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2016 - Bald Eagle Otter Lake

Submitted by ares on
Clue 1

Last year's rich bounty was found in the county 
A new park for all to explore 
This year's bauble will cause you no trouble 
If the rules are kept in the fore 

Clue 2

Some may well kvetch that the horizon's sketch 
Has artifacts rather than trees 
But if you follow the plan pure gold you will pan 
And life will be but a breeze 

Clue 3

Old Ma Press has moved from her nest 
Cross the water from her former home 
From the top of her perch you may want to search 
For a playground that's fit to roam 

Clue 4

The spot this year goes well with beer 
And water in great profusion. 
But when the crowd is a bit too loud 
It offers quiet seclusion. 

Clue 5

If young Huck Finn had a boy twin 
He might have camped here awhile 
Like him you're wishin' that good luck fishin' 
You'll find treasure to keep you in style 

Clue 6

Man against beast, or that tale at least 
Is being told and with much spirit. 
If hunting's just you and a man or two 
Listen close so that you can hear it. 

Clue 7

The wait is long and the siren song 
Calls people summer to spring. 
Ticket in hand, go find the land 
Where the route takes to the wing. 

Clue 8

Keep your attention rapt and you'll be apt 
To find the medallion, it's clear 
Just follow the map - don't take a nap! 
To see that the X marks here 

Clue 9

A place for dogs, lined by pollywogs, 
Will bring you closer yet. 
So if you veer very far from here; 
You’ll end up with a nap that is wet. 

The election goes on, our misery prolonged 
Til payday for the winning party 
Tall and delicate, will a broke delegate 
Cast a ballot for greed or tea? 

Clue 10

Don’t be careless and venture out hairless 
In temperatures bound to freeze-bite 
Fly straight as an arrow and down in your marrow 
You’ll trust that the goods are in sight. 

Work without thanks is sticking up banks 
Even if the fuzz has your back 
Idle at the lake, a short respite to take 
It’s a good place to set a sack. 

Clue 11

An ink-stained wretch, not apt to kvetch 
Sited a plat along the wood. 
Over a cigar, under northern star, 
Now it’s lit up pretty good. 

Be straight of stride, or float your ride, 
N-no sputtering about. 
Son if you’ve starred flipping card for a bard, 
You’ll know you’re on the right route.




 

Terry

That works if one is a Wild fan! :eek: :eek: :eek:
Fri, 01/29/2016 - 9:53 PM Permalink
Smore

From Wiki: "In Greek mythology, the Sirens (Greek singular: Σειρήν Seirēn;[1] Greek plural: Σειρῆνες Seirēnes) were dangerous yet beautiful creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island."

Back to the Island. I'm starting to feel like Gilligan!
Fri, 01/29/2016 - 9:59 PM Permalink
MrsMGhunter

Keep reading down and you'll see the meadow comment. This is a interesting clue!
Fri, 01/29/2016 - 10:01 PM Permalink
dogma13

Sirens in greek mythology were half bird and half women. They were said to the daughters of some river god. They did not actually live in the sea but near the shores to entice the sailors to come to their voices and crash upon the rocks.
Fri, 01/29/2016 - 10:02 PM Permalink
Terry

n the Odyssey, the Sirens sing a song so irresistible that none can hear it and escape. Circe warns Odysseus of the danger and tells him how to avoid it. He must plug up his mens' ears with beeswax, and have himself tied to the mast, if he wishes to hear it:

Square in your ship's path are Sirens, crying

    beauty to bewitch men coasting by;

    woe to the innocent who hears that sound!

    He will not see his lady nor his children

    in joy, crowding about him, home from sea;

    the Sirens will sing his mind away

    on their sweet meadow lolling. There are bones

    of dead men rotting in a pile beside them

    and flayed skins shrivel around the spot.

    Steer wide;

    keep well to seaward; plug your oarsmen's ears

    with beeswax kneaded soft; none of the rest

    should hear that song.

