The One With The Treasure Hunt

In between all the packing craziness, Charming and I have been participating in a treasure hunt for the last two weeks. Because we certainly didn't have enough to do.

A local coin shop holds a yearly treasure hunt for a $10,000 gold medallion. Over two weeks you travel around to different points all over the valley to get clues from different merchants. The clues all lead to the exact location of the medallion. Last year it was so hard no one even came close to finding the prize so we were told they made it a bit easier this year. However, the clues were still incredibly obscure and could have lead to a half dozen different things.

Charming and I dutifully went to each clue spot and got our stamps. And after each clue we would sit and ponder the possibilities. One such clue said "Of about 300 in Nevada this one has over 600." See what I mean about obscure? That could be anything! We thought about casinos, stores, schools, banks. We knew it had to be some place that wouldn't mind participating in such a hunt and along the same lines of where we were getting the clues. But it was befuddling.

However, by clue four I had narrowed it down to three possibilities. The fourth clue mentioned "flouresense." The specific spelling of this word had to mean something. So I figured it referred to either a bakery (flour, of course), a flower shop (this was a reach but maybe it was relating to the French word for flower "fleur") or a jewelry store (the sparkle of a diamond is sometimes called the flouresense.) Nevada could certainly have about 300 of any of these things but I was thinking jewelry store was the best possibility since it was the most likely partner with a coin store.

At least I had convinced myself of that.

When we got the last clue on Friday it finally clued us in that I was on the right track all along. "The 2nd is Taylor. The 1st is Morgan. Both are jewels." A quick Google search and we discovered a Morgan Taylor Jewelers. We hot footed it over there and prepared to go in and poke around. A previous clue mentioned about asking DG if it is behind it and be careful because we only get to ask once. So we had to be exactly sure we knew what we were asking before we did.

Charming and I walked inside the store and immediately inside the door we saw a brochure for the coin store. We were in the right place! Now to figure out exactly where the medallion was hidden. All over the walls were paintings. "Ask DG if it is behind it." So it had to be behind a painting. Using hushed tones, Charming and I began to study the paintings to figure out which one would be the one to give up the prize. As we made our way around the room a man came from behind the curtain in the back of the store. He asked if he could help us and we told him no, too afraid of saying anything and giving up our one shot at winning. The man watched us for a minute and then cleared his throat as he realized we were scrutinizing the artwork on the walls.

"So, are you looking for the medallion?"

Charming and I looked at each other, unsure of what to say. "Uh, yes?" I stammered, still not wanting to say too much.

"Yeah, someone already found it about an hour ago."

An hour ago. We were an hour away from getting there first. And we happened to be right in front of the painting it had been hidden behind. Turns out the owner's initials are DG and he was the one to ask. But we never got that far. So close and yet so far.

All and all a bit disappointing, but a learning experience. We were pretty proud of ourselves for figuring it out all the way to the end. Unfortunately it was our tried asses who couldn't get up soon enough to be the first ones to get the final clue that failed. Next year will be different. We will be there ready to go before the places open. We got to turn our completed clue cards in for a chance to win $1,000 so we may still get something. But it was the idea of winning the gold medallion ourselves that gave the allure for the chase.

Probably the closest we would ever get to feeling like pirates.