For years, JC Raulston Arboretum was home to two cats - Milo and Mittens. We spent some time with Milo while setting this up, so this cache is named in his honor. Please show Milo and Mittens' old home the respect it deserves. Keep your feet on established walking areas, and be gentle with your hands. There's no need to bushwack or disturb the landscaping to find this cache. The above coordinates are not the exact location of the cache. To find the exact coordinates, you'll need to do a little 'GPS drawing.' Here's a website that explains what that is:
http://www.gpsdrawing.com
To draw with your GPS, you'll need a unit that enables you to zoom, pan, and reset your tracking map. With said GPS receiver in your hand, go to the coordinates given above for this cache, reset your tracking map, and zoom in fairly close. Now, take a look around you. You should see a paved path with zig-zags in the pavement. Walk down this path to the end, then keep going in the same direction till you reach a china-fir tree. Turn until you see a red brick building. There's a chainlink fence and utility lines between you and the building, and a grassy path on your side of the fence, running parallel to it. Walk down this path, past the 'Necessary Rooms' (the whimsical outhouse building). Stop, turn, and walk past the backside of the Necessary Rooms building. Stop when you reach the banana trees. Ahead of you, to the left, down the path that leads straight away from the Necessary Rooms, you'll see some wooden fences to the left. Walk to the second fence, then retrace your steps till you're back at the grassy path that runs parallel to the chainlink fence. Take this grassy path south until you reach a brick-lined gravel path on your left, then follow that brick-lined path until it ends. Up ahead you'll see a rose trellis with a multi-arched top and a pair of benches underneath one arch. Sit down on a bench and look at the path you've traced on your tracking map - It's in the shape of a number. Write that number down.
You'll need one more number before you're done. To get this number, start at N 35 47.683 W 78 41.865. Reset your tracking map. Looking north, through the foliage, you might be able to see Capitol City Lumber across the street. Much closer to you, you should be looking at a wisteria bush trained to a pole. You're on a path. Walk down this path toward the red brick building (the one mentioned above). Take a fork to the right onto the path that goes along a series of vine posts. Just past the end of the posts, on the same side of the path as the posts, you'll see a dirt path leading to two benches in a shady grove. Take that path. Walk between the benches and keep going until the trail ends at a T-intersection with a grassy path. Turn right onto the grassy path you've reached and follow this path until it starts to turn sharply right and you see a Japanese maple in front of you. Face the tree, then walk straight ahead, a few steps past the Japanese maple, then double back to the grassy path. Head back the way you came on the grassy path. This time, though, when you come to the dirt path leading to the shady grove, don't get back on it, but continue straight down the grassy path. Stop when you come to a T-intersection (you're close to the Necessary Rooms now). Stop and look at your GPS tracking map. What number have you made? Write this one down, too.
Here's where the cache is located: 35 47.6X9 78 41.8Y9
To get X, subtract the smaller number from the bigger number (of the two you've just traced). To get Y, subract 1 from the smaller number.
The cache is a small lock-n-lock in an easy-to-reach spot, very close to a path, but hidden from view. Absolutely no bushwacking is required. Please respect the gardens, and know their hours - 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily, April through October; 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily, November through March. There is no charge for admission.
We placed this cache (our 7th) on the first anniversary of the day we placed our first cache - The Snicket File. Help us celebrate our anniversary by visiting Milo's Garden.
PLEASE NOTE: There is also a letterbox located in Raulston Arboretum. It's not close to the cache, but you could stumble upon it whilst finding your way. Of course, you can tell it apart because it's labeled as a letterbox and contains a letterboxing stamp. We letterbox, ourselves, and recommend checking it out, on purpose, during your visit.