Welcome to the 5th Annual Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt!
The treasure was found just before 9am on Wednesday, March 10th, by Me2. She will get a prize around $290 plus a variety of other goodies. It was found in Marydale Park on the north side in a pit under a tree near lamp post #12.
The wrap up party will be Saturday, March 13th at 8pm at Fabulous Fern's.
thought it would be gone by now...
No one has called me yet to say it has been found. Me2 called me to say though, "Why isn't anyone in the park?" I guess everyone is just getting a bit of a late start.
IAN is there by now....
oh...I better stick around for a while and just watch now...sorry about the slow egram LL...and I got ideas...so If you egram me I will give you my 2cents....
for what that is worth....
Me2 just called me to say...
It's been found!
Actually Me2 found it a little before 9am in Marydale Park on the north side of the lake, northeast a bit perhaps. It was in a fake rock that was in a depression under a tree and covered by some leaves and snow.
yeah!!!!
nice job me2!!!
OH THAT TRICKY FAKE ROCK TRICK!!!
how big was the rock and can you tell me a little bit more as to where??
northeast..that should be the corner ..to the east of the airator right???
Like I said last nite...I bet somebody put there hands on it..(me perhaps) oh..maybe me2?
Is that where my fishy was pointing?
Congratulations me2! You worked hard looking for it and deserved to find it!
I think Allison hid it at 8:45 this morning
Good job Me2. Thank God Jake didn't find it!!!
I was there
You deserved it! I also got a prize! I got a hug from her when she found it!
Me2 are you going to have a hunt?
I can't remember actually precisely where it was in relation to other things now. I came and walked the trail to the left and went by a bunch of picnic tables. I went towards the hill at first where there were some concrete blocks sitting up there and decided not to put it there. Then I went off to my right a bit and there was a tree close to the hill that had a big depression around it and I set it in there. I put a few leaves around and on it to make it seem more natural. It wasn't too far from the swings. The original styrofoam brick I used was about the same size as a regular brick and I didn't cut it down all that much. Mostly just rounded it some and then covered it with wet ash and mud to color it like a rock.
not far from light post #12 along the edge of the trees. The "rock" was about 5 inches by 9 by 4 thick
the mud was still on it
So it was on the side of the lake you were searching first yesterday Mr. Mikey? Opposite the side I found you guys at?
Only those with habits like chasing white rabbits
Look in Wonderland trying to find this treasure, alas.
Vanished is the Cheshire Cat. Which park could he be at?
You might start with a peek through the looking glass.
The obvious clue one expects to find in Clue #1 is that it’s in a park. The part about starting with a peek in the looking glass helps set the tone for the “Alice in Wonderland” theme, but is also a hint as to the word game contained in this clue. If you take the first letter in each line, and then find its “mirror image” in the alphabet (e.g. A=Z, B=Y, C=X, etc.) then those letters will spell out L-O-E-B, the name of the lake in Marydale Park.
Clue #2
Alice’s adventure had begun before she saw the rabbit run,
In an outdoor setting having some biscuits and tea.
Go now and don’t be late for your very important date.
Dining and cooking you’ll find figure most prominently.
The dining and cooking simply refer to the many picnic tables and grills near the treasure hunt location. The very important date is retrieved by taking the first letter in each line and converting it to a number according to its place in the alphabet. A=1, I=9, G=7, D=4. 1974 was the date that Marydale officially became a park.
Clue #3
Hearing of the slithy toves and mimsy borogoves
Made Alice ask for a dictionary from the porter.
But when he gave her a tome as big as a home
She asked if there was any way to make it shorter.
The way to make a dictionary shorter is to “abridge” it. There is a bridge not far from the treasure site. The reference to “porter” is a mild hint that the bridge is for trains.
Clue #4
The March Hare and Mad Hatter each grabbed a platter
And offered Alice a cup with all their usual glee.
“You make it quite well, what’s your secret, do tell?”
“We simply gather up the rain and stir in the tea!”
If you take the word “rain” and add a T(tea) to it, you get “train”. There is a train that runs right behind the treasure site.
Clue #5
Alice was curious to know, which way she should go
When she saw the Cheshire Cat and smiled to herself.
He just gave her a grin, and then disappeared again
Saying, “Look for me near a road that crosses itself.”
On the east side of Marydale you will find the corner of Jessamine and Jessamine (Avenue and Court), a street that “crosses itself”. I’m afraid “near” was a relative concept in this clue.
Clue #6
Alice walked a mile, going round about for a while
When a caterpillar spoke, blowing smoke rings quite nifty.
He said, “Who are you? Are you looking for a clue?
Then perhaps you should search between fifteen and fifty.”
The trail around Loeb Lake, which you can walk around, is exactly 1 mile. Also, the entry to Marydale is a roundabout. The 15 refers to a number on one of the lights along the path and the 50 refers to an address prominently visible on a building on Maryland (it’s actually 501, but the 1 is missing). The treasure was located between those two on the northwest side of the park.
Clue #7
Alice took a second look, “This must be the wrong book!”
Thought she, as she spotted seven dwarves sitting on a perch.
