A Sight to See on my Next Trip to Colorado

Posted on April 19, 2017 by waterhigh

Sharing a link to this blog about a Russian artist who carves gemstones:

Following up on my last post regarding my at times overzealous interest in geology and pretty much all subfields therein, it’s only fitting to admit the #1 reason we decided to visit this particular museum over any others. We (and by that I mean ‘me’) had been undecided on which museums in Denver we were […]

via The Gem Carvings of Konovalenko- Denver, Colorado — Sleepy Coffee and Fables

Fennboree IV

Posted on March 21, 2017 by waterhigh

Travel plans for June 9th – 11th?

Here’s a link to the necessary information for the 4th annual Fennboree, for Fennatics and the curious. It always sounds like a good time, just a little far away for some of us.

Gorgeous area, though.

66,000 Links North of Santa Fe

Forrest Fenn on TV This Weekend

Posted on September 17, 2016 by waterhigh

Saturday morning tune in to NBC’s Weekend Today Show for the latest from Forrest Fenn, who hid a treasure chest somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe.

Here’s a link to the interview.

Here’s a link to the announcement on Dal’s site.

Portal

Posted on May 31, 2016 by waterhigh

P1000420

I won’t be making it to this year’s Fennboree, but if I could, I would take a moment in Santa Fe to get a look at an ancient wrought iron gate on East Palace Avenue, the site where dozens if not hundreds of scientists, mathematicians, and physicists, after meeting with gatekeeper Dorothy McKibben, disappeared from sight beginning in April 1943. P1000401

(Well, first I might stop at that French pastry shop at La Fonda where Amy bought those gorgeous treats for Forrest’s book signing last September.)

Said portal transported those invited to the site of the Los Alamos Ranch School on a mesa in New Mexico. You probably know (part of) the rest of the story, but for me, I learned a lot from a book called Bomb, by Steve Sheinkin, my newest favorite non-fiction author. Wow. He used to write textbooks for schools but kept notes on all the things they wouldn’t let him put in–fascinating stuff I should have learned. Sheinkin puts it together in a compelling and quick read. (Young Adult level but hey, who’s got time for an academic treatise these days?)

So back to the story: the race between the Americans and the Germans to develop the bomb; some very, very brave Norwegians on a mission; the spies who wanted to steal the plans for Stalin; the guys who just wanted to give it to the Russians so there wouldn’t be only one superpower in possession of the new and terrible weapon of mass destruction.

When I was young, my ideas of Russian spies were partly based on Boris and Natasha, and hearing intimations about the McCarthy era excesses. Somehow my public school history classes never got much past the Civil War by the end of the school year, hence the black holes in my knowlege. (No, that’s not a typo; it’s spelled Fenn’s way.)

[Side note: There was a Rocky and Bullwinkle episode titled Buried Treasure. Hmm. Frostbite Falls?] P1000443

I could also rave about Sheinkin’s newest book, Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret Viet Nam War. I have no excuse for not knowing or remembering more about the topic, having been of school age when it was in the newspapers, except that the facts didn’t all make it into the media at the time. I wish that weren’t still true. History gives us perspective if we’d only choose to look at the parallels in our own day. Does your view of Ellsberg color your impression of Snowden? What caused Benjamin Arnold to switch sides? Had you even heard of the Port Chicago 50?

Do you agree with Abraham Lincoln?

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”

(Check out Steve Sheinkin’s other books like King George: What Was His Problem? or The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights or Lincoln’s Grave Robbers, etc.)

April is Not the Cruelest Month

Posted on January 19, 2016 by waterhigh

Lake Michigan

Wishing hoping and praying for the safety of Randy and all those out searching for him.

Randy’s well thumbed copy of The Thrill of the Chase

Happy 85th Birthday, Forrest Fenn!

Posted on August 22, 2015 by waterhigh

The Fisherman

Another year has gone by with no one finding his hidden treasure, but there’s a great tribute to him over on Dal’s site.

Wishing him many, many more years of “not missing his turn.”

Birthday Cake Brownies

Favorite Fennisms

Posted on August 16, 2014 by waterhigh

A year ago, I set off on my first hunt for the Fenn treasure. I’d hoped to wait until I had a complete solve, but I knew that the snows come early on the northern Rockies. I was confident that the chest was hidden somewhere north and west of Yellowstone, but couldn’t rule out the rest of Wyoming, so off I wandered, with Mr. Waterhigh’s blessing (and/or his desire that I find the gold.)

