Here is all the pertinent information on the hunt:
The TMK mock hunt will start on Wednesday, September 17, and end on Sunday, September 28.
Clues will be released at 9 pm each night.
There will be 12 clues in all.
The treasure will be hidden on public land in Ramsey County (stay out of the fairgrounds, off the indian mounds)
The treasure will not be hidden in a spot that will endanger hunters (along a cliff, under an electrical box, on the water of a lake/river, etc)
If there are questions or concerns, please try reaching me by email or egram. I will have my cell phone with me, but while I am at work it will be off. I will check messages during breaks though.
Prize will be announced. Donations are welcome.
Just woke up now. Going to try heading out.
No need. I already found it around 8:30 this morning. Kids was there to witness it but had to head off to work and won't get a chance to post the explanations until tonight.
at least tell me what park!
Yes, it was Mattocks (Mock ATST) under a "fur" tree in a small tin that looked like a golf ball.
I don't have a lot of time before I need to head out again, but let me see if I can give a brief explanation.
I went to Newell yesterday. It was a great place to be on such a nice day, but I had no idea where to look there and things weren't entirely clicking. Plus I didn't really think TMK was the deceptive type and he seemed to be suggesting no one was even really talking about the right park, so I decided to try some others. Me2 had said something about Langford. I'd never been there. It too was a nice park on a beautiful day, but it didn't really fit the clues well enough. I really didn't know what park did, so I thought maybe I'd just head home. But I thought maybe I could swing by Linwood without going too far out of my way. And then if I took the right path, I could swing by Groveland and Mattocks also, neither of which I'd ever been to.
I drove by Groveland, nothing exciting. Barely gave it a passing look. Then I got to Mattocks. I saw the tennis courts and the basketball hoop and the playground. And I saw a lot of large rocks that weren't in the THG. That seemed promising even though it didn't look to have much else to it otherwise. I swang around the other side and saw a swing bench. Now it was time to stop and get out of the car.
It was about 3:30pm. I saw a bunch of wildflowers by the park sign. There was a stone engraving from Mattocks schools that used to stand on the site which seemed an apt enough historical marker (although apparently it wasn't the one referred to in the clue). I walked around and saw a drinking fountain, one regular height and one way down low for dogs I'm guessing. There was a dog ordinance sign. It seemed to be the place.
I wasn't sure where to look though. There were a lot of people around and I felt sort of odd being there along poking through things, so I called Me2 and got her to come out. We ended up being there about an hour along with her daughter. In that time we found a set of play binoculars attached to a piece of playground equipment. We noticed the address on one of the houses was 1666 (one devil). It dawned on Me2 that "under fur" must mean under a fir tree. So everything was coming together, but we hadn't found it yet and we both had to go.
This morning we went back around 8am and started looking under trees again. We got to the southwest corner which we thought was a likely spot and looked under 3 of the 4 when TMK arrived. We went over to talk to him and then we were going to go look elsewhere when I pointed out we still had one tree we hadn't checked. Me2 started raking under it on one side while I crawled under it from the other side. And then I saw this round white thing sticking out of the pine needles and thought, "That must be it". I picked it up and it was a small tin decorated like a golf ball. Something rattled around inside of it. When I figured out how to open it, there was Scooby Doo. That was about 8:30.
Oh, and...
James
Dave RN
Pal Ace
Ma Calaster
Congratuluations Allison!
Glad you figured it all out and got to the right park. Now our noodlers can take a break.
And thanks for your explanations.
Good job AW. This one was way over my head! Was it you who egrammed TMK after the last clue?
Way to go AW!! You da mon!!
Great hunt TMK. You were right in that we just needed to head out to the parks instead of over-noodling. Can't wait for the explanations.
Congrats once again AW!
TMK-wonderful hunt- :)
been a while since someone has satisfied me enough...in a hunt that is ;)
Frosti's twin brother was in the park this morning ;p
I yelled "Frosti" but obviously it wasnt him ooops
and a woman stopped and asked me what I was doing- there is always one of them!
anyone heading to vulctoberfest tonight?
I think we are gonna head out around 8:00 or so, gonna try to wait until little roaster is in bed, of course I was just informed that we may go earlier cuz I have to go lock up the liquor store around 10:00.
Clue 11
Jane sees Matt talks none
Dick sees Matt tics a ton
Shaggy says "Run Jane run!"
Shaggy says "Run Dick run!"
Clue 12
We've come to the end of these games
So head to Davern and James
In the southwest corner of Mattocks Park
Under fir trees is the treasure mark
Clue 1
Heya Cooler Crew, where are you?
