Let's solve this thing! A thread for sharing of random notes

[dalby2020]

Okay all - let's get this done before November! I took my shot and came up empty. But let's get someone to solve this.
Here are some more of my notes if it may help anyone.

Is there any meaning into how Fandango refers to other characters?
Anagram in there somewhere?

Ways Fandango refers to Neptune:

King of the Deep
Ol’ Flipper Rider
Neptune
Deep Boy
Ol’ Neptune
His Royal Wetness
Eel Beard
Fish Breath
Big Guy
Seaweed Crown
Brine and Breeze
King Seal Breath
Old Green Gills
Fish Boss
Sea God

Ways Fandango refers to others:

Rip
Mr. Proud Old FOP
Wing Girl
Sprite Boy
Wings of Death
Claws
Bambi Britches
Old Dame
Lobsterman
Crabby what’s his name
Those tourist guys


Instances Fandango uses a real name:

Neptune
Ripple
Chief Abnaki
Sam
Harley

[dalby2020]

The Corner Stars:

I have recently been thinking the corner stars might hide semaphore letters and numbers.
I haven't pulled anything out yet as they seem to be pointing in every direction.
But there might be something color-specific.

Other questions I have are:
Why 5 stars on a couple of the images?

Is there any significance to the placement of the stars relative to the top/bottom/sides?

[dalby2020]

There seems to be a number of math terms in the Fandango text.
If numbers open the master riddle, perhaps something must be calculated or plotted on a graph.

Rise
Run
Slope
Point
Intercept
Curve
Powers
Edge
Bound
Mean
Moment
Sign
Fields
Table

[dalby2020]

The Map Elevations:

I know the discrepancies in mountain elevations has been discussed but am not sure it has been compiled.

Elevation Comparisons
The first number are the "current" values from the Acadia NPS Website.
The numbers in parenthesis are from the pg56 map of Fandango.

From what I can tell, the elevations on pg11 ("key page") and pg30 (Harley) match the current values.
A map from 1942 also matches the current values.

It is the values on pg56 that are inaccurate. (Dorr -20; Champlain -7; Pemetic -8; Penobscot -1; Sargent -1; St Sauveur -1; Western -1)

Dorr = 1270 (1250)
Cadillac = 1530 (1530)
Champlain = 1058 (1051)
Pemetic = 1248 (1240)
Triad = 698 (698)
Penobscot = 1194 (1193)
Sargent = 1373 (1372)
Norumbega = 852 (852)
Acadia = 681 (681)
St Sauveur = 679 (678)
Beech = 839 (839)
Western = 1071 (1070)

[dalby2020]

Random Notes:

The statue in the fire picture pg34-35 was from the Anne Archbold cottage - Cleftstone Rd. Bar Harbor.
abandonedtrailsofacadianationalpark.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-anne-m-archbold-estate.html

The roman numbers MCMXLVII indicate 1947 - the year of the great fire. (Oct17, 1947).

The house in the Old FOP image closely resembles Wingwood House, which in 1953 was pulled down and replaced by the Ferry Terminal.
It had previously been called Four Acres Estate.
(It also resembles painting 14 of Masquerade - which had a similar border phrase "Two of One to Eight").

The number grids suggest the importance of the number 19. Magnetic declination was 19 deg between 1950s and 1970s.

The otter Ripple is likely named after Ripple Pond (between Somes Pond and North end of Long Pond).

40 paces is about 100 feet.

EDEN is supposedly is Hebrew for "pleasure".
Eden is a village in Northeast MDI and Bar Harbor used to be named Eden.
There are references to Adam and Eve in the text and there is a picture of an apple on the key page.
Thousands of varieties of apples used to be grown on MDI. Key hidden at location of an old orchard?
Madam I'm Adam is a well-known palindrome - the letters reflect.
Picture of the snake on pg5 as the temptation serpent?
Northeastern Brook is the largest stream on the island.
Mount KEBO ,Green Mountain, and Great Hill are in Eden.

[thisjustin]

Oct 1, 2020 9:32:46 GMT -5 dalby2020 said:

The Map Elevations:

It is the values on pg56 that are inaccurate. (Dorr -20; Champlain -7; Pemetic -8; Penobscot -1; Sargent -1; St Sauveur -1; Western -1)

I agree with all except I have the Champlain height on p. 56 as 1057 so the difference is -1 like most of the others.

Some other observations:

Of the seven discrepancies on p. 56, four are shown with correct heights on p. 30 (listed from shortest to tallest), St. Sauveur, Penobscot, Pemetic, and Sargent = 1,1,8,1.  Numbers sum to 11 = the Key page. 

Only two mountains are shown on both p. 56 and p. 30 with the correct heights on both pages, The Triad (698) and Norumbega (852). 698+852 = 1,550. Numbers sum to 11 = the Key page.

