This invitation goes out to all cachers, experienced or new, who
are yearning for a delightfully spooky, moonlit Halloween
adventure! Come join us on Saturday, October 24 (one week before
Halloween), at Lake D’Arbonne State Park, 3628 Evergreen Road,
Farmerville, LA 71241. (It’s the same location as The Third Time’s
a Charm Event held last April.) The party officially begins at 6:30
p.m. and lasts until the gleaming contents of a long-buried
treasure chest are revealed, and everyone has claimed a bit of the
splendid booty! The park manager, Tom W. (TW Darbonne), has given
us his enthusiastic permission to continue our revelry well beyond
the park’s normal closing time. Celebrate the magic of Halloween by
dressing in costume—just be sure to select it with the rough
terrain in mind.
We’ll begin with a wiener roast at Pavilion #2 (see map below),
and we’ll provide the disposables, wieners, buns, condiments, &
beverages. Here’s a simple suggestion we’ve come up with to divvy
up the rest:
If your geo-name’s first letter is A-F, bring chips.
If your geo-name’s first letter is G-N, bring a salad.
If your geo-name’s first letter is O-Z, bring a dessert.
Please post if you plan to attend, so we can make sure to
provide enough for everyone.
There’ll be a mystery contest for a shiny new geocoin, to get
everybody warmed up for the competition ahead. Bring your reading
glasses, if you need them.
Items recommended for the treasure hunt: flashlight (check the
batteries!), compass (a real one, not the LSUFan variety!), walking
stick, & mosquito repellent--and maybe a garlic amulet to ward
off evil spirits! You can give your GPSr a well-deserved night
off.
Now I’m sure you’re all wondering…..Just how did a chest full of
treasure come to be hidden in the hills of north Louisiana? Perhaps
you have not heard the legend of the dreaded raider Bobby
Sandbagger, Captain of the Swag Seeker, and his fearsome crew of
ruffians: First Mate Curtis the Widowmaker, Pegleg Tom, Left-Eye
Glenn, Ronnie the Rumswiller, Mad Mike, Scarface James, Swaggering
Steve, & Rick the Rover. Long ago, this band of cutthroats
navigated the inland waterways of the ArkLaMiss region, stealthily
approaching their targets under cover of darkness. Their sudden
attack brought terror to their startled victims. Brandishing their
cutlasses, they burned and pillaged without mercy, claiming FTF on
all the swag in their path. Survivors returned to their ravaged
homesteads, to find that Captain Bobby had brazenly left his
insignia stamped in purple ink!
These outrages continued for many years. Then one fateful stormy
night, the Swag Seeker capsized in the crashing waves and was
shipwrecked on the shore of Lake D’Arbonne. The ragged band of
marauders made their way ashore, grappling with their heavily-laden
chest of plunder, which they buried in the rolling, pine-forested
hills……which later became Lake D’Arbonne State Park.
As darkness falls (around 8:00 p.m.), you will form teams and
set forth on trails of clues throughout the park, in an attempt to
discover this long-lost treasure. Each intrepid team will follow
its own shadowy trail of legendary sites, witnessing somber
evidence of how the outlaws, one by one, eventually met their doom.
Their restless spirits, however, continue to haunt this territory,
guarding the treasure—so beware!
Teams will be identified by colors. All clues and tokens are
color-coded for a particular team, and examples will be shown, so
everyone will know what to look for. Clues describe the locations
based on map features and compass directions. You may even receive
guidance from the spirit world—Mona, the Ghost of Lake D’Arbonne,
has been known to appear to those in need of direction! She is
benevolent to all who respect the park and its creatures.
Each team will receive a map of the park and a clue to their
first location. Upon reaching the first location, your team will
search for the clue to the second location. Once the clue is found,
your team has a decision to make.
