Niles Stairway to Heaven LbNA #23103
Map
Nearby Boxes
Add Note
Add Location| Owner: | SunDawg  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jun 18, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Niles |
| County: | Berrien |
| State: | Michigan |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Gabe P. |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Jul 24, 2016 |
| Status: | FFFFaFFFOFFFFFFaaFFa |
| Last edited: | Jun 18, 2006 |
Alive & Well April 15, 2007. A minor change in clues. The hollow log is just about gone now... Alive & Well July 6, 2008. Found box fully exposed and apparently a geocache nearby. PLEASE rehide well with bark after stamping. May 3, 2009 - Repair with additional clues at end.
March 21, 2011 - Went to check on box, could not find it, box replaced. Please, please, please! Replace where found and cover well!!
"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
and she's buying the stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for."
Once you're downtown Niles, even if the stores are all closed, with a short drive and an easy hike, you can get what you came for.
From downtown Niles, head South on Third St. From Third & Broadway (fire station on corner) about 1/2 block South veer right onto Bond St. Two blocks onto Bond, another veer right. Keep following Bond St. as it changes to gravel. There will be a picnic area on the right hand side. Continue approximately .2 mile to a small parking area on right. Park Car. Continue on foot South on Bond. (See "Fort St. Joseph" letterbox)
After approx. 75 paces down the road, look East. See the stairway. Up, up, up the stairs. Pause at landings to enjoy the view.
"There's a feeling I get when I look to the West,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke thru the trees,
And the voices of those who stand looking."
Continue up the stairs
"And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
then the Piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter."
This monument was erected in 1918 to the memory of Father Claude Jean Allouez DJ. A true Piper. "Whose intrepid courage won the admiration of the Indians and whose Apostolic zeal earned for him the title of the Francis Xavier of the American Missions." Father Allouez was born at St. Didier, France, 1622; Died near this spot August 27, 1689.
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May Queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on."
At the top of the stairs, facing the cross, choose the slight path to the left, 320 degrees. It's a bustling hedgerow. Beware of poison ivy. We had a squirrel dropping twigs and pine needles on our heads! A step or two into the path is a fallen, hollow tree. The box is inside the hollow of what's left of the stump, covered with bark. Please, Re-hide box well...I think muggles gather here. Apparently so, the box has been found a few times by non-letterboxers and thankfully re-hidden. :)
*********see below**********************************
"And as we wind down on the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying a Stairway to Heaven."
You can wind on down the road approximately .3 mile South to "Fort St. Joseph" letterbox.
Thanks to Led Zeppelin for the lyrics...
***May 3, 2009*** Box moved to (hopefully) less populated place... Follow the path 'til you come to a clearing. On your right see a tree with a big blue dot. With your back to the dot, take a sight across the field at 45* to see a double tree. From the Electrical pole it's about 8 paces, NE. As you get close you see it may have been a triple tree. Nestled in the stump of the trip you will find the letterbox. Please re-hide well after stamping...
March 21, 2011 - Went to check on box, could not find it, box replaced. Please, please, please! Replace where found and cover well!!
"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
and she's buying the stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for."
Once you're downtown Niles, even if the stores are all closed, with a short drive and an easy hike, you can get what you came for.
From downtown Niles, head South on Third St. From Third & Broadway (fire station on corner) about 1/2 block South veer right onto Bond St. Two blocks onto Bond, another veer right. Keep following Bond St. as it changes to gravel. There will be a picnic area on the right hand side. Continue approximately .2 mile to a small parking area on right. Park Car. Continue on foot South on Bond. (See "Fort St. Joseph" letterbox)
After approx. 75 paces down the road, look East. See the stairway. Up, up, up the stairs. Pause at landings to enjoy the view.
"There's a feeling I get when I look to the West,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke thru the trees,
And the voices of those who stand looking."
Continue up the stairs
"And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
then the Piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter."
This monument was erected in 1918 to the memory of Father Claude Jean Allouez DJ. A true Piper. "Whose intrepid courage won the admiration of the Indians and whose Apostolic zeal earned for him the title of the Francis Xavier of the American Missions." Father Allouez was born at St. Didier, France, 1622; Died near this spot August 27, 1689.
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May Queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on."
At the top of the stairs, facing the cross, choose the slight path to the left, 320 degrees. It's a bustling hedgerow. Beware of poison ivy. We had a squirrel dropping twigs and pine needles on our heads! A step or two into the path is a fallen, hollow tree. The box is inside the hollow of what's left of the stump, covered with bark. Please, Re-hide box well...I think muggles gather here. Apparently so, the box has been found a few times by non-letterboxers and thankfully re-hidden. :)
*********see below**********************************
"And as we wind down on the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying a Stairway to Heaven."
You can wind on down the road approximately .3 mile South to "Fort St. Joseph" letterbox.
Thanks to Led Zeppelin for the lyrics...
***May 3, 2009*** Box moved to (hopefully) less populated place... Follow the path 'til you come to a clearing. On your right see a tree with a big blue dot. With your back to the dot, take a sight across the field at 45* to see a double tree. From the Electrical pole it's about 8 paces, NE. As you get close you see it may have been a triple tree. Nestled in the stump of the trip you will find the letterbox. Please re-hide well after stamping...