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GC51NR0
Elly's MultiType: Multi | Size: Small 
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| Terrain:  By: Denali41 @ | Hide Date: 04/03/2014 | Status: Available Country: United States | State: Colorado Coordinates: N40° 54.462 W104° 39.650 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0 
Early in Michener’s marvelous historical fiction novel Centennial, he establishes the romantic union of Levi Zendt and Elly Zahm. Immediately after their marriage they left Pennsylvania and proceeded westward by Conestoga wagon and then by river boat, eventually joining a wagon train headed for Oregon, their intended destination. By the time Elly and Levi reached the Pawnee Buttes area in the short grass prairie of northern Colorado, all readers of the novel or viewers of the TV mini-series undoubtedly had formed fond attachments for them as they endured hardship after hardship during their trek west. Alas, things don’t always conform to the mind’s hopes and expectations. The wagon train participants camped below the Buttes–the landforms that so many of us who live in the region have visited and hiked around and perhaps have found the nearby geocaches. Here’s what happened at Pawnee Buttes in Michener’s novel, a story that focuses on the early pioneering history of our NoCo area as well as on the numerous subsequent developments that make this part of Colorado what it is today: Next morning Elly was up early to prepare breakfast. As she moved briskly toward the small pile of buffalo chips that Levi had gathered for her, she did not hear the warning sound; as she stopped to lift a large chip, a giant rattlesnake , bigger around than her arm, struck with terrifying speed and sank its fangs deep into her throat. Within three minutes she was dead. For some readers and television viewers who were by then very emotionally attached to Elly, this was almost the end of the read or of watching the mini series. Levi, having extreme difficulty in adjusting to a future without Elly, left the wagon train and became an important character in this fictional history of the development of Northern Colorado. A mystery/puzzle geocache, GC178XF Levi’s Cache, is today active in downtown Eaton. This present multi-cache is created for Elly. As you pursue it, recall Elly’s last moments; be watchful for rattlesnakes that are seasonally active in the area, especially in the vicinity of the Final Stage. That stage has some terrain characteristics that mimic Pawnee Buttes that are a bit farther east of this cache sequence--but the terrain here near the Chalk Bluffs has a much less precipitous scale. Park at the designated parking coordinates and make a hike of about 2 miles over relatively flat grassland terrain to the First Stage. Find it and record the coordinates for the Final Stage. Between these two stages expect a hike of more than 1.5 miles each way. Reaching the Final will require a bit of scrambling on moderately steep and loose terrain. From parking and return, a round trip hike of approximately 7.5 to 8 miles is required–all on public land. A couple of fence crossings will be needed. Enjoy your hike, and appreciate the grassland ecosystem you trek through–its vegetation including many wild flowers, and its wonderful breeding birds (chestnut-collared and McCown’s longspurs, lark buntings, horned larks, western meadowlarks, mountain plovers, etc.). From late-April through mid-June these grasslands are alive with bird song. Also watch for pronghorn antelope, and the occasional badger and coyote. Have fun in this special ecosystem, and be careful... Additional Waypoints PK51NR0 - ParkingN 40° 54.150 W 104° 37.550
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