Four incorrect, two correct ... "Tea For (4) Two (2)"?

The Triad is the only mountain appearing at the correct height on p. 56, p. 30 and p. 11

Cadillac is the only mountain with a given height to appear on p. 56 and p. 11 without appearing on p. 30.

[thedawailey]

Oct 1, 2020 12:33:29 GMT -5 thisjustin said:

Oct 1, 2020 9:32:46 GMT -5 dalby2020 said:

The Map Elevations:

It is the values on pg56 that are inaccurate. (Dorr -20; Champlain -7; Pemetic -8; Penobscot -1; Sargent -1; St Sauveur -1; Western -1)

I agree with all except I have the Champlain height on p. 56 as 1057 so the difference is -1 like most of the others.

Some other observations:

Of the seven discrepancies on p. 56, four are shown with correct heights on p. 30 (listed from shortest to tallest), St. Sauveur, Penobscot, Pemetic, and Sargent = 1,1,8,1.  Numbers sum to 11 = the Key page. 

Only two mountains are shown on both p. 56 and p. 30 with the correct heights on both pages, The Triad (698) and Norumbega (852). 698+852 = 1,550. Numbers sum to 11 = the Key page.

Four incorrect, two correct ... "Tea For (4) Two (2)"?

The Triad is the only mountain appearing at the correct height on p. 56, p. 30 and p. 11

Cadillac is the only mountain with a given height to appear on p. 56 and p. 11 without appearing on p. 30.

Thanks thisjustin and Dalby - these are great notes and additions. I do think that if we are comparing elevations of mountains, it should be just between the ones listed on the different pages of the book. Comparing them to 'real' elevations requires a lot of research outside the book.

Like the elevations, some of the mileages on the signs are also way off from either driving mileages &/or as the crow flies in a straight line. Portland, for example, is 175 miles by car, and 113 miles straight over the ocean.  The sign has 98 miles, which puts you in the ocean or about 20 miles up the coast, closer to Brunswick than to Portland. The one thing these differences suggest to me is not how far off the real numbers they are, but because they are different, the numbers they picked must have some significance.But then the question is, why use Portland when 98 miles is closer to Brunswick?

I have noticed an interesting 'pattern' in the signs. 12 of them (half) have a version of the paired letters OR in them, assuming the first sign is Orland which fits with the mileage of 31 miles. ORland, ROque Island, Bar HarbOR, JORdan Pond, YORk, EastpORt, JonespORt, PORtland, EllswORth, NORumbega Mtn, Bass HarbOR, & KennebunkpORt. If you count all signs with both an O and an R in them, you can include OtteR Creek, MOntReal, Sieur de MOnts SpRing, and W. TRemOnt, so 16 out of 24 have OR in them. These are not uncommon letters, so it could be a coincidence, but it could also answer why they picked Portland instead of the more accurate Brunswick for that sign.

[Karen]

P 26 (fairies): dusk to dawn & follow the light is telling us to go from east to west

P 53 (lobsterman): Lobsterman is pointing up to the words NORTH WEST

PP 44-45 (TO THE HIGHEST POINT): The Nepal sign is the only one without an arrow on it. To get from Maine to Nepal you would typically travel from west to east a distance of a little over 7,000 miles, nowhere close to the mileage on the sign. However, the distance traveling east to west is somewhere in the neighborhood of that 10,107 mi. I think that sign is telling us that the location is on the western half of the island. Cadillac Sam is pointing up to 'TO THE HIGHEST POINT'

P 32 (Chief Abnaki): Indian looking upwards; 'smoke signals rise in a quest' - another indication of north

I like Indian Point (Indian beginning with i, and "Point" of Interest perhaps?) at the northernmost tip of the western side of the island. It's a good spot because it's not in the national park, being mostly owned by a nature preserve. There are a couple of nice trails as well as a spot along the Shore Trail with two Adirondack chairs facing the water (TWO TOGETHER, PASS THE TIME, TEA FOR TWO maybe?). No idea if they were there 13 years ago of course.

[stiparest]

Oct 2, 2020 23:35:19 GMT -5 Karen said:

P 26 (fairies): dusk to dawn & follow the light is telling us to go from east to west

P 53 (lobsterman): Lobsterman is pointing up to the words NORTH WEST

PP 44-45 (TO THE HIGHEST POINT): The Nepal sign is the only one without an arrow on it. To get from Maine to Nepal you would typically travel from west to east a distance of a little over 7,000 miles, nowhere close to the mileage on the sign. However, the distance traveling east to west is somewhere in the neighborhood of that 10,107 mi. I think that sign is telling us that the location is on the western half of the island. Cadillac Sam is pointing up to 'TO THE HIGHEST POINT'

P 32 (Chief Abnaki): Indian looking upwards; 'smoke signals rise in a quest' - another indication of north

I like Indian Point (Indian beginning with i, and "Point" of Interest perhaps?) at the northernmost tip of the western side of the island. It's a good spot because it's not in the national park, being mostly owned by a nature preserve. There are a couple of nice trails as well as a spot along the Shore Trail with two Adirondack chairs facing the water (TWO TOGETHER, PASS THE TIME, TEA FOR TWO maybe?). No idea if they were there 13 years ago of course.

