The Great U.S. Treasure Hunt

01/07/2025

Congratulations to Andrew Cole, who turned what should have been a less-than-6-hour round trip into a 12-hour odyssey through lake effects snow, and became the 10th winner (and 4th Solver/Finder) of the Great US Treasure Hunt!

Our January 2 clue assisted Andrew's solution, using "admit/admit/governed/birth" and applying those to What's the Difference" hinted to use the admission order of the states to solve the first two clues, which led to Ohio and Campbell. The third clue, keying on governors of New York ( #48 & #36) (and also presidents #32 & #26) were the Roosevelts. By using birthdays of our hosts, we found Dick Clark's long-running show, Bandstand. Ohio, Campbell, Roosevelt, Bandstand.

An explanatory video will follow, but will be delayed due to some family issues. Thank you for your patience.

And congratulations to Andrew Cole!

01/06/2025

BREAKING: WINNER IN CAMPBELL, OHIO! STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES! "What's the Difference?/The Difference is What?"

01/03/2025

THE CHRISTMAS CLUE...ON THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, THE GREAT US TREASURE HUNT SENT TO ME, THIS HELPFUL CLUE...

First, we admit these last two puzzles have been as hard as we thought and harder than we thought.

Second, we admit this clue is unlikely to make everyone happy, and that's okay.

Third, we are governed by fairness above all, so here is the Christmas Clue we promised, on the 9th day of Christmas.

Fourth, as the birth of the New Year dawns, we close with our usual advice...good luck and have fun!

11/28/2024

The Shreveport Winners and Solution video is finally up.

Congratulations to the father-daughter team of Talia and David Cohen, and their finder Nicholas Patterson.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Still two coins to find.

11/19/2024

Okay, let's see what all the fuss is about...

11/17/2024

One final plot twist incoming...in Oneonta (this picture was taken today)

11/17/2024

The solve for the "Watch Your Step/Pharoah's Not Here, Man" puzzle is this: eliminate all the repeated letters on the left hand page.

Then step one letter to the left or to the right, and you'll get this...

The remaining letters are
J becomes I
OX becomes NY
KVU becomes LUV (You've got I LUV NY)
RUDO becomes STEP
BMNDL becomes CLOCK (playscape has a clock)
ODZIVB becomes NEAHWA (the park)
NOFPMUZ becomes ONEONTA (the town)

Eliminating the excess letters was crucial, and the fact that Neahwa and Oneonta are extraordinarily unusual words probably helped keep this puzzle unsolved as long as it did.

But "step" and "clock" were pretty easy, so if you got this far, you should know you were on the right track.

A slight hint in the hardcopy book was in the graphic on the right hand page where there were 1-2-3-4 suns, and 5-6-7 temples, just as the number of letters in the solution had from 1-7 letters, inclusive of each number. But the entirety of the solution was on the left page.

We feel this one was tough but fair. And, obviously, solvable.

Congratulations to Nancy Zitko and Beth Hovanec!

11/16/2024

Just before Christmas 2020, Beth Hovanec solved a puzzle in The Great US Treasure Hunt and sent Nancy Zitko to Eldorado Park in North Las Vegas, where Nancy found a silver Z that had been stuck under a picnic bench for over ten years, long before we began the Hunt.

Today, in what is probably proof that we are living in a simulation, Nancy Zitko solved a puzzle in the Great US Treasure Hunt and sent Beth Hovanec to Neahwa Park in Oneonta, New York, where Beth found a coin that has been stuck under a playscape step for over three years, since 2021, and shortly after Nancy found her Z.

We knew we'd be doing another Hunt, and hid coins all over the country in the summer of 2021. One location was Neahwa Park in Oneonta, New York.

We returned in early October of 2024 (that's last month), as this was one of our Book Locations for the present Hunt. "Watch Your Step" was a double-play-on-words, because the playscape had a Clock (watch) and the coin was stuck under the bottom step.

We missed the old coin. Didn't see it. Thought it was gone. Sigh. But the books had been printed, so we stuck the new coin in place, under the Clock Step on the playscape. We figured it would stay hidden for at least a month, even if the old coin was missing.

But the old coin was there. When Beth Hovanec arrived this morning at the park, she found the old coin! Beth and Nancy had played the Reverse Uno card, with Nancy being the Solver and Beth being the Finder, nearly four full years later.

But where is the new coin? Beth didn't see it. Did she miss the new coin, and find the old one? Is the new coin gone?

We sent a note to someone we know who lives nearby, and hopefully, they'll be able to check the playscape one more time.

Congratulations to Nancy Zitko, 2020 Finder/2024 Solver, and Beth Hovanec, 2020 Solver/2024 Finder.

This was the "Watch Your Step/Pharoah's Not Here, Man" two-page spread.

/endsimulation

Two coins to find.

11/16/2024

Hey, this doesn't look right at all. This looks like a coin that's been in place for 4 years...

11/16/2024

This whole thing started with Beth Hovanec solving a puzzle in Pennsylvania and contacting Nancy Zitko, who found a coin that had been hidden for years under a bench in Eldorado Park in North Las Vegas.

I mean, what are the odds that Nancy Zitko, four years later, would solve a different puzzle, and send Beth Hovanec to go find a coin that has been hidden for years?

It's unbelievable. We wrote it. It's a set-up. That just doesn't happen in the real world. We're in a simulation. The writers are getting lazy. Hey, they did that back in Season One. Fan service.

Pictures to follow.

And there's a final twist. So stay tuned.

11/16/2024

It's too early to wake up to statistical unlikelihoods!

11/15/2024

Father-daughter team of David and Talia Cohen team up to contact Nicholas Patterson, a crew lead at Cargill Sports Complex in Shreveport to find the 8th coin, beating a second team that had also solved and sent a finder looking for the hidden coin. Steve Geller and Jared Lyon were also part of the Cohen's crew.

If you're not first, you're last.

Join Mr. Sharif as he hoists his Port, points to his car gill, wins in #13, as the coin appears under the riveted metal. Sharif+Port, Car+gill, #13.

11/15/2024

Truth is Stranger than Fiction
You're Not Gonna Believe This
Turnabout is Fair Play

What's your favorite cliche?

11/14/2024

BREAKING: COIN FOUND IN SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA!

DETAILS TO FOLLOW!

The puzzle "Omar at the Wire" was used for the solution, Cargill Park in Shreveport, Field #13.

THREE COINS REMAIN.

11/14/2024

Carly Simon's most profitable song was about ketchup.

11/13/2024

Seems like a picture-perfect day...

11/06/2024

Daytona Beach video up!

Congrats to Matthew Hasz and Laurel Bartels for their find.

FOUR COINS REMAIN!

MATTHEW HASZ is the fifth Solver and LAUREL BARTELS the fifth Finder, at Sun Splash Park in Daytona Beach, Florida. Matthew used the "Message Received" puzzl...

11/06/2024

Going out this week to our Finders and Solvers.

Four coins to find!