Southern California treasure hunt

[TheOldProspector]

Hello all. I have just launched the California Gold Hunt at the website californiagoldhunt.com

We have concealed an American Eagle coin somewhere in public. Clues will be given online every 2 days until someone finds the coin and is awarded $5,000 in gold. The first hunt is free, and open to all adults. Subsequent hunts will have subscription fees and be available to California residents only.

If this announcement breaks the rules of Treasurenet.com, I beg your pardon. Please do keep in mind that Treasurenet.com is not affiliated with CaliforniaGoldHunt.com

TreasureNet's disclaimer follows:

TreasureNet does not officially endorse, promote, or facilitate organized treasure hunts or events. Members at this site may organize various hunts and events, but TreasureNet in no way guarantees the safety or honesty of its participants or organizers, or of any hunt/events legitimacy, or the entertainment value of such hunts/events. TreasureNet advises all users to exercise caution when meeting people through this or any other online medium.
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In the spirit of fun and fair play, I invite all TreasureNet frequenters to participate in the first California Gold Hunt. Good luck and good hunting!

 

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[Skipper]

Can't find the web site. Just the Daily Bruin online paper ?

I must be doing something wrong?

 

[TheOldProspector]

Can't find the web site. Just the Daily Bruin online paper ?

I must be doing something wrong?

I guess you should type www.californiagoldhunt.com into your browser. That should work.

We won't show up if you're just Googling it and expecting to click over from there, so putting the site name into your browser should work best.

 

[DrJoePrime]

Hello,

I've been enjoying the treasure hunt clues .. and ... being for free for September it sure is tempting to try.

BUT...

I am very concerned for the future 'hunts' and about how people can verify that everything is "on the UP and UP".

I would like to see some evidence of safeguards in place to ensure complete separation between the people who know where the gold is hidde3n and the general public.

What can you tell me?

Joe

 

[gollum]

I've been on this as well, and have PM'ed them and emailed them from their site.

So far, I have received no replies.

If you go by the clues given, it cuts everything down to a VERY small area, most of which is now new construction and orchards (outside a 50,000 foot circle from Angel Stadium).

Today's Hint for Clue #2 throws out everything I have done (because it breaks their own rules). First it says that Th'ing is like the Bermuda Triangle, and gave the three points (have to guess those for yourself, sorry). Now it says to think outside the triangle (after saying it was inside the triangle previously).

My fear is that they are BSing everybody on the free hunt, and one of their buddies will be the lucky finder. Then, they will start taking in money from people.

My biggest question is "How do they plan on making money from this?" It's going to take 500 registrants just to break even, after giving away the first $5000. Unless it is some kind of advertising for something bigger, I just don't know. I will still go looking, but don't exactly trust this.

Best-Mike

 

[SoCalMark]

I too am very skeptical at this point. I see no sponsors or advertising on their web site and wonder why someone would do this without trying to attract more hunters to raise funds for future hunts. "Whats the Catch"? I am still looking and so far I think I have the clues figured out...maybe...uhhhhh OK, maybe not.

HH Mark

 

[gollum]

I have the clues figured beyond a doubt, but today's Clue#2 Hint just screwed everything up. Now, it doesn't look like it's in their Bermuda Triangle of Treasure Huntin'

When I saw that, I wanted to beat somebody!

Best-Mike

 

[stefen]

I've been on this as well, and have PM'ed them and emailed them from their site.

So far, I have received no replies.

If you go by the clues given, it cuts everything down to a VERY small area, most of which is now new construction and orchards (outside a 50,000 foot circle from Angel Stadium).

Today's Hint for Clue #2 throws out everything I have done (because it breaks their own rules). First it says that Th'ing is like the Bermuda Triangle, and gave the three points (have to guess those for yourself, sorry). Now it says to think outside the triangle (after saying it was inside the triangle previously).

My fear is that they are BSing everybody on the free hunt, and one of their buddies will be the lucky finder. Then, they will start taking in money from people.

My biggest question is "How do they plan on making money from this?" It's going to take 500 registrants just to break even, after giving away the first $5000. Unless it is some kind of advertising for something bigger, I just don't know. I will still go looking, but don't exactly trust this.

Best-Mike

Isn't the stadium area now referred to as the Platinum triangle?

 

[gollum]

I don't know about that, but they gave the three points of the triangle. Two of them were pretty easy. The third could have been one of two or three (primary). Only one really stood out though.

Mike

 

[DrJoePrime]

You know..when it's Free I'm gonna play it...keeps the old gray matter in condition. But at $10 per hunt I don't think so...unless there is more than one person's word that this is completely fair.

