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Eugene the Fortunate LbNA #5905

Owner:Rattrak
Plant date:Sep 27, 2003
Location:
City:Rochester Hills
County:Oakland
State:Michigan
Boxes:1
Found by: k8tee
Last found:Oct 2, 2016
Status:FFFFFaFF
Last edited:Sep 27, 2003
Originally placed by La Famiglia Gonzalez and adopted in September 2007 by Rattrak.

Park Name: Eugene S. Nowicki Park of Rochester Hills
Entrance: Located on the East side of Adams road just South of Tienken Road
Entrance Fee: None :-D

]Updates for Summer 2004[

Much Thanks to Michigan Geocacher 'Oldstah' for the updates!

"[This cache is still in place, but some of the clues have changed a bit due to conditions in the park.]"

- You will not find a round table. Instead there is a patch of mulch in the center of the trail.

- The trail has been mowed. The wide groomed trail doesn't come to an end. Just stay on it until you reach the point that the conifer grid is at 85 degrees WEST. Eight paces later you take the path to the right down into the hardwoods, then go left, as directed by Throgmorten.

- The rest of the clues will work. There's still standing water to contend with.


Now, on with the clues!

There was once a commoner named Eugene who had a common life. He was a happy chap, content with what he had. One day an old woman came to him and said: "Eugene, you are a decent and kind person and as a result, you are to be granted an opportunity to undertake a quest. At the conclusion of your quest, you shall have found more than you currently have." Eugene considered the old woman's words before he replied: "But I have all that I wish now, should I put this in jeopardy to seek more?" The old woman smiled. This is the reply she expected from him. "Eugene," she said, "that which you have now is in no jeopardy. Go on this quest and find things of beauty and awe. It is never to late to look beyond your current horizons and find something more to enrich that which you already have." Eugene considered again and then nodded. "Your words make sense, so I'll go. Am I to undertake this alone?" The old woman shook her head. "No, you'll have a companion." She offered him a satchel and as he took it, Eugene saw the small furry head of a ferret appear. "This is Throgmorten. He will share wisdom to help you find your way." Eugene shouldered the satchel, scratched Throgmorten beneath the chin and the two set off together.

Eugene walked some distance when he heard the small voice of the ferret. "Eugene, Eugene, East of the padlocked gate your path begins." Eugene saw the gate, rather simple and rustic. "How are we to pass?" Throgmorten pointed with a tiny paw that a board was loose so the way was simple before them.

He walked his way east down a trail well differentiated from the surrounding ground, as it was close clipped, as the manicured gardens of the merchants and other royalty.

One he went until he came to a place where the path diverged in three directions. He commented on this and Throgmorten answered: "The tall pine sentinel marks the way to go."

They reached another fork in the trail where Eugene noticed a deep oval pit, straddled by a snarl of branches. "Why it looks like a fort of the olden times in miniature," he commented. Throgmorten nodded his small furry head. "The trail here is where to go."

On the two travelled where the reached a depression in the ground. There they found a round table, small and decrepit, the eyes of Arthur never saw the like.

Further on he saw what looked like a meadow down a manicured path to the left. Pleasing though it looked he didn't take that path.

Further on he came to another fork in the path. Was that a dead end to the left? Perhaps, perhaps not. Best be wise and veer right, he decided.

On his left he marvelled at the wild grape vines, full of fruit and winding there way around small trees. Such luscious decoration his eyes had never seen the like of before. Further on he spied a young walnut tree to his right, its young fruit green and hard on the ground beneath it.

Not much further on Eugene paused, for the wide groomed trail seemed to have come to an end. "Where to go from here, Throgmorten?" The small ferret's bright eyes looked this way and that. "There," he said, "to your right, do you see where the grass has been flattened by the passage of feet?" Eugene noticed this and nodded. "Yes, it snakes a bit right and left and I see that the groomed trail begins again not far off."

Their quest continued on, the grass giving way to dirt. Not much further on at 85 degrees east they spied a conifer grid, littered with the remains of a falled fort. What battles much have raged here? Eugene thought. Perhaps battles no worse than those children might wage.

Forward now eight paces the path less travelled went down into the hardwoods. "Go left, not right," Throgmorten said. And so they did winding gently among the trees large and small. On his left he saw a great split trunk, its fingers toward the sky.

On he went, to places less travelled where four old, tall and straight stood sentinel on his right, winding along the trail not so obvious. Everywhere behind and before them lay fallen trunks, some going to dirt and others still very tree.

"Now," Throgmorten said, "embrace the greatest oak and there will still remain two feet beyond your grasping hands." Eugene looked around, taking note of that which the ferret identified. To his right he noticed the sinuous trunk of a three-toed elm. "Now where, my small companion?" Throgmorten produced a small compass, giving it to Eugene.

"140 degrees SE, now go 10 paces." Eugene found his way. "Now 160 degrees SSE and 25 paces." There Eugene found a tall thin maple, its bark peeling on the south side of the trunk.

"Now, 150 degrees SE and 20 paces to the quadruplets." Eugene oriented himself and found the place to which the directions led. "Next, 260 degrees W and 25 paces, find yourself among 3 trees and 9 trunks. (this is the original location) “Lastly, 136 degrees NE and 27 paces. Nested within the greatest, sleepy one you shall find what you seek."

So, Eugene found his goal at last. There he found a small chest from which one might take a thing and leave a thing and also a small tome in which one might record the finding of the goal. He pondered on his trip and found that he was indeed fortunate. Eugene the Fortunate for he had found many beautiful things and his life and all the things in it were now that much richer.

Note: Our Eugene is fictional. For all we know, the real Eugene is not so lucky. But then again, he had a very nice park named after him... that seems lucky to us.

Getting there: The most obvious landmark to orient from is the new outdoor shopping mall on the northeast corner of Walton Blvd and Adams Road. North on Adams road, past the double signal and just south of the Johnny Appleseed Tree Farm, on the east side of the road is Eugene S. Nowicki Park. Parking shouldn't be a difficulty, you should be able to park off the road fairly easily, or there's a small single-car spot with a gate your can snug into.

HEY, WATCH OUT: the park is sometimes utilized by paint-ball-shooting kids. But they're actually polite, amiable, neighborhood pre-teens. If they're around, one will typically be at the fort (the pit in the ground straddled by all the branches and the large lone pine). Do keep your ears & eyes open and decide for yourself if you want to go on, if they're present. Or maybe you have your own paintball gun, goggles, padded camo jacket...

Finally, this is a combination letterbox/geocache. If you take an item, please leave one and don't forget to leave your stamp in the letterbox journal. Thanks and enjoy!