I got a hunt for you now
Heya Puck Posse, where are thee?
The first clue is here now
Come on both of you, I see you pretending you got a noodle
But you're not fooling me, cause I can see, the way you fidget and doodle
You know you got a mystery to solve, so treasure hunters look in Ramsey county
Scooby Doo: Uh-huh, uh-huh
Search land publicly!
And its true its hard to do you're going to have to use your head!
That's what I said!
Like the Ma Press hunt, don't pull a stunt
Don't destroy and don't anger
If I can count on both of you, I know you'll find that treasure
Basically just tells you that its in Ramsey county, be safe and smart. The use of "Heya" seemed to flow better, and both Cooler Crew and Puck Posse was used to make it all inclusive.
Clue 2
Keep Scooby on a leash, have you seen and heard
while around the parks you hunt and roam
you'll have the mystery solved and villian cornered
if with a keen eye you see a caring home
The first line refers to signs in the park about the dog ordinance requiring dogs on a leash. The last two lines refer to the Hayes Residence, which is "A Caring Home" according to their sign. You can see a portion of the building from the southeast corner of the park, but you need a keen eye to see it.
Clue 3
You know this sort of thing gets under fur
Only so much treasure hunting dogs can endure
Your chances of finding the loot are considerable
If you can reassemble Scooby's ersatz Star Wars vehicle
The first line is a hint, telling you that the treasure is under a fir tree. The last line tells you the park. Ersatz is a synonym for mock, the Star Wars vehicle is the AT-ST (chicken walker from Return of the Jedi). Reassemble it and you get "mattocks".
Clue 4
Look for golf balls left then found
Use binoculars for looking around
If you want to get the treasure before Scooby
Be on the lookout for a New England band's cd
The first line refers to what the treasure was hidden in. That's why the usage of "left then found" instead of "lost and found". I left it, Allison found it. The second line refers to a plastic binoculars that was a part of one of the playground equipment. I felt it was a characteristic which would distinguish the park if you were in it. The New England band's cd refers to Aerosmith's album "Rocks". This clue had a bit of a double meaning. It referred to the numerous large rocks in the park primarily. The cover of the album has diamonds on it, and there is a baseball diamond, as well as diamonds in the swing structure.
Clue 5
The gang found a note with this rhyme
"For one devil of a good time
From very near you will embark
and go to a St Paul Park"
The main part is for you to focus your search on St Paul parks. There was also a hidden meaning in the use of "one devil". The devil is sometimes symbolized by the numeral 666. One devil turns into 1666, which was the address of a house alongside the park.
Clue 6
Think everyone never noodles insane stuff?
Can one understand really tough symbols?
To figure this clue out doesn't require a puff
Just the grey matter in your skulls
The first letter of the words in the first two lines spells out "tennis courts".
Clue 7
What goes with salt, moccassin and torture
and with an eye can serve you well
see it high and low for sure
and in the right park you will yell
The answer to the riddle of the first two lines is water. There is a water fountain in the park, which is multi-level. A normal human level, and a lower level for dogs, just perfect for Scooby!
Clue 8
At this park Fred saw the Matrix playing
God and Moses throwing up prayers but not praying
Also a Tractor drive by Magic
A Pistol shooting that isn't tragic
This clue contains some basketball terminology (throwing up prayers, drive by, shooting) as well as names and nicknames of basketball players (Shawn "The Matrix" Marion, God Shammgod, Moses Malone, Robert "Tractor" Traylor, Magic Johnson, "Pistol" Pete Maravich)
Clue 9
Velma was surprised to see a couple of adult swingers
Near kids at a playground with sand between the fingers
The native wildflowers losing color to hibernate
People eat at picnic tables while couples on a bench date
She saw the ghost of a little boy walking around
Looking for a girl he knew well that was lost then found
He told Velma "A historical marker in a park
Will bring the treasure site out of the dark"
A lot of information in this clue. A couple of adult swingers refers to the two bench swings for adults to use. There is a playground with sand for kids (as well as one with a rubber surface). The northwest corner of the park has a small area of native wildflowers, with the park's native wildflower sign. The park also has numerous picnic tables and park benches. The ghost of the little boy is Charles Schultz, who went to Mattocks school as a young boy. The little girl he was looking for was Lucy, his creation. The Lucy statue that was in Mattocks park was stolen but then later recovered. The historical marker in a park refers to the historical marker where the old Mattocks school now resides, next to Highland Park high school. Thus the use of "a park" instead of "the park".
