[Az-Geocaching] Century Mark

[Jim Stamm]

Congratulations to Wily Javelina for hitting the Century Mark!  And a 
special thanks to Wily Javelina for making my Buster Springs Cache the 
100th.

>I decided to make this cache my century find, I am glad I did. A very 
>interesting location, I would sure like to know more about the history of 
>this area.

Part of the land that Catalina State Park stands on was once the 
homestead ranch belonging to Francisco (I think) Romero.  The Apaches 
kept picking off his livestock, until he finally abandoned the property 
and moved into town.  

Years later his son moved to the old homestead and began ranching it 
again.  There are still remnants of the homestead and other buildings in 
the Park.

At one time the park staff (with the help of Boy Scouts) attempted to 
remove the fence that was erected on the section lines.  The country was 
too rough for them to get it all, and there remain a few remnants of that 
also;  Including a few places where the old fence material was deposited 
for later pickup, which hasn't happened yet.

My fascination with the springs began when I realized that all other 
springs that I had visited in the state had trails or roads leading to 
and from them.  I wanted to find the trail to Buster Springs that didn't 
show on any map.  The rangers told me that there weren't any because "Old 
Man Romero" ran a still at the springs, and he was careful not to leave 
any trails when going up there.

If one looks carefully, one can find traces of a trace up the mountain.  
If one looks VERY carefully, one can find traces of the local history all 
over Catalina State Park.

-Jim