Perhaps if she stopped to chat they’d help her find the cat,
But only one was able to give her a hint of where to search.
The useful dwarf is “Doc”. There is a dock on Loeb Lake that is visible from the hiding spot. “Perch” is also a bit of a hint referring to the fact that one can fish in the lake (it’s meant to be a children’s fishing pond).
Clue #8
Then Alice did see Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Like goofs standing very still as if they were unaware
Then alive they came, saying to win us this tiny game
You will first have to perfectly eliminate every last pair.
If you eliminate every pair of letters in this clue, the remaining, unpaired letters can be arranged to spell ROCK. The cat was hidden inside of a fake rock made from a carved foam brick and colored with ash. There is also a rock garden in Marydale.
Clue #9
To the left or to the right? Oh what an awful plight!
Which one was correct Alice could not quite say.
After she went to depart, she finished at the start,
Though a catfish in the middle pointed the right way.
Finishing at the start suggests walking in a circle which in turn suggests a park with a lake you can walk around. On the far side of the lake from the main entrance there is a sign with a picture of a catfish on it. The catfish points in the direction one will find the treasure.
Clue #10
The Gryphon told of a mystery in treasure hunt history
And the paradox of it was really quite twisted
Surely it’s forbidden for the treasure to have been hidden
In a park before it ever even officially existed!
The Winter Carnival Medallion was hidden at Marydale in 1972. Yet it didn’t officially become a park until 1974!
Clue #11
Alice packed her basket with toast and headed west for the coast
Where she found the Mock Turtle doing a dance under the moon.
With a sugar push and a tuck turn, he made Alice want to learn,
And the two of them did a dance until it was a little before noon.
“Basket”, “Sugar Push”, and “Tuck Turn” are all dance moves in West Coast Swing. There is a set of swings very near the treasure site. A little before noon suggests the time is eleven something. The address of Marydale is on the 1100 block of Dale (as evidenced by the 1120 address on the restroom building).
Clue #12
At the Queen’s soiree everyone played some croquet,
But Alice still hadn’t been able to find the Cheshire Cat
Then the White Rabbit ran by crying out, “My oh my!
Marydale Park is the place that I simply must be at!”
With movement quite deft the White Rabbit went to the left
And followed the trail to a group of tables near a swing.
Alice went to lean on a tree for so very tired was she,
When she kicked over a rock and said, “Here’s the thing!”
The cat was hidden in Marydale Park. If you enter the park from the main parking lot and go around the trail to the left, you will find a group of picnic tables and amongst the tables there are some trees scattered. At the base of one of the trees was a fake rock with the cat hidden inside.
I had just got there and was talking to her and kicking over the cement block AW was talking about. She said she had to get her kids to school soon and would leave in a couple minutes. She walked over there and found it in the depression area. She said she thought it didn't look real. Looked pretty real to me...
at least I didn't have to hunt long
I even looked over there before I left yesterday. I couldn't hunt last night
you were so close!
I'm glad I got to the park so that the explanations make sense to me. And I'm also glad that I was at least right about what side of the lake to hunt, even though I didn't. I should have taken that walk I was talking about. ;)
had every clue figured out perfectly!
I HAD MY CHANCE LAST NITE(I was soooo close to it...I told you all the swings!!!!).......grrrrr.....nice job agian ME2...
Who was there this morning besides you two?
you gotta go with your hunches!
yep last nite I started turning over rocks...thinking ...HOW CAN I NOT SEE A ROCK???...thanks on the 'relay on that from me2 to m2k to me....
now I should change my tagline to so close in Marydale!
Wow good job me2 but you should of screamed or something I was at the park from 7:30 to 9:00 this morn I left cause I felt it had been found-of course i was on the wrong side but cool!
I have 50 bucks for ya jana and a box of old news papers -- I will call ya tonite or tomorrow!
Again good job me2---Ok you found AW's when there people looking you can feel ok now!
Me2's second aw find! Whaaawhooo
Even though my hunch was based on a clue I had deciphered wrong, it would have worked. lol Not that I would have found it, probably not.
somebody needs to warn the others that are on the way out right now ...like LL...
at least the ones I'v seen found
Lil' roaster was turning over rocks yesterday all around the park! Musta missed that one :( We even walked into that depression around the tree :) Congrats Me2!!!
Dedicated to Me2!
daylight?..early hunters ..slow down and think....
then it shows up??? oh and thats the time the RABBITS come outta the holes..
I showed up when she was on the phone with AW
then noticed the rock!
There was no snow on it
too far away to see??? I think so...
Yay Me2!
I THINK the lightpost in the far center is post 12
I said "Sorry? Why? You should be happy! You deserve it!"
It was cute
I'm soo happy for her...
also I'm very glad tonight I will be able to sleep vs. thinking maybe I can sneak away (and hunt) even if I gotta get up at 3am for a flight outta town.....
gives me an idea..until IAN posts some photo's ...
awsome job on the clues!
Thank you. Glad people liked them. I was actually a bit worried they weren't as good as the last couple of years.
Hope you have a great trip! Sorry I misled you yesterday at the park.