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The Hunt is still on! Here is today's clue:

Clue #2

Find this bit of lore about forty-four,

By looking at pre-Columbian times.

An endearing site will help set you right

And give direction to these little rhymes.

And the previous clue:

Clue #1

Whether snow or no, this hunt is a go.

Fresh air and sunshine will do you much good.

To dodge the virus is most desirous

So wash your hands, not just because you should.

 

You should break your stride, and go catch a ride

To a place of numeric harmony.

Now Saint Paul’s a Twin, but the code to win

 

Is to call the place a solo city.

Here we go, assuming the whole town doesn't end up under quarantine!

Clue #1

Whether snow or no, this hunt is a go.

Fresh air and sunshine will do you much good.

To dodge the virus is most desirous

So wash your hands, not just because you should.

 

You should break your stride, and go catch a ride

To a place of numeric harmony.

Now Saint Paul’s a Twin, but the code to win

Is to call the place a solo city.

The hunt is now less than 24 hours away. The deed has been done and the Allison Wonderland medallion sleeps outdoors tonight. Who will find it this year? It's truly anyone's game as the field is open to everyone to participate with no registration fee. The clues will be tricky, but I assume many of you will have time on your hands to try and figure them out so have at it. A new clue will be released each day at 5pm, up to 12 clues. The hunt will go until someone finds it or I come to the inescapable conclusion that something has gone horribly wrong. Two things to keep in mind:

1. To add some danger to the hunt, I licked the medallion before hiding it.
2. Outside of the clues and the rules, never trust anything I tell you.

With what seems like everything in life getting cancelled, you were probably wondering what's going to happen with the AW Mock Hunt. Is that going to get cancelled too? The answer is NO! Treasure hunting is definitely not a contact sport. A lot of it is working from home anyway, trying to figure out the clues. And even if you do go out to the park to look for it, especially during a mock hunt, you're generally not close to other hunters. So there's no reason to think that treasure hunting poses a danger to anyone or violates social distancing. On the contrary, fresh air and sunshine are time-proven methods to fight off such illnesses. So we will begin the Mock Hunt this Wednesday as scheduled. Some of you might have heard the St. Paul Parks Dept. announce a closure, but they are only closing their buildings. They're not going to kick people out of public outdoor spaces (though I wouldn't be surprised if they were extra jumpy about people in the parks after hours).

But as I said, a couple of things will be different. First off, there will not be a kickoff party. At this point, I don't even know if Joseph's or any other restaurant will even be open. And even if there was a place to go, such a gathering is the kind of thing to avoid right now. Secondly, since a lot of people tend to pay their registrations at the kickoff, I'm going to change the prize structure for this hunt. I'm going to do away with the registrations for this event and make it free for everyone to participate. But given the associated lack of a cash influx, I'm also going to make the prize just $200. But now everyone who wants to participate can, while at the same time no one should feel obligated to do so if they'd rather not because they already invested money into it. Speaking of people who have already invested, a few people did already pay me a registration fee. I believe they were generally offered in the context of a broader donation, but if anyone who did pay would like their money back, just let me know.

Otherwise expect clues to come out at 5pm daily until either we hit 12 or it is found. It will be on public property in St. Paul. It will not be indoors, up a tree, on a roof, on a steep hillside, on top of ice or in a body of water (can't make any promises about puddles), inside of anything electrical, or anywhere else that would make you question if this might be a bad idea to look there. You do need to return the medallion to claim your prize.

Good luck and stay safe.

We all get excited each year when the Pioneer Press's medallion hunt comes along. With its big prize and thousands of competitors, it can be quite a thrill. Perhaps a little less so when it expects you to know where a past team doctor for the MN Vikings used to live. But nevertheless we tend to be sad when it is over.

In the meantime there are lots of other hunts that happen during the year all over the Twin Cities and even the state. Some are put on by various cities while others are done by some of our fellow hunters. But I have heard it said that the triple crown of treasure hunting is made up of the Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt, the White Bear Lake city hunt, and the Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt. Perhaps that is because this year will be the 20th year that it has been going on. And thus I would like to go ahead and announce the 2020 Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt. This is a 12 clue hunt with one clue per day. The treasure is a medallion about 2 inches across and half an inch think that will be hidden somewhere on public property in St. Paul. Your job is to decipher the clues and get to the medallion before any other hunter (or park worker!) does.

