Now that I have told you about the Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt for 2021, I want to tell you about another *different* hunt going on that is being put on by the Winter Carnival. It's being called a Scavenger Hunt because it requires you to do different things at different places to win, but in a way it's really more like a collection of 30 one clue treasure hunts with the winner being the one that solves the most. You might also be interested to know that I am the cluewriter for this!

There are three different hunts you can choose from (or if you're feeling ambitious, you could do more than one). One is the Park-e-mon-Go Hunt. It is a tour of St. Paul parks that is aimed at families and is free to play. We worked with the St. Paul Conservancy on this one and they have provided $800 worth of prizes. I suspect all of you with your familiarity with St. Paul parks should do well on this one. Or if you're tired of being cooped up inside we have the Shop, Dine, and Play Hunt. This will take you on a tour of places around the city that are fun to go to, offer good food, and/or are interesting to behold. To complete this hunt you won't have to go indoors anywhere, but if you choose to patronize these establishments, it should be a good time. Finally there is the St. Paul Past & Present Hunt for those of you who think you're up on your local history. This is the most challenging of the three hunts and will take you not just across the space of St. Paul, but also across time as you explore it's history and the sites where that history took place. These latter two hunts do have a cost of $20 per team. We're still working out the exact prizes, but they will be worth at least $500 each.

The way it works is you can register at https://www.wintercarnival.com/events/saint-paul-scavenger-hunt/ for any and all of the three hunts. After you are registered you will get a code for your team. We are using an app called Goosechase which you will need to download to the phone you want to designate as your team's official phone. At 5pm on January 28th the hunt will go live and you will enter in your code. You will then have until 5pm on Sunday, February 7th to solve as many of the 30 missions as you can. There are three types of missions. One type will ask you a question and you must enter the correct answer to score points. Another will describe a location and you must go there and take a photo or video of at least one member of your team that includes something specific mentioned in the clue. The third type of mission will require you to simply visit a location and submit your GPS coordinates. All answers will need to come from the designated phone that you entered your code into.

The team that has scored the most points by the end of the hunt will be declared the winner in each of the three hunts. In the case of a tie, there will be one mission that was designated as a tie-breaker. Whichever of the tied teams completed that one first will be the winner. If there is still a tie, there will be a random drawing. The registration will ask you to name official team members, but you are free to solicit help from as many people as you wish, depending on how many people you potentially want to split the prize with.

Having seen where each of these hunts will take you, I think it's going to be really fun. I've had some people testing out the clues and they liked them. Depending on how long the Medallion Hunt goes there will be some crossover. However you may want to take a break or perhaps you'll want to do some more hunting after the Medallion is found. So I hope you'll give it a try!

As you may have already noticed, I am once again sponsoring my Park Pick Contest for this year's Medallion Hunt. Will it be a big park or little park? In the city or outside? Familiar territory or a brand new location? None of us know, but we may think we know. So let's see how good you are at guessing (for now) and deciphering the clues (as we go). The prize for the winner will be $100.

As in past years the way it works is you get 10 guesses at each Stage. The first Stage is prior to the hunt, and then there is a new Stage after each clue is released. You can divide up your guesses as you wish. You can put all 10 towards one park if you are feeling confident or you could put one guess towards each of 10 different parks, or somewhere in between. As each clue comes out, it may change your thinking and so you're free to change your guesses at each Stage. If you don't make a new guess, then your previous guess will carry over (but all guesses must be posted to the message board).

The scoring is a little tricky, but it is designed to reward those who got it right early on. Once the medallion is found and the correct park is determined, I note what clue it was found on and then add 1 to that number for the total number of Stages. Each guess you put towards the correct park prior to the hunt (if any) will get points equal to the number of Stages (S). Each correct guess after clue 1 gets S - 1 points. Correct guesses made after Clue 2 get S - 2 points and so on with guesses made the day of the find getting just 1 point each. Then the person with the most points wins. If there is a tie, then the person who had the earliest guess for that park wins.

So should you guess 10 parks right now, hoping to get the edge on a tie breaker? Or is better to go all in on one park and try to lock it down? That's up to you to decide. It's free to play, other than having to publicize which parks you are thinking. But then there is a bit of a game there too. 

Greetings everyone! Many of you are probably already following what is happening with this year's hunt on Facebook and other places, but for anyone who isn't quite in the know, let me sum up what is going on this year.

First off, there will be a hunt. Officially it starts on Sunday the 24th, but of course we will probably see the first clue on the 23rd.

