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Post by morpheus221 on Sept 7, 2023 13:58:07 GMT -5
Hello All,
It’s been a while since I looked at this hunt but wanted to share a discovery that I haven’t seen mentioned yet.
It has been long speculated that the burial location was near a highway rest stop (even prior to our knowledge of the treasure being buried in Grand Rapids). I propose Cascade Park as the final location based on the following:
Start in Alto (verse #1), go 11 miles West on I-96(verse #2), stop at Highway rest stop (verse #2). After looking through historic maps it appears there was a highway rest stop (up to 2002) at the south end of Cascade Park which is just short of 11 miles from Alto.
I do like this location since many of these 80s hunts were buried in/near a park. Also, there are not many of them along I-96. Interestingly, this spot is visible from the highway and has undergone considerable construction with the rest stop being removed, as the author has alluded to.
The historic maps can be tricky to interpret but there are some interesting sets of “W” trees in this area that might be worth discussing. One that caught my attention was actually getting back on the highway (?where your return begins).
Wondering if anyone from Michigan area remembers any details about this stop. Based upon its position in the riddle, it would nice to know if “some stars at night rest on the horizon” might be a confirmer clue. Side note, “Starr Street” and “Horizon” are not far from the next Highway exit a few miles north but might not have been there in the early 80s.
Thoughts?
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Anton
Full Member
The time is meow.
Posts: 228
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Post by Anton on Sept 10, 2023 13:13:43 GMT -5
I never knew there was a rest stop there, that's a good find! As it's in the Grand Rapids area it's always a possibility. I like the idea of a park being the final location, especially regarding the PINE TREES clue. Keep at it!
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Post by morpheus221 on Sept 11, 2023 18:21:51 GMT -5
Thanks Anton… The rest stop was quite significant from the overhead view and seemed to grant access to the park. There also appears to be a building on site. I was just curious if anyone remembers any details about this location.
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Post by goldensearcher on Sept 11, 2023 18:50:19 GMT -5
Our group emailed Cam a number of months ago about the spot being in Cascade. He told us our spot wasn't right, but didn't throw out the entire park. The rest stop is why we started looking at it.
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Post by choice on Sept 11, 2023 18:52:50 GMT -5
Are you sure that wasn't a truck scale or Weigh Station?
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Post by morpheus221 on Sept 11, 2023 19:25:32 GMT -5
I have looked at this hunt off and on for about ten years now.
I don’t think I have seen a better spot that fits all the clues.
Goldensearcher, any further details you could share about the rest stop?
The tricky part now will be to try and identify five trees with the W configuration. I always thought this hunt had a masquerade type X marks the spot where the tip of the middle tree in the remaining ‘stars’ will point to the exact location on May 1/7th at 11:52 am. Of course, the trees have gotten taller and it will be difficult to identify which ones where there in 1982 (historic aerial maps don’t have the highest resolution).
Fun to discuss nonetheless!
Choice- the topo maps have it listed as “rest area”
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Post by morpheus221 on Sept 11, 2023 22:35:43 GMT -5
One more thing.
Going one step further in the riddle, my best guess is that we were meant to enter the park and go around the trail loop, stopping near the tennis courts (“hunt ends where your return begins”).
There are several clusters of pine trees in the open area in what is now the dog park (consequently the only part of the park visible from the highway).
Following the verses from here, assuming one can identify the 5 correct pine trees in W configuration, you are now at the treasure burial location.
Goldensearcher, not sure how much further detail the author is looking for but the rest - first identify the correct tree and a use the shadow to identify the dig spot. Curious if you have already considered this burial location in the park.
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brosk
New Member
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Post by brosk on Sept 12, 2023 9:06:51 GMT -5
Morpheus, I don't know of Cam "alluding" to the rest area being removed. Is that what you are saying? I like the location of Cascade rest stop for many reasons (I researched that area a long time ago with no luck). I don't know how accessible that rest area is anymore. I can bring up old aerial photos from 1981 but they don't tell me much.
The Cascade rest area was one of the only rest areas in the state that had hiking trails (connecting to the park I believe).
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Post by morpheus221 on Sept 12, 2023 9:59:25 GMT -5
Thanks Brosk.
Just speculation on my part but the author’s observations regarding ‘construction’ and visibility are interesting.
The park appears to have undergone considerable renovations over the years that could be what Cam was referring to. The visibility of this collection of trees near/at the dog park from the highway is something worth considering.
