The Allison Wonderland

Swede

Not sure why my other emails won't go through so I'll just reply to this one with my picks. Thanks
Hey AW. Nice seeing you guys at the PDG tonight. Thanks for running this board once again. Please place my 10 votes as follows:
5 - Battle Creek5 - Cono
TY
CM

I hate to ever read too much into the first clue, but if this was going to be the only clue in the hunt, I might think Swede Hollow. The last line suggests "in the wind" and the Santa Ana's are also a wind. The name Vento translates as "wind". The Bruce Vento Trail goes through Swede Hollow. It's a hilly area that was once burned in the 50's to clear out the last residences there.    The trail also goes through Phalen as does California Ave. The Vento Memorial Grove is also at Phalen.   So I think I'll start off with 6 votes for Swede Hollow and 4 for Phalen.

Put my 10 guesses for clue one on Swede Hallow 

2 Battlecreek 2 Como 2 Cherokee 2 Lilydale 1 Harriet 1 Bald Eagle-OtterLake

There will indeed be early clue releases this year. They will be happening at Shamrocks again. In fact, I will be there Sunday night after I leave the Brewery for the Golden Beer Can Hunt.

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

Is there a newspaper release somewhere this year or can you only get the clue online each night? Thanks!

You're certainly welcome to still armchair hunt with us here!

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

Hi David, l regret l will not be attending the predig, but l do hope to get out hunting one of the warmer days. My energy has been limited because l am going through chemo and some days are pretty rough. l however will attempt to hunt if l feel my strength is blowing strong!

You have a good view of the susnset from burns ave scenic overlook down the road from Burns park. 

Seems to maybe indicate seeing one or more hills of St. Paul (the city) aglow. Which with all the copper wire theft does narrow things down a bit. So many parts of the city have dark street lamps now.

There is a Pacific street by a Burns park  
On Sat, Jan 18, 2025 at 2:17 PM Allison Wonderland via groups.io <AllisonWondrland=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:

There's a Palisades apartment building near Villa Park in Roseville. The park has no parking, but otherwise wouldn't be a bad place to hide it in a year without much snow.

I'm afraid life has been busy this month so I didn't get this posted in time for a pre-clue pick, but we will be doing our own little park pick pool here. It will work the same as previous years.  

• No charge to play
• $100 prize for the winner
• Each day you get 10 guesses that can be allocated as you wish. You could put all ten guesses on one park, one guess on each of ten different parks, or any variation in between.
• All guesses must be posted to the message board in order to be counted.
• Each guess allocated to the right park on the day it is found (prior to it being found) gets one point. Guesses made on the clue before get 2 points each. Guesses made the clue before that get 3 points each, and so on.
• The cycle changes as soon as latest clue is known to have come out.
• You must name a specific park. It does not count if you just name a larger regional park and not the specific park.
• In the case of a tie in points, the winner will be the person who posted the earliest guess for the correct park. Otherwise the most points wins.
• If a new clue comes out, and you do not post a new guess, your guess(es) from the previous day will automatically carry over.
• If you make a guess, you can still change it with a new post as long as the next clue has not yet come out.
• I declare myself eligible to win.

The first clue is out and it's a Saturday. That must mean tonight is the night of the Pre-Dig Gig!   If you want to come hang out with other hunters to trade stories and get the festivities started, then this is the place! We'll be meeting at Joseph's Grill in St. Paul on Wabasha and Plato. There is free parking in the lot and we have a private room that is off to the right of the main dining room. The event kicks off at 6pm and there will be a pasta bar available until 8pm or so that costs a flat $26 (includes tax and tip). You can also order off the menu. Bring some cash if you want to join in on the park pick pool. I'll be there!

The hunt is afoot!   Santa Ana’s churning, things are burning
The city hills are glowin’
The beast returns as the hunter yearns
The answer my friend is blowin’

I thought I would catch you all up and post all of the clues that are out so far. I apologize as it has been a busy week at work and at home.   Clue #1
If you should want a beer that’s cold, then seek out ours, it’s good as gold.
The true standard in days of old, alcohol was just down the street.
In St. Paul we will play our game, where a park and street share a name.
A split tree will direct your aim, somewhere away from the concrete.   Clue #2
In this park some grass goes unshaved, nor are each of the trees behaved, 
And not all the edges are paved. Still, you’ll find a fine place to sit.
The direction it’s best begun? In the shade of the morning sun.
For that is where this hunt is won, once you get it into your mitt.   Clue #3
Look up for a chance at success. Step down and you might find distress.
To go high or low? It’s your guess. Perhaps either way you’ll be okay.
But as you wander to and fro, going maybe high, maybe low,
You might just think to yourself, “Oh! I have already been this way!”   Clue #4
This year’s park indeed has a name, though it was not always the same.
It’s not clear who did first proclaim, but it is a park we all know.
If your car needs a parking spot you will find that there is a lot
Six they used to say for this plot that was partly barns long ago.   Clue #5
It’s one hundred eighty degrees on the inside among some trees.
Outside our treasure is sure to freeze because it is close to zero.
Nix the unfriendly attitude, and soon you will feel gratitude
Giving you some good latitude to become a hunting hero.

Clue #3 is out for Golden Beer Can Hunt. #4 will  be out tonight at the brewery.  

The Hunt for the Golden Beer Can has begun! It actually began on Tuesday and now we're on Clue #2. It's free to participate though you will need a Winter Carnival button to claim the big prizes of free beer for a year and a private party at Can Can Wonderland. But the winner will get to participate in the Winter Carnival Torchlight Parade. The (simulated) beer can is hidden on public property in St. Paul (but not Indian Mounds or Como Zoo/Conservatory). Here are the first two clues.

I am not doing the Scavenger Hunts this year (kind of ran out of interesting places to write clues about), but will instead be doing a one day puzzle event on Saturday February 1st, which will still be a Winter Carnival event. I'll post more about that this weekend. I am also writing the clues for the Golden Beer Can Hunt. So I am still working with the Winter Carnival, though slightly more tangentially. But because of that, I still won't actually be hunting for the Pioneer Press treasure, though I will still be paying attention to it and commenting on it. I may even get out to Shamrocks this year.
I'll do the park picks again. I'll try and get it initiated before the first clue. The Pre-Dig Gig and the first clue should both be happening on January 18th. I'm not seeing any snow predicted prior to that but you never know what will happen during the hunt.
The first clue for the Golden Beer Can Hunt comes out this Tuesday at the brewery and will get posted online on Wednesday, so hopefully that get people into a treasure hunting mindset!
David B. Allison

On Friday, January 3, 2025 at 11:14:34 AM CST, Alfabob2001 via groups.io <alfabob1@...> wrote:

David, Will you be doing the Winter Carnival Scavenger Hunts again this year? Or will you have more time to devote to the PP Treasure Hunt? Any park pick pool coming out soon? Where's the snow? Happy New Year to all! And Good Luck to all treasure hunters this year! Stay safe...and warm! Bob