2016 Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt

The easy part of this clue is straightforward. Don’t bother looking in the woods. There was enough of that between Bald Eagle and Crosby. On a more subtle level, the use of the word “surreptitious” is meant to suggest something hidden while “going down” is something that happens when you fall. Together they vaguely hint at Hidden Falls. “Going down” also describes the experience of entering the park. Lingering near the edge hints that park is on the border of St. Paul and the medallion is also hidden on the edge of a slab of concrete.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is based in Cleveland. Cleveland was also the name of the man who started St. Paul’s park program with four original parks, of which Hidden Falls was one. Cleveland Ave. also runs into the park.Also, alcohol is forbidden in the park. It was also pointed out that Hall of Fame has the same initials as Hidden Falls.

For the most part this clue is saying once you enter the park and park your car, the medallion is located on that same level. Going a little deeper, “on the level” was also used in a clue for Hidden Falls in 2007 and was the alleged clue that Rob Brass told Jake Ingebrigtson about that led to Jake finding the Winter Carnival treasure.

The easy, though not very helpful clue here says the park shares a name with a street, in this case Hidden Falls Dr. But the real clue was in the 2nd line. Ignore the first word and it tells you what you need to know, “you want to search for something concrete.” This refers to the concrete slab under one of the picnic tables as the treasure was hidden in the corner of such a slab.

The first line comes from the song “Gimme Shelter’ and refers to the picnic shelters one can see a little ways away from the hiding spot. Polaris is the North Star and hints that you want the northern section of the park. Getting a little more technical, if you were looking at Polaris, and the picnic shelters at the same time, you would be south of the shelters and close to the treasure.

There are lots of trails in the park and people can often be seen walking their dogs there. But the clue also implies a large park with long trails that have lots of trees along them.

When is the veil thin? It’s at Halloween that they say the veil between worlds is thinnest. If one were to research Halloween events that take place in St. Paul parks, it shouldn’t take too long to come across the Barebones show which takes place every Halloween in Hidden Falls. Featuring fire dancers, people on stilts, shadow puppets, and other scary creatures this show should clearly resonate as the one referred to in the clue. The skeleton reference also helps reinforce the name Barebones. If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend it.

This clue makes use of treasure hunt history. The short time span refers to Jake’s 2007 find in Hidden Falls which only took 3 clues. The “crappy” reference hints at the 1993 hunt when it was hidden in a diaper in Hidden Falls. “Crappy” also alludes to the outhouse which is visible from the hiding spot.

This clue tells you that the park not only has water, but running water in a couple of places, namely the Mississippi River and Hidden Falls Creek. The third line refers to the boat launch, and the fourth line refers to the parking lots between the boat launch and the hiding spot as the boat launch was not near the treasure.

Bing is an easy clue for Crosby, but it it’s Crosby’s neighbor, Hidden Falls that you want. The clue also refers to something near the treasure, but does not name it specifically. Unless of course you look at the start of each line which gives you “B-B-Q Mmmmm”. This alludes to the grill near the hiding spot.

Corner is actually a clue that the medallion is hidden in the corner of a concrete slab under a picnic table. The picnic tables in that area come in three colors, red, green, and blue. These are (more or less) the three primary colors of light (avoid the dark).

And this clue basically tells you where to look. The corner where the treasure is hidden is under a blue picnic table and is marked by a crack.