WWD Bonus 2: More Dinosaurs of Film and Fiction Mystery Cache

N42 21.ABC W74 31.DEF

1. Old Lace is a super-powered fictional dinosaur character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.  She also appeared in the Hulu television series Runaways which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Old Lace, a Deunonychus (initially thought to be a Velociraptor), is psychically linked to Gertrude Yorkes (aka “Old Lace”).  In what Lego video game did Old Lace appear? A = the version of the game that Old Lace appeared in.   
2.  The Loch Ness Monster, known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water (Plesiosaurus perhaps?). The story of the Loch Ness monster begins with water bailiff Alex Campbell on May 2nd, 1933. He identified the possibility of a monster in the loch while writing for the Inverness Courier as a part-time journalist. The original sighting of Nessie, however, was reported on August 4th in 1933 by George Spicer and his wife. According to the report, George and his wife were driving on the road near the loch when he saw a creature that looked similar to a dragon and which he assumed had to have at least a few prehistoric ties. In the report, he states that this creature was simply waddling across the road with an animal in its mouth. 

After George’s report was filed with the ‘Courier’, the news publication began receiving more and more anonymous letters claiming to have either seen the monster themselves or to know a person that had seen the monster. Some of the letters even contained family legends that had supposedly been passed down and mentioned a similar monster at least once. The media, of course, had a field day deciding on an appropriate name for the creature. They started by calling the mysterious creature a ‘monster fish’ before progressing to ‘sea serpent’, ‘dragon’, and finally ‘Loch Ness Monster.’ Popular interest and belief in the creature has varied since and evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a number of disputed photographs and sona readings.  The scientific community explains alleged sightings of the Loch Ness Monster as hoaxes, woshful thinking, and the misidentification of mundane objects.

B= On what day in May did Alex Campbell first suggest the presence of a large animal in Loch Ness?

The Land Before Time is a 1988 animated adventure film  featuring an Apatosaurus named Littlefoot, who ends up alone after his mother dies protecting him from by a villainous Tyrannosaurus rex. Littlefoot flees famine and upheaval to search for the Great Valley, an area spared from devastation, where the adult dinosaurs have moved on to. On his journey, he meets four young companions: Cera, an orange Triceratops, Ducky, a green Saurolophus, Petrie, a brown Pteranodon, and Spike, a green stegosaurus. The film explores issues of prejudice between the different species and the hardships they endure in their journey as they are guided by the spirit of Littlefoot's mother and forced to deal with the Tyrannosaurus rex that killed her.

C=Subtract the last digit of the year the film was released from the last digit of the day of the month the film was released.

Jack Horner is an American paleontologist most famous for describing Maiasaura, providing the first clear evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their young. In addition to his paleontological discoveries, Horner served as the technical advisor for the first five Jurassic Park films, had a cameo appearance in Jurassic World, and served as a partial inspiration for one of the lead characters of the franchise, Dr. Alan Grant. Horner studied at the University of Montana, although he did not complete his degree due to undiagnosed dyslexia, and was awarded a Doctorate in Science honoris causa.

Horner is best known among paleontologists for his game-changing discoveries, including the extensive nesting grounds of the duck-billed dinosaur Maiasaura ("Good Mother Lizard") and a chunk of Tyrannosaurus Rex with intact soft tissues, analysis of which has lent support to the evolutionary descent of birds from dinosaurs. Lately, Horner has been in the news for his semi-serious scheme to clone a dinosaur from a live chicken, and, slightly less controversially, for his recent claim that the horned, frilled dinosaur Torosaurus was actually an unusually elderly Triceratops adult.

D=How many years did Jack Horner serve in the Marine Corps in a reconnaissance unit Viet Nam?  