Karen - this is interesting. I have a friend who is working on this hunt as well, but is not on any treasure-hunting forums. He came up with the same nature preserve, but used a different method that was not quite clear to me. It involved following directions on the Key page, page 11, using the colored bars under each of the Zodiac signs along with the arrows on the page.

He had a whole map drawn out with arrows all over it. It brought him to Indian Point and that nature preserve. He went there and followed the paths to a memorial bench near the water with a quote on it about the sea and wind, but he was unable to find the key after searching the whole area.

[pumalion]

Oct 2, 2020 23:35:19 GMT -5 Karen said:

P 26 (fairies): dusk to dawn & follow the light is telling us to go from east to west

P 53 (lobsterman): Lobsterman is pointing to NORTH WEST

...

P 32 (Chief Abnaki): Indian looking upwards; 'smoke signals rise in a quest' - another indication of north

...

Old thoughts about the "wacky compass" idea:

Oct 20, 2019 11:51:18 GMT -4 pumalion said:

There is a wacky compass of some kind hidden in the text and illustrations. If we can figure out how to decode the compass, we can create a route for Fandango or decode the map that is the last illustration.

When I say "wacky," I am guessing that there are hints in images and words such as the mirror image compass on the Harley Quinn page, border phrases such as "topsy turvy" and "circle the globe", and directions to Fandango in the text such as "Go West" and "You head down east." The directions of Fandango's compass won't match "west = left", "north = top", "east = right" expectations most navigators would expect.

I think the "red, yellow, book" solution to the milestone signs is part of decoding the compass. On the back of the book there is a compass rose that is red and yellow. But the milestone signs are blue = red and red = yellow. This is another wacky compass clue where we have to substitute book logic for real word expectations. There may be additional information in the milestone signs, but I'm guessing the "red, yellow, book" clue is a solid hint about the back cover and the compass rose.

On a map, the "key" is the place where the mapmaker tells you what the symbols represent. The map key in Fandango (p. 56) tells us about lighthouses, anchorages and points of interest. When you really think about the island, though, there are many more anchorages than are marked on p. 56. Probably more lighthouses and points of interest, too. My thinking is that "solving" the key on the map is the way to find the treasure.

That post was from a thread about p. 11, the "A Measure of Gold" key illustration. Subsequently, I have started to look more closely at the Harley Quinn page as a possible source for decoding a map or compass hidden in the text/illustrations.

- The red letters in the Harley border spell out the word "map."

- There is a map in the illustration.

- Harley tells Fandango that he can see it all without leaving his cabin.

- There is a book on Harley's shelf that contains legends. The legend on a map tells you how to read the symbols in the map. There are many symbols on the spines of Harley's books.

- The "red-yellow-book" hints from the mileage sign tell us that the book (or Harley's books?) could be among the keys to the solution.

- There is a wacky compass on Harley's table.

We can create compass roses by folding some of the pages to bring together stars in opposite corners. I'm not sure whether or how those compass roses are used as directional signals. Maybe only the red and yellow combinations are relevant?

In addition to the compass rose on the back cover, there is a compass rose on the map page. There are roses on the Fop's coffee pot and on the Old Lady's tea bag. The word "rose" appears in the text a few times.

On p. 8, the authors rhyme "direction" and "reflection". This might be a hint that the compass directions can be deciphered with a mirror.

From a July 2020 discussion of mirror images:

If you read the text that goes with the lobsterman image, there are hints that the lobsterman IS a weathervane. He swings around and the illustration shows him pointing to the word "north." He verbally tells the fox to go "down East," however. This is a traditional term for a section of the coast of Maine, so it's not a clear instruction in terms of charting a course.

In the context of the book, I think it also helps to point out that Northwest and Southeast harbors on MDI are not really located in northwestern or southeastern places, unless you are at the mouth of Somes Sound.

The compass on the Harley Quinn page might be a better place to look for hints about reflection, if you are trying to come up with an image to use as a guide for a reflection strategy.

