Yes, I’m literally on day 6 of my favorite treasure hunt in the WHOLE WORLD… and also, the only one I participate in.  I have done this at least half of the years that I’ve been alive and have yet to find treasure, but I’ve know added it to my 30 before 30 list, so I have to step up my game.

For those of you that don’t live in the wonderful state of Minnesota, I’ll explain.  Many moons ago, people thought that Minnesota was a winter wasteland that no one should ever go to because people just lock themselves inside their houses all winter long and eat things that they gather in the warm months.  Well, Minnesotans fought back and decided to throw a huge party right in the dead middle of winter.  The St. Paul Winter Carnival has officially been the best carnival ever since 1886… in my opinion.

Image credits here, here, here, and here.

There are parades, snow sculptures, ice sculptures, ice skating, an ice bar, dog sled races, a beer dabbler, the newly added Red Bull Crashed Ice competition, the Securian winter run and my favorite – the treasure hunt.

12 clues are released over 12 days leading thousands of people, old and young, through the parks and public areas in Ramsey County searching for a small “puck” that is worth $10000.  It is my mission to find this treasure and then buy myself something wonderful to celebrate (and probably pay off some debt), but most importantly, the lucky winner gets to ride on a float in the Torchlight Parade.  This, my dear friends, is something I’ve wanted since I was a small girl sitting on my dad’s shoulders.  You can find last year’s posts here, here, here, here, and the overall summary.  Yes, this is clearly one of the biggest events of my year.

We were out last night searching and scoping out a few parks.  I don’t have a good feeling yet on exactly what park the treasure is hid in.  We will most likely spend the majority of our weekend looking for the treasure, however I am running a race tomorrow morning that is part of the carnival and we will absolutely stop in at the Ice Bar.

I encourage anyone in the Twin Cities to check out something as part of this festival, especially since the weather will be in the thirties on Sunday.  The website is http://www.winter-carnival.com/ and all the events are listed.  There is something for everyone.

Wish me luck on my hunt.  I’ve got my headlamp, good mittens, hand warmers, a small shovel and a 6 pack of beer.  It’s about to get real.