2013 Treasure Hunt
Jan. 25th, 2013 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naomikritzerThere's an annual treasure hunt held as part of the St. Paul Winter Carnival: the local paper hides a medallion on public land in Ramsey County, and publishes clues. They used to read the clues aloud at some late-night hour from the steps of the Pioneer Press building; now they sell papers at midnight at a nearby bar, I think. Here's my analysis last year, before we went out hunting: http://naomikritzer.livejournal.com/261857.html (Note: I not only had the wrong park, I wasn't even in the right city.)
I've taken one or both girls to hunt for the medallion nearly every year since Molly was five or six. (It was the "On the Level" year -- some guy guessed that "on the level" was a reference to Cleveland Ave, went to Hidden Falls park, and spotted footprints leading to the medallion. On the SECOND DAY OF THE HUNT. They hid another medallion and offered a runner-up prize, that year.) I love the hunt, because first of all, it is a real life treasure hunt with cryptic mysterious clues, and how cool is that? But there have also been times when I've been out with the girls and I've looked at the clues again and the looked around the park and something has just hit me and I've been absolutely sure we're in the right park and it's such a rush. (Even though it turns out that, for instance, "pitch your tent" was not, in fact, a reference to the Circus Juventas big top and we were in the wrong park that year, too.)
Hunting with kids, you also get to bask in the radiant approval of the people who see you out looking. Look at that, they are obviously thinking, she is taking her children out to look for the medallion, just like my parents did with me. It's so good to see these traditions being carried on. Obviously a shining example of parenting and they will give you this beaming, slightly misty-eyed look.
The hunt officially started last weekend, just as temperatures plummeted. We've been busy, but even if we hadn't been, it has been too cold for me. It's warming up this weekend, though, so! Time to do some clue analysis.
Clue One
So last year's hunt proved pretty tough,
Filled with red herrings, bluster and bluff.
Expect more reprise in this year's hunt.
Use high tech gear, but no cheating stunt.
The outer limit is the Ramsey line;
On public land you'll do just fine.
Don't hunt in a place where you play a round.
Don't dig deep holes or tear up the ground.
The first clue is usually mostly ground rules, with any real hints hidden pretty deep. "Use high tech gear" might mean something more than "dress really warmly." It's in Ramsey county, on public land, it's not on a golf course, and you don't need to tear up the ground to get to it.
Clue Two
Giving the clues away for a song
Turned out to be so very wrong.
So, with apology quite humble,
We'll stick to mixing clues in a jumble.
Hunt alone or council for luck,
But only one can find the puck.
Finder decides with whom to share
Like that famous "Happy Holidays" pair.
Last year they put some clues in these videos, and there were technical difficulties or complaints or something -- I can't remember. (Or, wait, looking at the message boards there was also a clue that got discovered by some hunters early because someone correctly guessed the link.)
There's a later reference to a song, so this clue may be telling you to pay close attention to it. "Council for luck," hmm. I wonder if the park has a council ring? (Those were incredibly popular in Madison parks when I was a kid, and there are at least a few in St. Paul. For instance, there's one at Lilydale somewhere -- I remember searching it the year the puck was at Lilydale.) (Puck = local slang for the Medallion, because it's about the size and shape of a hockey puck.)
Clue Three
Walk your dog or jog a bit.
Grab your honey, park and sit.
Ride a bike; exercise the kids;
Winter allows what summer forbids.
I think this clue might point to Como. There's a very nice trail that goes around the lake (used for biking, walking, and jogging), and the Pavilion is a popular place for cheap dates. Como also has facilities that "allow what summer forbids," in the sense that it has a small ski area.
Clue Four
Ups and downs are the treasure hunt story.
Fun for all; for one some glory.
If you're not clever and can't see the rhyme,
Yellow mashed rice is well worth your time.
