Watersheds #4 - Secret Garden's Wee Village

NOTE: This GC is the 4^th in the Watershed Series and will require info gathered from #1-3.

Throughout the world, all around us are small communities of “Wee Folk” - usually unseen or hidden in the midst of the natural world. Nevertheless, whether they be fairies, sprites, angels, tree spirits, brownies, pixies, gnomes or leprechauns, they are there having their own journeys and adventures. Our lives intersect with theirs every day whether we know it or not. Maybe you’ve already encountered some of them on your own life paths.

Do you know about Tommyknockers? The mining industry had a huge impact on Colorado’s past, helping to shape the Centennial State into what it is today. Many cities and towns across the state got their start during the mining era, especially those found in the high country such as Leadville and Telluride. With this huge influx of miners coming came several new legends including that of the Tommyknockers. About two feet tall, and often described as greenish in color, they look like men and are most often spied wearing a traditional miner’s outfit. Living beneath the ground, they have been “known” to have committed both good and bad deeds through the centuries, often playing practical jokes and committing random acts of mischief, such as stealing unattended tools and food. When these grizzled little gnomes were good, they were thought to bring miners favors and wealth. The name “knockers,” pronounced “knackers,” comes from the knocking on the mine walls that often happens just before cave-ins. These highly spirited characters were also known to perform many of the mining duties, working right alongside the men, as well as being blamed for many a prank, and credited with saving the lives of many miners. If a hammer was missing, it was the Tommyknockers who had taken it, but if a miner escaped a collapse, the Tommyknockers were given credit.

Geocache Instructions

This tiny 3-stage multi-GC acknowledges the Wee Folk in their unseen world and attempts to honor their occasional partnerships in human encounters. Their habitats hidden in plain sight, are there whether we know it or not. This is a tiny opportunity to peek into their world.

The posted coords are bogus because this is the fourth in the series of Watershed caches. In order to find this cache, you will need the Story Teller’s names from Watersheds #1-3. When you have them, follow these instructions, do the math, and you have the stage #1 starting coords for the Wee Village:

1] Put their names in alphabetical order.

2] Then take each beginning letter and assign its numerical placement in the alphabet: [Example: Frank would be 7. Kate would be 12. Paul would be 16 etc.]

3] Now solve the following math and fill in the coords below.

xx How many letters are in the first name?: Multiply that number X 4 and subtract 1

yy What is the value of the beginning letter of name #5

zz Take the value of name #3 and subtract 8, and the value of name #1 and subtract 3

4] Plug in the numbers here: N 39 39.xx5 W 105 yy.7zz

Stage #1 starts in front of a Family Grove of Sycamore Trees. You will see a Mama tree, a few aunts and uncles, and a Grandfather Tree. Hunt down Grandfather and in his mouth you will “FIND” wisdom and revelation. Then, in the arms of his embrace you will “CLIMB” higher to get understanding and guidance to proceed.

Additional Waypoints