I emailed Forrest from West Yellowstone and entertained him with my story of not having the right shoes at the waters at the Continental Divide in YNP.

Forrest’s response—

“You’re having too much fun.”

I next emailed him from the Gallatin Valley to wish him a Happy Birthday, and he invited me to Santa Fe for a cup of coffee.

Decision—

Hmmm?

a.) Should I stay on course and hike to a ‘water high’ with just the grizzlies for company, or

b.) should I skip my night at the hot springs, which I really wanted to visit, and set my GPS for Santa Fe?

Forrest said,

“Life’s short and getting shorter.”

Really. It was an easy choice.

Besides, I can always go back to Montana with Mr. Waterhigh.

(We spent our 24th or 25th or 26th anniversary there. Next month is our 35th, but he’s tied up this year….)

I was somewhere in Colorado before I got ahold of Mr. W to tell him of my change of plans. He suggested I pull the old Colombo thing as I was leaving. You know, pop back in the door, “Oh. Just one more question, Mr. Fenn….” and hope to catch him off guard with the perfect question.

I didn’t, of course. I was pretty much speechless….

So, I did find treasure south of the mountains when I got to meet the remarkable Forrest Fenn. All in all, it was a fantastic trip/chase.

Possibly my favorite Fennism is found in the Epilogue of his book, The Thrill of the Chase—

“And what I’ve learned that’s most important is that both countries and people should know enough to just leave other folks alone and do a better job of protecting our planet.”

— By the way, his 84th birthday is next Friday, so why not surprise him with a “Happy Birthday” wish from all 304 of you blog followers.

(He’s in the phone book, otherwise I wouldn’t post his address–

1021 Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe, New Mexico)

DON’T just show up in his driveway! I’m thinking cards, flowers, chocolates, …. No wait. That’s me.

82-Year-Old Man Buries Treasure Worth $2 Million With Poem As Clue

Where Do I Begin…

Posted on August 7, 2014 by waterhigh

Clues, bei Syke (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Where to begin?

Where did Forrest begin when he wrote the poem? With the first clue, or the ninth?

“I knew all along where I wanted to hide the treasure so I didn’t need a map or any information to write the poem. Everything was in my head. It took me a while to get the wording exactly how I wanted it. Counting the clues and hiding the chest came later. It is not likely that anyone will find it without following the clues, at least in their mind.” Forrest Fenn

{So, in my mind, it sounds like it’s possible to solve this treasure hunt from a distance, which is good news for people in the Midwest, or Europe, or any other of the xxx countries you visitors are from.)

Also, maybe the number of clues isn’t so important?? I don’t know.}

As the Munchkins always said, it’s best to start at the beginning—

—We know what lies at the end.

ΩΩ

Pieces of Eight

Posted on June 6, 2014 by waterhigh

The Spanish dollar was the basis of the United States silver dollar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Aaargh! Am I the only one who thought pieces of eight were made of gold?

There’s been a lot of pirate talk on the Thrill of the Chase blogs lately, and some pirates have already departed on their quest for the Forrest Fenn treasure hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountains north of Santa Fe.

English: The two Manila galleons-the “Encarnacion” and “Rosario” during the five battles of La Naval de Manila in 1646. Original illustration by John Ryan M. Debil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So while I sit patiently in the Midwest trying to decode the clues in the poem, I continue to decorate my mind with new and possibly-never-useful facts. But then again, Mr. Fenn said nothing is too small to know (I still need to find his exact words on that.

Even though where I grew up “two bits” was not uncommonly used in place of “quarter”, for some reason I always pictured pieces of eight as heavy gold coins. Wrong. The Spanish gold coin was the “scudo” or “escudo” and equaled 16 reales (royals).

English: Spanish doubloon stamped as minted in 1798 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Spanish 8 reale coin was silver, and sometimes cut when smaller coins (i.e., a picayune was a half reale) were scarce. Hence, 2 bits, four bits, etc. One bit equaled 12 1/2 cents, which is coincidentally why, up until August of 2000, the New York Stock Exchange reported value changes in eighths.

