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Post by nategrumby on Aug 19, 2008 21:19:49 GMT -9
Don't read this if you're trying to solve the 2008 Alaska State fair caches without hints. Read on if you could use some clues...
There are 10 art exhibits in Hoskins Exhibit Hall that have the coordinates. Each leads to a separate cache. They are as follows:
1) A plaque painted like the Chinese flag with the Olympic glyph on it.
2) A discus thrower in ink with the coordinates on the statue.
3) An urn painted with ancient Greek athletes.
4) Chinese calligraphy of the Olympic Motto : Faster, Higher, Stronger
5) A tile with ancient athletes passing a baton, the original Olympic motto "National competition through sports" scribed in Latin.
6) Jing Jing the Panda olympic mascot done in maker.
7) The laurel wreath and olympic rings done in colored pencil.
8) A wall hanging of a Chinese sword and olympic rings.
9) The Chinese dragon Mushu from the Disney movie mulan, holding a gong with the Olympic glyph on it.
10) A collage of olympic symbols in the shape of a torch.
Because I am, well, me, I put some coordinates in roman numerals. For those who need a quick refresher...
I is 1 V is 5 X is 10 L is 50 C is 100 D is 500 M is 1000
There is no roman numeral for 0, so a North coordinate like 149 07.894 would be written CXLIX VII.DCCCXCIV. This literally translate as 149 7.894, so you have to add the '0' to enter the coordinate in your typical GPS.
Because I am a real stinker, it helps to know that North and West in latin are Norus and Occasus.
I don't expect anyone to be able to read Mandarin Chinese characters, but my initials (NG) are in the traditional block signature in red.
I think that's about it. We'll see how it goes. If a display can't be read, I'll post the coordinates as a note in the cache 'Fairly Difficult.' I will also post this message as an encrypted log in the 'Fairly Difficult cache.
Good luck and all!
Nate Grumby
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Post by nategrumby on Aug 27, 2008 8:12:16 GMT -9
Hello again.
Having gone through the art exhibits, there is indeed a duplicate coordinate. I will modify Mushu the Chinese Dragon so the coordinates will be correct. SHould be a quick fix made this afternoon. I will also visually check the cache containers to make sure everything is still in place for the big weekend.
The correct coordinate should read as North 61 35.050 West 149 07.727
Thanks for playing!
Nate
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Post by orygun on Aug 27, 2008 10:20:44 GMT -9
Yey!!! I've been waiting all week to hear that news, we noticed the duplicated coords 8/23. Planning to head out thursday to try and pick up the last 3 I haven't found yet. I've never had this much fun at the fair before. (This will make it 4 days out there!) Thank you for setting it up!
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Post by FrostG1anT on Aug 27, 2008 10:58:28 GMT -9
We were not able to find the cache from the "Urn". The coords placed us in a private section of the Fair Grounds over near the "Fair Corner" cache. We found everything else except we missed seeing Nate Grumby. Thanks for a lot of fun. It looks like 2 of the Fairground attractions still have FTF to be found.
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Post by nategrumby on Aug 27, 2008 19:06:47 GMT -9
!!!Spoiler Alert!!!
Since this the last weekend, I will use the 'Urn' clue as a basic course in large Roman Numeral conversion.
The urn has the coordinates
LXI XXXIV.DCCI CXLIX VII.CCLXVI
So, looking at LXI, L being 50, then add X (or 10) and I (1) and you get 61. XXXIV is three groups of X (10 each) plus 1 (I) less than V (5) so you get 34 DCCI is D (500) plus a group of two C's (100 each) plus I (1) making it 701.
The north coordinate is 61 34.701
Looking at CXLIX, C being 100, plus 10 (X) less than 50 (L) plus 1 (I) less than 10 (X) and you get 149.
The second part is a little more complex, but break it down. VII is 7. CC is two (100's) L (50) plus X (10) and V (5) plus a final I (1) becomes 266.
