Pie Town Puzzle

This is one of my geocaches, most of which are “premium member only”, as is this one, to mitigate the muggling problem that public caches have. As such, the content at https://coord.info/GC2DHFK is invisible to most people.

I like to avoid trolls. Unless they are a relative of Pratchett’s, or as found in the landscape, on a pareidoliacal (sic.) exploration of Terra. These latter have generally gotten too hot. Those on geocaching.com are annoying to geocache owners, who are obliged to maintain their (and in this case, my) caches. Bad, bad trolling muggles. 😡 Many of my placements (like this one) are in remote locations, and I like not to worry about them.

The listing, then.


A cache by CougarOx, NMFireHorse, and Bronco

Geocache Description:

This puzzle cache is not at the stated coordinates. Solve the puzzle to determine your hunt area.

While Datil has quite a nice little collection of caches, somehow Pie Town got left out. I don’t know if it was balancing Pie Town having two pie places to Datil’s none, or because Datil has closer hills to hide caches on, or what. At one time, there was a single geocache here, but it is long-archived now. So, when NMFireHorse, our geodog Bronco and I were there again recently, we decided it was time to address that little cache-inequity in the “middle of nowhere”.

It really isn’t the middle of nowhere, though. Indeed, Pie Town, with its pie shops (we like the café1 a short distance west on the same side of the road as you’ll find the cache) looks like the most prosperous hamlet between Magdalena and the state line (though Quemado does have the school…). And, like Magdalena, it has its own honest-to-goodness festival, held annually on the Second Saturday of September. -.– — ..- / – …. — ..- –. …. – / – …. .. … / — — .-. … . / -.-. — -.. . / .– — ..- .-.. -.. / …. .- …- . / – …. . / -.-. — — .-. -.. .. -. .- – . … / ..-. — .-. / … ..- .-. . –..– / -.. .. -.. -. .—-. – / -.– — ..- ..–..

It is given that the degrees of the stAted coordinates are correct. You must find some minutes in your Busy day to enjoy some pie, and to fiNd the cache. Or, you might have Puritan leaninGs and decide that you need to work to Find the coordiNates and The cacHe before you treat yourself to pie. It is your choice. Personally, I’ll take a pie Over a cake any day of the week. Unless, of course, it is a scrumptious key lime cheesecake (though I think cheescake is a pie, not a cake). In any case, if you have the time, and like pie, there are many yummy pie varieties to try.

For example, you Might like some Good old apple pIe à la mode (bring your mom!). Maybe you would Rather kick it up a notch with Some apple cranberry crumb pie, or go for the comfort of an apple crIsp. Or if you’re a homeboy(girl) you might prefer A slab of New Mexican apple pie, with green chile and piñon nuts. If you’re really nutty about pies, like I am, you’ve got to try a slice of peach walnut crumb pie, some good old fashioned pecan pie, peanut butter pie, Reese’s pie, or chocolate walnut pie. Which reminds me, if you like chocolate, you simply must try a good Mississippi mud pie, even if you have to go to Vicksburg to get it. Then again, you might be another berry aficionado. In that case, you might prefer some boysen-berry, strawberry-rhubarb, raspberry, blueberry, or triple berry pie, or even some cherry streusel.

Regardless of your pie preference, providing pie is your preference, probabilities are such that you will find pulchritudinous pie pleasure in Pie Town. Enjoy!

Oh, and lest i forget, in case you haven’t yet found the coordinates you need above (they are there) here they are in a different format that may not cause all your blood to rush away from your brain:
1,13,5,3,4,32,29,11,2,37
On the other hand, perhaps pondering pie choices is preferable to the consideration of the significance of a set of numbers. -. ..- — -… . .-. … / -.-. .- -. / -… . –..– / .- -. -.. / — ..-. – . -. / .- .-. . –..– / … .. –. -. .. ..-. .. -.-. .- -. – –..– / – …. — ..- –. …. .-.-.- / .-. .- – …. . .-. / .-.. .. -.- . / .– — .-. -.. … .-.-.-

Links of interest:
“Savoring Pie Town”, a Smithsonian article
History of Pie Town (Pie Town Council)
Pie Town (American Heritage magazine)
A collection of Russell Lee’s 1940s photographs of Pie Town (Library of Congress, click on the “Check for online items from this lot” link)

1FWIW, the NM apple pie here is the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes” chef’s “best thing I ever ate”


bison in a tree


( #geocaching – one of mine, cell)

Today’s #joinindaily theme from Johnny Wills is “Hanging From A Tree!”