Colorado Knowledge Cache

The cache is NOT at the above listed coordinates; solve this EASY puzzle that is for all those puzzle-haters out there, and puzzle-lovers as well to get the coordinates to the cache which is not far at all from the listed coordinates.

If you are not very fond of puzzles, this one is for YOU !

And, you could learn something about this great state of ours that you did not know before.

So let’s get started:

The cache is at N 38 AB.CDE W 105 FG.HIJ

A: Aspen is a ski resort town and year-round destination for outdoor recreation. It's also known for high-end restaurants and boutiques, and landmarks like the Wheeler Opera House, built in 1889 during the area’s silver mining boom. The Wheeler-Stallard House is a local history museum set in a 19th-century, Queen Anne style home, while the Aspen Art Museum displays contemporary artworks. Aspen, Colorado is named after what tree?

Oak: sorry no, try again

Aspen: A = 5

B: The flag of Colorado was officially adopted to represent the U.S. state of Colorado on June 5, 1911.

All aspects of the flag contain symbolism related to the state, as the blue is meant to represent the sky, the gold the abundant sunshine the state receives, the white the snowcapped Rocky Mountains, and the red the "ruddy" earth. The gold and white portions of the flag also represent the state's gold and silver mining industries, respectively. How many colors are in the Colorado State Flag?

Two: not quite

Four: B = 6

C: Cripple Creek was named for the fact livestock frequently became injured crossing the stream. It passes through the city limits of Cripple Creek, Colorado, although portions of the original creekbed are no longer visible due to construction of casinos and parking lots. Cripple Creek was put on the map by a cowboy named Bob Womack, who for almost 15 years searched the southwest slope of Pikes Peak for gold. In 1890 he finally discovered the precious metal in Poverty Gulch, which later became the town of Cripple Creek. The town of Cripple Creek is named after what natural resource?

Mountain: not a chance

Creek: C = 7

D: A few years after gold was discovered in Cripple Creek, political differences between area miners and mine owners, many of whom lived in Colorado Springs, resulted in the division of El Paso County. Created in 1899, Teller County was carved from the western slope of Pikes Peak, and was named after United States Senator Henry M. Teller. What was Henry M. Teller’s political office?

President: uhhh, no

Senator: D = 3

E: The town of Lake George was established in 1891 as a railroad stop for the Colorado Midland Railway (CM) which had been completed in 1887. The nearby lake is to the west of town and is fed by the South Platte River; the man made lake was built by George Frost for the purpose of supplying ice to the railroad. The lake, originally called George's Lake was later changed to Lake George when the post office opened in 1936. Lake George is named after Mr. Frost; what was his first name?

Bob: see next possible answer

George: E = 4

F: Ute Pass is a mountain pass west of Colorado Springs that ranges from a peak elevation at Divide of 9,165 to 6,165 feet at its lowest point. Ute Trail, which runs along the north side of Pikes Peak is believed to have first been a buffalo trail that delivered buffalo from the "milder winter pastures of the eastern plains" to the "lush, grassy" meadows of South Park, Colorado during the summer months. For the Ute Indigenous people, the trail and pass was used to transport salt from Bayou Salade, the salt valley of South Park, to Santa Fe and Taos for trade. The Ute's name for the pass was El Puerto del Sierra Almagre, which means "Doorway to the Red Earth Mountains". Ute Trail became a wagon road in the 1860s providing transport to Leadville mining camp. In 1872 the old wagon road through Ute Pass started at Rainbow Falls, or Ute Pass Falls. The Colorado Midland Railway had tracks through the Ute Pass to Leadville and Aspen beginning in 1888. Service was later extended to Cripple Creek. Once the mining industry declined, the railroad tracks were removed. In 1932 a new road was built that better accommodated automotive vehicles. What tribe of Indigenous people was this pass named after?

Cherokee: negative

Ute: F = 1

G: South Park is a grassland flat within the basin formed by the Rocky Mountains' Mosquito and Park Mountain Ranges within central Colorado. This high valley ranges in elevation from approximately 9,000 to 10,000 ft. It encompasses approximately 1,000 square miles or 640,000 acres around the headwaters of the South Platte River in Park County approximately 60 miles southwest of Denver. It is the largest and southernmost of three similarly named high altitude basins in the Front Range of Colorado, the others being North Park and Middle Park. The largest town in the basin is Fairplay, with a population of 724. South Park is located in which Colorado county?

El Paso: close, but no

Park: G = 7

H: There is only one “supermax” prison remaining in the U.S. federal prison system, ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado (ADX = administrative maximum). It houses numerous inmates who have a history of violent behavior in other prisons, with the goal of moving them from solitary confinement (up to 23 hours a day) to a less restrictive prison within three years. However, it is best known for housing several inmates who have been deemed either too dangerous, too high-profile or too great a national security risk for even a maximum-security prison. They include several prisoners convicted of domestic and international terrorism, such as Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who perpetrated the Oklahoma City Bombing; Richard Reid and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who separately attempted to detonate explosives on a commercial airplane flight; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Other notable inmates include Robert Hanssen, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union and Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the head of the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel and the world's most powerful drug lord, convicted in 2019. Supermax is what type of facility?

Bar and Grill: keep trying

Prison: H = 7

I: West of Colorado Springs, just past Lake George along Highway 24, Wilkerson Pass climbs to 9,504 feet of elevation. Historians believe that people have been using Wilkerson Pass for over 10,000 years. From the prehistoric period until the 1800’s, the pass was primarily used to access hunting grounds. From the east, Wilkerson Pass provided easy passage to the grasslands of what would later be known as South Park, Colorado. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Wilkerson Pass became a well established route for mining operations. The pass is named for the Ohio-born John Wilkerson, who was a veteran, preacher, and railroad contributor that lived in the area after serving in the Civil War. In 1957, a larger spillway and reservoir were added to the Eleven Mile Dam, rerouting the main throughway in the area. Here, the modern route over Wilkerson Pass (Highway US-24) was established. Named after John, what was John’s last name?

Smith: no, but almost done with this silly puzzle

Wilkerson: I = 6

J: El Paso County is the only county in the United States with five military installations: The US Air Force Academy, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station and Fort Carson. How many military installations are in El Paso County?

Seven: is too many

Five: J = 0

BONUS QUESTION: Colorado Springs is in which US state?

If Colorado, look for a mini decon kit, chest high

Good luck !

Congratulations to Granitegrabber for being FTF !