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Geo Quest LbNA #26819 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Nov 1, 2006
Location:
City:Lincoln
County:Middlesex
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:1
Planted by:Drumlin Farm
Found by: Mim
Last found:Oct 9, 2012
Status:FFFFFFFFFr
Last edited:Nov 17, 2015
THIS BOX IS CURRENTLY REMOVED FOR REPAIRS
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Location: Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, Lincoln, MA (781)259-2200
This letterbox is only accessible while Drumlin Farm is open:

November through February: Tuesday-Sunday and Monday holidays, 9 am to 4 pm
March through October: Tuesday-Sunday and Monday holidays, 9 am to 5 pm.

NOTE: The trail to this letterbox is not plowed in winter. Snowshoes are required to reach the box in heavy snow conditions.

Admission to the farm is as follows:
$7 for nonmember adults
$5 for nonmember children
Mass Audubon Members - free

Stop by our admissions window to borrow a quest pack (includes the clues in a booklet, compass, stamp book, clue sheet). Or print the clues and bring your own compass.


Geology Quest
By looking at rocks, glaciers, water and different geological features geologists study how the land was formed. Follow these clues and learn about Drumlin Farm. Put answers on your clue sheet to solve the location of the quest box. Good luck!

Clue #1

· Begin at the farm stand next to the admissions window.
· Walk along the main path that heads into the sanctuary.
· Stop just before the solar sculpture on your right.
· Walk across the grassy lawn to a wall built from pieces of granite.

This old granite wall has mosses and lichens
And holes here and there that a chipmunk hides in.

Once, long ago, workers built this foundation.
The job took hard work and a good dose of patience.
Then on top of these stones, on the site of this yard,
They raised a great building, a towering barn.

Now the barn is gone, we have lights on the wall.
How many lights do you see here in all?
Count the lamps on the wall and the stairwell for fun.
Put the number of lamps into spot number one.

Mark your answers on the separate clue sheet at the bottom.

Clue #2
· Go back to the path that you started on and face down hill.
· A sign says “Drumlin Trail.” Head right on this trail. (look at the stone foundation from the back!)
· Walk to the red bridge stretched over a small creek bed and stop. Depending on the time of year, the water may be a steady stream or just a little trickle.

Rocks and water go hand in hand,
working together to shape our land.
The water here may seem gentle and sweet,
but water shapes stones—it’s quite a feat!

These are some things that water can do:
it can push stone, and break it, and weather it, too.
Glaciers of ice carry rocks from the ground
and can make up new mountains all curving and round.

As this water wears away at the rocks here
We need a bridge to cross it without fear.
How many straight posts hold the railing up for you?
Put this answer
in spot number two.

Clue #3

· Cross the bridge.
· Walk up the short hill and take the trail to the left (the Drumlin Loop—not the Beeline Trail)
· You will see a big white pine tree with a “D” trail marker on the trunk. Walk along this trail.
· Look for a tall wooden gate overgrown with vines.
· Walk just past the gate and then stop.

When farmers of old cleared this land for their crops,
they stumbled upon far too many rocks.

So using their oxen, their horses, their hands,
they hauled all the rocks right off of this land,
and stacked them as fences, dividing their fields,
then plowed and planted, expecting great yields.

Now the farmland is gone and the forest grows new.
The stone wall is divided for the trail to pass through.
Vines cover one wall side, the other side is free.
Guess the number of feet in between for spot three.

Clue #4

· Continue from the stone wall and go straight on the trail (do NOT take the left turn down towards the crop fields)
· Go right at the first fork in the trail and keep moving forward.
· Continue forward up the hill—or is this just a hill? Up and up, the going gets steeper.
· Don’t stop until you get to a large boulder on a flat top (a little bit of a walk).

You’ve made it, though it was a long time in comin’.
Now what you’re standing atop is a drumlin!
A long time ago, glaciers carved out this land
and deposited loads of sediment where you stand.

Time passed, and this drumlin gained soil and plants,
and now it is home to trees, rabbits, and ants.
Look out to the west to catch a great view
of the mountains and valleys shaped by glaciers, too.

Mt. Monadnock to the north, Mt. Wachusett to the west,
but our very own drumlin is the point we like best.
Now walk the boulder around its large base.
Put the number of steps in the number 4 space.

Now follow these
directions using the
clues that you gathered!

After you have gathered the clues follow these directions and use your CLUE SHEET:

· Hold the compass flat in your hand and close to your body. The red needle points north.

· Turn the compass so the red needle is on the N.

· Stand on the EAST side of the boulder.

· Walk NORTH #4 steps (use the number on your clue sheet in space #4). Do this 2½ times total.

· Look left and see a white birch tree with #1 trunks. Walk over to it.

· Hold the compass and face north again.

· Walk NORTH #2 + #3 steps.

· Look around for a small pile of rocks to uncover the treasure!

Remember to be discrete.
Re-seal and re-hide the box carefully.

If you liked this walk, check out our other trails and activities at Drumlin Farm!



Clue Sheet

After gathering these clues, use them to solve the final mystery on the last page of the clue book...


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