Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt

CLUE #66 - FOUND!

2012-02-22T16:29:00.001-08:00

CLUE #61 - 65 (5/5 FOUND!)

2012-02-18T21:26:00.000-08:00

This clue leads to FIVE paintings, please don't be greedy, only take one.

Congratulations to Megan, Dave & Christine, Johnny, Sonia and Mark for finding dinosaurs #61-65!

Here is a breakdown of the hunt from Mark, who found the final painting:

I deciphered your morse code on Sunday, hoping to find my daughter Kira a dinosaur painting. But I went to Julie's expecting to find a painting, and when I didn't find anything, I thought they must be all gone. It wasn't until I saw your updated blog posts that I realized the intricacy of your puzzles. It was then remembered the tiny drawer in the patio table at Julies, which I though was too small to hold a painting, but not too small to hold a clue. So I had a friend check it while he was there.

Of course I was delayed by my daughter's nap, but we finally got to Julie's at 6pm, finished the puzzle, and made the call. I must have listened to the message 10 times. I needed my wife's help to decipher the word "lagoon".

(Here is a transcript of the message: Attention. Listen Closely. Exit the cafe. walk toward the bay. when you see the clown made of balloons, turn right. at the next corner, I left you some flowers. cross the intersection diagonally and continue up the street. I trust you are wearing some comfortable shoes, as you will need to walk several blocks. no, I'm not sure how many. I lost count. when you reach Tugboat Bill, salute the flags. turn left. another left before you reach the end. its the second house on the right, with a clear view of the water. If you lose your way. this might help. follow our forty second president not to the year of the snake, or the year of the rat, but the year of the monkey.)

There were quite a few houses with flags but my wife spotted the real flags and we found the spot where the paintings were hidden. Of course, by now it was very dark and finding a Dino painting in the dark is kinda hard. I looked all over, half expecting it to be under the dock, but I finally found it!

CLUE #60 - FOUND!

2012-02-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Clare for finding Dinosaur #60

At the mouth to the Posey Tube, I pasted up another photograph:

The entrance to Neptune Beach was at Central and Webster in Alameda. There is currently nothing there, so I hid the painting underneath a bush inside of a purple suitcase.

CLUE #59 - FOUND!

2012-02-16T21:21:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Sarah for finding Dinosaur #59!

The bay shore of Alameda is now just a small canal between what used to be the island, and what is now landfill. This house sits at the end of oak, and I hung the painting off the post on the edge on the canal.

CLUE #58 - FOUND!

2012-02-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Alie for finding Dinosaur #58!

The former home of the Adelphian Club is currently for sale! Anyhow, I decided I wanted to add a little more to this one (rather than just leaving the painting there) so from the side door of this building, I left a trail of chalk arrow, which led to a desk on the sidewalk a few blocks away. I left the painting in a drawer of the desk!

CLUE #57 - FOUND!

2012-02-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Johnny for finding Dinosaur #57!

Here's the hunt in Johnny's words:

As soon as I got the tweet, I sprang into action. Went online to get a good look at the clue. I knew it was in Alameda so I checked Google maps for Post Offices. I thought this was perfect since I had something to mail.

Drove from SF to downtown Alameda. Parked the car. I started looking for clues (stickers) to point me in the right direction but didn't see any. Looked at the picture again and walked to where the dinosaur was.

Must be in the bushes.

Found it! This one was way too easy.

Then I walked in to mail my letter and discovered it was no longer a Post Office. Doh!

CLUE #56 - FOUND!

2012-02-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Christine Wellburg for finding Dinosaur #56

Christine sent me this message about the hunt:

Hard to find. Had to visualize that tree. Under the stairs.

CLUE #55 - FOUND!

2012-02-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

CLUE #54 - FOUND!

2012-02-09T21:34:00.000-08:00

(Did you find this painting? Email me: xadamdx@gmail.com)

CLUE #53 - FOUND!

2012-02-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Christine and Dave for finding Dinosaur #53!

The sign for South Shore center has changed (along with most of the businesses) but if you visited the sign yesterday, on a nearby utility box was this picture:

The Coral Reef Inn, across the street, has a new sign too. Pretty unfortunate, I prefer this one. Underneath the new sign was the painting!

CLUE #52 - FOUND!

2012-02-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Jory Alliger for finding dinosaur #52!

The painting was hidden inside of the Rockery at the intersection of Central & Alameda.

Here's the painting on display in Jory's son room!

CLUE #51 - FOUND!

2012-01-13T11:56:00.001-08:00

CLUE #50 - FOUND!

2012-01-10T15:56:00.001-08:00

01.11.2012 - One of the clues is missing, so when you get to that clue, you can use this to figure out where to go next:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2011-12-29T00:21:00.000-08:00

I quit my day-job a few weeks ago. I am now a stay-at-home dad. I'm also trying to get some freelance illustration done in between naps and diaper changes. So, I haven't been out hiding a lot of dinosaur paintings lately, but that all should be changing after the holiday break. Here's wishing you a wonderful holiday full of family, good food and fun!

