Views of the Neighborhood – Compass Treasure Hunt – Part 1

~ John W. Howell

Lakeway Parks & Recreation Presents a 2021 Virtual Compass Treasure Hunt. Learn orienteering skills by using a compass to find your way to the hidden treasure! March 1, 2021 – March 21, 2021, Lakeway City Park – 502 Hurst Creek Road – Lakeway, TX 78734

Okay, so now we know what we are doing. We need to board the bus to get to the park. Once there we will have a great lunch. We have again decided to use the French Laundry in Yountville. Here is the menu.

French Laundry Chef’s Tasting Menu

5 March 2021

“OYSTERS AND PEARLS”

“Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Regiis Ova Caviar

GOLDEN BEET “GAZPACHO”

Tomato Water “Gelée” and Fragrant Basil

“BREAD AND BUTTER”

Bitter Cocoa Laminated Brioche and Diane St. Clair’s Animal Farm Butter

HAWAIIAN AHI TUNA “TARTARE”

Puffed Grains, Garden Sorrel and Golden Pineapple “Chiffon”

HAND HARVESTED MAINE SEA SCALLOP “POÊLÉ”

La Ratte Potato Purée, “Pommes Maxim’s” and French Pickle Emulsion

WOLFE RANCH WHITE QUAIL “PÂTÉ EN CROÛTE”

Black Winter Truffle Purée, Toasted Pistachios,
Poached Rhubarb and “Sauce Périgourdine”
or
HAND ROLLED RICOTTA “AGNOLOTTI”
Cheese Rind “Consommé” and Shaved Périgord Black Winter Truffles

“PEAS AND CARROTS”

“Châteaubriand” of Marcho Farms Veal, Garden Pea Shoots,
Glazed Nantes Carrots and “Sauce Bordelaise”
or
CHARCOAL GRILLED JAPANESE WAGYU
Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Wilted Arrowleaf Spinach and Mushroom “Jus Gras”

“GOUGÈRE”

Andante Dairy “Etude” and Preserved Périgord Black Winter Truffle “Fondue”

ASSORTMENT OF DESSERTS

Fruit, Ice Cream, Chocolate, and Candies

Our wine today is all French. A Burgandy René & Vincent Dauvissat, “La Forest” 2014 and a Chablis François Raveneau, “Valmur” 2016.

Our entertainment is Eric Clapton.

So let’s get on the bus.

The parks department gave us the first set of clues. Here they are.

“Let’s SWING into action with this first clue!

On the lower level of City Park, there is a popular place to play. Stand at the blue post that has 2 seats on each side, and you have found your starting point.”

Let’s see. Blue pole two seats on either side. This is it.

More clues.

“Set your compass to 100 degrees, put Red Fred in the Shed, and follow your arrow approximately 100 paces.”

100 degrees. Check. 100 paces. Check

Next clue.

“You have to get to the root of things to find the next clue.

Wondering if you are close? If you spot a strip of red tape nearby, you know you are in the right area!”

There is a red strip of tape.

This is what 100 paces look like. The blue pole is way back there.

Getting to the root of things. There is a box there.

The next clue.

240 degrees. Check.

125 paces, and there is a red marker.

Searching the nearby trees. We searched all the trees near and far and did not get the next clue. This finishes us for the day. But I will contact the Parks Department and find out what happened to the clue.

Stay and enjoy the food and music. We’ll pick it up next week. Hope you have a good one.

92 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood – Compass Treasure Hunt – Part 1”

  1. What a fun challenge, especially for those with a calibrated compass! Thanks for taking readers along for the ride and for brightening the day. PS…as for lunch, my can of organic lentil soup looks pretty lame next to your feast. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  2. The menu sounded great and you can’t go wrong with Eric Clapton. Thank you for taking us along on your treasure hunt.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. I don’t know. Peanut butter and jelly and a banana sounds pretty good. This would be a good first step for geocachers. I found one of their boxes once, tucked behind a Santa Fe trail marker in western Kansas. It tickles me to think about so many anonymous people trucking around the countryside, doing just what your neighborhood crew is doing, albeit on a larger scale.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Hmmm, no clue. That’s sad. We still get lunch, right?

    This seems like a fun and educational activity. I hope Cortez isn’t mixed up in the missing clue. Oh, edit, I have my days confused.

    Enjoy the day, John.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I enjoyed the trip, but we do have to find out what happened to that last clue!
    And now I know why I keep gaining weight – I can’t resist anything on your menus!!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Sounds like a lot of fun. Too bad the last clue was missing. A former co-worker used to do Geo-caching. Some of us used to carpool and one afternoon she talked us into stopping to look for a cache. Can’t remember what was in it, but we found it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It is fun to find the little clues. I was very disappointed because if you don’t find the clue that is the end since each clue send you to the next. Thanks, Joan. Have a super day.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. What a spread! I’m stuffed just reading the menu.
    And how fun is that to participate in? Bummer on the last clue, though. What up with that?
    Wonderful music, too.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. As insane as this week has been, I just could NOT miss your Weekly Views post. It’s something I look forward to every Sunday, because a) they are entertaining posts, and b) you live in a wonderfully cool neighborhood, and c) Lakeway City Park is amazing. None of our local parks are half as much fun!

    Today’s post continues in the above tradition. Of course, I only ate a low-carb protein bar and drank a Glucerna, but I’m used to ignoring the wickedly tempting fragrances wafting all around your bus tours. I still wouldn’t miss one! LOVE the clues and the challenge at the park, and am sorry you didn’t find the final one. Hope that means someone won fair and square, and that you still had a great time, anyhow. What a fun way to get out and enjoy life in a safe way.

    Thanks for sharing, John, and one of these days, I’ll be caught up well enough to catch up on missed visits with Twiggy and Lucy. In the meantime, please give them multiple pats on the head from their adopted Granny in Florida.

    PS, looks like your weather is getting better and better, yay! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  19. What a fun excursion! Your parks department is awesome coming up with stuff like this. Sorry the last clue wasn’t there, but I had a grand time playing along. As always, the food, wine and entertainment were top notch.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Much fun, but I would have failed to find the strip of red tape, and would have just gone back to the swings and swung for a bit while listening to the music and munching on the goodies! Thanks for a fun Sunday afternoon, and for the full belly … now I want a nap!

    Liked by 1 person

  26. What a great idea! My mind is working out how this will work for children. They can read numbers and every phone has a compass. Thanks for the delicious food too!

    Liked by 1 person

  37. Pingback: Views of the Neighborhood – Compass Treasure Hunt – Part 2 | Fiction Favorites

Comments are closed.