Wait. Why base the NY stock market on the value of a Spanish coin?

Well, for starters, the colonies were forbidden, on pain of beheading and/or drawing and quartering, from making their own coins.

Secondly, the Spaniards had been reaping(?) the silver from Mexico to Chile since at least the 15th century. Spanish “Milled” or “Pillar” dollars were minted in places like Mexico City; Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; and, of interest to seekers of the Fenn chest, Santa Fe de Bogota, Columbia. (Quote: ” …in the mountains north of Santa Fe.” How far north, some have asked.)

English: Detail of Pillars of Hercules from Ta…

Holy Pompeii Pillars! I mean, Pillars of Hercules, at the Straights of Gibralter, gateway to the New World, as seen on the obverse of the coins milled in the Americas.

Back to the stock market question.

The Spanish silver dollar/real a de ocho was the most common coin in circulation in 1792 when the NYSE was founded. That was the same year Congress authorized the first Coinage Act, which established the mint in Philadelphia. Since it was going to take awhile to ‘print’ a lot of money, Spanish coins were made legal tender in 1793 and remained so until 1857, you know, after the California gold rush filled the coffers. And new regulations.

Next question: so why are old reales showing up in fields, clay pots, and creekbanks in Illinois? Like the 1/2 reales minted in Lima in 1755 and Nuevo Reino de Granada (Santa Fe de Bogota), and the 1702 to 1733 (?) vintage two bit piece.

(Hint: It’s good to look near really old tavern sites with a metal detector.)

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Galena-2.jpg

Again, a couple answers. This was the frontier back in the day. Even before the War of Independence, the French, Spanish, and Brits were all over the place trying to plant flags and claim what wasn’t theirs. And up the Mississippi were the Spanish Mines—lead, not gold or silver.

And then, consider the sheer number of reales produced—between 1732 and 1821, 1.3 billion eight reale coins were minted at Mexico City alone. And they didn’t all make it to Madrid. The Manilla Galleons took them to Asia, as silver was the only commodity the Chinese accepted in trade.

1748 Seale Map of the Pacific Ocean w- Trade Routes from Acapulco to Manila – Geographicus – Pacific-seale-1743 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Shipwrecks. Pirates.

“Pizzas at eight! Pizzas at eight!

So, Dal, maybe you should go back to scuba diving for treasure and leave the Rocky Mountain treasure to us landlubbers.

Just kidding…..

Worth the Cold?

Posted on May 15, 2014 by waterhigh

Glad to hear of the successful rescue of a searcher who got stuck in the snow out west! (See Dal’s site, Thrill of the Chase, for details.)

But hey, people. Could we not be doing things that might keep Forrest up at night! And his nephew Chip. And the other heroes. Just saying.

I’m only hunting morels and asparagas until the snow is melted in Yellowstone. (Can’t eat ’em, but, you know, it’s the thrill of the chase.)

Clear as a Bell?

Posted on May 2, 2014 by waterhigh

Treasure in the Rockies

To quell any rumors out there about Forrest Fenn’s treasure chest being found, or pictures of it on the web, and so forth , listen good —

“I have not received a photo of the treasure chest. Whoever is saying those things if puffing smoke. Ask them for the proof the offered. If I know that someone has found the treasure I will announce it on all of the blogs and my web site.”

Forrest Fenn May 1st, 2014

Clear as a bell?

So, if you do happen to find it, send proof positive, like a picture of you holding the chest, wearing the bracelet and necklace with the jaguar, trying to keep a modest smile on your face, along with an invitation to the celebration party….I’d be happy to forward it.

Happy hunting, all!

Polar Vortex III?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by waterhigh

Embracing this winter. Who knew I’d have use for Minnesota things down here.

There’s been so much fluffy stuff, I snow-shoed tracks for the skinny skis.

Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Chest

In training —not for the biathalon, but the Chase.

Searchers are getting cabin fever waiting for the big melt out in the Rockies.

Polar Vortex I — made raspberry jam

(Snow shoed)

Polar Vortex II — made marmalade

(Skied) (Pruned fruit trees)

Polar Vortex III — don’t know yet

I won’t ski or snow shoe — the fluff was turned into a bone-shattering layer of ice on stone-hard ground. Sometimes it’s good to stay inside and smell the lemon blossoms.