At least once a month, always on a Wednesday, we challenge Traveler readers to figure out the identity of a Mystery Spot in a National Park System unit. A total of 13 Mystery Spot puzzles were published this year. The master list, with hotlinks, is provided below.
Coming up with correct answers can be a tricky business. Our national parks contain many thousands of named objects, features, and places, and the Quizmeister only provides a few clues. Still, our collective readership almost always gets the thing figured out.
There are some standouts, of course. The Mystery Spot champion for 2011 is RangerLady, who solved 8 puzzles and was one of only two readers to solve #20. The Quizmeister is very impressed, RangerLady.
Runner Up awards go to RoadRanger and ed-123, who each solved five puzzles. Honorable Mention awards go to Eric (4), y_p_w (3) and tomp2 (3). A host of other readers -- 48, to put a finer point on it -- solved one or two of the puzzles. All of you deserve a round of applause. We think our readers are definitely a cut above average.
Stay tuned. Another batch of Mystery Spot puzzles is being prepared. Will 2012 be your year to shine?
MYSTERY SPOT PUZZLES POSTED IN 2011
Mystery Spot #20: The Business End of the Arrow
Mystery Spot #20 Revealed: No Trucks in This Convoy
Mystery Spot #21: Alas, Poor Hillside Homes
Mystery Spot #21 Revealed: Lots of Stars Have Done Their Thing Here
Mystery Spot #22: See the Sunrise
Mystery Spot #22 Revealed: You Can See the Sea From This Dome
Mystery Spot #23: Cue Ball's Habitat
Mystery Spot #23 Revealed: Saddam Didn't Build this One
Mystery Spot #24: A Movie Critter Provides a Clue
Mystery Spot #24 Revealed: Not the Kind a Drunk Can Hug
Mystery Spot #25: Not Even a Puddle to Wet a Frog
Mystery Spot #25 Revealed: A Hexagon in a Very Dry Place
Mystery Spot #26: An Elevation
Mystery Spot #26 Revealed: A Hill Like No Other
Mystery Spot #27: On a Hill It Stands
Mystery Spot #27 Revealed: A Home for a man Who Sure Could Write
Mystery Spot #28: A Natural Shape
Mystery Spot #28 Revealed: A Delicate Subject
Mystery Spot #29: You Need to Go Down to Go In
Mystery Spot #29 Revealed: A Hole In the Ground
Mystery Spot #30: Just Answer These Questions
Mystery Spot #30 Revealed: The Rhyming Road Takes You There
Mystery Spot #31: Walk This Way
Mystery Spot #31 Revealed: Big Tree Inside, Lots More Outside
Mystery Spot #32: At the Mouth of a Feeder
Mystery Spot #32 Revealed: A Domed Domicile
Comments
Wow! I have never won anything before! Can my prize be no more car payments for a year?
Congratulations RangerLady!
Watch out I'm gunning for your #1 spot in 2012.
Sorry, RangerLady. Traveler's budget can't accommodate your car payments. Anyway, you'd probably just spend the extra money on frivolous stuff like food, shelter,and heated toilet seats.
Heated toilet seats are NOT frivolous.
So very true Lee! I was on this trip for one of my college classes and we were way up in the mountains with several inches of snow on the ground and the only bathroom was an outhouse with a metal seat. Heated seats are so very important.