The Indigenous people that have long lived and hunted near Lake Champlain, the Abenaki and the Iroquois, have their own legends about a large creature inhabiting the lake, which looked like a large, horned serpent or giant snake. The Abenaki term for this creature is Gitaskog. Early in the 18th century, Abenakis warned French explorers about disturbing the waters of the lake, so as not to disturb the serpent. Samuel de Champlain, whom the lake is named after, is often erroneously credited with being the first European to sight Champ.  The next famous account appears in the Plattsburgh Republican newspaper on Saturday, July 24, 1819. Captain Crum was aboard a scow on Bulwagga Bay the previous Thursday morning when he reported a black monster, about 187 feet long and with a head resembling a sea horse, that reared more than 15 feet out of the water. He claimed the monster he saw had three teeth, eyes the color of a "a pealed [sic] onion," a white star on its forehead and "a belt of red around the neck." This is a remarkable level of detail concerning an object that was, according to the witness, some 200 yards away. 

In August of 1873, the steamship W.B. Eddy encountered Champ by running into it. The ship nearly turned over, according to the tourists on board. Never one to miss a trick, showman P. T. Barnum offered a reward of $50,000 in 1873 for "hide of the great Champlain serpent to add to my mammoth World's Fair Show." Another group sighting came in 1945, when passengers of the S.S. Ticonderoga claimed to have seen a creature. By 1992, sightings totaled 180, with approximately 600 people claiming to have seen Champ all over the lake. Eager children crossing the lake by ferry often look for the lake monster, hoping for a sighting. A few people even managed to snap photos of what they claimed to be Champ.

Much like his mythical relative at Loch Ness, Champ sightings and photos are much debated and analyzed. Although many people are skeptical of sightings, Champ is now protected by law on both sides of Lake Champlain, just in case. In 1981 Port Henry, New York, declares their waters a safe haven for Champ. In 1982 the state of Vermont passes a House Resolution protecting Champ and in 1983 New York, the state Assembly and the state Senate pass resolutions protecting Champ  Today, Champ is celebrated, whether he exists or not. In Vermont, a baseball team is known as the Lake Monsters, with a Champ mascot. A Champ statue sits by the water in Port Henry, NY, and images of the monster — looking cheerful and definitely not scary — appear throughout the area, at local businesses, on t-shirts, in children's books, and more. A historic marker even sits on the shore in Clinton County, in honor of everyone's favorite lake monster.

E= the sum of  the last digits of the years when three resolutions were passed protecting Champ. 

Blue is a female Velociraptor who appears in Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and Jurassic World: Dominion. She is the oldest of the four raptors in her pack consisting of her sisters, Delta, Echo and Charlie.The oldest of the four Velociraptors trained by Owen Grady for the IBRIS Project , Blue and her pack aided in the search for the Indominus Rex, only to turn against their trainer when accepting the I. rex as their Alpha. However, Blue was the first to change her loyalty back to Owen and fight against the I. rex. While the rest of her pack was killed, Blue received aid from Rexy, as well as the Mosasaurus and defeated the I. rex. She was subsequently encountered by the Camp Cretaceous campers, helping them to kill the two Scorpious Rexes and avoid capture by Mantah Corp.

F=In what season did Sue, the Velociraptor and the Camp Cretaceous campers of the animated series, “Jurassic World, Camp Cretaceos”,  kill the Scorpious Rexes? 

"Walking with Dinosaurs" is a Reptilia-themed power trail consisting of 25 traditonal microcaches hosting their featured dinosaur, and 2 large, well-stocked ammocans you'll have to answer some questions to find. It extends for a total of 4 miles north from Hubbel Corners toward Grand Gorge on the lovely, but lesser known Southern portion of the Stamford Rail Trail. The trail is mostly flat, wide and level, and other than a few sections that can get watery, it is dog, stroller and bike friendly.  Most of the caches are winter-friendly, but a few are not, so check the attributes if there's deep snow. We recommend doing it over two days for a more enjoyable, leisurly experience, but more ambitious cachers (or First-to-Find maniacs!) can start early and do it in one. We have tried to provide good coordinates and helpful hints to give you a rewarding caching experience. 

Parking is available at the South end of the trail at N42 18.165 W74 33.256, or at the North end at N42 21.238 W74 31.250