Visiting Geocaching HQ, & The Fremont Geocaches

https://www.geocaching.com/play/geotours/hq

We were able to visit Geocaching Headquarters, and complete the HQ geotour, while in Washington this year. Each of these geocaches is well thought out, and well done.  This is all urban caching, but geocaching is so common and familiar in this area that muggles are not really a problem.  The first cache we did was so obvious, it was near impossible to show any true stealth.  But like the WVTim caches in West Virginia, it just wasn't really necessary to hide what we were doing.

The passport for the caches can be found here:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/b1b051c4-3050-43ef-adb6-61c27f2fadd6.png

We did not have the passport with us, and we didn't have access to a printer.  Neither did another group we ran into several times that day.  That was no problem, we both used paper we had with us and groundspeak had no trouble accepting that from us.

The caches are all pretty close together.  But the hills are pretty steep in this area - and it's a pretty good hike from Under Aurora to Troll Droppings.  The biggest issue in Fremont is parking.  We found a parking garage right down the road from headquarters.  It is not what we think of as a parking garage - it's just one floor, and only had about 20 spots.  The really awesome thing was that it was not only cheap, but we could monitor the time left, and add time, from our phones.  http://www.calltopark.com/

"In 1991, Fremont Scientists, after a careful, considered study of these affect, while at a local alehouse, with barely a slur or stumble, determined the Center of the Universe to be at the intersection of N Fremont Ave and 35th St N – with the reasoning that this local can neither be proven, nor disproven!" - http://fremont.com/about/centeruniverseguidepost/

This is a REALLY well done, variety of caches.  Nothing as fancy as the WVTim caches in West Virginia, but there's a puzzle cache, a gadget cache, a multi stage, creative containers, and they take you to some interesting sights.  You'll see the fremont troll, the statue of lenin (I REALLY recommend the gyros at the shop behind the statue!  They were fabulous!) the rocket, the sign stating that Fremont is the center of the universe, a nice view of the waterfront, hedges trimmed into dinosaur shapes, 

I've uploaded all of our photos from the Fremont area of Seattle here.  There may be some cache spoilers. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.506345709567848.1073742092.175207949348294&type=1&l=270a5e38cb

 

 

Many of the caches are multi staged, and there's a LOT to see.  Add in the heat, and the hills, and it took us over 3 hours to log them all.  We attempted the wherigo while finding them, but it was too confusing to do both at the same time.  We ended up feeling a bit rushed as it was.

Originally we had a tour scheduled, but our travel plans changed, so we did the drop in hours at headquarters instead.  We arrived at 4:20, giving us 40 minutes to explore headquarters.  Again, I felt rushed.  I'd recommend arriving right at 4 and giving yourself the full hour there.   Everything you need to know about visiting HQ can be found here: http://geocachinghq.com/schedule/

There's a travel but you can pose in, a photo booth with props, the geocache which is full of containers of travel bugs.  There's a project ape cache box, and all sorts of other memorabilia, in addition to the shopping area.  There's a LOT packed into that little lobby.

The "Been there, logged that" t-shirt can only be purchased at headquarters.  We also purchased the trackable coin for completing the HQ tour.

After visiting headquarters, we went back to the lenin statue to have gyros  - they were amazing!  Spicier than any I've had here in PA.  Our hotel was in the Southern part of Seattle, and Fremont is northern seattle.  I wanted to see the sunset and Kerry park was recommended as a good place to do so, so we wanted to stay in the area.

After dinner we headed over to the lake (where there is plenty of parking) and did the Seattle You Sank My Battleship Wherigo.  This took us a couple of hours.  It's the most unique wherigo I've ever done, and I've written about it separately here: http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2016/06/battle-ship-wherigo-geocaching.html

Before going to Kerry Park for the sunset, we made a quick stop to do one of the totally tubular caches,  

Then on to Kerry Park, where there is an easy virtual.  This is really not a great place to see the sunset, but it's a terrific view of the skyline, and the sunset reflects off of the buildings, which is what makes it so popular.

