2016 Mesabi Daily News Medallion Hunt

The first clue is always pretty basic, but clues are cumulative, so it doesn’t hurt to look back at the initial ones, as medallion winner Kimmie Hall did, paying attention to, she said, the phrase “merry seasonal adventure.”

Launch, in this case, is a reference to a boat launch; there is a boat launch/landing at Lake Ore-be-gone. Contrived — something that is created or artificial — like the lake itself.

The medallion winners noticed Robin Hood references early on — meant to get you to the adjoining Sherwood Forest Campground area. The first is actually in this clue. Merry Men are the outlaws who follow Robin Hood in the English folklore, and “The Adventures...” or the “Merry Adventures of Robin Hood” are names of books and films.

Of course, there are lots of adventures to be had at the lake, which, we may add, contains a number of submerged hidden treasures.

It’s only day two, so being vague is still part of the game here. However, vanished is a reference to “gone.” Ore is no longer mined in these three pits that were flooded to form Lake Ore-be-gone. The Iron Range ore here is gone.

Red light in the fourth line is a hint (red-light district) that the medallion is located in Gilbert, which boasts a colorful past as a center for prostitution and is infamous for its proposition, you might say, to hold a festival called Whorehouse Days.

The medallion winners said they wondered, as they worked through the clues, if there were any references to storyteller and radio personality Garrison Keillor, who created the fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon. (Ore-be-gone is a pun on Wobegon).

Clue Two is the first of a few that allude to “Wobegon.” Line three: “It’s winter, snow flakes are falling ...” Keillor started his Lake Wobegon stories with a glimpse of the weather, beginning with the season, such as, “It’s winter, snowflakes are falling like little jewels from heaven...”

A very subtle reference to Keillor’s radio show, “A Prairie Home Companion,” is also in this clue. The word “home;” a big green space (prairie); “kick aside” (sidekick, or companion).

Ah, here we are really starting to get somewhere. There are many trails in the vicinity where one can take a jaunt. There are ATV and snowmobile trails, and the Mesabi Trail, where you can wheel on by on your bicycle. It’s up to you.

And, yes, there is very much to do — all of the above, plus a campground and a lake for swimming, boating, fishing, and scuba diving.

The imposter is the lake itself. It is central to this area. It is fun. And the lake’s name is a pun on Kellior’s Lake Wobegon, which, if you are familiar, is said to be in central Minnesota.

This was once an active mining area, and indeed, there are many activities in which to partake. But the beach and campground are also places to sit and relax — take a slower pace.

There is a lot going on in this clue. The winners correctly figured out the Robin Hood suggestion, piecing together “arrow” from Arrowhead with the word “bow” to get bow and arrow — Robin Hood was a skilled archer. Robin Hood is also a musical/play, where performers would take a bow.

One of four — the Quad Cities, of which Gilbert belongs; and three of a kind — three open-pit mines were flooded and merged to form Lake Ore-be-gone. Speaking of which, “open mind” sounds like “open mine.”

The remnant of yore refers to the lake’s former life as a mine and, technically, the old tale of Robin Hood. The actual Sherwood Forest is a remnant of an older, much larger, royal hunting forest.

The last line hints at the sunken treasures (a rail car, helicopter, etc.) in the Gilbert lake that draw scuba divers to probe and explore. They are essentially located far out, and far out is slang for unconventional. There’s not much conventional about those things underwater. By the way, Probe is a brand of wetsuits and scuba gear.

Tales here refers to the fictional stories that allude to this place — Robin Hood and Lake Wobegon, the first being older than the latter. Also, there is the merging of new and old at the lake — mine pits turned recreation area; and “lore” or folklore (Robin Hood).

Additionally, the chilling stories told when the weather is not cold implies ghost stories that are told around a campfire, aiming to get you to somewhere near the campground area.

“Tune in” relates to tuning in to a radio program (Keillor’s Lake Wobegon radio shows).

And “some more” sounds like s’more — something you would eat around a campfire.

Robin Hood is a legendary medieval character, and there are both medieval and English implications in this clue, such as the British spelling of the word maneuver.

The powerful towers that last for only a while alludes to sand castles — something beach-goers like to construct at Ore-be-gone’s beach and castles are rather medieval.

In the first line, woods of the north simply means Sherwood Forest and, again, this is a royal hunting forest and castles are rather royal.

Playing and having fun and smiling — all things you do when recreating at the lake/campground.

Riches, or treasures, for hopefuls of this kind there are many. We are talking about scuba divers who frequent Lake Ore-be-gone to uncover the hidden underwater features — a sunken rail car, a plane, a helicopter, and other “riches.”

Riches — remember Robin Hood stole from the rich.

While these treasures are to be explored and perhaps documented with photos, they are not monetarily valuable for those hoping to find them. And they are rather uncanny — out of place in their submersed homes.

The medallion is above ground, and a seeker need less armor — less equipment than a diver. Armor — also think medieval times (Robin Hood).

The quest for the medallion is not as deep-seated, or at such a deep level.

You can walk way out into the lake on the floating fishing pier. And the many trails of the area would be somewhere behind you.

There is natural beauty all around, but the lake is still artificial and designed. Not to mention, many other man-made features are nearby. You could even go as far as to say the retaining wall where the medallion is located and the brick on the ground around it consists of a design.

We would like to think the word unspoiled makes you think of the word spoils, another way of saying stolen goods. Robin hood, as you know, was an outlaw. It’s a stretch, yes, but sometimes our brains work this way.

The medallion is near the beach, and clearly the popular beach is less crowed in the winter.

However, snowmobile trails, for instance, are in the vicinity, and in the winter they still attract adventurers.

We have done this before, so we did again. Take the first letter of each line: L-O-B-G. Lake Ore-be-gone!

Of course, everything else in this clue is true, as well.

Submerged in Lake Ore-be-gone are a number of, shall we say, modes of transportation — the treasures we talked of earlier. A rail car, a plane, a Jeep and a boat are among them.

No oars are needed underwater when diving to these treasures. Ore is a play on the word “ore.” Surge is a reference to water. And a surge of water creates a flood. The mine pits were flooded to create the lake.

Oars for boating on warmer days would be fine, for boating on the lake is also a favorite pastime. Toastier — perhaps this word reminds you of toasting marshmallows, like at the nearby campground?

This was a fun clue to write and we like to think some of you stumped earlier caught on with this. (Might we also note, on the day this riddle ran, there were many, shall we say signs, that clue readers had been searching out at Lake Ore-be-gone. Yes, we saw a number of footprints.)

Back to Line 2: The medallion, looking out from its perch in the wall (which has a castle-like feel, for a medallion that size, anyway) can literally observe the posted signs on the lake’s changing house.

One of those signs states the beach’s rules — guidelines.

The other sign it can “see” talks of the lake’s dive sites, made possible by “Tall Pine Scuba” in cooperation with the city.

This clue aims at getting you pretty much straight to the medallion. It is at the lake named after Lake Wobegon; it is near the shelter where people change clothes; it is in the retaining wall by the chaining house — in one of the hallows (or holes) to be more specific.