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Keep our Air Clean LbNA #5208

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:May 8, 2003
Location:
City:Prudenville
County:Roscommon
State:Michigan
Boxes:1
Planted by:DogIsMyCoPirate
Found by: SeaEagle
Last found:Jul 4, 2007
Status:FFFFaa
Last edited:May 8, 2003
Keep Our Air Clean
(#5 in the Dog Scouts of America “We Can Make A Difference” series)

The MICRO letterboxes in this series all have to do with ecology and preserving our resources. They are all in smallish Tupperware-type containers which aren’t completely watertight. Multiple zip-loc baggies protect the box, along with a hiding place that provides shelter and drainage. Please be sure to put the box back exactly as found, to preserve it’s contents. All good Dog Scouts want to clean up their environment. Please be sure to pick up any trash you see as you are on your way to discover this letterbox. See the Dog Scouts of America web site: www.dogscouts.org

Location: State Forest land in Backus Township, Prudenville, in Roscommon County, Michigan
Placed: May 8, 2003
By: Dog Is My CoPirate
Clue difficulty: Easy
Terrain: Easy (flat to sloping two-track with some bushy areas and minimal off-trail walking)
Distance: Depends on if you walk or drive most of the way.
Walking time: Few minutes.
Box: Small food container (3” by 3” by 1 ½”) with clear bottom and lime green lid in a zip-loc baggie
Contact to report problems or condition of box: edwolfe@tm.net

This letterbox is in State land off Old M-55 in Prudenville. Just east of 157 (the shortcut to 18), there is a sandy two-track leading off into the woods alongside the gas and electric pipeline that crosses M-55 there. Take the two-track that goes north of M-55.

It looks like just a straight stretch of road that possibly cuts the corner between 55 and 157. Wrong. It goes straight for a ways but then curves to the north after a while, and I think it ends up dead ending at a private property (I found the other side of it while looking for a geocache just north of here). Follow along till you pass the fourth power pole and the second yellow plastic “caution: gas pipeline” stake. This is where you have an option to curve around in almost a “U” turn to the right. Take this right, heading almost back in the direction you came from (SE) , and you’ll soon come to a “triangle” with a large oak (?—I wasn’t paying that much attention) in the middle. Take the road to the left, which heads Northeast.

You can park your car anywhere, if you’d rather enjoy the walk. It’s sandy, and there are a few areas where stuff will hit the bottom of your vehicle, as well as branches that will scratch up the exterior of your car.

On my way in, I saw either a young bald eagle, or a very big hawk that lives in the area. This is not really dense woods. There are lots of little birds flitting all over, so I decided to place my “Keep Our Air Clean” box here.

(A diversion that is not part of the path to the box):As I drove back along the sandy trail, I came to a two-track off to the right. There was an 8 foot hollow stump on the corner, which I thought would make a good spot to hide the box, but it was too easy, so I pulled into the trail and parked my car to explore further. I came to the land of dead televisions and deer carcasses, so I wandered in another direction. The T.V.’s seemed like a good hiding spot, but I didn’t want to chance someone actually cleaning up the mess one day and carting off my letterbox!. Keeping in mind the box’s need for shelter (since I don’t trust the integrity of the baggie or the plastic container over time), I wasn’t finding any good hiding spots. I did find a 12-pack of Bud Light cans strewn all over the ground (which we collected for the Clean-up America merit badge), and some nice area to run the dogs. So, I went back to the main two-track and kept driving (past the 8ft hollow stump) until I found a second sandy two-track to the right. You can park your car here (it’s hard to count steps from inside the vehicle).

Where the two track heads off to the right, up a hill at 40 degrees, take 60 steps up the trail from the main two-track. At this point, the straight ahead path dead ends, but the trail continues on to the left. Find the hollow stump about 4’ high with half a lawnmower blade resting inside and some other rusty part balanced on top (note that someone could MOVE these items at any point, so it would be best to count your steps and use your compass headings).

At this stump, take a heading of 345 degrees and 15 steps to a short stump with a nice hollow in the center. Nope, that’s not sheltered enough. From that stump, take a heading of 74 degrees for another 15 steps until you find the spot where the box is well-protected from the elements and flooding. As you can see, there’s LOTS of good hiding spots in this area.

Please be sure to replace the box as you found it.

When I pulled up to park my car, there was a partridge just 20 feet away, strutting around. I sat and watched for a while before getting out.

On the way back out, I decided to see what was further down the pipeline. Holy crud! I found what seemed to be “Mile o’ Trash” along the trail into the woods further up! Sorry about that! I tried to take you to a serene and scenic hiking trail…

But then, this series is all about keeping our environment clean. I suppose it helps to be reminded that we need to do all we can, because no matter how hard we try to be good, there will always be other idiots that treat or natural areas as their own private dumping grounds.