This was my facebook status at days end:

Yesterday we were in the Fremont area of Seattle. Artsy, dogs in every store, more bike racks than parking spaces, home to Google & geocaching headquarters. It's really a fun area. The statues are all decorated. If its your friends birthday, its perfectly acceptable, even expected, to dress up a staue & add a happy birthday sign. (Google "fremont interurban") Driving is interesting though... parking on both sides of the street (rarely a space to be found open) leaves ONE narrow lane for driving. But the streets are not one way. Intersections, and there are MANY, do not have stop signs. Many narrow streets have huge circular flower beds in the center of the intersection, sort of like an artsy traffic circle that no one appears to know how to navigate around. The parking "garage" (one level - about 20 spaces total) was awesome - you pay with your phone, & get a countdown on your phone of how much time is left with the option to add more. There's a huge lake on the outskirts where I think every person living here goes after work to run, Rollerblade, kayak.... and almost everyone had a dog along. Even with that many people, there was no trash. Everything was in good shape, and I never felt crowded or uncomfortable along the path. There was even a blue heron within feet of me - also unbothered by the crowds running, walking, biking, and rollerblading past. (Bikes & pedestrians have designated lanes, and people appeared to really follow the rules). It was a really fun day, and completely not what I expected from Seattle. I suspect today will be slightly more typical big city, we're down in the "heart" of the city today.

Totals for the day:

4 geocaches on our way to Seattle (2 regulars, 1 earth cache, 1 puzzle cache)

9 HQ Geotour Caches (1 letterbox, 2 multis, 2 puzzles, 4 regulars)

1 HQ geocache - the HQ geocache is a special icon, it's own type of cache

1 wherigo (battleship)

1 gadget (regular) near the zoo

1 virtual in Kerry Park

17 really diverse and awesome geocaches.  Amazing views, fun puzzles, fun games, great sights.  It was an amazing day!

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https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/geocaching.html

The Alvira Bunkers

The Alvira Bunkers

150 Storage Bunkers were built on land the government took from families in Alvira, and surrounding areas, of Lycoming County.  TNT was stored in the bunkers for less than a year, before the operation ended.  The bunkers still remain today, many on lands owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which is open to hikers.

Quick Notes:

• How To Get There - From US 15, take PA 44 West for 4.3 miles and turn right on Mill Road. Go 1.4 miles and turn right onto Alvira Road.  
• My Pictures Of The Stone Church, Christmas 2018
• More Pictures of the Bunkers & ruins in the Game Lands
• A Documentary - Surrender!  The Sudden Death Of Alvira (View Trailer here)
• For More Information - The Montgomery Area Historical Society
• Photos and Stories Of Alvira, before the bunkers
• Photos of the Stone Church Cemetery, Memorial Day 2023

Established in 1825 as Wisetown, the town once located near present day Elimsport & Montgomery, now known as "The Ordnance" , was renamed Alvira in the 1860's.  By 1942, the town included schools, a gas station, a blacksmith shop, and a church, along with other businesses, and had a population of over 100.

Less then 100 years after it was named Alvira, in 1942, the War Department acquired, mostly by eminent domain, all 8,400 acres.

The Last Easter Service At The Old Stone Church, 1942

On March 7 1942, residents gathered at the Christ Lutheran Church, where they were told that the government needed their land for the war effort, but that they would be able to repurchase it after the war ended.

Map Of Alvira in 1868

Residents were given six weeks to leave their property. Just six weeks to pack up, and move everything they owned, including livestock. 

  "Betty Yoder remembers she and her brother, Nevin, driving their cows from Alvira to a farm the family bought in the Limestoneville area. “We brought them across the bridge at Allenwood. The plank bottom made a noise. I used to dream about that bridge. It made a racket,” she said. They continued through Watsontown with the cattle, walking behind them to their destination."  https://www.dailyitem.com/news/remembering-alvira-a-pennsylvania-village-lost/article_32f809e4-8d7f-11e7-a3fb-d3f839c2ac8d.html

"My grandmother's mother was actually carried off her front porch and her house was torn down by bulldozers," says historian Paul C. Metzeger." https://www.pahomepage.com/news/hidden-history-bunkers-of-alvira/844987687

 Within a few short months, everything but the church was gone.  The homes and structures were all burnt to the ground.  All that remains are a few cemeteries, and the stone church where residents learned they were losing their land.  The church is on the federal prison property, and is only open to the public for special events such as the Christmas service.
(See photos of the Stone Church Christmas Service in 2018 here)

 A petition was filed in March of 1942 in the federal courthouse in Scranton, seeking the right of immediate condemnation of 7,604 acres of the White Deer Valley, and possession of all properties within the Ordnance Works as well as other properties outside of the Ordnance fences. The petition was granted almost immediately.  Within a week , workers had begun constructing The Pennsylvania Ordnance Works.

