Clue Explanations
INTRODUCTION
‘Spring’ and ‘thaw’ set the stage as winter turns to spring and are meant to evoke the sense of ‘blooming’ with the golden egg re-envisioned as a seed. ‘Town’ indicates that the golden egg is not located in one of the larger cities (Minneapolis or St. Paul). Additionally, this clue calls out that the golden egg has been placed on or near the ground in a wooded area. ‘Grade A’ and ‘what they sell in stores’ are both meant to clue hunters in on the approximate size of the egg. ‘Grade A’ also doubles as a hint that the hide is near a school AND refers to the ‘steep grade’ bike signs on the south end of the trail.
CLUE #1
‘Atop the pecking order’ refers to the alphabetical list of cities that make up the boundaries for this hunt. Bloomington is the first city listed and is where the Golden Egg is hidden. The artificial border refers to an imaginary line that divides Bloomington between east and west. Some believe that line is France Avenue while others deem 35W to divide the city. The golden egg is hidden between these two roadways. The ‘flock at four o’clock’ line is a reference to the nearby school, Hillcrest (“atop”), which gets released for the day at 3:50pm.
CLUE #2
This clue tells hunters to stay away from ‘busy streets’ which is meant to eschew hunters from big cities like Minneapolis and Saint Paul and guide them towards a quieter part of town. ‘Ponds’ is referring to Gideon Pond, a Bloomington Pioneer, and his family. ‘Water flows’ serves to call out cities that are bordered by a river, such as Bloomington’s Minnesota River, as good towns to hunt in. Additionally, the golden egg is hidden adjacent to another flowing body of water, Nine Mile Creek.
CLUE #3
The overall theme of the first stanza should get hunters thinking about wooded areas and paths. Specifically, hunters should be attuned to wooded paths that diverge from established paths, such as the one that extends south from Hillcrest Community School to 96th Street. ‘Test’ is another nod to the golden egg being hidden adjacent to a school.
‘There is no sign’ refers to the recently removed ‘East Marsh Lake’ sign at the southern entrance to the trail. Additionally, there are no nearby pine trees or conifers of any sort in the section of trees where the egg is hidden. ‘Bespoke’ is a reference to the bike path on the paved trail adjacent to the hide. The last two lines guide hunters to the dirt/wooded trail where they will encounter a hollow tree where the path splits and encourages them to take the path that goes ‘down’ and search for a (fallen) oak tree. The term ‘hollow’ is a reference to both the tree that guides you down the correct path and an apt description for the base of the fallen tree where the golden egg was laid.
CLUE #4
This clue points hunters away from typical city parks that include playgrounds and other amenities and points them towards hiking trails instead. Marsh Lake in Bloomington is known for its wooded trails and wildlife. ‘Hit the mark’ and ‘nock’ are references to the archery range located within Marsh Lake Park. ‘Wings’ is meant to draw hunters closer to the east side of the park where there is a stretch of public land adjacent to ‘Wingspan Life Resources’ (via Google Maps). The second stanza urges hunters to review the list of cities if they are still unsure of which one to hunt, and focus on those that start with B’s (Bloomington & Burnsville).
CLUE #5
The first paragraph refers to Bloomington Kennedy’s (Eagles) final year of hockey. After the 2024-2025 season, the school’s hockey program is merging with Bloomington Jefferson (Jaguars). Games are played at Bloomington Ice Garden (BIG), which sits adjacent to Marsh Lake Park. BIG is currently under construction, but the paths through the park remain open. ‘Community’ is a reference to Hillcrest Community School – the second paragraph suggests that if hunters want to avoid parking in their lot (which may be a good idea depending on the time and day), they can approach the tract of land from the south – Southbrook is the name of the neighborhood which boasts two sentinel fences of the same name upon entry. ‘Crested chickens’ is a play on words for ‘Hillcrest’ and the final line clues hunters to check in little nooks, such as the hollow-based tree that holds the egg.
CLUE #6
The 3rd line suggests hunters search streets ‘A-Z’. This is a reference to the alphabetical streets starting with Aldrich and ending with Zenith in Bloomington. The last line of the clue “you” is meant to be read as the letter ‘U’ which indicates Upton Ave. Upton is both in line with the hide (from the north) and the street you would need to drive up to reach the tract of land from the south. Additionally “Up to you” contains the first 4 letters of said street. “9 to 5” is a clue to the location of the hide, in line with 95th Street. It is also a play on the area code that covers the SW suburbs, including Bloomington (952). The scenic view is of Marsh Lake and Nine Mile Creek from the bench on the adjacent trail. In fact, if you visit the Marsh Lake Park Page the headline photo is taken from this spot, with the egg hiding in the small plot of tree-covered trails directly behind the photographer.
CLUE #7
The first stanza calls hunters to Bloomington, specifically east of France Avenue to the area between Thomas Road and Washburn Avenue. Additionally, Google Maps refers to the entrance of Hillcrest Community School as Thomas Road which is connected to Washburn Avenue by a walking trail in the East Marsh Lake area.
‘BIG’ is a reference to the temporarily-closed Bloomington Ice Gardens which is undergoing renovations this year and a call-out of the large fallen tree where the egg resides. A series of paths extend around and nearby BIG, but this clue implores hunters to stay away from the west side of the park and head towards ‘East Marsh Lake’. Nine-Mile Creek exits the marsh through public land just south of Hillcrest and is very close to the location of the golden egg.