Clue 10
The gang narrowed it down to between four
one a man whose name they knew but nothing more
also a male nurse and a hotshot friend
lastly a woman with kids to tend
The clue which gives you the four surrounding street names. James is the one whose name they knew but nothing more. Dave RN was the male nurse, while the hotshot friend turned out to be Pal Ace. Ma Calester was the woman with kids to tend.
Clue 11
Jane sees Matt talks none
Dick sees Matt tics a ton
Velma says "Run Jane run!"
Velma says "Run Dick run!"
Tells you its at Mattocks park. The clue I originally came up with to tell the park, before I had thought of putting up pictures of the park.
Clue 12
We've come to the end of these games
so head to Davern and James
In the southwest corner of Mattocks Park
Under fir trees is the treasure mark
Tells you where in the park it is.
Great job TMK!! Thank Scooby Doo too.
the Star Wars vehicle is the AT-ST (chicken walker from Return of the Jedi).
Okay, I'll write about my thoughts on the hunt, the process of making it, why I did some of the things I did.
First off, I had to pick myself a park. I ruled off a number of parks because of familiarity with them or them being used in previous hunts. So Como, Harriet, Battle Creek, Mounds, Phalen were all off the list. I decided I wanted to try and do a park that people were not as familiar with. One that would be unexpected. I had gone to a number of parks in my travels, and I revisited some. Mattocks was one I came upon again, because it isn't as far from my home. I liked how it looked, and it seemed like it had a lot with which to use.
When I was looking at Mattocks in my THG, I noticed that there were a number of things in the park that were not in the guide. I thought that would be great for the hunt. I know we all rely heavily on our guides. This would help me in making the hunt go longer. I made a few trips to the park, using my little notebook to take notes on everything I could. Signs in the park, landmarks, anything of note regarding houses adjoining the park, things that could be seen from the park, words on man holes and fire hydrants, street numbers. Just anything that I thought could be used. If I had an idea for how I wanted to use something in a clue, I jotted the idea down.
With all this information, I formulated how I wanted to construct the hunt. I decided that with this hunt, I wanted to make each clue into a little separate puzzle if I could. My desire wasn't to put together a hunt where you were told what to look for, but that you had to think with each clue. I also wanted to incorporate some ideas and feelings I have on what should be open for use in regards to cluewriting.
As I went along I realized that this gave me an opportunity to mold this hunt to where it would make us better hunters. Better hunters by introducing new ways to get information into clues (acronym in clue 6, usage of names in clue 8). Better hunters by trying to get people to not rely so much on the THG, but also getting out into the parks to either look for yourself, or do homework yourself. Better hunters by getting to smaller parks to see, and considering smaller parks. I started off the first clue with Ramsey County because I hoped people would do some looking into non-St Paul parks which may be used, and at least knowing what is out there. I thought clue 2 may be a bit of a sore spot with some hunters, because it is similar to the French school clue of last years hunt. I felt after last year's hunt though that we should consider anyting that can be seen from a park, whether you can see a sign on it or not. So while you cannot see the sign of the home itself, you can see the home. I thought that if we considered those possibilities, we could be better hunters.
For the most part I came up with the clues individually. I wanted to try and have different themes to the clues. Not all of one thing, but a mix. Word plays, number games, trivia, history, lining things up, riddles. With that in mind I took my notebook with me to work or other places, and just wrote down ideas when I had time. I would sometimes write out a whole clue in 5 minutes, or write down an idea for work on later. For some of the clues, I just tried to concentrate on one aspect, whereas others I tried to get multiple items into it.
I never really tried getting my clues to lead you to a decoy park. I figured that the clues would be hard enough, and that with what I knew as far as the THG being wrong, I wouldn't really need a decoy park. Besides, it seemed too much extra trying to lead you to another park. I was curious to see what people would come up with in response to some clues, and see what parks people would have as their favorites. When I wrote the "knew well" clue, I didn't even think about Newell. It just happened to work out that way. Some of the clues were deliberate in throwing you guys off, at least making you have to figure out what was meant. The golf ball clue would make you think of a golf course. The binoculars make you think of a scenic view. The water make you think of a lake or river or water tower. The historical marker being thought of in the park, not in a different park.
I was nervous about how some of the things would be taken. As the hunt went along, I realized you guys were really thrown off by some of the clues. I was honest really when talking to you guys about how far you were off. I didn't want to help you disregard parks and totally rule them out early though. I did drop hints here and there as I went along. But nothing blatant, and only in the public forum. I wanted a good fair hunt, that everyone enjoyed. I think I did an okay job. I just hope everyone had fun, and isn't too upset at where it was hidden or the clue meanings.
Okay, I'll write about my thoughts on the hunt, the process of making it, why I did some of the things I did.
