So why did they name this place Le Mars? Was Ein Ares taken? Jokes aside, the town’s name is an acronym of the first names of the female members of a party visiting with a railroad magnate in 1871. Regardless of the source of the name, their courthouse game was peak! This gorgeous classical piece was unexpected, but the way it dominates its block gives me a bit of (dare I say) reverence for it. While I didn’t find confirmation of it, I think it’s made of the same stone as the Sioux County Courthouse. I wonder if Iowa has similar quarries to Pipestone?
When I saw the first one, I didn’t think about it, so it blended into the background. When I saw the second one, I thought it was my imagination. When I saw the third one, I looked up at the city’s water tower and realized I had been lacking in my research. Le Mars touted themselves to be the Ice Cream Capital of the World. Therefore, they had made themselves a city of ice cream cones! I didn’t even know that was an option! I wish I had more time to go around finding more cones, but I was moving with a purpose. Of course, had I more of a brain in my head, I would have stopped somewhere to eat some ice cream. How often would I find myself in the Ice Cream Capital of the World?
As for the cache, there’s always a cemetery. Not only was it close to the courthouse, but it was the highest favorited cache in the county, making it a no-brainer. As I pulled into the cemetery, I saw muggles congregating around GZ suspiciously. I suspected they might have been cachers, but I just felt in my bones they weren’t. We often know our own, am I right? They seemed to be wrapping up whatever they were doing so I went on by and did a quick drive around the grounds to give them time to move. By the time I returned to GZ, they were gone. I got out of the car, almost entirely sure what I was looking for. I was not disappointed. I looked around for a moment to find a small gravestone with an obviously fictional name (if you had read the cache page, that is) and a removable top. Inside the top was a pill bottle with a log. Not bad at all. I haven’t seen that many fake headstone caches, but this was definitely one of the better ones. Once it was signed and the top returned, I began heading back to the car when another vehicle pulled up behind me, wanting to go deeper into the cemetery. Perhaps they were cachers as well, waiting for me to vacate GZ so they could have their chance at it, too? Doubtful, but they could have it. My mind was already on my next destination, hence the lack of ice cream. My body was still in Le Mars, but my ambition was already heading for…
Geocaching While Black 