The prize will again be up to $10,000. If you find the medallion, you need to call the PP right away (rather than bring it in). It sounds like they will verify the find over the phone and that will get you $2,500. Then for the next $2,500 you will need to have all of the published daily clues, clipped or copied from the Pioneer Press or printed from TwinCities.com, and provide them along with the found medallion. And for the final $5,000 you will need to have a medallion from the Pioneer Press. This light up medallion is different from the Winter Carnival button. Buying a WC button helps support the Winter Carnival, but it won't help you if you find the Medallion. You can get them at pioneerpresstreasurehunt.com

Some things will naturally be different this year. First off the online clues will come out at midnight. There will be no early clues in paper form this year, nor any scrambled clues. Nor are they using an app this year. There will also be no Pre-Dig Gig this year, nor an event at Bad Weather Brewing. Neither will there be nightly gatherings at Shamrock's. In that same vein they are saying people shouldn't hunt in groups larger than three, they should maintain a six foot distance, and they should wear a mask (and definitely not hunt if you are sick!). If they find people breaking those rules, they reserve the right to end the hunt. However, we can certainly discuss the clues here and elsewhere online.

Another thing that will be different this year is I won't be hunting for the medallion. I have joined the Winter Carnival committee. That alone doesn't bar me as the Winter Carnival and the medallion hunt are no longer officially connected, but I will be busy with the Winter Carnival. That said, I will endeavor to keep this board going, and will offer my ideas, but I'm not sure yet how much time I will have once the Carnival starts. But I do wish good luck to all of you.

10 tony schmidt

10 como
--
Michae kealy

Put me down for Rice Creek North Regional Park

10 Battle Creek.  

4 - Cherokee
2 - Crosby
2 - Acorn
2 - Phalen

Thanks AW

Will you be doing a park picks contest again this year? Put me down for Swede Hollow as my first choice.

Yes I will. I will be on vacation for the entire Winter Carnival so I'm hoping I can keep up during the period where they overlap, but if I can't the site will still be running for others to comment.

Will you be running this site again throughout the hunt?

It's now official! The Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt WILL take place starting in January. Clue #1 will officially be on January 24th, though of course we'll likely all see it in the early edition of the Sunday paper on the 23rd. Like last year, a Winter Carnival button will no longer get you the extra $5,000. Instead you have to buy a special (and kind of cool looking) light up Medallion from the PP at this website https://www.pioneerpresstreasurehunt.com/ (which is the only way to get it). Still, because of Covid, some things will naturally be different this year. My guess is we will not be having a Pre-Dig this this year. I'm also guessing they will not be doing the "early" clue release at Shamrock's. If I'm wrong on either of those then of course it will be up to you to decide if you want to attend.

I will still run this group this year but I will actually not be hunting this year. Not because of Covid but because I am now officially on the Winter Carnival committee. They are doing a new event this year that they are calling a scavenger hunt and I am in charge of it. But it won't be like a typical scavenger hunt. The 30 things on your list will be more like 30 one clue treasure hunts, each taking you to a different location. And there will actually be three different ones to choose from. The "Park-e-mon Go!" hunt is a family friendly adventure that will focus on the parks of St. Paul, both the familiar and the obscure. The "Shop, Dine, & Play" hunt will take you to fun places around town (that we hope will be open, though going inside is not required). And then the "St. Paul Past & Present" hunt will take you to 30 historical locations around town. All three will start on the first day of the Winter Carnival and teams will have the 10 day run of the Carnival to complete them, scoring points for each mission accomplished (while speed will play a role in tie breakers). There are 100 openings for teams available in each hunt. When someone registers, they are registering their phone, and all submissions will have to come from that phone. However you can have as many people helping you as you are willing to potentially split the prize with. We're still working out the prizes, but I believe they will be in the $500 range. The Park-e-mon Go! hunt is free to play while the other two will have a $20 registration fee. The registration will open up in early January. So there is a bit of overlap with the medallion hunt, but this is something you can pick up after the medallion is found or if you want something to do other than obsess over the latest clue.

It looks like the Winter Carnival is going to bring a lot of treasure hunting fun this year!

Washing your hands, and not just because you should is a reference to the medallion being disguised as a clump of dirt which may get your hands dirty. For the rest of the clue, start at the end. If you google “solo city” you will immediately see that is a nickname for a city in Indonesia. The international “code” to “call” Indonesia is 62. “Catching a ride” refers to a bus and of course Route 62. Route 62 makes a stop at bus stop 6262, a place of numeric harmony and the closest bus stop to the treasure.

“44” refers to the 44th President, Barack Obama. He graduated from Columbia, but prior to that he went to Occidental College (my alma mater!). Occidental in turn is a term meaning “western”. This is a reference to the “West Side” of St. Paul where Cherokee Park is. The endearing site is the Dearing Mansion near the park which should help confirm which “west” was meant exactly.

The Postal Service was a band with a hit called “Such Great Heights”, a reference to Cherokee Heights (If you google “The Postal Service” this song comes up right away). The lead singer of that group is also the person behind the band “Death Cab for Cutie”, which might make you nervous. “Lots of letters” are found in books, a reference to the “little library” found in a yard across the street from the area of the hiding spot. “Somewhere above 40” is a reference to the park being above Water St. which is County Rd. 40.