Anyways I think I know the general area and maybe I'll take a little look in person and see what I can find <smile>.

 

[Skifisher]

I'm a little skeptical too, but we'll see who wins, if legit maybe they WANT someone like a regular here to win for the promo reasons?? Wish there was more info on the company or people doing this.

gollum: I took the triangle thing to mean that it wasn't within it, because it was called "bermuda" like things disappear, or it's empty. Just a different look at it I geuss.

I "think" I have it figured so far......................... but I sure have bounced around so far........

Good luck!

 

[stefen]

Do I hear the 'Shark' theme tune playing in the background?

Dum-dum.
Dum-dum.
Dum-dum.

 

[gollum]

OKAY! How many people besides me think this thing is absolute BS?

Maybe I missed something, but I can't for the life of me get how ANYONE would have gotten the movie "Reds" from the clue "A little ditty with Jack and Diane. Jack had the proper nomenclature."

I can believe everything up to that point.

They state that the winner is Catherine. No other information.

I would be very leery about dropping even $10 in their future hunts.

It's not just that, but add with it, the fact that I got zero replies asking them to give more information about themselves, and the fact that they would have to get 1000 people in drop $10 just to break even on the first two hunts. They don't have any advertisers, nor do they look like a site to generate publicity for something bigger.

No sour grapes. If they are on the up and up, more power to them. I just kind of lost interest, when I got no replies to any of the emails and PM's.

Best-Mike

 

[DrJoePrime]

"little diddy, about Jack and Diane
2 American kids growin up, in the heartland.
Jacky gonna be a football star
Diane's debutante backseat of Jacky's car

Suckin' on chili dogs outside the tasty freeze.
Diane sittin' on Jacky's lap, got his hands between her knees
Jacky say, "Hey Diane, let's run off 'hind a shady tree..."

From the lyrics of Mellencamp's song.

THIS is what I got...SHADY TREE and Tastee Freez AND I think my interpretation fits better.

YEAH I think it's BS...until and unless I hear otherwise.

HH Joe

 

[gollum]

I didn't find anything relative to the hunt in the song or about John Mellencamp.

What I got was "John had the proper nomenclature". In the song, John is always called Jackie. Jackie in Spanish is Joaquin. Just North of Rattlesnake Reservoir is Little Joaquin Valley.

It was just outside the triangle, and more than 50,000 feet from Angel Stadium.

The thing that still kills me is that they kept talking about the Old Prospector. That kept me thinking that the clues were referring to prospecting or western stuff, not modern movies.

To most prospectors, "ginnin fer gold" means dry washing. That "spring of '42" connection to "the summer of '42" crap is PURE BS.

Even after a day to think about it, I don't buy that someone would make that connection as explained on the website. Just doesn't make sense to me. I mean, I understand how it fits, but just don't buy that someone made that connection. Too tenuous.

Best-Mike

 

[Skifisher]

I NEVER would have connected the movie "Reds" to Jack and Diane. I never heard of the movie. Man I read those lyrics over and over tryin to make a connection, kept hoping the next clue would help. That girl should be on Jeapardy!

 

[Skifisher]

On a funny note, I just told my 11 yr old son, who was helping me with the clues, about the Jack and Diane link with the movie Reds.

All he said was "What? thats wrong, thats just wrong!" lol.

 

[gollum]

I haven't told this to ONE PERSON who told me the clue may have been legit. I would think that if they wanted to make some real money on this thing off of us suckers, they would have been legit on at least the initial search, so a normal person whose full name and address could be shown. That way they would have gotten a LOT MORE people to pay $10 for the rest of the searches. I know it might have made the difference for me (if they would have answered any of my emails or PM's, it would have helped as well).

Mike

 

[TheOldProspector]

Hello, everyone.

I'm sorry that I couldn't reply to this forum before now. My PC's communication card was blown out by an electrical storm (though the cable provider initially insisted that it was a software problem), and I can't access this site from work (blocked by Websense, which prohibits me using message boards). Everything is now up and running on my PC.

I can access my own site from work, which is how I was able to continue to post clues. Again, I'm sorry there were no replies to PMs or emails.


Though all the clues were explained on the website, the two that seem to have given the most people fits were

"There's a regular Bermuda Triangle of gold hunting...the corners are a president's final resting place, a school founded in 1965, and the snake lake."

The main deception here was that once you drew the corners of the triangle, you began to search INSIDE the triangle. Now, if I were to take you sailing, would you want to go INTO the Bermuda Triangle No. You'd want to stay outside of it. And that's a fair use of deception. Yes, human nature is to want to search inside something...but in this case, that was wrong. Nowhere in the clue did it tell you to search inside the triangle.

