The key is not in the bear's den

[dalby2020]

I had always thought the bear displayed so prominently on page 5 was a hint. Fandango is shown in front of the bear's den - which is located right off the park loop road. Most people go by without knowing it's there. I thought it would be a great hiding spot and saw various hints in Fandango to back it up. 

Images of bears are hidden in a few pictures.
Virgo is shown, written, or referred to in several places and the Native American zodiac animal for virgo is the bear.
Bear is spelled out in the signpost signs that end with 18.
The big dipper is Ursa Major, the big bear.
The numbers 21 and 11 show up in several places and the bear cave is within 44deg 21' and 68deg 11'.
The number code I revealed last week can spell out ENTER A DEN.

Well, I checked out the bear den this weekend. I looked high, low, inside, and outside checking every crack and rock.
I can conclusively say the key is not there. Search "acadia bear den" to see the location.

That's about it for me. The only other vague ideas I had for possible locations are Northeast Harbor area - maybe somewhere around Asticou, Thuya, or the map hut.
Another possibility is Hadley Point - the northernmost point of Mount Desert Island. We ate lunch there when we first arrived in town but I didn't think of it as "the highest point" until later, so didn't dig around for a key.

I'll share everything else from my notes in a later post.

[searcher1991]

Did you try pacing forty south from it?

[dalby2020]

The pace forty south fit well with the distance from the parking spot to the cave. But I went all over in every direction. Even checked a smaller cave a short distance away. Nothing.

I'm curious as to the form it will take. I was touching every rock in case the key was in one of those fake hide a key rocks.

[thisjustin]

Sept 15, 2020 19:11:14 GMT -5 dalby2020 said:

I'll share everything else from my notes in a later post.

Thanks for offering to share your notes.  More collaboration is the only way this will get solved before the cut off at this point.  I'll offer some of my notes as well in a separate post soon.  

[stiparest]

Sept 15, 2020 19:11:14 GMT -5 dalby2020 said:

I had always thought the bear displayed so prominently on page 5 was a hint. Fandango is shown in front of the bear's den - which is located right off the park loop road. Most people go by without knowing it's there. I thought it would be a great hiding spot and saw various hints in Fandango to back it up. 

Images of bears are hidden in a few pictures.
Virgo is shown, written, or referred to in several places and the Native American zodiac animal for virgo is the bear.
Bear is spelled out in the signpost signs that end with 18.
The big dipper is Ursa Major, the big bear.
The numbers 21 and 11 show up in several places and the bear cave is within 44deg 21' and 68deg 11'.
The number code I revealed last week can spell out ENTER A DEN.

Well, I checked out the bear den this weekend. I looked high, low, inside, and outside checking every crack and rock.
I can conclusively say the key is not there. Search "acadia bear den" to see the location.

That's about it for me. The only other vague ideas I had for possible locations are Northeast Harbor area - maybe somewhere around Asticou, Thuya, or the map hut.
Another possibility is Hadley Point - the northernmost point of Mount Desert Island. We ate lunch there when we first arrived in town but I didn't think of it as "the highest point" until later, so didn't dig around for a key.

I'll share everything else from my notes in a later post.

dalby -

Thanks for sharing this. There is a lot that seems to point to this location. I had a different location, along route 3 across from the College of the Atlantic that resembles the cave the fox is sitting in. It's a ruins called Rock Brook. As you come into Bar Harbor, you can see the steps on the side of the road with the name of the former cottage clearly seen. Here is a link to a photo: ageandabandon.com/wp-content/uploads/MG1_9226.jpg

I liked this place because it was not in the park and because a while back, using some of the sign mileages as degrees on a compass, and using the fox's nose as the center, the angles pointed to letters around the border to spell ROCK BROOK. At first I thought it referred to the 'rock brook' or dry riverbed the Indian is sitting in, but then realized there was a place called Rock Brook right on the side of Rte 3 as you enter Bar Harbor.

I did go there and explore the ruins a number of years ago, but since then big No Trespassing signs have been put up all along that stretch of road where there are the ruins of two sister cottages, Rock Brook and Rocklyn. I believe they are part of a historical district now, but I don't think that was official back in 2007. You can google them to fnid more pictures of the ruins. There is even an old circular garden marked by stones that I explored as 'circle the globe', but found nothing there either.

Also, it has been noted that the shape of the fox on page 5 follows roads and landmarks on the page 55 map. If you overlay the fox on the map and line them up so they closely match, the shape of the top of island resembles the lines of the 'cave' surrounding the fox.

Can I ask where you get BEAR from the signs? I only see 3 signs that end in 18 and none that start with an A. So BER, but not BEAR.

[dalby2020]

Very interesting. I'll read up on it.

To answer your last question, I took the first letter of all items that ended with 18. This happened to include the license plate 131491.
The last 5 digits add to 18 and the 1 is taken as the A from Acadia.

Roque Island
Ellsworth
Bass Harbor
Acadia

I'll admit it might be a stretch.

[stiparest]

Sept 17, 2020 10:10:55 GMT -5 dalby2020 said:

Very interesting. I'll read up on it.

To answer your last question, I took the first letter of all items that ended with 18. This happened to include the license plate 131491.
The last 5 digits add to 18 and the 1 is taken as the A from Acadia.

Roque Island
Ellsworth
Bass Harbor
Acadia

I'll admit it might be a stretch.

Thank you. Nice discovery. Isn't everything in this book a stretch? LOL. We have to keep trying everything!

[dalby2020]

I forgot to mention that I saw a garter snake as I was checking out the bear den.
I also spotted several deer at various places around the island.
Didn't see any hares or otters but definitely saw bald eagles.

The Map/Brochure they hand out at the entrance station showed a fox on the front. It must be a sign.

[thisjustin]

I like that bear den can anagram to Bar (harbor) Eden.

[okiaeannie55]

On page 9, the treasure is described as gold, pearls, jewels.  Anagrams to:   pergola and dell.  I believe the picture on page 5 is of the foxes lair!  It appears to be at Sier du Mont Springs! There is a dell...or meadow just north of there!  Might be a clue!  If indeed Fandango was his usual foxy self, he kept the key!  Just one aspect to look at!!!

[dalby2020]

The p5 picture is a close resemblance to the bear's den. It appears that sly Fandango has taken over - which is why the bear is shown to the right.

There are four animals on p5. The bear is one of four and the last in line from left to right.

The location is just around the corner from Sieur de Mont.
And the park loop road map in that area is similar to the trace of the pearls in Neptune's chest.


It all fits so well - but I couldn't find the key.

[thisjustin]

p. 20 "So I could drop the key and find a den."