One token of your team’s color can be found at each
location, within 30 feet of the clue. The token will be more
difficult to find than the clue. It is not necessary to find your
token to advance to the next location. However, tokens will be
valuable at the final location, where each token can be exchanged
for a hint to finding the key to the treasure chest. This is where
team strategy comes into play. Do you invest time in searching for
the token, or do you proceed directly to the next location, hoping
to get ahead of the other teams? Whatever your team decides, it’s
important to stay together, not only for safety’s sake, but also
because all team members must be present to check in at the final
location. A missing member will put your team in last place!
With or without its token, your team proceeds to its second
location, to search for the next clue, and to follow the game plan
regarding the second token. This continues for four locations—but
you’re not finished yet! Be sure to hang on to your final clue—it
verifies that your team completed its trail.
The fifth and final location—the search area for the key—is
the same area for all teams. The only thing you are searching
for here is the key to the pirate’s treasure chest (which
stands in for the actual treasure chest due to size). Upon arrival
at this location, each team checks in with all its members present,
and turns in its final clue. A hint for the key will be
exchanged for each token--this exchange can provide up to 4
hints, since one token could be found at each location.
After a team’s check-in and token exchange are completed, all
members of that team can begin to search for the key. The person
who finds the key gets to “unlock” the treasure chest and claim the
very special FTF prize. In addition, that person’s team wins “FTP”
(first to plunder) rights to the treasure chest, where each member
may choose one item from the best selection of prizes. (Members
draw numbers to determine the order of selection.) Then each
remaining team makes their selections from the remaining prizes, in
the order that the teams checked in, until everyone has claimed a
bit of the booty!
We hope you’ll post your attendance log and mark your calendar
to join us for this nocturnal adventure. Of course, if you haven’t
already logged all 24 of the caches located in the park, you may
wish to arrive early enough to claim those missing smileys! LDSP
offers many other daytime activities, including fishing, boating,
biking, tennis, and playgrounds. The campsites and cabins are
outstanding—if you wish to make reservations, the number to call is
1-877-CAMP-N-LA (877-226-7652); the minimum stay for overnight
facilities during a weekend is two nights.
We are looking forward to seeing all of our old friends—and
recognizing them in disguise—and welcoming newcomers to our group!
This event should be great for kids who are able to negotiate rough
terrain by flashlight. Be sure to let us know how many youngsters
you’re bringing, so we can provide special goodies for them. The
magic of Halloween is sure to bring out ghosts and goblins to add
to the spine-chilling fun. Everyone get your costume ready—we’ll
see you there!
IMPORTANT: During our event, the Scouts may be hosting a Haunted
Trail near the Visitor’s Center. No clues will be placed near
this particular trail (the Blue Trail)—therefore, there will be no
need for us to turn down the road leading to the Visitor's
Center. Each clue will specify where to park. Team drivers,
please be sure to pull your vehicle completely off the road
at that spot.
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The turnout for this event was splendid, & it was wonderful
to meet so many new cachers! The mystery contest had 3 winners of
geocoins, I remember Blazikenfire won one, and the other names I
will post here if someone will give me a nudge--I'm not sure I
remember them correctly. The outcome of the Treasure Hunt was quite
a surprise, when the Purple Team, consisting of LSUFan,
Woodduck870, Craftinmomma, GONEPOSTAL35, & NELATAGTEAM, was the
first team to check in at the final location, with ALL FOUR TOKENS
in their possession! I did not believe this was possible, until
LSUFan pulled the four purple doubloons from his pocket! Having all
four hints helped immensely to narrow down the
location--congratulations to Jerrod of NLATAGTEAM, who quickly
found the key, before any of the other teams arrived. His FTF prize
was a framed 36X24" reproduction of a historic 17th century world
map printed by the Dutch master cartographer Willem Blaeu. Enjoy
it, Jerrod! The treasure chest was unlocked, & the members of
the Purple Team exercised their "First to Plunder" rights to the
prizes. The five other teams chose their prizes as they arrived at
the location. The treasure chest was given away in a drawing, if I
remember the winner (or he posts a log) I'll put his name here,
too. This was a great night for the newcomers to geocaching, &
I hope we see all of you again soon, at our meetings & on the
trails! Congratulations again to the winners!
Judy/GoldBugGirl
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