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2018 Portland Rose Festival Medallion Hunt

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Clues will appear daily by 6 a.m. on Oregonlive.com/rosefest, for 14 days between May 27 and June 9, the day of the big Grand Floral Parade. Readers can also sign up for a daily Treasure Hunt newsletter at Oregonlive.com/hunt.

Here's what you need to know about this year's hunt:

  • The clues lead to a small metal case with a 2.5 inch by 3 inch block of Lucite with a special Rose Festival medallion embedded in it.
  • The medallion is hidden somewhere in the Portland metro area on public property and within easy reach. Treasure hunters need not dig or move any objects to find it. The medallion may be hidden in Multnomah, Clackamas, Clark, Washington or Yamhill counties.
  • The first hunter to find it will win $1000 and one night's stay and dinner buffet for two at Spirit Mountain Casino (
  • If you are the clever finder of the medallion, return it right away to the Portland Rose Festival office, 1020 S.W. Naito Parkway, Portland. If it's after hours, call the phone number inscribed on medallion to report the find.
Hunt Information
Dates
Scheduled Dates
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Finders
Name
Laura E. Hall
Hometown
Portland
Name
Jey Biddulph
Hometown
Portland
Prize
Maximum Prize
$1000 plus one night at the Spirit Mountain Casino
Awarded Prize
$1000 plus one night at the Spirit Mountain Casino
Location
General Location
Molalla River State Park
Pinpointed Location
Just west of the Cottonwood picnic area and the off leash dog area
Concealer
In a debris pile near a wooden pallet

45.295835, -122.703578

Clues
Clue 1
Published Date
Saturday, May 26, 2018, 7:00 PM
Researching our history and looking up lore
is always a mystery but never a chore.
So hit the ground running and search to and fro
with wile and cunning in our twenty-eighth show.
The official meaning of the clue.
The only thing intended as a hint in this introductory clue is in the first and last lines. "Our history" and "Our twenty-eighth show" indicates that knowledge of the history of the treasure hunt itself will be useful.
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Clue 2
Published Date
Sunday, May 27, 2018, 7:00 PM
And what shall we say doth surround
most of this wondrous hunting ground?
A tribe, a village (so some wrote),
an adjective, some fish, a boat.
The official meaning of the clue.
These refer to five rivers that surround most of the area to search. The Molalla River was named after the Molalla tribe. (Yes, the Clackamas River also fits, but ambiguity is part of the game.) The Willamette River's etymology is much less certain, but many are of the opinion that the name originally referred to a village or fishing site by Willamette Falls. "Adjective" refers to the Sandy River, "some fish" to the Salmon River, and "a boat" to the Columbia River, named after Captain Robert Gray's ship. These rivers join to form a boundary that surrounds all but the southeast of the search area.
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Clue 3
Published Date
Monday, May 28, 2018, 7:00 PM
One in five,
usually.
This time, though,
hints roam free.
The official meaning of the clue.
In past treasure hunts, clues about the five eligible counties were often used to narrow the search area until you were down to one county. This clue tells you that this year would be different.
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Clue 4
Published Date
Tuesday, May 29, 2018, 7:00 PM
On a crusade
for this grail?
Heed the first test
or you'll fail.
The official meaning of the clue.
A bow to the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Near the end of the movie, Indy has to pass three tests to reach the grail. The first one stated that "only the penitent man shall pass". He realizes that the penitent man kneels, and narrowly escapes decapitation. This tells you that you must be kneeling, or close to the ground, in order to find the medallion.
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Clue 5
Published Date
Wednesday, May 30, 2018, 7:00 PM
Have fun, but don't
be myopic.
The game may well
be entropic.
The official meaning of the clue.
Entropy means lack of order or predictability. This year some of the more specific clues come before some of the more general clues, which is also a departure from past hunts.
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Clue 6
Published Date
Thursday, May 31, 2018, 7:00 PM
Antonyms and synonyms,
homophones and homonyms,
pseudonyms and acronyms,
ever at the writer's whims.
The official meaning of the clue.
This warns you about some of the devices employed to make it challenging. One of the two in each line is used. Synonyms are used many times, a homophone in clue #8, and an acronym in clue #13.
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Clue 7
Published Date
Friday, June 1, 2018, 7:00 PM
Failed farmer, founder of a town,
he'd love today, but he's six feet down.
Name's familiar, not one in sixteen,
one of his kids really sets the scene.
The official meaning of the clue.
This is all about Samuel Boardman. He came to Oregon in 1903 and filed a claim on land in Morrow County. He tried for thirteen years to develop irrigated land, but finally platted the town of Boardman in 1916. He became the first state parks superintendent in 1929. In 1997, the Oregon Legislature designated the first Saturday in June as State Park Day, which is why he would love today, June 2. His name is familiar to those who followed the 2016 treasure hunt which featured the three Sams, Hill, Lancaster, and Barlow. He is often called the father of Oregon state parks, so "one of his kids" tells you that the medallion is hidden in a state park.
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Clue 8
Published Date
Saturday, June 2, 2018, 7:00 PM
Take half of the natural state's motto
and a genius who's lost an eye.
Add babies that have no beginning,
then favor the former or cry.
The official meaning of the clue.
Arkansas' official state nickname is the "Natural State," and the state motto is Regnat Populus, Latin for "the people rule." Taking the beginning letter from babies leaves abies, which is the genus of the fir tree, while Populus is the genus of the cottonwood tree. (Genus = genius who's lost an "i") The two picnic areas of Molalla River State Park are called Fir Grove and Cottonwood, and the medallion was hidden past the far end of the Cottonwood area.
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Clue 9
Published Date
Sunday, June 3, 2018, 7:00 PM
From Moses and Aaron to Philip and Nathanael,
from David and Goliath to 180.
From 180 to 34,
learn history, plot and plan some more.
But first reduce by half, this is too weighty.
The official meaning of the clue.
The fourth line refers again to history, and a detailed knowledge of the treasure hunt's history is needed to decipher this clue. The word "plot" indicates that these are points to plot on a map. The last line says to reduce by half. There are three pairs of names and three numbers. Losing half of each pair of names and half of each number leaves you with Aaron, Nathanael (Nat), David, 90,90, and 17. These all point to previous locations where the medallion was found. Aaron Kaio -- Macleay Park in 2000, Nat Dale -- Tryon Creek State Park in 1990, David Hastings -- Laurelhurst Park in 1989, and Neal Dietz -- Fort Vancouver in 2017. If you plot lines from Macleay Park to Tryon Creek State Park, from Laurelhurst Park to Tryon Creek State Park, and from Fort Vancouver to Tryon Creek State Park, they will form a large arrow on your map that points south to Molalla River State Park.
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Clue 10
Published Date
Monday, June 4, 2018, 7:00 PM
The treasure aligns
with a boundary north.
Grab your BFF
and sally forth.
The official meaning of the clue.
There is a large off-leash pet exercise area in the park. (For man's best friend) The northern boundary is marked with a row of signs. If you extend that line a little more to the west it passes over the medallion.
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Clue 11
Published Date
Tuesday, June 5, 2018, 7:00 PM
A serviceman in drag
has bearing on the case.
He wants forty percent
of the place that you chase.
The official meaning of the clue.
On the TV show "M*A*S*H," Max Klinger dressed in women's clothing, attempting to get a Section 8 discharge. 8 is 40 percent of 20, and the medallion was hidden in Section 20 of Township 3 South, Range 1 East.
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Clue 12
Published Date
Wednesday, June 6, 2018, 7:00 PM
Just check all your sources,
make sure that you're right.
It starts where he ended
at a modest height.