11 miles from Alto to a rest stop, walk around the park loop to a collection of pine trees…it always seems to fit nicely with the instructions in the riddle. Also, take into account that there are no other parks/areas in this part of I-96 with almost direct immediate access to a highway rest stop. It’s actually a very unique location in this regard.
It would be nice to have some further details about that rest stop. Given its position in the riddle, I think “some stars at night….” was a verse that gave further confirmation of being at the correct location.
I do think that the Apple is buried in the park however.
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jon
Full Member
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Post by jon on Sept 12, 2023 11:22:13 GMT -5
interesting that the park is in an area called Thornapple
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brosk
New Member
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Post by brosk on Sept 12, 2023 11:44:25 GMT -5
Please don't pull me back into this hunt... LOL. I have lost 2 decades on it.
With that being said: oconomowoc means waterfall (Cascade)
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Post by morpheus221 on Sept 12, 2023 11:57:32 GMT -5
Great find Brosk!!!!!!!! I think I am officially back in. Will take a significant amount of detective work to find it - and a bit of luck. Even if the author confirms the correct location, it still may be a needle in haystack but worth continuing the discussion. Question for the group. Any clusters of trees in the park stand out to anyone?
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Post by goldensearcher on Sept 12, 2023 17:37:11 GMT -5
We had two spots. One was the group of trees by the tennis courts, the other not far from today's basketball courts. Negative on both. We got so tired of the puzzle we haven't sent anything in in months.
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Post by vizzini on Sept 13, 2023 10:09:52 GMT -5
So you run around a park/rest area of your choice and find the fabled "W" pine tree grouping near "where your return begins". Then what? I like the shadow idea at May 1/7th at 11:52 pointing away from the "W" or pointing to a spot inside the "W", but I have problems with growing/dying things being used as pointers that are supposed to get us within inches of a certain spot. Seems to me we should be looking for permanent markers that, hopefully, have not been removed. I would like to think Cam would have mentioned it if the solve was no longer possible. Are we using our 1982 toolset to solve TGAT or using modern tools to jump to what (most) people think is the end? I would imagine Cam would have expected the mailed solution to be along the lines of "solved piece 1, solved piece 2, etc., …and then expect to find ?? points exactly to the necklace in a group of 'W' pine trees". Not, "I used aerial photography to find a 'W' ". Please don't take me wrong. Discussion and keeping people interested is key to discovery and working backwards may be all that is left for us to try so many years later. I really enjoy reading about everyone's efforts and hope to see more, but I think whatever technique is used to get to a solution, it probably needs to have something in it to get to a very small particular spot. Maybe it will be "found a 'W' using aerial, noticed a flagpole, noticed pole shadow points into 'W', working backwards, working backwards, etc.". Who knows. P.S. Really liked the Starr/Horizon find. P.P.S. Here's my favorite pine 'W', but never found the small spot. (not at Cascade)
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Post by morpheus221 on Sept 13, 2023 10:56:51 GMT -5
Hi Vizzini.
Yes. You make some excellent points. I have worked on this hunt off and on for about a decade. I like the use of online aerial photos as a tool since I am not near this location, but agree with you that we need to use methods that would have been readily available in the 80s.
Over the years, we sort of had pieces solved but until the discovery of it being in Michigan and now the rest stop, nothing really added up. We still have some parts of the puzzle that are missing. I really like the shadow idea since the riddle confirms ‘time of day’ is important and we are provided with both a time and date. Consequently, Cam admitted this hunt was inspired by Masquerade. I agree though a single PINETREE would not be an ideal structure to create an obelisk/shadow type treasure marker. Is there another marker we should be looking for? Why then the emphasis on this particular tree/star?
The way I see this puzzle right now (after ‘placing verses in order):
Verse #1 - start in Alto (Michigan, one of “8 states” surrounding Great Lakes) Verse #2 - drive 11 miles West and take Cascade rest stop (Cascade confirmed by Oconomowoc) Verse #3 - ?rest stop confirmer Verse #4 - take park loop, treasure site is about halfway around Verse #5 - there are a bunch of trees at this location (PINETREES) Verse #6 - looking for a group in W configuration (Casseiopia) Verse # 7 - ?this is the start of your treasure map Verse # 8 - ?you will need to complete the map with remaining clues Verse # 9 - disregard Epsilon/Delta stars/trees Verse #10 - pick the central star/tree from what remains (Alpha); treasure is buried two feet underground Verse # 11 - time of day is important (May 1/7, 11:52) Verse # 12 - ?red herring clue, ignore misspellings etc.
Here’s one other thought. Could the “Omphalos” be the central spot in the triangle of the remaining three trees (Verse #10)
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