2012 Hugo Spike

Spring winds have done their bit of blowin,’
It’s now been months since it stopped snowin.’
As spring into the summer spins,
June 7, Hugo’s fête begins!
Thursday through Sunday at Lions Park,
The fun takes place. Come leave your mark.

Good Neighbor Days is here at last!
As treasure, Spike is unsurpassed—
The holy grail of the serious searcher,
The love for adventure must be nurtured.
So bring the spouse, the progeny
To the city’s parks—all seventeen.

In this treasure marathon,
One thing you may depend upon.
Spike on public land is hidden.
No need to trespass. It’s forbidden.
Shovels, spades and digging? No way.
Spike’s above such things, okay?
Leave the spade at home as your good deed.
Read the rules. They’re easy to read.

Your Spike success long overdue?
Don’t miss a clue! Dreams do come true.
From park to park, go make the lap
Guided by an Open Space map.

Spike’s opinion of Facebooking?
“It’s a useless substitute for looking.”
Get off your duff, go shake a gam—
A thousand bucks is on the lam.

In a pickle? In a jam?
Spike-hunting needs the whole darn fam(ily).
Before you start to chase your tails,
Find a park with walking trails.

In this park, bird nests accrue.
Deer pass through; rabbits, too!
In Hugo’s game of hide and seek,
There is no need for soggy feet
To find your golden souvenir.
We hope this clue is crystal clear.

Whose Wood this is should now have dawned.
Of a Hundred Acres, it falls just shy,
With a bridge for Pooh-sticks, by and by
Beyond the wetlands and the pond.
To locate Spike, first you must pass
Through woodland trails for sunny grass.
Treasure hunts are such a gas!

Before your final treasure sprint,
A moment’s time for this small hint:
Beyond the ponds, take the second right;
Fix a building in your sight—
Now pirouette just halfway round.
Spike is waiting to be found!
Near half-past two (in the afternoon?)
You’ll be humming Spikey’s victory tune.

In Clearwater Creek Preserve Spike is hidden.
Make sure you’ve gone where you were bidden—
Beyond the ponds, the second trail.
(There is no curve, this is pass-fail.)
First, sight the townhomes beyond the park.
Then toward the orange pipeline sign
Step forty paces in a line
Along the trail (it’s mowed) to find
Some saplings, left. They serve to mark
Spike’s shaded resting place, below—
The finder prize we’ll soon bestow.