Lady Red Travel

Like many imaginative children, I always dreamed of going on a wild treasure hunt. I never thought that I would actually be embarking on one in my adulthood!

As a way to celebrate the state of Maine’s bicentennial/200th year anniversary, a couple has hidden $20,000 somewhere in the state and created Dirigo Treasure Hunt! Adventure seekers are provided a deck of cards, each including a specific location throughout the state. A “manual” is also provided and holds clues to help find 7 Dirigo Stones, which provides the location of this treasure. Basically, it’s a puzzle, a riddle, and a scavenger hunt all in one. It is also an “experiment” to see if the spirit of a treasure hunt still exists in the 21st century, as well as a fun way to explore locally and seek adventure again after a crapstorm of a year (yes, I’m talking about you COVID).

We just received these cards, rules, and clues in the mail and we cannot wait to start exploring! My husband, Sean and I did not waste any time getting started! We’ll even be roping in our pup, Sophie to help us explore and solve these clues. I will also be blogging about our endeavors and experiences along the way! Needless to say, we will be spending a lot of our upcoming weekends exploring our neighboring state.

How to Play

The treasure hunt involves 4 “levels” to complete in order to find the location of the treasure. The first level involves a deck of 52 poker cards and 2 joker cards, each having an iconic image of Maine’s gems. These include monuments, buildings, and boulders, to name a few. Once all 52 of these cards’ locations have been identified, adventurers can move on to level 2, which involves consulting the map manual for each card’s corresponding clues. This is also where the fun of traveling begins! travel to each location, follow each card clue’s instructions in the manual, and then determine the answer. Using all 52 clue answers from level 2 will help to translate for level 3’s text. Once deciphered, this can be used to “Find the Pairs!” Boy, does this step look daunting. Lastly, level 4 includes a large paragraph of text located in the manual. Using the knowledge gained thus far from the deck of cards, the manual, the locations, the clues, and the pairs, adventure seekers will have to work to decipher this paragraph, which reveals the 7 Dirigo Stones. Once the stones have been found, their combined secret message provides the answer to finding Maine’s $20,000!

After not having traveled in the last 7 months, with our last trip having been a road trip throughout New England, I’m excited to hit the road again and see where this adventure takes us! While it would be nice to find the treasure at the end, for us it’s about the journey, the adventure, and getting to see other parts of this state we might not have visited otherwise. I hope you’ll follow us on our journey and stay tuned for our level 1 escapades! And for those who are close by and want to join in on the fun, it’s not too late to grab your cards and clues!