The Very Merry Mini-Hunt — December 2019 (XXV)

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INTRODUCTION

In old Saint Paul, where the snow doth fall, seek out our hiding spot;
To prevail in the race to this secret place, you'll need to hatch a plot,
So assemble your team and form a scheme to put you out in front
In the extraordinary, new, and Very Merry Mini-Hunt!

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CLUE #1

With reason and rhyme, it's the perfect time to start a new tradition;
Devices poetic and peripatetic will help you on your mission.
Locate our base to prevail in the race, and interpret our allegory;
Gain peace of mind once you've refined your search to seek the quarry.

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CLUE #2

The cold wind blows; it freezes our toes, and makes us shake and shiver—
Follow the trail to a spot off the rail en route to the frozen river.
Find coherence in enneadic clearance by passing beneath a bridge;
Switch things up to sip from the cup, and diverge by just a smidge.

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CLUE #3

With a little luck, take a blue fire truck—and grab a slice of pizza—
Straight to the top for a liquid crop, to rat on the mob of minutia.
Nearby, the name on a school of acclaim feels a bit contradictory,
But the standard gauge should help assuage your thirst for victory.

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CLUE #4

A pint of cheer could help you hear the tune of Miss Williams' guitar—
Local, of course, and one with the force of a brilliant, exploding star.
It's the perfect park to make your Marc, but if you're feeling vexed,
Search for the "K"s in Canadian ways, from one town to the next.

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CLUE #5

Leave your car—the treasure is far from the roadway palindrome;
Think occidental and ornamental—unwrap our holiday gnome!
If your plan's in ruins, your team could be shoo-ins to chance upon the fob,
Amid the debris, in the knot of a tree—uncover our thingamabob.

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CLUE #6

Head on a lark to a fledgling park that lacks amenities:
An open zone, unfinished, and known by two identities.
The Jayhawks' nest lies to the west with hunter's euphoria,
Where treasures bold await your hold—Carpe Victoria!

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CLUE EXPLANATIONS

INTRODUCTION

"prevail" and "secret place" are meant to suggest Victoria Park—this hunt's hiding place.
"race" and "out in front" could be taken to suggest Minneapolis Speedway (now the site of MSP International Airport), the stone for the racetrack of which was quarried at the current site of Victoria Park by former tenants St. Paul Crushed Stone Company.
"hatch a plot" is meant to suggest the "fledgling" nature of the Victoria Park site, while "plot" could be taken to suggest Poetics, by Aristotle—and, in turn, Nova ClassicalAcademy, located just east of Victoria Park.
"hatch a plot" could also be taken—along with "assemble" and "form a scheme to put you out in front"—to suggest connecting terms throughout the introduction to reveal the park and gain an edge in the hunt.
"new" is meant to suggest Nova ("Nova" is Latin for "new"), while "old" could be taken to reinforce Classical.

CLUE #1

"reason" could be taken to suggest classical philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle—and Nova Classical Academy, while "new tradition" is meant to suggest the name of the school. "poetic" and "peripatetic" are meant to further reinforce Poetics, Aristotelian philosophy, and Nova Classical Academy.
"base" is a homophone for "bass"—Marc Perlman has played bass guitar for The Jayhawks since 1985; Perlman Street runs for a single block adjacent to Victoria Park.
"base" is also meant to suggest the crumbling remains of a stone foundation immediately adjacent to the treasure's hiding spot.
"prevail in the race" (used for the second consecutive clue) is meant to reinforce Victoria Park ("Victoria" is Latin for "Victory") and could be taken to suggest the Minneapolis Speedway/St. Paul Crushed Stone quarry connection.
"allegory" is meant to suggest Plato, who wrote the seminal "Allegory of The Cave" and founded The Academy in 387 BC. This in turn is meant to suggest Nova Classical Academy.
"refined" is meant to suggest Victoria Park—the former site of an Exxon-Mobil/Koch Refinery oil tank farm.
"quarry" is meant to suggest the former Saint Paul Crushed Stone quarry, which was formerly situated at the present-day location of Victoria Park.
"quarry" is also meant to suggest the alternative name for Victoria Park: "Quarry Farm Park," which has been suggested by St. Paul's Fort Road Federation to avoid confusion with the Victoria Park neighborhood.

