2014 Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt

This clue is just meant to give you the park. “see few owe fees”, “top spot”, and “never odd or even” are all palindromes. (I thought “elite title” was also, but you get the idea). This was a reference to the last palindromic year we had, 2002, when the Winter Carnival medallion was hidden at Merriam Park. Although if you took “lot” to mean either parking lot or playground (tot lot), it wasn’t intended, but you wouldn’t have been wrong.

“Rampart” is meant to imply a hilly terrain while “hand over heart” and “our colors” are a reference to the flag flying in a yard across the street which I believe is just visible from the hiding spot. “St. Paul’s most prominent peak” is actually a reference to Summit Ave. which runs west from downtown, thus telling you the park is in the NW quadrant of the city.

While there are a couple of picnic tables and one grill in the park, “A picnic this ain’t” is meant to tell you that the park has no picnic shelters or formal picnic area. The second and third lines are meant to tell you that if you are on the street next to the park, then the medallion would be found over your head, which is to say up the hill. The last line is a historical clue. When Mr. Merriam designed this neighborhood he meant it as a place for professionals to live and even imposed a requirement that all houses built there must cost at least $1,500, which of course was still a lot of money back then.

This clue incorporates all four seasons in one way or another which is a reference to the Four Seasons Elementary School located in the park. Also, the waterfall in question is St. Anthony Falls as St. Anthony Ave. runs into the park.

“That which came before” is a reference to Prior Ave. which runs along the east side of the park. The place covered in dust refers to the softball fields which are covered in diamond dust and are clearly visible from the hiding spot. Sorry, no anagrams here. Just a hint that the place in question isn’t actually a building.

“Chutes and Ladders” is a playground reference as not just one, but two playgrounds are visible from the hiding spot and each have both slides and things to climb. The “century mark” is a reference to a sign on the fencing around the tennis courts meaning the treasure wasn’t too far from the tennis courts.

“Less controlled” is a reference to Wilder St. on the west side of the park. “Not less but more”is a reference to Moore St. which runs into the park.

The road to go far is Interstate 94 which will not only go far, it goes to Fargo and runs right alongside the north side of the park. The invisible court is Stinson Court which is labeled as a street on maps but is really just a parking lot. “Arch supports” refers to a keystone which is the middle stone in an arch that supports it. Keystone is also the name of the program housed in the rec center building.

Kind of a crazy math clue. “Hypotenuse” implies a triangle which in turn is meant to imply that the path from A to B, where the treasure is, is not just a straight line, but also uphill. From up on the hill where the treasure is you can look down and see the skate park where people do things that seems to defy physics on geometrical shapes.

This tells you that the treasure is just hidden out on open ground where a lawn mower might go and also that it is hidden under leaves.

The last line of this clue is meant to give you the park- “am I mere-“ = “Merriam”. The rest of it is meant to tell you that the treasure is hidden in a line with the net from the tennis court.

This describes a path to the treasure, going first to Merriam Park and then climbing the stairs on Wilder to take the path up the hill towards the tennis courts (where people rally). Then line yourself up with the net and go downhill until you are right between two large trees and you should find the treasure right there on the ground under some leaves.