The medallion is not going to be anywhere that is ruled out by the PP Medallion Hunt (including Indian Mounds). It will also not be indoors, on a body of frozen (or open) water, on a steep hillside, on top of a building, up a tree, inside of anything electrical, nor anywhere else that might make you question if looking there is a good idea. Beyond that, you will have to follow the clues.

The first clue will be issued on Wednesday, March 18th at 5:00pm and each subsequent clue will also be posted at 5pm on this site. There will also be a kickoff party at Joseph's Grill that night starting at 6pm for anyone that would like to go (it's pasta bar night!)

If you would like to register for the hunt, you can do so by getting $10 to me before the release of the 4th clue. Paying me at the kickoff or sending it via Paypa to AllisonWondrland@... (remember to "send to a friend") would be the easiest though other methods can be arranged. Registering will make you eligible to win the full prize of $500 (as well as supporting the hunt). But in the spirit of "no purchase required" you can also participate for free and still win $100 if you find it. Registration fees beyond $100 in that case will get donated to another hunt. The winner must return the medallion to claim the prize money.

I think that covers except for this one last, but very important rule: Outside of the clues, never trust the cluewriter!  Otherwise good luck!

Unfortunately I did not make it to the rehash bash. It did look like a good time on the Facebook page. Perhaps we can set up a different way for me to collect my fame and fortune. Lol

Peace and safe travel for you Secretrose. Peace and rest to your mom and may she feel deeply loved in these last days on earth. ♡


Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

My heart goes out to you, secretrose. I lost my mom 2 years ago Jan 17. 

Sorry to hear about your mother, secretrose. My condolences to you and your family and best wishes.
Bob

Thank you David for hosting this web site. It was very appreciated by us all! 

Thank you Joan Del Rio about my mother. I need to fly out to Colorado and say Good-by to my 98 year old mother who just went downhill fast this last week. I was looking forward to the Rehash Bash. It is a lot of fun to see the faces of people who are normally all wrapped up in their winter garb on the hunt. The food and prizes are also great. I will be sad to miss it. Enjoy!

It was just a temporary course for some kind of big park celebration that year. 

Is there still a disc golf course at Como? There was one there in 2014. I saw Clue 10 scrambled, saw the words lover’s, gap, putts, and pitches and thought it meant the gates ajar and that disc golf course so went to bed thinking it was Como and it would go to Clue 12.  Rude awakening this morning. 

Secret rose, sorry to hear of your mother’s health issues. Safe travels. 
MNRose, come to the rehash. Actually it would be fun if everybody came. It’s a good time. Potluck. Camaraderie. Prizes. Usually the finder(s) come. 

IMHO last year, 2019, at Long Lake was the best hunt in a long time. Some clues were less than obvious, but attainable with reasonable research. This year there were only a couple of explanations that I could call completely sensible. And I know clue writing is an art, am grateful for the hunt, and I won’t complain as long as it’s reasonable. It seems the only goal of some of this year’s clues was to mislead. That’s not fun. David, thanks for all of your work. The new site is great - feels/functions like the old Yahoo group. See you Sunday. To those not attending the Rehash ... see you next year!

Hmmmm

It is 18 holes now. They added 9 to the start. The old 9 are now 10-18 with minor adjustments. 

How much thought did they really put into it...highland disc golf course is 9 holes, I've played this course often their explanation says something like between holes 13 and 14...

i read everything you said in the RICKY GREVAISE ACCENT…LOL..IT MADE SENCE TO ME…and so does my spelling…sorry about your DAD!

