2007 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt II
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To hunt hard from first to last clues
Medallion I is history. Now a new mystery
Begins -- strap on your hunting shoes
To some it's demented, for all unprecedented
But hunters' thirst must be quenched
Tell sister and brother we've hidden another
In a park where a body can be benched
Our 2nd prize? Don't laugh -- 10-thou cut in half
So get out there even if it's snowy
And as a special bonus -- some might say an onus --
A meal with our own Clueless Joey
Good hunting to you, let this be the first clue
Think of a woodsy retreat
It won't be so hard if you channel the bard
You'll get warm and smell as sweet
We end the first hunt and begin a second in a park with ample benches, woods and a relation to "the bard." We referred to Shakespeare, who wrote: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other word would smell as sweet." Hunters would "get warm" by heeding this clue and heading to Roseville.
Given the shortened nature of this hunt (9 clues instead of 12) because of the record-setting find of the first, this clue gets you off and running at a point where you'd normally expect a fourth clue to get you, referring to either Roseville or Rose Ave. Kudos to the clue writers on putting this together on such short notice.
Near flora with growing pain
Winter or summer is never a bummer
A menagerie of fun wild or tame
We tell hunters that the medallion is in a big park that has both winter and summer activities. Flora with growing pain refers to a nearby wildlife area. A menagerie is "a diverse collection" -- in this case of "fun wild and tame," referring to our park's high-intensity activities, such as volleyball and baseball, as well as the tamer stuff such as the fishing pier and cross-country skiing.
This clue, with the thinking big reference, pretty much excludes anything along Rose Ave. (although it does run into Como Park on the west end of the street and Beaver Lake park on the East), restricting hunters to Roseville. Thinking big gets you to Roseville's Central Park, although the wildlife area reference is a bit obscure, since the puck was found practically in people's back yards.
We had to stash a second
Round you go if you seek to know
Where swatters of orbs are beckoned
We lament the solving of Treasure Hunt I on the third clue and mention that we quickly hid a second medallion. It is near a path that loops from parking lot to lake and back to parking lot; also nearby are two baseball fields.
This clue is actually fairly decent, narrowing down the area of the park. Two ball field areas exist within the park. One set, containing two fields, are at the western end. The other set, six fields, is east of Victoria. The only caveat with this clue is that it doesn't exactly pinpoint which set it is, despite the path reference in the explanation.
If cell phones are left at home.
Heed the siren of your desirin'
And do not revolt against this poem.
Take the first word in the first line, second word in the second line, third in the third and fourth in the fourth, and you have "a cell siren revolt" -- an anagram for "Roseville Central." The medallion was hidden in Roseville's Central Park.
A nice anagrammatic puzzle. Unfortunately there were no clues as to how to determine which words were part of the anagram. That keeps this clue from getting a 5.
With a handy locating device.
Fulfill your wishes, like loaves and fishes,
And put your victory on ice.
This refers, rather obliquely, to streets near the park: Dale, Sextant ("handy locating device"), Aladdin ("fulfill your wishes"), and Victoria ("victory").
Great street references. Unfortunately, two of them pull you to the eastern end of the park instead of the western end where the puck was hidden.
Might put you oh so close to the spot
With the whites of your eyes, you should look for the prize
Within this convenient plot
The famous singer is Tony Bennett, a reference to Bennett Lake in Central Park. "Diamond dinger" refers to nearby baseball fields. And the "whites of your eyes" is a reference to a Revolutionary War saying, which could lead to nearby Lexington Avenue, which shares the name with a famous Revolutionary War battle site.
Fine clue, guys. Fine clue. It put hunters in the correct end of the park. For what amounts to a clue 9 in any other hunt, this one is spot on.
The home of the park that you seek
It's just north of town so come on down
Our hunt is not for the meek
We direct hunters to Roseville, north of St. Paul.
Kind of a redundant clue. It gets the last holdouts of a suburban hunt into the suburbs, but most hunters would have already been there.
Lexington Avenue will show you the way
Your spirits won't sag when you see the big flag
Into the trees you want to stray
We direct anguished hunters to Central Park in Roseville, and more specifically to the Lexington Avenue entrance. The clue mentions the flagpole at the entrance and refers to woods not far away.
This one clarifies the "whites of their eyes" reference made in an earlier clue, and reinforces the western end of the park. Not bad for a virtual clue 11.
Follow the path to where children run free
From their footbridge draw a line to houses through pine
From the path, 20 steps to a tree
On this all agree: do not harm the tree
In the snow at the base is your mark
If all look the same you can end the game
Near a trunk with a split in the bark
This directs hunters to the exact spot. From the Lexington Avenue entrance to Roseville's Central Park, take the walking path to the children's playground. Lined up with the footbridge and nearby houses, walk 20 steps from the path to the base of a tree. The medallion was hidden next to this tree, between the walking path and the houses. The tree in question has a split in the bark at its base. Hunters are encouraged to not damage trees.
Interesting in that the "x marks the spot" clue is effectively split between two different clues. Yesterday we got the Lexington bit. Today we get the final bit.