    But if you wish to listen,

    let the men tie you in the lugger, hand

    and foot, back to the mast, lashed to the mast,

    so you may hear those harpies' thrilling voices;

    shout as you will, begging to be untied,

    your crew must only twist more line around you

    and keep their stroke up, till the singers fade. (Book 12, 41-58)

As with the lethal text, the implication is that the song has irresistible force. Unlike ordinary language, it cannot be merely heard: it must also be obeyed. Also like lethal texts, it is self-reflexive, in that it is about itself:

Sweet coupled airs we sing.

    No lonely seafarer

    Holds clear of entering

    Our green mirror. (Book 12, 173-176)

The Odyssey is unique, however, in actually giving the contents of the lethal text. None of the other works with lethal texts do. They merely describe its outward form. (Apparently the text isn't too dangerous in translation and without the original music.)

It is perhaps worth mentioning that the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey emits a shrill, siren-like sound when it first sees sunlight. And like the Sirens, it is extraordinarily compelling. None can see it and not be drawn to it. Like the Sirens, it too is a lethal text.
Fri, 01/29/2016 - 10:03 PM Permalink
Terry

I'm out of here for the night. Goodnight and SCDs!
Fri, 01/29/2016 - 10:15 PM Permalink
dogma13

Isn't there a small airport over there in St. Paul?
Fri, 01/29/2016 - 10:24 PM Permalink
Smore

Thanks for the noodle, Terry! I guess we'll all have to lash ourselves to our cars, or shovels or something like that. I'll stop and get some beewax on my way down there tomorrow afternoon. :smile:
Fri, 01/29/2016 - 11:30 PM Permalink
King Boreas aka Ian

Interesting link. Thanks!
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 5:34 AM Permalink
Neecie

Clue 7 could be BVNS.

Siren: That area was a railroad hub so there would be train "sirens" blowing a warning.

Tickets: Could be passenger tickets for the train

Long time: It took a long time for the city to do anything with the land and make it a park area.

Where the route takes wing: nearer where the birds would be, maybe near the ponds.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 5:39 AM Permalink
Neecie

They used "siren" in clue 4 in 2005. It was to get us to Homer Street.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 5:41 AM Permalink
mrmnmikey

Siren Song: Dylan reference

highway 61 revisited: Between each verse Dylan is heard blowing an imitation police whistle, known as a "Siren Whistle",[4] brought in by Sam Lay who was drummer on the Highway 61 sessions as noted by Tony Glover in the liner notes to Live 1966.

Positivly 4th St (Fore) (a Dylan Song) leads to BVNS
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 7:27 AM Permalink
witchdoctor

Check Facebook site.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 7:42 AM Permalink
queenmalley

Yes!
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 7:56 AM Permalink
queenmalley

The first zoo in Saint Paul was on Harriet Island in 1897
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:32 AM Permalink
GreenTeam

"The wait is long..."

Did anyone see that there's a Short St. near BVNS?
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 9:20 AM Permalink
becksie

These hunts are siren songs! :pbpt:
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 9:25 AM Permalink
GreenTeam

Hi Becksie! I remember talking to you last year near the funny tree, just a few feet away from the med! I bet you guys walked right over it coming up that hill! :grin:
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 9:29 AM Permalink
nancydrew

So no one's jumping to Crosby? It too is a bird retreat.The route could be the Mississippi, the only transportation route 150 years ago, now there's airports.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 11:26 AM Permalink
TickTack

Anybody else piecing together Bob Dylan noodles?
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 12:03 PM Permalink
witchdoctor

Rumor has it that vento paid his way through college by working on his aunt Maggie's farm.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 1:19 PM Permalink
GreenTeam

Do you think tonight's clue will narrow it down a bit as to where in the park it is?

