This new one makes for my tenth Lincoln County! Haven’t caught up the the Jeffersons yet, but seem to be whizzing by the Washingtons! Not only was this my tenth Lincoln County, but the courthouse was an especially nice chunk of classical architecture, a worthy addition to the Lincoln pantheon. Stating the obvious, I think Sir Walter would be proud to have a town named after his most enduring classic. I’m also a bit perplexed as to why the town founders would have chosen that particular story but, as advanced by the town motto “A Storybook City,” they’re definitely leaning into it. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure anyone even reads Ivanhoe anymore. Then again, I’m not entirely sure I ever read it so I’m certainly not casting any judgment in that regard.
The cache was a magnetically attached tube on a sign at a local park, dedicated to the First Lady of Minnesota who is from the town. She was a teacher and administrator in public schools before moving to Saint Paul so her dedication to education was noted, but I could help but feel a little twinge at the political color of the choice. While I have the feeling that anyone who has read any of the stuff I have written for a while can intuit the broad strokes of my politics, Geocaching is one of the few places where I actively avoid politics. As I feel that caching is a colorblind activity (none of this would exist if I didn’t think that), I also maintain that it is an activity that is (and should be) gender-blind, creed-blind, class-blind, and, along with a bunch of other categories not listed here, politics-blind. To be fair though, there are certain subjects I run into that I actively avoid (I don’t feel a need to do any “Confederate” caches), so I make my choices. But none of that really mattered at the moment. I had a cache and that was good enough for me. Inveni, inscripsi, reposui. I pulled onto the street and then headed south again, making Ivanhoe a part of my story, descending towards a new one to be found in…
Geocaching While Black 