Someone speculated that "mashed rice" is a rhyme for "crashed ice," an event that's currently happening on Cathedral Hill, and certainly "ups and downs" could refer to Crashed Ice. There aren't any parks particularly close to where they're doing it, though, and usually they try to nudge treasure hunters out to less-trafficked areas. There's a Rice Park in downtown, but see above about nudging the treasure hunters elsewhere -- Rice Park is where they put the ice sculptures for the Winter Carnival. They aren't going to hide the medallion downtown because enough people are there already.
"Ups and downs" strikes me as something that could refer to any of the following: any of the local swimming pools (which have diving boards and slides); Como, which has a ski hill and a rope tow; Swede Hollow, which is built into a deep crevasse (you have to go down to get into the park, up to get out). It could also be a reference to the bluffs on the river (suggesting Cherokee Heights park) or the experience of going over the High Bridge (Cherokee Heights again).
Clue Five
Nature does what nature wills
And gobbles up man's silly frills.
"Don't fence me in" might be the song,
But spotting a fence won't lead you wrong.
I'd say that's a pretty clear suggestion that the medallion is near a fence. That doesn't narrow down the park at all (they ALL have fences) and could also just mean that you can SEE a fence from where the medallion is (I guarantee that if you go to a park this weekend in St. Paul you will see people endlessly hunting along the edges of fences, though.)
Anyway, songs have been mentioned before. The lyrics to "Don't Fence Me In":
Oh, give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above / Don't fence me in
Let me ride thru the wide-open country that I love / Don't fence me in
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze / Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever, but I ask you please / Don't fence me in
Just turn me loose / Let me straddle my old saddle underneath the western skies
On my cayuse / Let me wander over yonder till I see the mountains rise
I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences / Gaze at the moon until I loose my senses
I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences / Don't fence me in
Now, okay. "Ride to the ridge where the west commences" suggests very strongly to me that we should be looking at a park on Westside. Westside is actually south of the rest of St. Paul, but it's on the west side of the Mississippi River and much of it is bluffs -- you want "the ridge where the west commences," head over High Bridge and look in one of the following places:
Cherokee Heights
Lilydale
Harriet Island
Kaposia Landing Off-Leash dog park (which is right next to the St. Paul airport, not to be confused with MSP) -- although hold on, looking at the map again, I think that's outside of Ramsey County.
Crosby Lake Regional Park is also right on the river, but is on the east side.
Pike Island
Clue Six
"Think outside the box" was last year's clue;
This year another shift is due.
Get schooled in time - think bark on a tree -
Wheel of fortune implies you foresee.
Okay, "implies you foresee" -- that's surely a reference to Tarot, not the game show. Traditionally that card (which is the tenth trump) shows the wheel of the goddess Fortuna; shows a six or eight-spoked wheel; sometimes attended by an individual who can be human or Sphinx-like.
Anyway. Other considerations: last year, it was up where they're talking about building a Vikings stadium, IIRC. They also stuck it in Lilydale right before they spent a bunch of money rehabbing the park (they figured they'd let the treasure hunters come in and make a mess, since they were going to fix up the park anyway). There's been a lot of speculation that it's at Hidden Falls Park/Crosby Farm Regional Park, mostly because it's right by the Ford Plant, which closed down for good this year and is going to be torn down and redeveloped. I think this is not an unreasonable supposition, and FWIW, you can find some justifications for that. Hidden Falls has ice climbing (or did in the past): that could be "use high tech gear." I'm pretty sure that one of the "Happy Holidays Pair" is the guy who found that medallion on the second day by following footprints from Cleveland; it was in Hidden Falls that year, and (of course) there has been speculation since the year he found it that he cheated ("no cheating stunt") and incidentally there's the word "reprise" in that very first clue.
"Clever" could be an extremely veiled reference to "level"/Cleveland.
Looking again at the map, if Pike Island is indeed in Ramsey County, it would be a hell of a "think outside the box" sort of location because since it's part of Fort Snelling State Park, people don't think of it as a park that's in St. Paul. But it is, in fact, public land in Ramsey County. Also, "get schooled in time" suggests "think about history," but oh my god, if they stuck it on Pike Island because last year was the 150th anniversary of the Dakota War, putting airy references to this in Treasure Hunt clues would be stunningly tasteless. (Not out of the question. Just horrifying.)