(By the way, anyone having problems finding the "snake lake", Rattlesnake Reservoir, is probably depending on an online map, maybe Google or Yahoo maps, right? Well, it doesn't show up with a label on either of those sites. It's there on the satellite view, but doesn't have a label. Sometimes it pays to have an actual paper map, where everything is labeled. Anyone with a paper map would have had no problem at all spotting Rattlesnake Reservoir.)


The little ditty with Jack and Diane also brought some complaints. If you listen to the song carefully (even though the clue doesn't refer to the song), Mellencamp sings that this here's a little ditty ABOUT Jack and Diane, not WITH Jack and Diane. Again, each word was placed there for a specific purpose. If you got stuck on the song and didn't consider other alternatives...well, you were in the same boat as a lot of other people.

When considering a problem, sometimes it pays to ask "what if my approach is wrong?" or in this case "what if it doesn't mean the song...what if it's some other Jack and Diane?"

(If you Google "film Jack Diane", the 4th entry down says "Jack & Diane--onscreen together for the first time since Reds--play two..." Though the review is for "Something's Gotta Give", the film "Reds" is mentioned, and that's the film in which Jack "has the proper nomenclature", as he portrays Eugene O'Neill.)

Should I have just said "Turn right on Magnolia Avenue and proceed 2 miles." How fun would that have been? If you make things too easy you've got 24 people showing up at the same place on the same day. As it was, Catherine and another woman did show up at the right location just after the clue of the 15th was posted.


Yes, our winner is real, and she will be paid in real gold...$5,039 in American Eagles as of the day of the find. She'll be getting her booty this weekend, and pictures will show up on the website shortly thereafter.


An interesting note about Mrs. McClure is that she was also one of the 12 winners of the "A Treasure's Trove" contest, based on the book by Michael Stadther. She found the Hummingbird token. If you're familiar with the book, awesome. If not, a Google search will tell you all about it.

And then in February of this year, Catherine also won $50,000 in the Dr. Pepper "Hunt for More" contest, where 23 coins were hidden all around the U.S. It was a very poorly promoted contest but she came away with a major score. I guess she can be considered the Babe Ruth of treasure hunting.


Once again, I'm sorry for my absence and non-response to messages. Had I known there were so many people with questions I would have found a way to visit here much sooner than this.

--David Steele
California Gold Hunt

 

[TheOldProspector]

Hello,

I've been enjoying the treasure hunt clues .. and ... being for free for September it sure is tempting to try.

BUT...

I am very concerned for the future 'hunts' and about how people can verify that everything is "on the UP and UP".

I would like to see some evidence of safeguards in place to ensure complete separation between the people who know where the gold is hidde3n and the general public.

What can you tell me?

Joe

Hi Joe,

Only 2 people know the exact location of the coin. I choose the location and write the clues, and my sister checks on that location each day.

Our worst nightmare would be to have one of our friends find the coin, and obviously, we do not encourage our friends to play for this very reason.

I made the mistake of sending out some MySpace emails to people that went to my high school and college, just asking them to drop by and maybe take a shot at winning. I was just trying to get the word out cheaply. We didn't have a big ad budget for the first hunt because all we were trying to do was get enough people to play to get a winner.

Like you, I surmised that many people would ask "hey, how do I know this thing is for real?" Which is why we made the first hunt free, and didn't put out much money for advertising. When we begin our second hunt and the ad budget begins driving people to the website, we will have pictures of the winner and a full story of the first hunt, proving to most people that the contest is not rigged. There will always be doubters, I suppose, but maybe they'll join up and start playing after 4, 5, or 6 hunts.

Well, the nightmare scenario almost came true. A woman that I went to high school with, but haven't spoken to in over 25 years, and also happens to live less than a mile from the site (we went to high school 20 miles away from that site) arrived at the site just minutes after our eventual winner got there! Though she did not win the prize, can you imagine how that would have looked? "Guy gives $5,000 to old high school pal." Just great.


Other than that, I'm not sure what I can tell you. Two people know exactly where the gold is hidden each month. I write the clues and also post them, so there's only one person in the loop there (I have the clues written down in an envelope in case some horrible catastrophe happens to me, then my wife could post the clues). We can't tighten it down any better than that, because I actually live in Texas!

If I could do it all myself (the clues, the hiding, the daily checking), I would. I absolutely want a 100% fair contest, and to let some friend or distant relative slip through and win would kill what we're hoping becomes a long-running staple of Southern California entertainment.

Thanks for asking!

--David Steele
California Gold Hunt