The west coordinate is 149 07.266.
Hopefully, I haven't made any mistakes, but I will double check one more time tomorrow and report back.
Nate
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stoweak
Bronze Cacher
Mr. & Mrs.
Posts: 90
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Post by stoweak on Aug 27, 2008 19:17:46 GMT -9
thanks, Nate Grumby & Mrs. that's what we figured out, but it put us [glow=red,2,300]WAY OUT THERE [/glow]as FrostG1ant mentioned. Perhaps we should have looked more closely and for a longer time, but it just didn't feel right. Thanks for the lesson, though. Glad I got it right as I have a piece of paper that says I have a college degree in Mathematics
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Post by FrostG1anT on Aug 27, 2008 20:09:53 GMT -9
We went out to the area and found a pile of sticks piles near some devils club and several old motor-homes with broken windows and flat tires. We found nothing at GZ and expanded the search almost 100' in all directions and came up with lots of old trash but no cache. We left the area as it seemed as if it were not the right place. Perhaps it was but we found nothing there.
Again I had a very good time and would not have gone to the Fair if not for the caches you placed. Thanks for all the effort and time you and your family put into this. It was lots of fun and again very creative. There are two pictures in the art exhibit that are phenomenal, they are a pencil sketch of a young girl (won the top prize in the division) and a charcoal drawing of Morgan Freeman (also won the top prize in the division). Go to the Fair just to see these two drawings they are top notch. Thanks again Nate Grumby for a very fun day at the Fair.
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Post by nategrumby on Aug 27, 2008 20:22:28 GMT -9
Uh oh. That coordinate should, according to my notes, be one of the benches near the Green Gate. Have I out-clevered myself? Et Tu Grumby?
I will now check my GPS, which has the original points, and check the urn. It looks like I might have converted the coordinates into the wrong roman numeral...
My apologies for wild goose chases! I swear I checked everything at least 3 times, especially before I entered the silly things. Just goes to show that you can get too close to a project.
Stay tuned.
Nate
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Post by orygun on Aug 28, 2008 7:31:53 GMT -9
Phew!! Good to know that one was wacky, I almost paid an extra $12 to get into the rodeo just so I could get into that territory to look for the cache. (They had it all blocked off) Even with the hiccups this has been such a great experience and the most fun I've ever had at any state or county fair. Has anyone found the cache corresponding to the Torch Collage? Just would like to know that it's really there.
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stoweak
Bronze Cacher
Mr. & Mrs.
Posts: 90
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Post by stoweak on Aug 28, 2008 8:41:06 GMT -9
yes, we found that one and noticed that you hadn't signed it yet. We were just behind you several steps all day that first day! The hide was a lot easier to find than the hide for the coords.
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Post by orygun on Aug 28, 2008 19:21:13 GMT -9
Snuck out of work early and finished them all off today!!! Found all 10 caches (one was almost unreachable for little me, the next person to find the black tin might want to rehide about 5 inches higher. i couldn't get it back where it started.), and the locations of the 2 ki-la-la pictures. Only thing I've had no luck with is meeting the man himself. Good luck to the rest of you still looking!
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Post by nategrumby on Aug 28, 2008 19:48:52 GMT -9
Oops...
Sorry. Forgot to mention that I'm 6'6". Sometimes I loose track and just reach where I can. Just ask The Mrs. I have stuff stored on shelves close to 8 feet high. Drives her nuts. My home has 10 foot ceilings and 7 foot high doors. People mention from time to time that it sort of makes them feel a bit tiny...
I still have to check the vase coordinate's roman numeral translation, but it looks like things are working out for the final weekend.
Nate
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Post by orygun on Aug 28, 2008 19:55:41 GMT -9
I should note that I found the "Urn" cache based on the clue you gave in an earlier post, not the coords. The coordinates had me out by the horses. Didn't want to confuse anyone and send them on another wild goose chase!
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