In early June of 2020, Natalie Nelson released an exciting armchair treasure hunt called Parish. The prize was valued at over $5,000 dollars and consisted of numerous gemstones and other treasures. Many searchers took up the challenge to solve the clues, which were found on the free PDF downloads of the hunt. The hunt was beautifully presented.
With only a few months into the hunt, things started to click for Amber! How awesome it is to hear her story of how it all went down! Congrats to Amber! Let’s learn more about the solution and the exciting find!
Six Questions with Amber:
- 1Q) Congrats on finding the Treasure of Parish! Was this your first armchair treasure hunt or what others have you worked on?
This was not my first treasure hunt, but it was my first armchair treasure hunt (with BOTG for the proxy). I started working on the Forrest Fenn hunt back in 2015. Obviously, I wasn’t the one who was successful in that solve!
- 2Q) Can you share some of the highlights for solving the clues leading to the hidden location of the proxy used to claim the treasure of Parish?
The first highlight from my chase was when I solved the first clue that lead me down a path of discovering where the proxy was hidden. My six year old daughter and I had originally solved some cyphers and clues, but none that got us anywhere. I had solved “teatime”, “land safely my love”, “dartboard” and figured it was probably in the New England area since the bird’s mouth was holding onto that area on the map, but this didn’t really help me yet. In fact, I spent two weeks trying to make a cypher from a dartboard. A wasted two weeks.
So I shifted my time to trying to figure out the code next to the French words meaning “I will wait outside.” I figured that had to be a starting point or an ending point. I worked on that for quite some time. It finally hit me while I was waiting in the car for my dog to finish up at the groomers. I deciphered it to say “Face of time”. The next day was when I put “face of time”, “1896” and “Maine” together. It lead me to the clock in front of the Village Green on Maine Street in Bar Harbor. I lost my mind. Ran out into the backyard screaming to my husband and kids that I knew where the treasure was located.
Once I found that spot, everything else started falling into place. Right across the street I saw the “Bar Harbor Tea Company” and “CJ’s Big Dipper Ice Cream”. That reminded me of the teapot next to the constellation in one of the illustrations. After that, I just continued to make connections from the writings in the letters and the illustrations to places right around the village green. Once I made a connection to Leary’s Landing (the 2007 on the sign with the harp connected to the 20th Street 07 on the illustrated envelope) I looked it up online and the first picture on their website showed the inside of the pub with a dartboard hanging on the wall! I couldn’t wait for my Forrest Fenn search partner, Delyse, to get back from her trip so I could sit down with her and show her everything I had found in this hunt.
Another high point in this hunt was watching my little girl using her creative brain to study the pictures and work on the clues herself. I loved watching her get inspired by Natalie’s artwork and then watching her own creativity bloom as she designed her own bracelet from the winnings when we got home. And, of course, the biggest highlight of all was when we actually laid eyes on the proxy and knew we had solved it!
- 3Q) A lot of searchers seemed to come to standpoint on the clues, and might have become discouraged. Had you ever considered giving up or what kept you going on? How did it feel to find the ‘proxy’?
To be honest, I never really considered giving up during this hunt. It is just not my personality. I have a bit of an obsessive-compulsive mind, so when I get frustrated, it makes me look even harder. I HAVE to find what I’m looking for and I won’t give up until it is found. That goes for Forrest Fenn’s hunt, the Parish hunt, and a remote that is hidden under the couch cushion.
As for finding the proxy item, it was quite possibly the most excited I have ever been in my entire life! Delyse laid eyes on it first, and then I saw what I believed to be the peacock image on the side of it. I grabbed her arm, yelled “I think that’s the peacock” and we went inside to ask if they could get it down off the shelf for us. My adrenaline was rushing and I was shaking so much that I couldn’t even get the tea tin open to reveal the winning letter inside.
My search partner and I were jumping up and screaming right there inside the bar. I’m sure everyone thought we were crazy. They quickly asked us to go outside, where we continued to lose our minds. I Facetimed my husband back home in Texas to show him before I even contacted Natalie, the creator of the hunt. He and my two kids were screaming with excitement right along with us.
- 4Q) What was the ‘Treasure’ of Parish? Was it for the treasure that you took up the challenge or was it more for the puzzling fun? Or both?
The physical treasure of Parish was a collection of beautiful gems and coins that total somewhere approximately between $6000 and $7000, but the thrill of the chase for it was just as much a treasure to me and my search partner. I originally took up the challenge because I was heartbroken when Fenn’s hunt ended and I desperately needed a new challenge to keep my mind occupied during these crazy times and working towards another goal.
So really, it was for both the actual treasure and the puzzling fun. There were several hunts that came out soon after the Fenn hunt ended, but this one had parameters from Texas to Maine, so I figured there was a chance it was close to me in Texas. I jumped on it and had so much fun. As it turns out, it was about as far away from me as it could have possibly been within the parameters, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! We had a blast!
- 5Q) What did you enjoy most about the hunt? What did you enjoy least about the hunt?
There was so much I enjoyed about this hunt. One reason I enjoyed it was because of the way Natalie used creative and enchanting images to go along with her clever wording (that had to be translated) in order to effectively communicate some of the clues that needed to be deciphered. I also enjoyed the many confirmers embedded within this hunt. Once I thought I had the spot, I continued to solve clues and have those “aha” moments that confirmed I had the right area.
I loved that aspect because that is something I never got in the five years I was trying to solve Fenn’s hunt. Those confirmers are what finally pushed me and Delyse (along with my husband’s insistence that I was right) to buy a plane ticket to Maine to look for the proxy item. And of course, the thing I enjoyed the absolute MOST in this hunt was finding the proxy and getting to meet up with Natalie to claim the treasure. It was such a thrill and Bar Harbor was extraordinarily beautiful!
There really wasn’t a “least” in the hunt itself. I enjoyed trying to solve it, even the really hard parts. My brain loves riddles, so even when I was frustrated and not solving anything, I was still enjoying the challenge. The one thing that proved to be the most tough for me and was a big bummer was trying to figure out how to get to Maine during a pandemic. Once I was confident enough to purchase a plane ticket, we had to do some research on the safest way to keep myself and others safe during a flight across the country.
Delyse and I bought the tickets and prepared to go. But the night before we were supposed to head out, we got news that my husband might have been exposed to the virus. The responsible thing to do was to cancel the trip, quarantine and have my husband get tested. I cried on and off for two days because 1) I was unsure about the health of my husband and the rest of my family and 2) the treasure might be found by someone else before I could get there!
Thankfully, my husband tested negative and none of us showed any symptoms of Covid. Also, we were lucky that we bought our tickets before August 31 and was able to have our flight changed with no fees. So once we knew we were good to go, we packed up a week later and headed out to Maine for our one day adventure!
- 6Q) Do you plan on working on other armchair treasure hunts? And do you have any advice for others who might be just starting out?
Yes, I plan on continuing to work on armchair treasure hunts. The thrill I get from the “aha” moment when solving a clue is too addicting! Also, I love how it keeps my mind always “thinking”. I am looking forward to Natalie’s next hunt, “Echo the Owl” coming out next year!
My advice to others who are just starting out would be to just stick with it. I sat on that one clue that gave me the starting point for so long before the lightbulb finally went off in my brain. I had to spend lots of time with a clue and try to see if from different angles. That is my advice to others as well as myself as I continue on to other hunts!