The site was likely chosen for it's proximity to the Reading Railroad, which made it easy to transport materials to the facility.  It was also remote enough to keep the activities somewhat private and out of view.  The tract was large enough for the 150 bunkers planned to store the TNT, with an appropriate safety radius around each one.  If a bunker exploded, it needed to be placed far enough away from the other bunkers that it did not cause another bunker to explode, preventing a domino effect. 

Nitric Acid Plant, at the Ordnance

 Another consideration may have been the proximity to the Susquehanna River - which could provide the water needed for the TNT plant.  A river pump house and dam were constructed on the east side of the highway, near the river.

150 storage bunkers, 17 miles of railroad track, 55 miles of roads, and 300 buildings replaced what was once the town of Alvira.

Each bunker held 250,000 pounds of TNT, which had been shipped in in wooden crates.

The need for TNT production had been overestimated, and the entire operation ceased 11 months after it began.  Operations  ceased on January 14th 1944.

In 1944, the Susquehanna Ordnance took over the land, which became a munitions storage and transfer depot. No longer a top secret operation, dignitaries and local journalists were sometimes invited in for tours.

Williamsport Mayor Leo C. Williamson is shown here in 1948, at Bunker 98.

Two dozen bombs were stored at the Depot, including the one shown here, with the depots commanding officer Major Lundhal, Captain Severaid, and Lieutenant Elsaiss standing on top of it.

In  1950,  half of the land was given to the Allenwood Federal Prison Complex.

March 1952, Sun Gazette

In 1952, it was considered, but found unsuitable, as a location for an Air Force base.

2023

The four silos housed anthracite coal that was brought daily to the ordnance works from the Ashland-Mount Carmel area by train

Only about 500 acres were ever sold back to their former owners. 
4,200 acres deeded to the US Bureau Of Prisons (This is where the prison complex, and the landfill are now located)
3,018 acres were given to the Game Commission 
220 acres were given to Lycoming County (a golf course is now on this land)
400 acres were given to Williamsport Area Community College (Now PennTech)

2023 [Possibly the old pump station?]

We drove past these ruins in 2023, on our way to the Memorial Day Service at the Old Stone Church.  This area is  gated  off and not accessible to the public on a regular basis, only for special events such Memorial Day.

Photo from 2023

Photo from 2023

The Stone Church, 2023

Today the future of the church is uncertain. Located on the Federal Prison property, services had been held a couple of times each year, hosted by the Montgomery Historical Society. In 2023, the building was determined to be unsafe, it needs repairs to the main tower stonework, and no one is permitted inside.

2023 Statement regarding the status of the church, from the Montgomery Historical Society

The Delaney Family, victims of notorious axe murderer William Hummel, are buried in the Cemetery at the Stone Church.  

The Stone reads:
Oliver D. Delaney Died Aug 13 1899
His Wife Sarah Frances
Children Johnny W., Olive F, Florence H.
The wife and three children met death at the hands of Wm. Hummel, The 2nd Husband Nov. 15 1899
On November 25 1899 the bodies of Sarah, John, and Olive were buried in the Stone Church Cemetery in Allenwood, where Oliver Delaney was already interred. The victims were buried at the tax payers expense, and as such, the overseers of Clinton township seized Hummels house and five acres of land, selling it at auction to recoup the expense. By March of 1901 the residents of Clinton Township had collected enough money to erect a grave marker for the Delaney family. The marble monument was dedicated on Memorial Day.