CLUE #49 - FOUND!

2011-11-24T13:11:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Dylan Bartley (& friend) for finding Dinosaur #49!

The above is an article from the Gilroy Dispatch back in 1995, when my high school art class painted a mural on the side of the Fifth Street Coffee Roasting Company, now called Sue's Coffee Roasting Company. Here's the full article without the pieces blurred out:


'Adam Davis, 17, thinks he'll enjoy cruising through town years from now and seeing his work a permanent fixture at the corner. "If it's not all graffitied up, or the building torn down, or new outlets get built"' Always the optimist.

I mainly used the mural as an excuse to cut classes. We were given passes to leave campus to work on it, and 9 out of 10 times I was leaving campus to "work on the mural", I was just playing hooky. I was never really happy with how it turned out, and thankfully, the mural has since been covered up with a new mural of a train.

This clue led to Christmas Hill park. When I was a kid, Christmas Hill park had the best playground around. There was a multiple level play area, built all around a huge tree, with at least three different slides coming off of it, and a tunnel behind the structure. I really wanted to incorporate this, but the entire thing (including the tunnel, which had to have been excavated) has since been removed. It has been replaced with a crummy sanitized playground that I can't imagine is nearly as fun for kids to play on.

At the entrance to the park, hung in a tree, was a blow-up globe with dinosaurs all over it. on the north american side of the globe, written on the T-Rex:

"Meet Economuo at Amphitheater"

At the far end of the park, the Amphitheater bears a plaque commemorating "William N. Economuo". above that plaque, snugly tucked into an alcove, was the painting!

CLUE #48 - FOUND!

2011-11-15T13:27:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Evan for finding Dinosaur #48!

The above message decodes to "There was no there there", a quote from Gertrude Stein, regarding a visit to her childhood home in Oakland, which was no longer there. There's a giant sculpture on the Berkeley/Oakland border regarding that references this, and at the foot of the "T", there was the painting!

CLUE #47 - FOUND!

2011-10-29T11:36:00.001-07:00

CLUE #46 - FOUND!

2011-10-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

CLUE #45 - FOUND!

2011-10-13T10:30:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Mary Whalen for finding Dinosaur #45!

Here's a run-down of the hunt straight from Mary:

When I saw the clue I knew immediately that it referred to asculpture on Embarcadero but when it was posted I was at work and couldn’tleave. On the next day it still hadn’t been found. So when I finished a meetingat SF state early and had some time to kill before I gave my boyfriend andfellow dino hunter Eric a ride to the airport, I decided that I should go dinohunting. I’d had some bad luck in the past with not getting to the clue fastenough and I hoped 4thtimes the charm! Unfortunately I decided to park in the parking structure atthe Metreon so I had a bit of a walk. Good thing it was a nice day. I decidedto go down Market since I couldn’t remember where the statue was exactly. OnceI got closer I saw it. . .should of gone down Mission...oh well.

I wandered around the rocket looking to see if there was anymarking on it, and then I saw this info thing that had some stickers on it:

When I lookedcloser I saw it, clue #2:

Theclue was a little hard to take a picture of since it was so long. I decided totry to write it down and I wrote on an old receipt I found in my bag. My phonewas being incredibly slow and loosing battery power fast so I called Eric tosee if he could help out. He was trying to get work done and couldn’t reallyhelp right then. But that did the trick because my phone started working. I wasable to figure out that the alphabet was shifted by 12 places and then spelledout “And in the veil of the light the citydrifts anchorless upon the ocean”

Thisstumped me some. I sat therefor a little while googling the passage and SF and anything else I could thinkof. All it came up with though was info about the poem. I figured pier 14wouldn’t be on there and underlined if there wasn’t something to do with it soI decided to start walking out to the end of the pier. A little ways down Inoticed that there were plaques close to the ground along the railing withpassages written on them. Then I noticed further down that they were passagesfrom the poem so I looked for the one that was in the clue and that’s where Ifound it, clue #3:

I pulled on the string and it seemed like something was tied toit. I didn’t think it was the painting though, too light. Once I got to the endI saw this:

I knew I had seen a statue like that before, butcouldn’t quite remember where. While I thought about it I decided that since itwas such a nice day I should take some pictures and enjoy the view while Iwalked back down the pier. (Thanks Adam!)

I texted Eric again to see if he had any ideas. He hadn’t seen itbefore but suggested it was in a park near by. I figured it was in one of 2directions and tried to google it but again my phone was not cooperating. Icould see it come up on the google image search but that was as far as my phonewould take me. So I started walking, the 2 areas it could be weren’t that farfrom each other so I could always walk back. As I was walking I thought I mightask someone. They told me where I could find the visitor center but not thestatue. Then Eric texted me saying that it was across from the ferry building.Awesome, that was the direction I was headed! Then I saw it! But I didn’t seeany obvious clue. I looked at the ground in between the heads and walked aroundthem but didn’t see anything.

