Inver Grove Trove Treasure Hunt — September 2023 (LV)

TCTreasure

CLUE #1

The time has come to seek the Trove;
Assemble your treasure battalion
To hunt through the Heights of Inver Grove
In search of our hidden medallion!

Every day another clue
Will narrow down the spot;
You might outfox our ballyhoo,
So why not give it a shot?

Search history for our secret stash
On a quest for clarity
In the mystery of the missing cache—
A path to prosperity!

TCTreasure

CLUE #2

Not far from shore, among the pine,
A winning hand lies on the ground—
Where laughter and nature intertwine,
With no court or rink to be found.

Search low and high within the Grove,
Where summer’s song meets the ear,
On twisting trail, approach the Trove—
The path will guide you near.

TCTreasure

CLUE #3

As you hunt for the hidden goods,
To stake the treasured claim,
Have a look at the edge of the woods;
Reveal the name of the game.

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CLUE #4

To unlock our cipher and locate the park,
First find the key to its nature—
Then crack the lid of our cryptogram ark
With the proper nomenclature!

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CLUE #5

Hone your hunt to strike pay dirt
With six degrees of separation—
The sound of jets will keep you alert
At the thirty-seventh location.

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CLUE #6

American Apple—stop for a slice
To make this one easy as pies;
Dust off an antique mobile device
To point your way to the prize!

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CLUE #7

Nobody should have to pick a side
But yet, the choice must be made—
East or west you’ll need to decide
Ponder this and find some shade.

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CLUE #8

Growing at the spot, near its base,
Arranged to obscure the key—
Type the first letters to help your case;
For a name to appear, add em-cee.

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CLUE #9

Search along a route dynamic,
Where a bruin let out its roar—
Contemplate the ends most static
And follow a path by the shore.

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CLUE #10

Come one and all to McGroarty Park,
In search of the Inver Grove treasure—
Follow the path to our cryptogram ark;
Discover the Seekers’ pleasure.

Along the lake, west of 52—
The coin wears a camouflage cloak;
Trace the root of our hullabaloo
To the base of a crumbling oak.

In a pile of bark, rummage around;
Poke through the wood for the puck—
What once was lost will soon be found;
To all hunters, best of luck!

TCTreasure

BONUS CLUE

Put on your button and join the chase
For ten days of treasure hunt fun—
Solve our clues and crack the case;
The Inver Grove Trove has begun!

Far and wide, over hill and dale,
Search for the Seekers’ delight—
Find the medallion along a trail
And camouflaged from sight!

TCTreasure

CLUE EXPLANATIONS

The first clue contains the words “battalion,” “medallion,” and “prosperity;” and the phrase “Search history for our secret stash.” This was intended to suggest searching for the medallion an an area adjacent to Lions Park—in particular McGroarty Park, which is named for John McGroarty—an early settler of Inver Grove Heights and the man responsible in part for the town's name (“McGroarty” is a patronym meaning “floodtide,” “abundance,” or “prosperity”).
The second clue contains the phrases “Not far from shore, among the pine;” “A winning hand lies on the ground;” “Where laughter and nature intertwine;” “no court or rink;” “Search low and high;” “summer’s song;” “On twisting trail, approach the Trove;” and “The path will guide you near.” This was intended to suggest searching on a dirt path along the shore of a pond in a natural, forested area—at McGroarty Park (which has scant few amenities and connects to Lions Park), off a paved trail to the south of Upper 55th Street.
The third clue contains the word “stake” and the phrases “stake the treasured claim,” “Have a look at the edge of the woods,” and “Reveal the name of the game.” This was intended to suggest searching near the Outback Steakhouse, along the edge of woodland in McGroarty Park—which is named for John McGroarty, an early settler of Inver Grove Heights who in 1853 emigrated to Minnesota from Inver Parish, Ireland and helped name the town at its 1858 founding.
The fourth clue centers on finding “the proper nomenclature” by using a secret cipher: By cracking the simple pigpen cipher in the accompanying Ark of the Covenant illustration—which reads “ANAGRAM,”—seekers are invited to reexamine the clue for a jumbled phrase: “cryptogram ark” anagrams to “McGroarty Park.”
The fifth clue contains the phrases “strike pay dirt,” “six degrees of separation,” “The sound of jets,” and “the thirty-seventh location.” This was intended to suggest searching on the ground in an area near Bacon Avenue, in the flightpath for MSP International Airport; McGroarty Park is location number 37 on Inver Grove Heights’ in-park signage.
The sixth clue contains the words “American” and “Apple,” and the phrase “Dust off an antique mobile device / To point your way to the prize.” This was intended to suggest searching near the AmericInn hotel and Applebee’s restaurant, and to trace the path of Blackberry Trail to locate McGroarty Park.
The seventh clue contains the phrases “pick a side,” “the choice must be made,” “East or west you’ll need to decide,” “Ponder this” and “find some shade.” This was intended to suggest searching at McGroarty Park, which is split by Highway 52—and that the medallion would be found on the west side of the route, in a shaded area at the edge of a pond, not far from a large, stone bench.
The eighth clue contains the phrases “Growing at the spot, near its base;” “Arranged to obscure the key— / Type the first letters to help your case;” and “For a name to appear, add em-cee.” This was intended to suggest searching at the base of a tree, and to use the first few letters of the first three lines—“Gro,” “Ar,” “Ty”—then prepending the letters “M-C” to spell out the name of the park: “McGroarty.”
The ninth clue contains the phrases “Search along a route dynamic, / Where a bruin let out its roar;” “Contemplate the ends most static;” and “follow a path by the shore.” This was intended to suggest using the last few letters of the first two lines—“mic,” “roar”—to confirm the park, as well as the fact the medallion was hidden on a shoreside footpath.
The tenth clue contains the phrases “Come one and all to McGroarty Park / In search of the Inver Grove treasure;” “Follow the path to our cryptogram ark;” “Along the lake;” “west of 52;” “The coin wears a camouflage cloak;” “Trace the root of our hullabaloo / To the base of a crumbling oak;” and “In a pile of bark, rummage around / Poke through the wood for the puck.” This final clue points out the precise location of the medallion, at the base of a dying oak tree, in a pile of tree bark along a path in McGroarty Park.
The bonus clue, earned by scanning the QR code on coasters at Inver Grove Brewing Co during the hunt, contains the phrase “Find the medallion along a trail / And camouflaged from sight!” This was intended to suggest searching for the medallion at the edge of a trail, wrapped in camouflage tape.

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