A man with the same name
was looked for keenly
by many a searcher.
They found him with glee.

It ends near the treasure
where three become one.
So marshal your forces,
the hunt's almost done!
The official meaning of the clue.
"Sources" is a key word at the beginning of the clue. One of the meanings is "a point of origin of a stream of water." Solving the second stanza helps you identify who "he" is. The Where's Waldo? books came out in 1987, featuring a character in distinctive clothing hidden in various crowd scenes. The books were immensely popular, spending a total of 93 weeks at the top of the New York Times best seller list. That hint leads to the pioneer Daniel Waldo, who traveled the Oregon Trail with Jesse Applegate, finally settling near Salem in the area now known as Waldo Hills. The Waldo Hills are the source of the Pudding River, which ends at Molalla River State Park at the confluence of the Pudding, Molalla, and Willamette Rivers.
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Clue 13
Published Date
Thursday, June 7, 2018, 7:00 PM
If you're finding it difficult
to get something really nice,
just change the manufacturer's
suggested retail price.
The official meaning of the clue.
The manufacturer's suggested retail price is often abbreviated to its acronym, MSRP. If you change MSRP to MRSP, you have the acronym for Molalla River State Park.
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Clue 14
Take a run on the grass
and then stop with a skid
on the edge of the slash.
You'll be glad that you did.
The official meaning of the clue.
"Skid" is a synonym for pallet, and slash is debris resulting from the felling or destruction of trees. The medallion was hidden behind a piece of wood next to a pallet at the edge of the debris pile, on the other side of the fence west of the Cottonwood picnic area.
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