First off, I had to pick myself a park. I ruled off a number of parks because of familiarity with them or them being used in previous hunts. So Como, Harriet, Battle Creek, Mounds, Phalen were all off the list. I decided I wanted to try and do a park that people were not as familiar with. One that would be unexpected. I had gone to a number of parks in my travels, and I revisited some. Mattocks was one I came upon again, because it isn't as far from my home. I liked how it looked, and it seemed like it had a lot with which to use.
When I was looking at Mattocks in my THG, I noticed that there were a number of things in the park that were not in the guide. I thought that would be great for the hunt. I know we all rely heavily on our guides. This would help me in making the hunt go longer. I made a few trips to the park, using my little notebook to take notes on everything I could. Signs in the park, landmarks, anything of note regarding houses adjoining the park, things that could be seen from the park, words on man holes and fire hydrants, street numbers. Just anything that I thought could be used. If I had an idea for how I wanted to use something in a clue, I jotted the idea down.
With all this information, I formulated how I wanted to construct the hunt. I decided that with this hunt, I wanted to make each clue into a little separate puzzle if I could. My desire wasn't to put together a hunt where you were told what to look for, but that you had to think with each clue. I also wanted to incorporate some ideas and feelings I have on what should be open for use in regards to cluewriting.
As I went along I realized that this gave me an opportunity to mold this hunt to where it would make us better hunters. Better hunters by introducing new ways to get information into clues (acronym in clue 6, usage of names in clue 8). Better hunters by trying to get people to not rely so much on the THG, but also getting out into the parks to either look for yourself, or do homework yourself. Better hunters by getting to smaller parks to see, and considering smaller parks. I started off the first clue with Ramsey County because I hoped people would do some looking into non-St Paul parks which may be used, and at least knowing what is out there. I thought clue 2 may be a bit of a sore spot with some hunters, because it is similar to the French school clue of last years hunt. I felt after last year's hunt though that we should consider anyting that can be seen from a park, whether you can see a sign on it or not. So while you cannot see the sign of the home itself, you can see the home. I thought that if we considered those possibilities, we could be better hunters.
For the most part I came up with the clues individually. I wanted to try and have different themes to the clues. Not all of one thing, but a mix. Word plays, number games, trivia, history, lining things up, riddles. With that in mind I took my notebook with me to work or other places, and just wrote down ideas when I had time. I would sometimes write out a whole clue in 5 minutes, or write down an idea for work on later. For some of the clues, I just tried to concentrate on one aspect, whereas others I tried to get multiple items into it.
I never really tried getting my clues to lead you to a decoy park. I figured that the clues would be hard enough, and that with what I knew as far as the THG being wrong, I wouldn't really need a decoy park. Besides, it seemed too much extra trying to lead you to another park. I was curious to see what people would come up with in response to some clues, and see what parks people would have as their favorites. When I wrote the "knew well" clue, I didn't even think about Newell. It just happened to work out that way. Some of the clues were deliberate in throwing you guys off, at least making you have to figure out what was meant. The golf ball clue would make you think of a golf course. The binoculars make you think of a scenic view. The water make you think of a lake or river or water tower. The historical marker being thought of in the park, not in a different park.
I was nervous about how some of the things would be taken. As the hunt went along, I realized you guys were really thrown off by some of the clues. I was honest really when talking to you guys about how far you were off. I didn't want to help you disregard parks and totally rule them out early though. I did drop hints here and there as I went along. But nothing blatant, and only in the public forum. I wanted a good fair hunt, that everyone enjoyed. I think I did an okay job. I just hope everyone had fun, and isn't too upset at where it was hidden or the clue meanings.
You did just fine TMK. Give yourself a pat on the back. I like your various ideas too. Although I have never really agreed with the PP clue writers as far as those damn clues of things that you can't actually see from the spot, you're right in that it will help to keep us sharp. Thanks for posting your thoughts and feelings too. That puts all things in perspective and brings the whole hunt full circle. It was a nice change from the city summer hunts that just seemed to end in space somewhere and we never really knew the explanations of the clues or if was even found in some cases.
So AW, where's the Rehash bash? Your house? ::hint hint, nudge nudge:: I'd like to see the place one more time before you leave shangrala ya know.
Good boy, good boy...
::pats TMK on head and gives him a Scooby Snack::
Thanks for sharing what was going on with the clues. It must have been frustrating at times to see where we were going with some of them. Especially with the cattle effect that happens once a few clues fit a certain park then all the others seem to be kicked aside.
And oh yeah, thanks a lot buddy (sarcasm) I'm now jonzin for another hunt and there's none scheduled until the big one. ::taps arm vein::
CC in '04!!!