This is a reference to James A. Baker who was Secretary of State under the first George Bush and then became Chief of Staff, also under Bush. But he had also been Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan, so under Bush it was his second time serving as both a Secretary and a Chief of Staff. At Cherokee you will still find Baker (St.) under George (St.) on a map.

Cherokee is a decent sized park, but private property, which is out of bounds, is on the other side of the street. There are trees near the hiding spot and you might actually feel the medallion by stepping on it. It was also hidden in a slight depression which could trip someone up a bit.

The Cure is a band whose lead singer is Robert Smith, a reference to Smith St. The nearby water is the Mississippi. “Marginal treatment” refers to the park being on the border of St. Paul.

The “places to play” refers to the various places to play sports in the park, but particularly the tennis courts near the treasure as tennis courts have sidelines and the treasure is roughly in line with one of them. Tennis is also a sport without human contact. “Leaving” tells you it is hidden under some leaves. The first letter of each line forms “NACL” which is the chemical formula for salt which is in turn a reference to Morton St. near the park.

“Carry” (Carrie), (the) “stand”, (the) “shining”, “It”, and (Salem’s) “lot” are all scary stories by Stephen King. Both Stevens and King streets are near the park. “Rig” is another name for a truck and “no rigging” refers to a “no trucks” sign near the treasure.

Uncle Joe is Joe Biden who is from Delaware, another street near the park. The park has a definite irregular shape to it. The only thing resembling a baseball field has no home plate and there are no parking lots. Some geographically challenged people may think the West Side is in Dakota County just as Bismarck is in a Dakota.

“Wrought” (iron), “pole”, and “link” allude to fences as there is a fence all around the tennis court by the treasure. Taking a stroll alludes to the nearby sidewalk and walking trail. The area with the treasure sinks down from both the trail and the sidewalk and the medallion is hidden in a slight groove in the ground.

This is just a reference to the alley between Delaware and Cherokee, which the treasure is in line with. It also roughly aligns with a series of utility poles which look like a line of big T’s (“big tease”).

This tells you the park and that it is not near the picnic grounds. The blue wall is part of the tennis courts and align yourself with the power lines, then look for the groove.

No details yet but I do have photographic evidence that the AW Medallion was just found in Cherokee Park by the tennis courts.

Let me dish some dirt, and yet not quite blurt.

A street name is something that's sure to please

And yet no name hath this critical path.

So such a hint would be just a big tease.

What will you have wrought if digging for naught?

You really don’t want to be the weak link.

Try taking a stroll, going pole to pole.

You will feel groovy when you start to sink.

I bet Uncle Joe knows where you should go.

It’s a most irregular kind of park.

There’s no place to bat, where’s the parking at?

A dolt may think it’s somewhere near Bismarck.

These times are scary, a load to carry,

Yet there is no rigging of the results.

Will you stand whining? Be a star shining?

It’s a lot better to act like adults.

Not at work all day? Find places to play.

Although this is a game where you don’t touch.

Contact is taboo. Whatever you do,

Leaving yourself on the sidelines is clutch.

If sick, but not sure, you still want the cure.

Also keep plenty of water nearby.

Still no discovery for a recovery

But a marginal treatment gets you by.

There’s plenty of land you’ll find near at hand

But crossing the street is quite forbidden.

Stay near to some trees and watch your step please

Or you might stumble on where it’s hidden.

A secretary most necessary,

The second time through there would be less dross.

For a time but brief he became the chief,

But you’ll still find him under the same boss.

The Postal Service might make you nervous

But lots of letters are a useful aid.

How many needed if unimpeded?

Somewhere above forty you’ll have it made.

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.

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.

What will you have wrought if digging for naught?

You really don’t want to be the weak link.

Try taking a stroll, going pole to pole.

You will feel groovy when you start to sink.

I bet Uncle Joe knows where you should go.

It’s a most irregular kind of park.

There’s no place to bat, where’s the parking at?

A dolt may think it’s somewhere near Bismarck.

These times are scary, a load to carry,

Yet there is no rigging of the results.

Will you stand whining? Be a star shining?

It’s a lot better to act like adults.

Not at work all day? Find places to play.

Although this is a game where you don’t touch.

Contact is taboo. Whatever you do,

Leaving yourself on the sidelines is clutch.

If sick, but not sure, you still want the cure.

Also keep plenty of water nearby.

Still no discovery for a recovery

But a marginal treatment gets you by.

There’s plenty of land you’ll find near at hand

But crossing the street is quite forbidden.

Stay near to some trees and watch your step please

Or you might stumble on where it’s hidden.

A secretary most necessary,

The second time through there would be less dross.

For a time but brief he became the chief,

But you’ll still find him under the same boss.

The Postal Service might make you nervous

But lots of letters are a useful aid.

How many needed if unimpeded?

Somewhere above forty you’ll have it made.

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.

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.