Anyway. We're not going until tomorrow or Sunday, so I think I'll keep these ideas as a starting place and see what the girls (and Ed) come up with. If I were going out to hunt right now, I'd probably go look at Cherokee Heights.
I've taken one or both girls to hunt for the medallion nearly every year since Molly was five or six. (It was the "On the Level" year -- some guy guessed that "on the level" was a reference to Cleveland Ave, went to Hidden Falls park, and spotted footprints leading to the medallion. On the SECOND DAY OF THE HUNT. They hid another medallion and offered a runner-up prize, that year.) I love the hunt, because first of all, it is a real life treasure hunt with cryptic mysterious clues, and how cool is that? But there have also been times when I've been out with the girls and I've looked at the clues again and the looked around the park and something has just hit me and I've been absolutely sure we're in the right park and it's such a rush. (Even though it turns out that, for instance, "pitch your tent" was not, in fact, a reference to the Circus Juventas big top and we were in the wrong park that year, too.)
Hunting with kids, you also get to bask in the radiant approval of the people who see you out looking. Look at that, they are obviously thinking, she is taking her children out to look for the medallion, just like my parents did with me. It's so good to see these traditions being carried on. Obviously a shining example of parenting and they will give you this beaming, slightly misty-eyed look.
The hunt officially started last weekend, just as temperatures plummeted. We've been busy, but even if we hadn't been, it has been too cold for me. It's warming up this weekend, though, so! Time to do some clue analysis.
Clue One
So last year's hunt proved pretty tough,
Filled with red herrings, bluster and bluff.
Expect more reprise in this year's hunt.
Use high tech gear, but no cheating stunt.
The outer limit is the Ramsey line;
On public land you'll do just fine.
Don't hunt in a place where you play a round.
Don't dig deep holes or tear up the ground.
The first clue is usually mostly ground rules, with any real hints hidden pretty deep. "Use high tech gear" might mean something more than "dress really warmly." It's in Ramsey county, on public land, it's not on a golf course, and you don't need to tear up the ground to get to it.
Clue Two
Giving the clues away for a song
Turned out to be so very wrong.
So, with apology quite humble,
We'll stick to mixing clues in a jumble.
Hunt alone or council for luck,
But only one can find the puck.
Finder decides with whom to share
Like that famous "Happy Holidays" pair.
Last year they put some clues in these videos, and there were technical difficulties or complaints or something -- I can't remember. (Or, wait, looking at the message boards there was also a clue that got discovered by some hunters early because someone correctly guessed the link.)
There's a later reference to a song, so this clue may be telling you to pay close attention to it. "Council for luck," hmm. I wonder if the park has a council ring? (Those were incredibly popular in Madison parks when I was a kid, and there are at least a few in St. Paul. For instance, there's one at Lilydale somewhere -- I remember searching it the year the puck was at Lilydale.) (Puck = local slang for the Medallion, because it's about the size and shape of a hockey puck.)
Clue Three
Walk your dog or jog a bit.
Grab your honey, park and sit.
Ride a bike; exercise the kids;
Winter allows what summer forbids.
I think this clue might point to Como. There's a very nice trail that goes around the lake (used for biking, walking, and jogging), and the Pavilion is a popular place for cheap dates. Como also has facilities that "allow what summer forbids," in the sense that it has a small ski area.
Clue Four
Ups and downs are the treasure hunt story.
Fun for all; for one some glory.
If you're not clever and can't see the rhyme,
Yellow mashed rice is well worth your time.
Someone speculated that "mashed rice" is a rhyme for "crashed ice," an event that's currently happening on Cathedral Hill, and certainly "ups and downs" could refer to Crashed Ice. There aren't any parks particularly close to where they're doing it, though, and usually they try to nudge treasure hunters out to less-trafficked areas. There's a Rice Park in downtown, but see above about nudging the treasure hunters elsewhere -- Rice Park is where they put the ice sculptures for the Winter Carnival. They aren't going to hide the medallion downtown because enough people are there already.
