Photo courtesy of Chris – who also mentions a recent WSJ article titled “Forget Geocaching, Bench-Mark Hunting Is the New Nerdy Hobby”
So this is actually a two-part “Where the…Decatur?” First, where is the geodetic survey disk pictured above in Decatur and where else around Atlanta have you come across one of these disks?
For those of you who were stymied by the term “geodetic survey disk”, as I was, according to the dictionary, “geodetic” means “pertaining to geodesy” and “geodesy” means “the branch of science concerned with determining the exact position of geographical points and the shape and size of the earth”.
Finally an easy one! 😉 This well weed-whacked survey marker is Dekalb County marker 5058 and can be found in the north end of the Decatur Cemetery not far from the sidewalk path that connects to Glenlake Park. Look for the two-foot tall metal “witness post” that helps show the exact marker location.
Other “urban benchmarks” around town can be found on the side of Decatur City Hall as well as the old courthouse near the square. By far the most prolific markers in the Atlanta region are those put out back in the 70’s by MARTA.
Darn! I thought this would stump everyone. How did you know? Was it the “eye on the cemetery” clue below? Rats! The haters may take satisfaction knowing that the fire ants (seen in the upper corner) hit me with their best shot while I was brushing off the disk resulting in a swollen hand and wrist which prevented me from making any far right, extremist comments on Decatur Metro (or that other site). Damn liberal fire ants.
Oh, Happy Mothers Day Weekend Decatur!
Chris, now you need to get ’em busy on Where the …Decatur is the Harold Byrd Marker that Mysteriously Disappeared from the Square??
Well, Mr. B, I’m one of those ahead of the curve benchmarking nerds described in the WSJ article. Well, not exactly. I’ve only found 173 to date and most of those were of the “urban” variety. That being said, the only thing that keeps me from traipsing off deep into the woods in search of truly long forgotten metal discs every weekend are a couple of little ones and a sensible wife who would have my head if I spent $200+ on a metal detector! Better luck next time, btw 🙂
I’ve seen them at the top of Stone Mountain, Kennessaw Mtn, at Arabia Mtn!