Read more here:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/03/william-hummel-lycoming-countys.html

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The Bunkers Today

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Inside one of the bunkers today

The land was never returned because it could not be - it is too contaminated.  Making TNT is a "sloppy process", and that land is too contaminated to ever be farmed again.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission Map shows the locations of the bunkers, which are still on the property today:

Each "S" is a bunker.

Today some of the bunkers are overgrown.  

Some are full of trash.  

Some are locked, but most are open.

 

(Molly is wearing her "I'm not a Rabbit" vest, hiking during hunting season)

Looking into one of the bunkers

It's Not Radioactive Here

Although recently discovered papers link this area to the Manhattan project, and radioactive waste was stored here, there are no traces of radiation in this area.

"In May 2011, the state Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Radiation performed gamma radiation scans on roadways on state game land. It later did the same on two igloos on the game land that had been identified as holding the uranium shavings in barrels.

The scans found no indication of uranium or other gamma-emitting radioactive elements above the natural background levels, the report states. The Bureau of Prisons did not permit scans of two igloos on its land, DEP said."
https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2015/03/historian_confirms_radioactive.html

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This event is over, but the movie is still available for purchase  - or you can borrow it from the Union County Public Library.

See the Documentary this week-end at the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg, Followed by a talk at the Barnes & Noble Book Store Across The Street https://www.facebook.com/116216865062937/photos/a.814627305221886/2785036518180945/?type=3&theater

ALSO - 

"To add to the excitement of the Alvira documentary showing day, March 31, Steve and Martha Huddy, the “SURRENDER!” filmmakers, and Paul Metzger, author of “Deeds of the Valley: The Land that Became the Ordnance” will be holding a discussion regarding Alvira in the 3rd floor community room in the Barnes and Noble across the street from the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg. It will be held immediately following the showing of the film, at approximately 2pm. This discussion is FREE and open to the public!"

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Places to Hike

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/05/places-to-hike.html

Find More Posts About Our Local History Here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

The Shooting Range At Bunker 8 - Pa Game Lands 252

Quick Links:

• Map of the Pa Game Lands #252
• Rules For Using the Shooting Range
• Where To Order A Use Permit (If you do not have a hunting license)
• About The Alvira Bunkers

Every time we hike the game lands, we discover something new.  This week we took the same path we are on at least once a month (Dan has geocaches hidden there) and out of curiosity, I took a side path.  It lead us around to ruins of an old bank barn.  I've walked within feet of those ruins dozens of times, and never knew they were there, because I had never taken that side path before!

Then from there we explored some of the other side paths we had not yet taken -and we ended up at a shooting range.  We had no idea there was a public shooting range right on the game lands that we hike almost every week.  I've looked at all of the game lands maps, looked at the list of game lands with public shooting ranges - and I cannot find this one listed.  But it is definitely there!

The range was in use while we were there.  I believe that the roads leading back here are only open seasonally, so you would walk back to access this most of the year.

There's a pavilion with  tables at the back of the range.

Everything appears to be well maintained.

There are some rules:

"For your shooting enjoyment and to make you a better hunter, the Game Commission maintains public shooting ranges across the state. Those who shoot firearms at one of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's state game lands public shooting ranges must possess and carry with them either an annual $30 range use permit or a current general hunting or furtaker license.  ​Individuals without a range use permit or hunting or furtaker license may be fined. Each licensed hunter or range permit holder may have one guest.

Unless otherwise posted, these ranges are open year-round, from 8 a.m. until sunset, Monday through Saturday, and noon to sunset on Sundays"

To read the rules and regulations, go here:
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/HuntTrap/StateGameLands/StateGameLandsRanges/Pages/default.aspx

As for how to get there..  well, we parked at the main parking area on Alvira road (near the maintenance/food crop sheds) and walked back.  There might be a closer parking area at the other end, I'm really not sure.  There is a parking area near the range as well - but no cars were there, and it might be a road that is only open seasonally -   we'll have to explore more another day.

Alvira Before The Bunkers	History Of Alvira & The Bunkers	The Stone Church
Shooting Range At The Game Lands	There are frequently sunflower fields in the Game Lands, great places to take photos!  Where exactly they are located changes from year to year.  This was where to find them in 2020.	Here Lies A Confederate Bullet

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