Or will we just get park park park park til clue 11 or so?
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 3:10 PM Permalink
Downtown Dave

Just got back from Vento. Pretty busy place. Bigger than you would expect. One more day of this weather and the puck will just pop up. Saw a lot of familiar faces.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 3:26 PM Permalink
Downtown Dave

Very noisy for a nature center, with two freeways, four rail lines and an airport.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 3:28 PM Permalink
TickTack

When we left BV last night at around 1, the back half looked like a tornado had gone through it. Really hoping tonight's clue sends us elsewhere - I haven't enjoyed the time we've spent there this week. Boring!
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 3:48 PM Permalink
queenmalley

Are all the BVNS grounds getting wrecked?! Sad, it's a nature sanctuary and being restored!
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 4:01 PM Permalink
queenmalley

Interesting as heck!!
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 4:01 PM Permalink
Downtown Dave

At night, that place would be a lot harder. Enough groundwater to make it squishy if you can't see where you are going
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 4:09 PM Permalink
TickTack

That trampled long grass probably isn't a big deal and the ground is pretty well frozen, but some much thicker vegetation at the far end looked like somebody had taken a sickle to it!
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 4:16 PM Permalink
Eags

Did anyone else see Ian's post somewhere that Bruce Vento is off-limits to geocachers? He was thinking that the medallion would not be hidden there for that reason. It would be too disruptive to the nature sanctuary.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 5:02 PM Permalink
Terry

I believe if it was really off limits, it would have been in the rules that names other places that are off limits.

My guess is if there is too much damage, it will be in the rules next year.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 5:08 PM Permalink
RudeRat

I pulled a bunch of garbage out of Vento with mrmnmikey several days ago. Haven't been back since, but I can only imagine what it looks like by now.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 5:52 PM Permalink
Brassmonkey

Just like the press released a statement on their FB page about the ski trails, they would let us know if they wanted us out of BVNS
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 6:09 PM Permalink
Terry

That would be likely. Ma Press does have a way of communicating when they need to do so.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 7:03 PM Permalink
Dmrufio

The airport is across from that area of the river. Where the route takes wing, by the Air port?
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:01 PM Permalink
becksie

Yes, we did! I almost searched that tree but it was already dug up (well, apparently I should have looked there myself)
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:01 PM Permalink
becksie

They haven't even said "Park" yet. I think they are giving us plenty of clues...unfortunately, I/we haven't been able to crack them! :goofy:
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:07 PM Permalink
Terry

Park is mentioned in the first clue - referring to last year's hunt, but that word might infer it be a park this year that we are more familiar with.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:17 PM Permalink
Terry

Seems there is some tom foolery going on...

Real Clue 8 scramble:

be the map the and follow see rapt itÂ’s nap!

the to attention that take clear

Just a find medallion, your keep marks

youÂ’ll X here apt to donÂ’t
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:33 PM Permalink
Smore

I agree. I also think that they are trying to tell us it's on the south side of the river. There is a restaurant on Plato called Las Sirenas. Also, interesting that they say path and not road. I was thinking back to Harriet last night...Wigington Pavillion...ticket to the Padleford? I don't know, just my stream of consciousness here.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:37 PM Permalink
Dmrufio

I am new to this site. So how do you get the scrambled clue? and are those the words that are going to be in Clue #8 ? :eyeroll:
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:39 PM Permalink
mrmnmikey

x marks spot on map

clear rapt?
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:40 PM Permalink
Terry

Welcome. The scrambled clue is in the link mrmnmikey posted. Those are the words that will end up in the actual clue.

I post 'em, used to try to unscramble them, but have decided looking for any key words and waiting for the unscrambled clue is better for me.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:44 PM Permalink
Terry

I deleted the one that was incorrect.

The link still works.
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:45 PM Permalink
mrmnmikey

I deleted the post. I cant verify nothing right now
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:46 PM Permalink
Terry

Clue 8 scramble:

be the map the and follow see rapt itÂ’s nap!

the to attention that take clear

Just a find medallion, your keep marks

youÂ’ll X here apt to donÂ’t
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 8:49 PM Permalink