Summer Vacation Mystery

Glen invited his five grandchildren (Cade, Krysta, Casey, Marissa and Patrick) to spend a week with him at the lake during their summer vacation. They awoke to a sunny morning on the first day and Gramps asked them what they wanted to do. Each child had a different suggestion — the beach, visit the USS Silversides, play frisbee golf, the playground and a concert in the park.

Wanting to make each of his grandchildren happy, Gramps thought for a moment and said, “Well, we could start at Pere Marquette Park, head over to the USS Silversides for a bit, then up Lakeshore Dr. to Addison to the park, which has a playground, a band shell and a frisbee golf course. While we are at the park, you kids can help me plant a letterbox that I put together about your summer vacation.”

The kids were pleased with their grandfather’s plan and excited to help him plant his letterbox. Once they were at the park, Gramps settled down with a book and the kids headed off to play frisbee golf. They had decided to keep an eye open for good hiding spots for the letterbox while they played.

After they finished their game of frisbee golf, they reported back to their grandfather with the places they had found to hide the letterbox. Each child had sited one hiding spot, each from a different numbered frisbee golf basket (#8, #10, #11, #17, #18), each a different number of paces (24, 30, 35, 40, 55) at a different bearing (170, 180, 245, 315, 330) to a different hiding spot (a hollow log, a multi-trunked birch tree, a fallen tree, a piece of concrete and a rotted stump).

Using the clues below, figure out each child’s suggested hiding spot.

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

Puzzles Clues…

1. The hiding spots chosen by the two girls — Marissa and the one whose bearing was 315 degrees — were, in some order, the hollow log (which was not sited from basket #10) and the birch tree.
2. The three boys were the child who took 24 paces, the child whose bearing was 330 degrees and Casey.
3. The girl who took a bearing of 245 degrees (who was not the child who took 30 paces) located her hiding spot from the basket whose number was one less than the child whose hiding spot was a piece of concrete.
4. The child who chose the fallen tree as his hiding spot took his bearing from a basket whose number was lower than that of the child whose bearing was 180 degrees (who was not the child who took 40 paces).
5. The basket number from where Krysta sited her hiding spot was the next one lower than that of the child who chose the rotted stump as a hiding spot.
6. The boy who took 55 paces (who is not Cade) sited the piece of concrete from the highest numbered basket.
7. The child who took 40 paces was a boy, but not the boy who took a bearing of 330 degrees (who was the child with the highest basket number).

Finding the Letterbox…

Gramps carefully considered all of the options the kids had presented and after walking through the park to look at each spot, made his choice. To find the spot Grandpa chose, add together the basket number, the # of paces and the bearing for each child’s suggestion. You will find the letterbox hidden in the spot where this sum is 58 less than the next larger sum.

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.

Superior Falls

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula boasts almost 200 waterfalls. Most of them are off the beaten path and require some hiking to get to. They range in size from 2-3 feet to over 100 feet. At 90 feet, Superior Falls, which lies on the Montreal River in the far northwest corner of the Upper Peninsula, is one of the highest Michigan waterfalls that is easily accessible. It is also one of my favorites because of the impressive rock walls of the canyon that surround it.

Getting There…

Superior Falls is located 14 miles NW of Ironwood, MI, less than a mile from the Wisconsin border. Take Wisconsin highway 122 north from US-2 about 11 miles west of Ironwood and go about 4.5 miles to a bridge across the Montreal River. Cross the bridge (you are now back in Michigan) and turn left onto the second gravel road. Follow it to a power station, and park your car there. There is a sign pointing to the left which brings you to a viewing area across from the falls. But the real way to appreciate the beauty of these falls is to walk down into the canyon.

Clues…

Follow the Scenic Access trail down toward Lake Superior from the second parking area. After walking around the power company building, follow the narrow pathway along the river to the falls. Just before the path ends at the rocks, watch on your left for a 3-trunk birch hanging out with a neighbor of a different species. Find the box in a root cavity hidden behind several rocks. Please be discreet and be sure the box is securely replaced and concealed when you leave.

Little Flower Creek

This box is planted at Meinert County Park, located along Lake Michigan in northern Muskegon County. There is a daily entry fee. Park hours are 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Clues…

Locate the wooden footbridge that crosses Little Flower Creek. Walk parallel to the lake, following the sandy dune ridge trail southward to a point where 275° = an unadorned silver sentry, 165° = a gathering of small beech trees and 55° = a log lying at the edge of the woods. Skirt the sand bowl and make your way to this log. From the log, use the map to complete your quest.

 
| Click here to download the map in Adobe .PDF format |

White River Trail

Clues…

From the Trailhead: Church Steeple=295°; RR Bridge=310°; Red Caboose=260°; Footbridge=80°.

From the Letterbox: Root end of fore-tree=280°; Tree with Handle=60p on trail, due S; View of River=74p on trail, due N; Side Path=28p on trail, 300°.

Box planted 9p off trail under fallen log.