands National Monument on January 18, 19A3 by President Herbert Hoover.
B. White Sands was redesignated as a national park by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 20, 20B9, making it the second newest US National Park (as of October 2022).
C. White Sands National Park covers a large field of white sand dunes made up of gypsum crystals. This gypsum dunefield is the largest of its kind on Earth, with a depth of about C0 feet.
D. About 4.5 billion short tons of gypsum sand fill the dunefield, which formed about D,000–10,000 years ago.
E. The park protects 115 sq mi of the 275 sq mi dunefield, about E1%, while the remaining 160 sq mi are located to the north within White Sands Missile Range.
F. One of many Western movies filmed in White Sands, the Western movie Four Faces West was filmed in White Sands in 19F8.
Congrats to ____ for the Pre-FTF!
and Congrats to RV CREW, Virgojams, and dkata for the Post-FTF!
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.