Well now, wasn't that fun? Sure we all had a great time noodling, but oh man, on some of those clues I'm calling Shinanigan's!I know some of you are right with me too. Clue 1Not a terrible first clue - its in a park, vs on some street sidewalk, like under a mailbox. But who knew the MacGuffin Mac being scottish, but that Highland Park was a scottish park? I had no idea... other than that Clue 1 was pretty good.Clue 2Told people to not trample the flowers, but was pretty worrthless, Impeach peachy had absolutely nothing to do do with the hunt but to reflect back on this hunt and clue 10 years from now and go oh...that's when Trump was getting slammed by the Dems. Woop de doo, what a waste of a clue, complete grabage IMOClue 3Love your melon Sponsor gets a nod, that was pretty cool.But dog eared map was somehow supposed to lead me to Snoopy? ?  AYKM? !!!!     (are you kidding me)And finally genuflect, many understood this correctly and was the best thing in this clue worth anything - that you had to bend down onto the ground and get the treasure, it wont be up in a crook of a tree.Clue 4Foreman and Clark (Tailor) and Donald Lannin (Dr.) were neighbors two blocks away from the park? AYKM ? x 100 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Worst clue I have ever heard of. We all pretty much got the tailor doctor thing, but again it meant absolutley nothing and was completely worthless, complete waste of time and the ink on the paper. Clue 5We all saw the russian theme going on there, and I searched arounf on the web for russian areas in St. Paul and NOTHING CAME UP. Russian Jews in Highland park? AYKM?Well they have the buildings in the area, but you would have to be thinking way outside the box to even have had a remote chance of coming up with that and if you did, no one would have believed your theory.Clue 6I figured this clue to be a winding road, but just about every park has a winding road through it. And then the Trolley theory came out and I was like, wow, that is a really great noodle! And it turns out, Edgecomb used to be South Summit, hmmm ok, we were all given a chance to look at those old maps. But we have Summit Ave and bluffs, it was just too hard a noodle for me and many others. But It did have some merit, although reaching. IMOClue 7Swing on down when in town and lights pointed to Circus Juventus. I saw a few mentions of that place. But that was not a very well written clue for that. Since when do you come on DOWN to HIGHLAND park? AYKM?Look at the map and line up 3 pools? uhhh?Before it gets hotter? How about WHEN IT GETS Hotter!? That would have led me to POOLS! Sheesh AYKM? And in order to line up 3 pools, of which ONE WAS PRIVATE! ???? WOW AYKM AND 1 AINT THERE ANYMORE ???? HDDIDD (Head drops down in deep disgust) YHGTBKMP (You have got to be kidding me PYLE!)Clue 8 First part very vague, fit many a park.2nd part of clue was actually good, stay away from the water and get by the woods.Clue 9Coal Man Saunders - we all had Hill, our fault. Had we gone with Saunders Path - Street we would have been led right there, and I suspect quite a few were after this clue. Also told us short of hill it does fall, puck was at the bottom of a hill lined up with Saunders Ave.Probably the BEST clue of the bunch.Clue 10A lovers fix - absolutely made no sense, so we should have scrambled that junk up, our bad. But Silver Fox? A mens group that holds yearly BOOYAS? If you were smart enough to scramble this and get to Silver Fox, a website search of Silver Fox St Paul does reveal the club, the booyas and 2 parks, Highland and Hidden Falls Park. So I guess it was there, we just had to unscramble that thing and we missed it. The bridges gap, putts that are pitches was in fact really good. Putts led you to golf, and pitches to frisbee golf and that was what zeroed everyone in that had noodled this thing out. Tough clue, but it was there for the pickin. Puck was foundClue 11What ifWell they do name streets, but sometimes just parts of the street names, stares near stairs, and stay low, bottom of hill, yeah that worked for me.Clue 12As I mentioned before, if someone finds it on Clue 12, great for them, they are jubilated! But to me it meens the cluewriter did a terrible job.
And so if we go by this theory, then clues 8,9,and 10 brought home the bacon and they did a good job there because it was found prior to 12 and the noodlers deserve alot of credit for figuring this out. Kuddos and Congrats!
Clues 2-7 were IMO worthless shinanigan's. How we got GRU leading to St. Paul was absolute LUCK! at least that luck got us in the city!
What I need to do is read past clues and explantions PRIOR to the hunt to get my mind right, I mean, not so right, so I can noodle these a tad better, because Like I said, half of the clue means absolutley nothing most of the time. But I should have gotten that Saunders one. And maybe the Silver Fox thing, A Lovers fix made no sense and I shudda seen that. With half the clues totally bogus, its a wonder it was found, but 8-10 did justice.
Anyway, that's a wrap from the Flippster. I grew up in St. Paul, now live way up in Moose Lake, and still love trying to noodle, it was fun to do it with my Dad for many years and he led me to many a correct park. He passed away last year. RIP Dad.
God Bless Mike