I figured I better look closer before I gave up. The one on theleft didn’t have any markings or anything on it but when I looked at the one onthe left I fount it. At the base of the head was a little tag tied with arubber band:

“Walk ~27 steps to the christmas tree”. I looked around andluckily there was only one tree that looked like a christmas tree. I ran toit. I hoped this was the last clue and that the painting would still bethere! And there it was! Hangingamong some ornaments! YAY!

I love my new dino!

And it even matched my shirt!

CLUE #44 - FOUND!

2011-10-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

CLUE #43 -FOUND!

2011-10-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Dinosaur painting #43 has been found, but I'm not sure who found it. They did leave all these pinto beans behind though... (remember to email me when you find these, folks!)

CLUE #42 - FOUND!

2011-09-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the #Dinohunt!

2011-09-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

I'd like to welcome anyone who is now following the hunt as a result of my promotion at the SF Zine Fest a few weeks back. Here's hoping you find yourself a free dinosaur painting, and have some fun along the way!

Just want to give a few tips before I post the next couple of hunts:

Follow me on twitter. I like to give a little notice before I post each clue so that you can get ready. Also, if you get stuck on a hunt, or you think a clue might have gone missing, its the fastest way to get my attention.
Once you've followed me on the twitters, you can use the hashtag #dinohunt to let me know you'd like me to get on the ball and post a new hunt. I'm a brand new father, so I can't always get away to scheme new hunts. Knowing that you're out there waiting really motivates me!
If you find a painting, congratulations! Please wait at least 8-10 clues before hunting down another one, although if you want to help a friend find one, more power to you! Actually, PLEASE tell your friends, and encourage them to hunt these down. I want to spead the dino-love around.
Remember that this is a totally DIY (or DIWO) production, made possible with funding from The Awesome Foundation. I don't get clearance to hide almost any of these clues, so the security guards / owners of the businesses where a clue might be hidden probably don't know I hid something there. They might not be to stoked on my shenanigans, so DO NOT approach these folks asking about dinosaur paintings. They most likely will have no idea what you are talking about.
Things you might need on your hunt: comfortable shoes (I try to keep all the hunts walk-able, though with my long legs, my definition of walk-able may differ from yours), a flashlight, a smart phone (I try to keep all the hunts solvable without one, but they do help), a camera (to take pictures of the clues. If you find the painting, I really like to see your pictures of the clues afterward), paper and pencil, your wits.

Thanks! Be on the lookout for new clues shortly!

CLUE #40 (FOUND!) & #41 (FOUND!)

2011-09-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jason Schupp and Phuong Mai for finding Dinosaurs #40 & #41 at the San Francisco Zine Festival!

(this was actually the first painting I painted for this project)

(this one was the second painting I painted for this project!)

Phuong was actually right behind Jason the first day, so I had to create a second hunt the next day to try to stump him! I couldn't have him just walking in and whisking his way through the clues again!

Upon arriving at my table, hunters were greeted by my t-shirt, emblazoned with a huge dinohunt symbol. When asked about the hunt, I showed this clue:

This is an illustration of Chase No Face, done by Josh Ellingson, one of my favorite artists, who also happened to have a table at the festival! I figured a fun way to do this hunt would be to make it two-fold: You could either wander around the hall and find the art associated with the next clue, or you could take time solving the scrambled names (which were all randomly scrambled using numbers from the date of the festival).

At Josh's table, hunters saw this:

This led to Karl Dotter, fellow south bay transplant, UX cartoonist and toast enthusiast. At Karl's table was this clue:

The distinct style of this art led all the way across the hall, into another room, to the table of Michael Wertz, screen printer extraordinaire and fellow disciple of Nonchalance. Michael was busy being busy, so his clue was handled by the wonderful and talented Ondine LaBoeuf:

The final stop on the hunt was at the table for Coco Lab, run by Yumiko Miyagawa. She's a DJ, she has this insanely awesome blog, and she is married to a fellow GNARBOOT. Yumiko not only turned over the painting to Jason (the largest one to date, I might add) but she also threw in the little knitted "baby" that I used as a clue!

Karl admiring Jason's painting!

As far as the hunt the next day went, I put it together on the fly and forgot to take any pictures. If Phoung sees this and has any pictures (along with maybe his perception of the hunt), I'll post them up for you to see!

CLUE #39 - FOUND!

2011-08-24T15:15:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Eric Forsberg for finding Dinosaur #39!

Here's a synopsis of the dinohunt from Eric:

I couldn't help myself... I went and found Dino painting #39.

The night before I started the hunt, my fellow hunter, Phuong, and I were discussing the different clues that had been posted and he mentioned this one was a couple blocks from where I work. So the next day after work I decided to mosey on over to the now abandoned Chamber of Commerce building on Bush st.

On one of the boards covering the window I spotted a poster with creepy shadow behind a series of dots and a picture of something with the word "Polybius" on it. Turned out the dots were in braille and after a quick translation it said, "play polybius at bonkers".

After a little google searching I found out Bonkers was an arcade a block over, and Polybius is some urban legend arcade game... something about people who play it end up dying. Despite the dire warnings I received from the internet, I proceeded to Bonkers to look for more clues and play some evil game.

