THE JEWEL HAS BEEN FOUND!
Congratulations Ben Fischer, of Saint Paul! Winner of the 2020 Great Twin Cities Treasure Hunt
The Great Twin Cities Treasure Hunt
July 22-August 2, 2020 INTRODUCTIONGreat Twin Cities Treasure Hunters! The time is growing near—
So form your squads, unfold your maps, and prep your hunting gear!
If you've got panache for spittin' trash, and think you're ready to rock,
You might be tempted to talk a big game—but can you walk the walk? Team Jem outshone the rest last year, and took the hardware home;
Once again, our prize is grand—will they reclaim the chrome?
This year it's clear the atmosphere is thick with anticipation—
Remember: your winnings could double, given timely registration! Our big adventure starts the twenty-second of July;
It runs twelve days, but you could end it sooner—if you're sly:
To solve the case of the remarkable race for the jewel of the city twins,
Invite your friends and share the love before the hunt begins! CLUE #1
The hunt's begun! The chase is on! The labyrinth has been built!
To reach the unreachable, saddle up—and gallop at full tilt!
Leave the links and beaches be, and don't go fishing for herring;
Our secret container could be a no-brainer if you find the proper bearing. Wherever you hunt, whatever you do—seek, but don't destroy;
Our parks and trails ARE meant for everybody to enjoy!
So don't be rubes; a series of tubes will help you find your way—
But you'll have to work to fill in the blanks IF you hope to win the day! CLUE #2
Once upon a time, we found a passage in the shade;
Examine closely THE language we use and you could have it made.
With nothing to lose, how can you refuse? The siren song, it calls;
Learn how it feels to spin your wheels: search where darkness falls. CLUE #3
However pointless or useless one might estimate the knowledge,
Paying tuition won't bring to fruition your courses at treasure college—
So use your noodle (and bring your poodle) to solve our sweet, pretty clues;
A shady plot could help hit the SPOT to cure the summertime blues. CLUE #4
It takes a lot to claim the pot—don't say we never warned ya!—
So take a hike or ride your bike, lest YOU feel we scorned ya.
Hark, a tune, by the dark of the moon—shining through the trees;
The distant wail of the lonesome rail as it echoes on the breeze. CLUE #5
Break through the tape and make your escape on an evacuation route;
Appraise the stakes when the pipeline breaks if you want to claim the loot.
You can always depend on man's best FRIEND (you know we keep him hid);
Just follow your heart, all cracked apart—you'll find it by going off-grid. CLUE #6
"What does this mean?" "Is this where it is?" "How come I'm here all alone?"
A tubular series will answer your queries and lead you to the stone:
Everyone's hopin' to break it open, and take the lead in the race,
But, SADLY, only one may decide the course of our parallel chase. CLUE #7
If we've cut to the quick and you're getting sick of all this repetition—
Are we being too vague?—perhaps you're plagued by hunters' indecision.
To spot our allusions, more drastic conclusions could be your key to the trove—
On second THOUGHT, we've explained a lot to reveal the shady grove. CLUE #8
Left in the lurch? Constrain your search to the capital city's parks;
Take a gander and make the meander along a trail of our MARKS:
A chance, we took, to revisit our look, and tweak it just a smattering;
The original logo was a symbolic no-go—not enough foreshadowing. CLUE #9
Look around where there's nobody there (even to call MY bluff);
To find our indenture, set out for adventure in search of the secret stuff:
Gray and sclerotic, though no less quixotic, he charged with reckless abandon—
The ingenious gentleman, with trusty steed and noble companion. CLUE #10
Tip to tip, it's a five mile trip (or somewhere thereabouts);
Explore AN enclave in the west to find the whereabouts.
Loop to loop, direct your troop down desolation row—
Cracked and cryptic, apocalyptic; follow it to the dough! CLUE #11
Our poets showed a way with roads; their subjects here, one and the same
(One surmises the Pulitzer Prizes have something to do with their fame)—
Crumbling and broken, rarely spoken, and riddled with knots and twists;
Sixty years on—though nearly gone—the route you seek still exists. Good old Alonso and trusty Sancho wait for you near the place
Where our Cervantes' Rocinante tilted at full pace;
Apocryphal? Specious? Phony? Facetious? MISTAKEN? Confabulated?
Read the signs between the lines, BUT keep our words tabulated. CLUE #12
Enter the scrum by finding the sum of sixty-one and ten;
You'll find the sack if YOU hearken back to Steinbeck's road trip—when
He crossed the nation on Operation Windmills in search of adventure;
Unseal the container—become the claimer of the Great TC debenture! To spot an X and swipe our effects, you'll have to persevere:
Examine a byway alongside the highway—a road designed by fear.
Doing laps out and back on the single track—mountain bikers' pleasure—
Make like a streak to the north of the creek and claim the hidden treasure! Still in doubt? Just spell it out, one letter per stanza;
Move down the line (shift once each time); end our extravaganza!
Keep your wits for the final blitz—a battle to the end—
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