CLUE #2

"Follow the trail to a spot off the rail en route to the frozen river" is meant to suggest the hiding spot, which lies adjacent to both a Canadian Pacific railroad spur and a paved walking trail, which leads down to the Mississippi River.
"Find coherence in enneadic clearance by passing beneath a bridge" is meant to suggest a wooden railroad bridge, just north of the hiding spot, which crosses the Victoria Park trail with an overhead clearance of nine feet.
"Switch things up" and "diverge by just a smidge" are meant to suggest a switch on the railroad tracks, just east of the bridge.
"diverge by just a smidge" is also meant to suggest searching a few paces from the park trail.
"up" and "sip from the cup" are meant to suggest Summit Brewing Company, just west of Victoria Park.

CLUE #3

"a little luck" could be taken to suggest the number seven—and the West Seventh neighborhood, which contains Victoria Park.
"a blue fire truck" and "grab a slice of pizza" are meant to suggest Blue Fire Pizza Truck, which was stationed at Summit Brewing Company on the day of the hunt.
"Straight to the top for a liquid crop, to rat" is meant to suggest Summit Brewing Company's Ratskeller pub, just west of Victoria Park.
"the mob of minutia" is meant to suggest Trivia Mafia, which hosts Saturday-night trivia at the Summit Ratskeller.
"the name on a ... Nearby ... school of acclaim" is "Nova Classical Academy." This "seems a bit contradictory" because "Nova" is a Latin word meaning "new," while "Classical" is synonymous with "ancient" or "old."
"the standard gauge should help assuage your thirst for victory" is meant to reinforce searching near railroad tracks.
"assuage your thirst" is meant to reinforce Summit Brewing Company, and the Ratskeller; "assuage" is also an anagram for "sausage," which could be taken to suggest a topping on offer at Blue Fire Pizza Truck.
"thirst for victory" is meant to suggest Thurston Street (formerly known as Hathaway Street), which runs for a single block at the northern edge of Victoria Park, before becoming Victoria Way.

CLUE #4

"A ... Local ... pint of cheer" is meant to reinforce searching near Summit Brewing Company, in the western end of Victoria Park.
"the tune of Miss Williams' guitar" is meant to suggest The Jayhawks' song "Miss Williams' Guitar." The "Miss Williams" in question is the ex-wife of former Jayhawk Mark Olson—singer-songwriter Victoria Williams; this is of course meant to suggest Victoria Park.
"a brilliant, exploding star" is meant to suggest Nova Classical Academy.
"the perfect park to make your Marc" is meant to suggest Jayhawks bassist Marc Perlman, and Perlman Street, which runs for a single block just north of Victoria Park.
"Search for the 'K's" is meant to suggest searching in sight of red storage containers marked "'K' Line," parked on the Summit Brewing property just west of Victoria Park. "'K'" is also meant to suggest Kay Avenue, which runs through the northern and eastern ends of Victoria Park.
"Search ... in Canadian ways, from one town to the next" is meant to suggest searching Victoria Park in an area between streets named for two Canadian cities: VictoriaWay and Montreal Way, while "Canadian ways" could also be taken to suggest Canadian Pacific Railway, which owns the railroad trackage rights through Victoria Park.

CLUE #5

"Leave your car—the treasure is far from the roadway palindrome" is meant to suggest searching the west end of Victoria Park—relatively far from Otto (a homophone for "auto") Avenue, which forms its northern edge.
"occidental" is meant to suggest searching the west end of Victoria Park.
"ornamental—unwrap our holiday gnome!" and "chance upon the fob" are meant to suggest a small St. Nick Christmas tree ornament hidden in a snowflake-shaped crystal dish and wrapped in brown paper—the MacGuffin for this hunt.
"If your plan's in ruins, your team could be shoo-ins" and "Amid the debris" are meant to suggest searching in the remains of a stone foundation in the west end of Victoria Park.
"Amid the debris, in the knot of a tree—uncover our thingamabob" pinpoints the MacGuffin's location in the hollow of a tree, obscured by dead leaves.

CLUE #6

This clue directs hunters to the treasure's hiding place in Victoria Park (also known as "Quarry Farm Park"), and instructs them to "Seize Victory!"

Special thanks to The Jayhawks!

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