Once at Bonkers, I noticed there was no way I was getting in since there were about 3 padlocks and a gate covering the rather small entrance. Luckily just under the mailbox on the gate, I found my next clue. What I found was a long string of numbers and after some more research I eventually discovered Polybius is also a cipher that converts numbers to letters on a grid. After a quick translation on my smartphone, I got the message, "the dragon was slain by saint george but he could not slay the dinosaurs".

This one had me stumped for a while. I was half hoping it would lead to the Saint George distillery in Alameda, but I knew it couldn't be that far away. After many variations in the google search bar I finally discovered an alley a couple blocks away called "St George"

This had to have been one of the dirtiest alleys I've seen, and to be honest I wasn't looking forward to 'searching' amongst the piles of trash and piles of something worse than trash, but after spotting a dinosaur sticker I knew I was close. After a couple strolls back and forth I finally spotted the prize on a ledge (thankfully away from the filth) and claimed a frightening dinosaur painting as my own.

(I was really surprised this painting stayed put so long. It was hidden right out in the open! -AdamD)

I'll try and slow down a bit to give others a chance, but these are just too tempting. Thanks again for doing this!

CLUE #38 - FOUND!

2011-08-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Elizabeth, Brandy and Alyssa for finding Dinosaur #38!

This clue was meant to lead to the Slave Labor Graphics warehouse, the publishers of Milk & Cheese (one of my favorite comic books from my teen years) located in Downtown San Jose:

See the clue?

Its stuck to the drain pipe, but it was removed by the city, who are making a huge push to cut down on graffiti apparently. The clues were later replaced, attached to nearby yarn bombs.

original clue

replacement clue!

This clue led to where I saw a lot of shows in my late teens / early twenties: The Cactus Club! It was a total dive (the bathrooms were absolutely disgusting) but it was somewhere to see bands play! While the venue no longer exists, there is still a building there, and a place to put a clue:

original clue

replacement clue!

This image was originally from my Sweet Revenge art show in February, and was meant to lead hunters to a nearby food establishment: PSYCHO DONUTS! The nice folks at Psycho Donuts were super helpful, and even lent their tape to help hide the painting!

Where is it!?

Under the condiments!!

A huge thank you to Dani from the Pillowfights for helping me hide these clues (and for helping me replace the clues when they were removed. She also had the brilliant idea of attaching them to yarn bombs to make them look more like art rather than vandalism. Go Dani!).

CLUE #37 - FOUND!

2011-08-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jennica for finding Dinosaur #37!

The black and white picture is of Philo Farnsworth, who is credited with the invention of the television. His lab was located at 202 Green St, and today there is a plaque there:

Behind the plaque, hanging on a knot in a tree, was this tag:

On the back of this tag is a QR code. Scanning it brings up this video:

CLUE #36 - FOUND!

2011-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

CLUE #35 - FOUND!

2011-08-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Phuong Mai for finding the painting, hidden behind the painting, at El Farolito!

CLUE #34 - FOUND!

2011-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Eric Forsberg! He not only was the person who found this painting, but he was also the person who let me know the clue I placed had been removed.

Here's a write up from Eric about the hunt:

So after a month of checking the dinoblog every day I had almost given up hope on a new post, but apparently my persistence paid off as I jumped on that clue as soon as it popped up this morning. Of course I was also at work when it happened so I had to find a discreet way of solving the clue. I opened up excel as soon as I saw the clue, because as an accountant that's what I use to solve most problems. After playing around with a few combinations of alphabet rearranging I got the "Find the fake flower at empire park" and excused myself for an early lunch. Since I work downtown it wasn't much of a trek so I headed to Empire Park in China Town and snooped around for some sort of fake flower.

As soon as I got there I noticed there were a couple gardeners cleaning up, but otherwise empty. I spent about 15 minutes fondling bushes and looking under benches, but the only "fake flower" I was able to find was the fountain in the back with no sign of any clues nearby. I gave up and headed back to the office. Once there I sent an email to Adam asking if perhaps the clue was removed. He got back to me right away and said he'd check it out. Some time went by and I was informed that yes, it was gone, but it would be replaced and since I spent so much time there I'd get the clue via email. "PLAQUE runs in "The Family" "keep young".

(let me interject here that the clue was a fake daisy with a tag attached to the stem with this typed onto it. When Eric mentioned the gardeners, I knew it had been removed, since I had planted it in one of the planter boxes to look like an actual flower. I replaced it with some labels with the same phrase printed on them, along with a picture of a flower and the dino-symbol)

After looking busy at work for another hour or two I spent a little time googling the clue words and finally came up with a wikipedia article on "The Family" club in SF. Turns out they have a location downtown on Powell St so I ducked out of the office a few minutes early and hiked over to this club. I think I spent about 30 mins combing the street looking for either a clue or the 'plaque' that was referred to before finally giving up, a second time, and barting home.

