Rick and A.J. Simon would like you to explore this less-traveled section of Standing Bear Lake Park. There are some rules:
DO NOT jump or trample any fences.
DO NOT park at the cemetery or utility station at 144th & Saddlebrook.
Please note the extra waypoints provided: 2 trailhead access points for hiking into the area, and three suggestions for legal parking.
If you want a longer hike, park at Parking A, walk to Access A and find Stage One. Then walk to Access B and find Stages Two and Three. Then walk back to Access A and Stage One (where you need to return the tool) and back to Parking A. That should be a hike of around 2.3 miles.
If you want a shorter hike, park at Parking B, walk to Access A and find Stage One. Return to vehicle, drive to Parking C. Then walk to Access B and find Stages Two and Three. Then back to Stage One to return the tool. That should involve a hike of around .77 miles.
Theoretically, you could hike all three stages within a smaller triangle, but you'd get wet.
STAGE ONE may be determined by solving the easy puzzle below. The verifier is for STAGE ONE. At STAGE ONE (where you'll need several feet of TOTT to access the container) you’ll find a container containing a tool pointing to STAGE TWO. Take this to STAGE TWO (where you’ll also need a AAA battery) and use it to determine the final cache location, STAGE THREE. IMPORTANT: You’ll need to return the tool you found at STAGE TWO back to STAGE ONE for the next finder to use.
INSTRUCTIONS and DETAILS:
1. Fill in the blanks:
American Idol / X-Factor judge Simon (blank A) sat back with a smirk. The first contestant, named (blank B) Simon, came out and sang an original composition called “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The audience and the other judges responded enthusiastically, but Simon was not impressed. “I hope you kept your day job,” he remarked, and sent the songwriter on his way.
Next came (blank C) Simon, who sang an original song called “You’re So Vain.” Again the judge was not impressed. “I don’t mean to be rude, and you’re a lovely woman, but I can’t figure out who that song is about. Goodbye.”
Then a man named (blank D) Simon came out, and read a couple of pages from his new play “The Odd Couple.” “Bah!” said the judge dismissively. “Piffle! Total flop!”
Finally, a trio of three singing chipmunks appeared, named Simon, (blank E) and (blank F). They sang in annoyingly high voices and creeped everyone out. The judge named Simon enthusiastically applauded and cried out, “Wonderful! Outstanding! The three of you are going to be big stars!”
Unlock the first stage as follows:
N 41° 18.6 E5-E4-D1-D2 F1-A3-A2 W 96° 08.F1-F2-F7-F8-A4 D1-D3-D1-A4 4
2. Before you head out to find stage one, be sure to bring along a good AAA battery. You’ll need it for stage two. Double-checking my Garmin Dakota averages with Google Maps, hopefully all the coords are good. But if you can't find a stage, please try these minor adjustments:
Stage One, expand 20 ft SW.
Stage Two, expand 10 ft NW.
Stage Three, expand 30 ft SE.
This should account for the margins of error, hopefully in the correct heading.
3. The final cache is a large lock ‘n’ lock containing trade items pertaining to great detectives; please trade accordingly if possible. (Audiobooks on cassette not recommended for trade.) Original cache contents:
BOOKS
The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew) / Passport to Danger (The Hardy Boys)
Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (Adrian Monk) / M is for Malice (Kinsey Millhone)
13 for Luck (Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot) / The Thin Man (Nick and Nora Charles)
Murder is My Business (Mike Shayne) / Fer-De-Lance (Nero Wolfe)
AUDIOBOOKS
Opening Night (Roderick Alleyn) (audio cd)
4 Great Detectives Data DVDs (contents can be found here)
The Great Detectives are back with version 2.0: new graphics, more multis, math and map fun, and more batteries required. The Great Detectives series of geocaches has its own webpage, which may be accessed by using the “Related Web Page” link above. Simon & Simon is the 39th in the series.