Fish Out of Water 7

This letterbox is a joint placement between FungusWoman and SpringChick. The stamp was carved by FungusWoman; the log was added by SpringChick, who planted and maintains the box.

Getting There…

At a park that now occupies the property once owned by a Muskegon Hotel Proprietor, remnants of the former homestead are still evident, including the cement pad where the boat house once stood, an old stairway, several sections of foundation and a sunken cement vault that was the former fish pond. Make your way to this park and locate the cement pond.

Clues…

This is a story of Wyatt, the fish. For years Wyatt spent his days swimming back and forth in the cement pond. The trees overhead provided shade from the hot summer sun and cool lake breezes kept his water from getting too warm. If he listened carefully, he could hear the surf from Lake Michigan waves lapping at the shoreline not far from the fish pond. The man often came to sit by the pond and on Wednesdays the gardener gave him fresh water.

Eventually the man stopped coming around to sit by the cement pond and Wyatt wondered if perhaps he had taken ill. Not too long after that, strange people began stopping by with a man in a suit, talking in hushed tones, asking questions about acreage and lake frontage. The gardener stopped coming on Wednesdays and the water in the cement pond dried up. Every night as the moon reflected brightly off the lake, Wyatt dreamed of finding water. And so one day he leapt up out of the cement pond and decided to head off in search of water.

Out of the walls of the cement pond, the world suddenly looked very different, and very big. Wyatt spotted a sandy path at 300 degrees. It looked like it headed down a hill so he thought perhaps that was the way toward the water. He tumbled down the hill and then veered left a bit, ending at the foot of a small maple tree. From here the path went left and the path went right. As he was sitting there trying to decide which way to go, he saw people walking to the left and decided it would be safer to head right. He followed the path through a meadowy area, searching for water. At the edge of the woods, the low, outstretched arm of a locust tree welcomed him, but still he did not see any sign of water. To the east he spotted a path that headed up a hill filled with beach grass. Perhaps there was water that way — at the very least he might be able to get a view of the area from the top of the hill. So up he climbed, through the dune grass, past the funky pine trees, to the top where a big, straight pine tree stood at 190 degrees. From here he saw Lake Michigan to the west. Following the running root of the big pine tree, he headed along the path.

And then he heard it, faintly at first, then louder — a cat! Quickly he looked around for a place to hide. Standing at the place where the root disappeared into the sand, he spotted a fallen tree at 160 degrees, just a few feet from the trunk of a standing dead tree. The arm of the fallen tree seemed to be saying something, its broken arm pointing up toward the sky. But how to get to it? He headed up the trail a bit and found a side path that lead him there. “Good,” Wyatt thought, “there is a nice little hollow spot under here… looks like a perfect place to hide until that cat is gone.”

But little did Wyatt know he was hearing a catbird, not a cat, and since the bird was nesting in a nearby thicket the meowing sounds continued day after day after day. And so he continues to hide at the base of the fallen tree, longing for water, waiting for the cat to pass.

She Flies…

Clues…

A Michigan Historical Marker stands before the childhood home of America’s “First Lady of the Air.” Upon locating this historic homestead, proceed south toward the farmer’s field. On your left, in a small grove of trees, find the box where two stones lie at the foot of a large beech.

Inspiration Point

Clues…

From the highest point along the Lake Michigan shoreline, follow the trail NORTH to YAREJCN NPMNCPRW. Turn toward the lake and in the CENTER of the CXFO-PHFKKBA LJWWK find the BOX.

Hint… Finding the name of the city is the key.

Pink Cadillac

Getting There…

Use the following encrypted text to crack the cipher. Once you have solved the apropos cryptogram, apply the same substitution to decipher the clues.

GUC ISG HZBYO B’I EUUVBLZ
EUT HZW EUUVBLZ HZBYDL B MU
GUC ISG JUYMWT ZUJ AUIW B VUPW GUC
JZWY GUC DWH UY IG YERPWL VBOW GUC MU
JWVV KSKG GUC OYUJ GUC KCD IW
HZWTW SBY’H YU LWATWH ‘KUCH HZSH
JWVVAUIW UY UPWT ZWTW SYM ZCD IW
KSKG B’VV LRBVV HZW ESAHL
JWVV ZUYWG BH SBY’H GUCT IUYWG
‘ASCLW KSKG B DUH RVWYHG UE HZSH
B VUPW GUC EUT GUCT RBYO ASMBVVSA
ATCLZWM PWVPWH LWSHL
TBMBYD BY HZW KSAO
UUNBYD MUJY HZW LHTWWH
JSPBYD HU HZW GBTVL
EWWVBYD UCH UE LBDZH
LRWYMBYD SVV IG IUYWG
UY S LSHCTMSG YBDZH
ZUYWG B FCLH JUYMWT JZSH GUC MU HZWTW BY HZW KSAO
UE GUCT RBYO ASMBVVSA

Clues…

ASMBVVSA RSHZJSG
KUUY TUSM

HTSBVL UYW HJU LWPWY UYW

ETUI HZW LSYMG LTUH KG HZW TBPWT HSOW HZW HJU-HTSAO HU HZW IWWHBYD RVSAW UE ISYG HTSBVL

UYW ZCYMTWM MWDTWWL HU EBTLH ICVHB-HTCYO ISRVW
UYW ZCYMTWM HJWYHG MWDTWWL HU LWAUYM ICVHB-HTCYO ISRVW

Swan Cemetery

(quite a snug little place)

Use the numbered list of puzzle clues below to find the words that fit into the puzzle. Each of the 35 words replaces an asterisk (*) in the clue; the number in parentheses following each set of asterisks indicates the total number of letters in the words in that grouping (spaces are not counted).

 
| Click here to open the puzzle grid in Adobe .PDF format |

Puzzles Clues…

1. Close
2. Extent of space
3. No longer upright
4. Strip of land along the water
5. Number of children fathered by JS Bach
6. College titles
7. To moisten or sprinkle
8. Place to prepare food
9. A sailor’s footlocker
10. Number of people in Albom’s divine social circle
11. Irving’s superstitious schoolmaster
12. (opp.) Angels
13. Trinity
14. A Benjamin
15. One located near another
16. The altar end of a church
17. Mentally or emotionally disturbed
18. To lag behind
19. Animal skins
20. Remaining firm
21. Restrict to a definite amount
22. 1996 movie starring Rupert Everett (1st word)
23. To place in a position
24. Intermediate interval
25. Shapes wood
26. Securely
27. Cold minus 100
28. Jurisdiction of a bishop
29. Shrub commonly used for hedges
30. Noisily encourages the home team
31. Subordinate
32. Secondary menu selection
33. Larger than a hamlet
34. A window projecting outward
35. Cygnus

The Clue…

Nestled **** (26) and lumbertown **, * (15) the * (4) of the **** (18),
the ** (12) lies along * (4) the * (9). In this *, *** (22) between the * (5)
and the * (5) to the * (4). Three **** (24) from the ** (12), the *** (13)
the * (5) of a ** (14).