Once home, I began chatting with my fellow scavenger hunter and girlfriend Mary who sent me a link to a site showing a picture of a plaque about "The Family" I had not spotted. Apparently this plaque was on the same street as the first clue and marked where "The Family" had begun it's fancy schmancy mens-only club. With this new found knowledge I quickly boarded the bart again and headed to the spot. I sighed once I got there because, like the gardeners for the first clue, there were men with power washers cleaning the sidewalk in front of the plaque.

Luckily though they weren't working on the street around the corner, because tucked in to a tight little crevice was a small package wrapped in black plastic.

Success! Dinopainting acquired!

Eric actually missed two clues in that area that led to the gap, but still found the painting! Pretty cool! If anyone wants to find those clues, I will send the first person who uncovers them (by sending photo evidence) an illustration of a dinosaur!

New Clue(s) Soon!

2011-08-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Without making a ton of excuses, it's now time to get back to hiding these dinosaur paintings. I hope to have half of them hidden by summer's end. We will see how possible that is as time keeps marching forward. Now would be a good time to get yourself ready:

re-read the rules
review the past hunts
tell a friend about the hunt!

A few weeks back I had dinner with the fine folks from the Awesome Foundation. While the restaurant was loud enough to cause me to partially lose my voice, I enjoyed talking about this project with them, and hearing about some of the projects that didn't happen (Some of them were definitely awesome, just way more of a liability than this project!)

I'm hoping to have the next clue posted sometime tomorrow, I'll keep you updated via twitter.

CLUE #33 - Australia - FOUND!

2011-07-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Karin Watervoor for finding the painting in Australia, hidden in the Music Bowl in Melbourne!

(check out the "FOUND" sticker on the sculpture! Haha!)

CLUE #32 - FOUND!

2011-06-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Danielle Bailey and Matt Diamant for finding today's dinosaur!

At the Asian Man Records 15 Year Anniversary BBQ yesterday, right next to where Mike Park was grilling up hot dogs, hamburgers, and veggie patties, I posted this clue:


"The dinosaur followed a butterfly to the largest river in the United States"

This led to the next clue:

"The dinosaur visits the largest state in the lower 48 when he is old enough to vote"

Which once decoded, led to this clue:


"The dinosaur plays a game of catch with Andrew, Michael & Action"

This led to the final location, only one block away from the BBQ!

Hidden in plain sight!

Do you know the answer to these clues? Post your answers in the comments below!

We will return after this important message...

2011-06-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

My son, Thomas, was born on June 9th at 9:44pm, 21 inches long, 8 lbs 11 oz. He is absolutely the best thing ever. So, sorry if it takes me a little while to post some new clues. Still getting used to the whole eat/poop/sleep/repeat routine, but I am loving every minute of it!

Here's the best piece of fathering advice I have been given:

CLUE #31 - FOUND!

2011-06-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

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Congratulations to Corissa for finding another dinosaur!

Here's a rundown of the dinohunt in her own words:

So my mini Hunt adventure...I had just come back from lunch when I saw the clue posted. I had clicked play and instantly thought, "OH the Wave Organ" I love that place! JeJune and EPS clues were both hidden there at one point or another..so it seems logical to me. But other then my gut feeling, I didn't see anything else to indicate that...I couldn't leave to check since I just took my break. So I continued working. A few times I looked up to see if I could find other recordings online of the wave organ to see if they sounded similar to confirm my suspicion..all the while thinking that if it isn't found once I am off work I will go there, since it is on my way home. Sure enough I check as I am closing down here at work and it is still up for grabs! Sweet!

So I head on over...thinking even if it isn't. I always enjoy the walk anyways. As I approach the path way from the parking lot I see on a pole one of the stickers...

I think that is nice of him (so people know they wont walk all the way out there for nothing)... I continue on ahead the weather was nice...I see another sticker..

I soon arrive at the wave organ, only a few cyclists were there enjoying the view. I immediately search the places where clues have been in the past and in the insides of the pipes...I did not see it easily at first, walked right by it a few times...before I found it in the little arch way over the sign...

YAY! victory! I even remembered to place sticker...but unsure in that environment how long it will last there.

I sat down ..enjoyed the view and the relaxing sounds...took some pictures and messaged Adam before driving back home...

I will take any excuse to go and enjoy the wave organ

CLUE #30 - FOUND!

2011-05-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Traci & Cole for finding Dinosaur #30!

Traci posted another synopsis of the hunt on her blog, but since it's not nearly as long as her previous post, I will post it here:

Yesterday I caught my second dinosaur. It was an unexpected find: When the first clue to the dino’s whereabouts was posted on Tuesday, May 31, I was out of town, three hours east back home in Angels Camp. In fact, I’m at my friend Barbara’s bon voyage party when my mother, who has recently become as fascinated by dinosaur hunting as I am, calls and in an excited voice tells me, “I know you’re here, but there’s another clue posted and I figured it out! It’s at 333 Fremont Street! It’s an empty lot; there was supposed to be a big building project there a few years ago but it was abandoned! 333 Fremont Street!”