"Ups and downs" strikes me as something that could refer to any of the following: any of the local swimming pools (which have diving boards and slides); Como, which has a ski hill and a rope tow; Swede Hollow, which is built into a deep crevasse (you have to go down to get into the park, up to get out). It could also be a reference to the bluffs on the river (suggesting Cherokee Heights park) or the experience of going over the High Bridge (Cherokee Heights again).
Clue Five
Nature does what nature wills
And gobbles up man's silly frills.
"Don't fence me in" might be the song,
But spotting a fence won't lead you wrong.
I'd say that's a pretty clear suggestion that the medallion is near a fence. That doesn't narrow down the park at all (they ALL have fences) and could also just mean that you can SEE a fence from where the medallion is (I guarantee that if you go to a park this weekend in St. Paul you will see people endlessly hunting along the edges of fences, though.)
Anyway, songs have been mentioned before. The lyrics to "Don't Fence Me In":
Oh, give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above / Don't fence me in
Let me ride thru the wide-open country that I love / Don't fence me in
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze / Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever, but I ask you please / Don't fence me in
Just turn me loose / Let me straddle my old saddle underneath the western skies
On my cayuse / Let me wander over yonder till I see the mountains rise
I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences / Gaze at the moon until I loose my senses
I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences / Don't fence me in
Now, okay. "Ride to the ridge where the west commences" suggests very strongly to me that we should be looking at a park on Westside. Westside is actually south of the rest of St. Paul, but it's on the west side of the Mississippi River and much of it is bluffs -- you want "the ridge where the west commences," head over High Bridge and look in one of the following places:
Cherokee Heights
Lilydale
Harriet Island
Kaposia Landing Off-Leash dog park (which is right next to the St. Paul airport, not to be confused with MSP) -- although hold on, looking at the map again, I think that's outside of Ramsey County.
Crosby Lake Regional Park is also right on the river, but is on the east side.
Pike Island
Clue Six
"Think outside the box" was last year's clue;
This year another shift is due.
Get schooled in time - think bark on a tree -
Wheel of fortune implies you foresee.
Okay, "implies you foresee" -- that's surely a reference to Tarot, not the game show. Traditionally that card (which is the tenth trump) shows the wheel of the goddess Fortuna; shows a six or eight-spoked wheel; sometimes attended by an individual who can be human or Sphinx-like.
Anyway. Other considerations: last year, it was up where they're talking about building a Vikings stadium, IIRC. They also stuck it in Lilydale right before they spent a bunch of money rehabbing the park (they figured they'd let the treasure hunters come in and make a mess, since they were going to fix up the park anyway). There's been a lot of speculation that it's at Hidden Falls Park/Crosby Farm Regional Park, mostly because it's right by the Ford Plant, which closed down for good this year and is going to be torn down and redeveloped. I think this is not an unreasonable supposition, and FWIW, you can find some justifications for that. Hidden Falls has ice climbing (or did in the past): that could be "use high tech gear." I'm pretty sure that one of the "Happy Holidays Pair" is the guy who found that medallion on the second day by following footprints from Cleveland; it was in Hidden Falls that year, and (of course) there has been speculation since the year he found it that he cheated ("no cheating stunt") and incidentally there's the word "reprise" in that very first clue.
"Clever" could be an extremely veiled reference to "level"/Cleveland.
Looking again at the map, if Pike Island is indeed in Ramsey County, it would be a hell of a "think outside the box" sort of location because since it's part of Fort Snelling State Park, people don't think of it as a park that's in St. Paul. But it is, in fact, public land in Ramsey County. Also, "get schooled in time" suggests "think about history," but oh my god, if they stuck it on Pike Island because last year was the 150th anniversary of the Dakota War, putting airy references to this in Treasure Hunt clues would be stunningly tasteless. (Not out of the question. Just horrifying.)
Anyway. We're not going until tomorrow or Sunday, so I think I'll keep these ideas as a starting place and see what the girls (and Ed) come up with. If I were going out to hunt right now, I'd probably go look at Cherokee Heights.
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