BY MEGAN ANDERSON - SUN NEWSPAPERS
Sometimes two heads are better than one.
That's true for Becki Pope of South St. Paul and Brad TeGantvoort of Inver Grove Heights, who teamed up to win the Inver Grove Heights Days Golden Star Treasure Hunt.
The reward for their efforts was $500 from Sun Newspapers, which sponsored the hunt with Inver Grove Heights Parks and Recreation.
This isn't the first time the two friends have successfully solved a treasure hunt. Both members of a treasure-hunting group called the Cooler Crew who enjoy geocaching, Pope and TeGantvoort are experienced hunters.
The main event for the Cooler Crew's 300 members is hunting for the St. Paul Winter Carnival medallion, TeGantvoort said.
Three years ago, Pope found the Inver Grove Heights Days Golden Star in Oakwood Park.
"We are kind of avid medallion hunters," Pope said. "Inver Grove Heights Days is personally my favorite hunting event."
This year the city put up five clues a day at City Hall starting Sept. 3. Pope and TeGantvoort used all 15 of the clues to find the star Sept. 5.
While the hunt was going on, TeGantvoort said he was bedridden by a swollen ankle and couldn't go out to search for the star. "I looked at the clues," he said. "It was killing me that I couldn't get out there."
But after getting off work, Pope said she swung by to pick up TeGantvoort and they were on the hunt.
The pair put their heads together going over the clues. One clue mentioned swinging a racquet, which Pope determined meant the park had tennis courts.
Another hint about "a seed," was what Pope said helped her zero in on Salem Hills Park because it has a tree nursery. "The seed clue solidified it," she said.
Not wanting her friend to move around, Pope left TeGantvoort at a park bench and went looking around the park.
While walking around the natural area of the park, Pope said she saw other people tracking the golden star.
Knowing that TeGantvoort wouldn't sit still for long, Pope decided to cut back through along a path off the normal trail.
When she came out of the path, she noticed rocks unusually embedded where she was walking through. "The rocks piqued my interest right away," she said. One clue had referred to Zen and Pope interpreted that meant sand or rocks.
Spotting an evergreen tree, Pope looked underneath and discovered the golden star hidden in the base branches. Pope said she hadn't been looking for 10 minutes when she found the star.
"I was just thrilled," she said. "I resisted the urge to yell out that I had found it."
If she hadn't gone along the path to cut back to TeGantvoort, Pope said she probably wouldn't have found the star.
As experienced hunters, Pope and TeGantvoort said there's a thought process to figuring out clues. "You have to think outside the box," TeGantvoort said.
"Don't make the part fit the clues," Pope said. "You have to let them guide you."
One fun part about hunts in Inver Grove Heights and other cities, Pope said, is that it gives people an opportunity to discover different areas and parks.
Pope said she plans to split the prize with TeGantvoort. Participating in treasure hunts isn't always about the reward, Pope said. "A lot of it is just the fun of doing it," she said.
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