The final geocache is NOT located at the posted coordinates, but they do provide a general location to park. The actual coordinates for the hide location are determined based on the clues given below. Bring your own writing tool. Permission for the hide was received from the City of Marion.
I've often been accused by close family members of being slooooow to catch the holiday spirit. They've even associated me with the phrase Bah, Humbug!!! Well, in my defense, I simply don't want to peak too early. Starting holiday shopping in early July would have me peaking in July instead of late December. Hence, just to PROVE I am not a Scrooge in 2022, I present this hide to you as my holiday gift to the geocaching community in the form of a little fun (the puzzle shouldn't prove too difficult) and an easy smiley (pretty straightforward hide). Have a Happy Holiday, everybody!!!
All you have to do is solve a couple straightforward(?) holiday Sudokus, one to help with identifying the final’s latitude and the other to help with its longitude. If Sudokus are not your bag, you can always ask Santa to pull an online solver out of his bag to help you.
Each puzzle contains a keyword which you will use to help guide you in calculating the coordinates. After that, it’s all up to you to claim your holiday gift smiley. Enjoy! ?????
Here is the puzzle for the latitude.
Now, locate the keyword in the puzzle and review the number of times each letter occurs in the cells indicated by ‘?’ below to decipher the latitude.
N 42 ab.cde, where
a = W + E - N
b = N - W + O
c = F + L - S - E
d = K + O + E
e = A x S - F
Here is the puzzle for the longitude.
Again, locate the keyword in the puzzle and review the number of times each letter occurs in the cells indicated by ‘?’ below to decipher the longitude.
Longitude = W091 vw.xyz, where
v = E + R - I
w = K + U x F
x = T x A - F
y = (C x A) + I
z = 2 x (C + K) + F
I hope you enjoy this year's puzzle. If you did, here are some others you may find amusing.
Have a GREAT holiday!
=============================
I hope you enjoy this year's puzzle. If you did, here are some others you may find amusing.