I text my friends in the Bay Area, hoping that one of them would capitalize on my mother’s genius, but both of them say they’re busy that day, and I give up hope of finding a second dinosaur. Instead, I play Settlers of Catan, eat, drink, be merry, and let all thoughts of dinosaur hunting go.

Yesterday, however, I come back to San Francisco, and I’m supposed to meet Cole for a movie at the Landmark Theatre Embarcadero Center. I’m in a skirt and heels. I have none of the proper attire or equipment for dinosaur hunting except for my wits, my phone, and whatever pens or scraps of paper I can dig out of my purse. Still, I hike from the Embarcadero BART station down Fremont Street hoping to find that vacant lot.

I call my mom: “Where’s this thing supposed to be? There are like three different construction projects going on on Fremont Street!”

She repeats the address to me and I hike another block down Fremont to Harrison Street, where, as she had said, there’s an enormous vacant lot, and attached to the chain link fence, a clue:

There are three sheets of laminated hot-pink paper: One with a grid of letters, one with what seems like a key to a code, and one with the date of the day that the first clue had been posted, 5/31/2011. I snap photos with my camera phone and scribble down the grid and the key on the back of a crossword and a stray bookmark, and while I send them to Cole and my mother, I head back down Fremont to a café where I can sit and puzzle the thing out while waiting for Cole.

I call my mom, who’s at work, and because she can’t receive images through text messages, proceed to recite everything to her: “The fourth row is jester, dog, see-saw, dog, yodel, dog, Peter Pan!” But she’s at work and after half an hour of Googling can’t help me figure it out.

Let’s fast-forward a few hours: I wrack my brains for an hour and a half trying to figure out how to decode the grid. Cole is late to the movies so we miss the showing. We dejectedly head back home, where we look up all sorts of ciphers and codes on the internet, where we find information that should be helpful, but isn’t. The ten alphabets on the key seem to shift one letter every time, making it seem like a Caesar cipher, and the whole array like atabula recta. But why the numbers? Were we supposed to turn the grid into a series of numbers, which we could also have to decode?

Fast forward again: We’ve eaten dinner. We’ve eaten dessert. We’ve watched the Giants play ten innings against the Cardinals. We’ve seen them come from behind twice. And then Cole asks me what was written on the third piece of paper.

“Just the date,” I say. “5/31/2011. That’s the day the first clue was posted.”

“Maybe the top row is five,” he says, pointing, “and then the second row is three…”

“Maybe…” I say. But while he decodes in rows, I begin decoding in columns. There are, after all, seven columns, and seven numbers in that date. The first column, which I suspect corresponds to the alphabet on row five of the key, doesn’t give me any Xs or Qs, so I have hope. The second, which corresponds to row three, doesn’t either. A Z shows up in the third, row one, and I start to feel like maybe we’re never going to figure this clue out, but I persevere, because if this isn’t it then I’m going to make damn sure it isn’t. By the fourth column, row two on the key, I’ve spelled “HOPE” across the top line and I know I’m on to something. “It’s in columns!” I tell Cole. “Do the last two! They’re both on row one!”

While I finish the fourth column and the fifth, Cole quickly decodes the last letters and reads them off to me, and here’s what we get:

HOPEFULLY YOU ARE STILL NEARBY COLLECT YOUR PRIZE AT ZENO PLACE

Nearby? We’re in the Outer Sunset, as close to the beach as you can get, and Zeno Place, we discover, is around the corner from Fremont and Folsom, all the way back across the city, near the bay. But we’ve spent hours trying to figure out this puzzle. And at ten o’clock, as the Giants head into the top of the 11th inning against St. Louis, we grab the dog and the camera, hop in the car, and head out in search of that elusive dinosaur.

We get to Zeno Place half an hour later there it is. The dino sticker and the plastic-wrapped package we were sure someone would get before us.

Everyone, meet Hutch the Heavy Dinosaur. He's a triceratops!

We have to thank my mother, who gave us the location of the second clue, the internet, and AdamD for doing such an amazing job arranging the dino hunt. We’re making a concession, however: Although we love dinosaur hunting and solving puzzles, we’ve got to bow out for the next ten rounds. There are only 70 dinosaurs left now and we want other people to share the thrill of dinosaur hunting! (Please don’t leave one un-hunted for a week, though, because then we might not be able to help ourselves!) Go get 'em, world! There's dinos to be hunted!

CLUE #25 (25, 26, 27, 28 & 29 acutally) - FOUND!

2011-05-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Traci and Cole for finding the last of the dinosaur paintings hidden in this hunt!

(click to read)

Traci wrote an awesome description of the hunt on her blog, which you can read by clicking on the picture above. They are standing in front of the final location, a newspaper rack re-purposed as a "Dinomatic Dinosaur Painting Dispenser":

Still haven't heard from the folks who found the other four paintings. If you completed the hunt, or stumbled upon a free painting by accident, I'd love to hear from you.

(REMINDER)

2011-05-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

-Tomorrow I will be hiding five (5) dinosaur paintings at the end point.

-If you complete the hunt, please only take one (1) painting.