[susb8383]

Oct 3, 2020 8:16:04 GMT -5 stiparest said:

Oct 2, 2020 23:35:19 GMT -5 Karen said:

P 26 (fairies): dusk to dawn & follow the light is telling us to go from east to west

P 53 (lobsterman): Lobsterman is pointing up to the words NORTH WEST

PP 44-45 (TO THE HIGHEST POINT): The Nepal sign is the only one without an arrow on it. To get from Maine to Nepal you would typically travel from west to east a distance of a little over 7,000 miles, nowhere close to the mileage on the sign. However, the distance traveling east to west is somewhere in the neighborhood of that 10,107 mi. I think that sign is telling us that the location is on the western half of the island. Cadillac Sam is pointing up to 'TO THE HIGHEST POINT'

P 32 (Chief Abnaki): Indian looking upwards; 'smoke signals rise in a quest' - another indication of north

I like Indian Point (Indian beginning with i, and "Point" of Interest perhaps?) at the northernmost tip of the western side of the island. It's a good spot because it's not in the national park, being mostly owned by a nature preserve. There are a couple of nice trails as well as a spot along the Shore Trail with two Adirondack chairs facing the water (TWO TOGETHER, PASS THE TIME, TEA FOR TWO maybe?). No idea if they were there 13 years ago of course.

Karen - this is interesting. I have a friend who is working on this hunt as well, but is not on any treasure-hunting forums. He came up with the same nature preserve, but used a different method that was not quite clear to me. It involved following directions on the Key page, page 11, using the colored bars under each of the Zodiac signs along with the arrows on the page.

He had a whole map drawn out with arrows all over it. It brought him to Indian Point and that nature preserve. He went there and followed the paths to a memorial bench near the water with a quote on it about the sea and wind, but he was unable to find the key after searching the whole area.

Any place to be found in the nature preserve where roses are growing in sand? I came up with the phrase “in rose sand” but I might be seeing things that aren’t there.

[poe67]

Oct 3, 2020 8:16:04 GMT -5 stiparest said:

Oct 2, 2020 23:35:19 GMT -5 Karen said:

P 26 (fairies): dusk to dawn & follow the light is telling us to go from east to west

P 53 (lobsterman): Lobsterman is pointing up to the words NORTH WEST

PP 44-45 (TO THE HIGHEST POINT): The Nepal sign is the only one without an arrow on it. To get from Maine to Nepal you would typically travel from west to east a distance of a little over 7,000 miles, nowhere close to the mileage on the sign. However, the distance traveling east to west is somewhere in the neighborhood of that 10,107 mi. I think that sign is telling us that the location is on the western half of the island. Cadillac Sam is pointing up to 'TO THE HIGHEST POINT'

P 32 (Chief Abnaki): Indian looking upwards; 'smoke signals rise in a quest' - another indication of north

I like Indian Point (Indian beginning with i, and "Point" of Interest perhaps?) at the northernmost tip of the western side of the island. It's a good spot because it's not in the national park, being mostly owned by a nature preserve. There are a couple of nice trails as well as a spot along the Shore Trail with two Adirondack chairs facing the water (TWO TOGETHER, PASS THE TIME, TEA FOR TWO maybe?). No idea if they were there 13 years ago of course.

Karen, 

Those chairs are still there.

[pumalion]

Oct 4, 2020 21:31:02 GMT -5 susb8383 said:

Rosa Rugosa is a non-native flower that grows in the sand. If you google "rosa rugosa Mount Desert Island" you can find images of rosa rugosa in various locations around the island.

But I wonder whether the rose phrase you found could refer to a compass rose?

[searcher1991]

So in another group someone mentioned how on the camera page and the upside down page you can fold down so that the stars form the compass point on the back of the book. This also creates the image of an eye so it seems pretty important.

This has been talked about before but I didn’t realize that this actually forms numbers above and below the created eye. I don’t know how to post the picture but it creates a combo like 255262 above the eye and 235522. Those might not be the exact number because they kind of blend in together where the bottoms of the 2s could be the top of the 5s but that’s what I settled on for now.

Wonder if this will help anyone? I also wonder if this ties into the star message. Numbers open hidden treasure riddle. What if it’s hidden numbers open treasure riddle since these numbers are hidden until you fold to make the red and yellow star point.

[thisjustin]

Oct 6, 2020 10:18:38 GMT -5 eos said:

Those chairs were there 13 years ago but that seems pretty high risk to think they would always be.

Here are two thoughts from some past musings, somewhat melded together.

19 is also something called the Golden Number, the use of which assists the prediction of full moons and Easter. Its symbol is an asterisk.

There is an asterisk on Neptune's treasure box, but also in the inset on the Key page. In cartography, an inset box of a larger map is something in particular focus on that map. The asterisk on the Key page has always seemed to me to be off of Indian Point. The small island would be Green Island and the inlet would be Northwest Cove, the right hand point would be the head of the Island (where the bridge connects to the mainland) and the tiny island would be Thomas Island. This requires some knowledge outside the book, so probably means nothing. I've also looked all over the Blagden Preserve to no avail.

Eos - I think I am following you but just to make sure.  Based on your description would that put the asterisk at the northeast edge of Northwest Cove? Or am I thinking about it wrong?

Separately, I came across EOS while working on this the other day and found myself thinking "now where have I seen that name before ...?"