Elvira the Elemonator
This is a puzzle cache. The cache is not at the listed coordinates. Please solve the puzzle to find the actual coordinates.
This cache is part of a series on the North Oregon Coast. For more information, please visit Seven Sisters of the Sea.
The cache can be found on an easy hike along Coffenbury Lake, along with several other "Elemonator" puzzles.
This puzzle replaces (and simplifies) the now-archived Echostasia, Bringer of Storms. There is now just a single final cache and the two clue locations have been elemonated. If you are one of the several cachers who have solved Echostasia, please contact me for the new final location (or just redo the puzzle for twice the fun!).
You will find the process of elemonation very helpful! Here's how to solve the puzzle and find the cache, step-by-step:
Step 1
Below are 24 clues followed by the coordinates of 24 locations around the world. Each clue can be matched to a location. For example, a clue of "Relax in the living room" could match to the coordinates of Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square. Some clues might seem to fit more than one location. Try to pick the best match (which could require reading my mind!).
Complete all 24 of the matches. Note that each coordinate is followed by a number in parentheses. For each match, write that number in the blank preceding the clue it matches.
Step 2
Add your numbers for clues 1 through 12 to get XXX.
Add your numbers for clues 13 through 24 to get YYY.
Step 3
The cache is at:
N 46 10.XXX
W 123 57.YYY
Verify your solution by clicking this link.
Celebrate your success!
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Expect to use your favorite Satellite imagery program, Google Earth:
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You can copy and paste the coordinates below into Google Earth.
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Use both the satellite and Street View images, as needed.
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Be sure "Roads" and "Places" are checked.
This puzzle is intended to be fun. If you get stuck, or need a hint, don't hesitate to email me.
Thanks to lesdubois for inspiration and allowing the use of ideas from Word Play, and for testing, completing and approving the puzzle, conveniently releasing me from all liability.
The 24 Clues:
____ 1 - A good place to resupply your GC kit!
____ 2 - A great place to wash your hair
____ 3 - A tasty place to combat dementia
____ 4 - Are you inspired to sing a Glen Campbell song?
____ 5 - Avian sunbathers?
____ 6 - CIR of the CO
____ 7 - Constable, I was attacked by a gang of luthiers strung out on something or other!
____ 8 - Engage!
____ 9 - Excuse me, is there a place I could plug in my electric shaver?
____ 10 - Get the architect! I want him fired immediately!
____ 11 - Honey, I'm a quarter cup short of flour. Would you pop out for some more?
____ 12 - Honey, you're in the wrong lane for Exit 259B-47Q!
____ 13 - It's going to be big and beautiful, too.
____ 14 - Joseph Stalin was one... (lesdubois)
____ 15 - Life? The Universe? Everything??
____ 16 - 
____ 17 - Not 100% certain of your betrothal? You might want to start here!
____ 18 - October 30, 1938 redux
____ 19 - Sir, no need for the space suit. We're looking for "Argonauts", not "Astronauts".
____ 20 - What did Julius and his wife make? (lesdubois)
____ 21 - What is Prague? (lesdubois)
____ 22 - When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
____ 23 - Where I won the Maillot Jaune a few years back...or was that just a dream?
____ 24 - Your best bet, perhaps, during the pandemic, of getting back to the spot where you sang that Glen Campbell song
The 24 Worldwide Locations
____ N 53 57.525 W 1 04.784 (82)
____ N 53 04.770 W 7 53.720 (55)
____ N 53 04.630 W 0 48.548 (108)
____ N 49 17.055 W 123 06.507 (Street View then scan around the tops of the buildings) (149)
____ N 46 02.216 W 123 54.792 (15)
____ N 45 14.897 W 122 53.655 (17)
____ N 43 26.342 W 79 40.540 (32)
____ N 42 54.492 E 0 08.705 (57)
____ N 42 49.312 W 89 20.111 (87)
____ N 41 14.674 W 112 00.468 (99)
____ N 41 05.261 W 111 59.975 (108)
____ N 39 00.638 W 77 26.007 (59)
____ N 38 51.467 W 104 56.473 (Street View facing west) (66)
____ Click for Image (28)
____ N 37 37.336 W 97 25.918 (Street View then note nearby city) (95)
____ N 37 35.546 W 77 30.433 (100)
____ N 36 09.074 W 5 20.923 (12)
____ N 33 30.269 W 117 03.399 (47)
____ N 32 40.543 W 117 09.498 (Satellite View) (16)
____ N 31 03.598 W 6 52.232 (60)
____ N 29 57.311 W 90 04.310 (39)
____ N 22 40.278 E 17 41.990 (54)
(The word "Wath" has nothing to do with this one)
____ N 18 28.056 W 69 57.566 (94)
____ N 1 18.638 E 103 53.180 (160)
Hiking to the Cache
This is one of many puzzle caches on a beautiful hike from Coffenbury Lake in Fort Stevens to Delaura Beach Road. You can park at either end. If starting from the lake, parking is at the posted coordinates for Elvira the Elemonator (State Park fee or pass required). If starting from Delaura Beach Road, parking is at the posted for Pacific Insecticross (no fee).
The one-way distance is two miles and the terrain is almost all flat with a few small hills near the lake.