-Have you already found a dinosaur(s) painting? Maybe let someone else complete this hunt, or tell a friend to go do it!

-Tomorrow's hunt is in San Francisco, and will probably be the only SF hunt for the next six weeks (during this time I will be hiding paintings in the East Bay, and elsewhere...)

-Wear comfortable shoes.

DINOHUNT TOMORROW!

2011-05-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

Since my wife is due to have a baby any moment, and I probably won't be hiding any dinosaurs in San Francisco for the next six weeks (Hello, East Bay!) I'll be hiding FIVE paintings at the final location of tomorrow hunt. Please, if you participate and make it to the end, only take ONE painting.

When tomorrow? If everything goes as planned, EARLY! 8AM! If I run into any technical glitches (or if my wife goes into labor tonight)... a little later.

I'll leave you with this:

CLUE #24 - FOUND!

2011-05-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

011101000110100001100101001000000111001101101001011001110110111000100000011011100110010101100001011100100010000001110100011010000110010100100000011000100111010101101001011011000110010001101001011011100110011100100000011001010110111001110100011100100110000101101110011000110110010100100000011010010110111001100100011010010110001101100001011101000110100101101110011001110010000001110100011010000110010100100000011001010111100001101001011100110111010001100101011011100110001101100101001000000110111101100110001000000110000100100000011100000111010101100010011011000110100101100011011011000111100100100000011000010110001101100011011001010111001101110011011010010110001001101100011001010010000001110011011101010110111000100000011101000110010101110010011100100110000101100011011001010010000001101001011100110010000001110011011011010110000101101100011011000010110000100000011001000110000101110010011010110010000001100001011011100110010000100000011101100110010101110010011110010010000001100100011010010110011001100110011010010110001101110101011011000111010000100000011101000110111100100000011100100110010101100001011001000010111000100000010101000110100001100101001000000110110001101111011000100110001001111001001000000110011101110101011000010111001001100100001000000111011101101001011011000110110000100000011000010111001101101011001000000111011001101001011100110110100101110100011011110111001001110011001000000111010001101000011001010110100101110010001000000111000001110101011100100111000001101111011100110110010100100000011000100111010101110100001000000111011101101001011011000110110000100000011000010110110001101100011011110111011100100000011101000110100001100101001000000111000001110101011000100110110001101001011000110010000001110100011011110010000001110000011000010111001101110011001011100010000001110100011010000110010100100000011100110111010101101110001000000111010001100101011100100111001001100001011000110110010100100000011010010111001100100000011011110111001001101001011001010110111001110100011001010110010000100000011101000110111101110111011000010111001001100100001000000110011001110010011011110110111001110100001000000111001101110100011100100110010101100101011101000010110000100000011010000110000101110011001000000111010001100001011000100110110001100101011100110010000001100001011011100110010000100000011000110110100001100001011010010111001001110011001011000010000001110000011011000110000101101110011101000111001100100000011000010110111001100100001000000111000001110101011000100110110001101001011000110010000001100001011100100111010000101110001000000110100101110100001000000110000101101100011100110110111100100000011011110110011001100110011001010111001001110011001000000111001101110101011011100110111001111001001011000010000001110011011010000110000101100100011110010010000001100001011011100110010000100000011101110110100101101110011001000010000001110000011100100110111101110100011001010110001101110100011001010110010000100000011000010111001001100101011000010111001100101110

Congratulations to Kelly Nabours for finding another dinosaur painting!

Here's a breakdown of the hunt from Kelly:

So, sent the clue through a binary-text converter. We got a paragraph describing a public rooftop. Corrissa did a google search, and voila, that entire paragraph is online discussing the rooftop patio at 150 California St.

So, showed up there. I did show up around noon, and there were quite a few people eating their lunches. So, trying to look nonchalant, searched for quite some time, not seeing anything. Our illustrious artist, with his mad ninja skills, managed to see me searching while remaining unobserved.

I finally noticed the dinosaur sticker on the base of one of the tables. (I was actually sitting at this table when he arrived, and decided I needed to leave, otherwise he probably wouldn't check the table for the next clue)

Looking under the table, taped to the underside was a manila envelope with another clue! This one a crossword puzzle.

I didn't bring a pen, and had some slight difficulty. Nonetheless, trying to keep it in my head, went out searching for the next spot. Quickly got to the corner of Sacramento and Davis to look for the Dinosaur Painting Underneath the Shoe Shoe Stand. (It mentioned the answer to #5 twice, it took me a little bit to realize this was 5-across and then 5-down.). So finally finding the Shoe Shine Stand marked with Sweet Memory signs.

This nice fellow was running the stand, and there beneath it was this well-wrapped package. I couldn't get it open, so brought it back to the office for scissors. And there we are.

CLUE #23 - FOUND!

2011-05-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

*Blogger went down yesterday and erased this post with it. I'm re-adding it, as the painting has still not been recovered*

Congratulations to Casey Caston for findind Dinosaur #23, hidden beneath the pinball machine at Dinosaurs, the banh mi sandwich shop in the Castro!