Its frustrating at times wondering if you're going to be pissed at me because of the difficulty of the hunt. And that you can't really say much about things. But yeah, I am anxious to do a hunt myself. I've been in cluewriter mode for a while, I want to get into clue hunting mode now. Oh, speaking of the big hunt, we got some really nice gloves for hunting I think people will like. You'll have to check them out some time. They have pockets for hand warmers in the back.
good job TMK, I'm glad I got to work out these clues a bit, even if I didn't find the tresure (to be perfectly honest, I wasn't really searching as much as I could have been, I just was looking for some good practice on clues). Now that the hunt is over, it's interesting to see how they worked out.
Coulda fooled me on the decoy park, that was one of my big theories. But, I suppose any park that doesn't have the treasure is a decoy, if only in the minds of the people that think it's there.
Clue Master, was nice meeting you, and Jake, hopefully I'll run into some of the crew when the real hunt is on. For now, at least I can get back to focusing on my research.
BTW TMK, excellent idea on choosing a park that was pretty vague in THG. I actually don't own one myself, partially because I don't want to rely on it, and partially because I enjoy doing my own research.
Also, my research won't be published, so the PP won't be able to get their hands on it to make sure they have a way around it when hiding the medallion ;)
Nice meeting you too KC0. The pix with Jake was too blurry. Have fun with your research. See ya out at the parks.
Maybe Jake is really a vampire and his image doesn't show up in a picture! Just kidding Jake. ;)
Good job Tmk! ( even though I didnt even get to hunt--but the noddling was fun)
Of course Marley always has a hunt ready ( the coin's are out there as I speak ) butttttttt----------
Frosti's twin brother was in the park this morning ;p
That's scary!
Haha Clue Master,
There we were at the decoy park. I do remember discussing the fact it didn't feel right. I think that's another good skill to use hunting. Go check out some parks and see how they feel when you apply the clues. Intuition is a great skill to have.
So anyway, I guess there's going to be a post-hunt rehash party thingy. Unfortunately, the weekend doesn't work for some of us, including me. So we were thinking this Tuesday would have to suffice, around 7pm? It seems a place near the park would work best in case people wanted to check the park out. Thus I was thinking we could meet at a place called Plums which I believe is on Randolph and Snelling, a couple of blocks from Mattocks Park.
Tuesday works for me. I'm leaving for Chicago on Thursday so I wouldn't have been able to make it on the weekend either.
We'll be either still along the north shore or back in SL by then...so we won't be able to make the rehash.
But know we're there in spirit with you all!
I don't know if I'll make it after last nights shindig, it's 3:00 and I just now managed to crawl out of bed without throwing up! me2, don't ever let me drink vodka again!
I was hell bent on Newell. but.... hey AW- how do we get on your "people to call when I know what park it is" list? :) Anyway congrats!!
Me2 was actually the only person whose phone number I had in my cell phone at the time since she had called me a few times before. Oh, and I had Jake's number too, but between those two...
Sounds like good company :) BTW-my wife has red hair but I thought she was at school!! :)
Dont dig into very deep and just keep it at surface level. I still think Newell was a decoy park. I was lost right from the start. I know absolutely nothing about Star Wars or basketball. It was fun trying though....better luck next time for me I guess :)
I am very impressed- I think this was a wonderful practice for January- ...
Thank you TMK
And oh yeah, thanks a lot buddy (sarcasm) I'm now jonzin for another hunt and there's none scheduled until the big one. ::taps arm vein::
well about 6 months ago Ares and I planned to have a hunt beginning Nov 1st -but with Kids hunt getting changed we havnt been able to get our clues in order- and I DO NOT WANT TO FOLLOW TMK's hunt- WoW! Not after how good it was ;)
and LL- We all had a blast- now, just imagine if your husband was twirling you around on the dance floor with that much to drink ;p
I almost asked this guy for his autograph at Karoake -I thought he was JonBonJovi - then I realized...it was Gordy :)
and I still have the screw -you NUTS!
I just drove down 19th Avenue in SSP and if anyone needs a religious experience they'd better get down to the ravine in Kaposia Park! The golds and yellows are beautiful! The leaves are still on the trees because they are protected down there.
The Rehash will be at Plums on Randolph and Snelling since it's close to Mattocks and people can check out the park, perhaps beforehand when it's still light out.
I am having a Halloween Bonfire here for my singles club, but if other people wanted to come too, I'm sure the more the merrier. I'm also having people over this weekend, Friday night for poker and Saturday we're going to the corn maze at Afton Apple Orchard nearby and then coming back here afterwards.