A big thank you to Chris Nguyen (the owner of Dinosaurs) for letting me stop by and hide a dinosaur painting in his shop!

CLUE #23 - 11 AM - MAY 12TH

2011-05-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

The next clue will be here at 11AM TODAY!

Keep your minds sharp!

CLUE #22 - FOUND!

2011-05-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Alec Adams and Elijah Stoll for finding Dinosaur #22!

Clicking on the above link takes you to my regular blog (http://www.xadamdx.com for the uninitiated) which may have lost some folks. However, if you scrolled down, you would see that the text on one of the flyers had been changed:

I figured since I was going to be down in San Jose, playing a show with my band, I could use the opportunity to hide a dinosaur painting outside of my usual surroundings. Homestead Lanes is a little bit of a time warp, a suburban bowling alley that with a snack bar, video game arcade, and recently, a sports bar that allows all ages shows!

At the front door, there was a dino-sticker with a chalk arrow pointing back out into the parking lot. This led to more arrows, and after a bit of wandering around, the hunters came upon this in an alley:

This bit of information, when decoded, led the hunters to a person inside the show. When told a specific password, they were presented with a key:

Over in the Arcade area there is a set of lockers (different from the lockers over by the bathroom where the above pictures were taken), and inside locker 13, DINOSAUR!

So Excited!

Q & A session

2011-05-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

I Was Framed!

2011-05-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hit up Sylvia over at City Picture Frames if you want to get the dinosaur YOU found framed! It's not free, but as a fellow dinosaur hunter she should be able to give you a discount!

CLUE #21 (Take Two!) - FOUND!

2011-05-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Evan for finding Dinosaur #21!

Here's a recap of the experience from Evan's perspective:

IKEA is a reallly weird place. And ultra confusing to navigate.

I almost didn't want to go. But. DINO.

So. After I get off work.

Started past the giant chair (was a bit worried that there wasn't such lush foliage around it) and up the escalator and into the store. Started following the arrows, looking in all the little rooms, and getting mesmerized by a robot chair sitting machine designed to make your new chair feel old. No dino. Just solutions for modern living...

After I looked through all the rooms (or was that all? it is really confusing in there!) I started walking backwards along the arrows until i got to the escalator again, and found the shortcut to the kids section. This place was even more full-up with objects, only brighter and with more clutter. I walked over to the rooms and started checking drawers, closets, organizing solutions for modern children. Found a green monster cape in the closet of a blue room, and saw the bed named KURA --- -- - DinoDAR blasting, ducked down and saw the most adorable Stegosaurus hiding underneath the bed!

He blended right in with my bag.

A few minutes later, another dinohunter showed up. I think I ruined her day - she was SO close to beating me, especially considering how lost I was until the final moment. She had wandered the night before - 2 HOURS! Andd it took me quite a long time to find my way out. But I made it!

Looking forward to more close dinohunts. Thanks XADAMDX!

CLUE #21 - FOUND!

2011-05-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

CLUE #20 - FOUND!

2011-04-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

*Please read the rules! Do not remove clues!! *

*Do not pester the employees! They do not know about the clue!*

Congratulations to Sylvia Hurtado for finding Dinosaur #20!

I realized I had done a piss-poor job of documenting this hunt, so I went back today to see if the clue was still in place. I figured due to the large amount of dust on the tops of the shelves at Alexander Book Company I wouldn't have to worry too much about the employees discovering the clue. I was right.

Looking inside the hole this is what you see...

Also, Sylvia works at a frame shop in SF! She said she'll hook anyone who wants to frame their dinosaurs with a discount!

CLUE #19 (2nd attempt) - FOUND!

2011-04-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

(RULE #5. READ IT. I'LL WAIT. IT'S OVER ON THE RIGHT...)

Congratulations to Nicholas Skogen for finding Dinosaur #19!

So, I'm still not totally sure what happened with the clues involved in this hunt. I figured something like this would happen eventually, but I didn't expect it in Gilroy. The first clue is a newspaper clipping from Gilroy that I've had since high school. It was the first piece of non-gang related artistic-statement grafitti I remember seeing growing up, and I really got a kick out of it. The grafitti has long since been covered up, but the box is still there, on the levee.

This code is made up of a bunch of anagrams of: LIVE OAK CREAMERY. It's an abandoned building just on the other side of the railroad tracks that run through Gilroy. I've been fascinated with this building for no specific reason for years, other than my buddy AJ and I used it as a set piece for a bunch of weird films we made.

On the loading dock next to a broken electrical box I attached a lock box to the wall. The key (attached to a tag and a plastic dinosaur) was stashed in a space in the wall where there was a missing brick. Inside of the lockbox was a battered copy of Jurassic Park. On top of the binding, a quick Rot13 code read:

NQQERFF RDHNYF CNTR

Inside Jurassic Park was a clue leading to the next location...

Unfortunately, someone not only removed the book (which I figured might happen) or forgot to put back the key (which again, might happen), they removed the whole box from the wall, which was attached with wood screws! I wasn't so much annoyed at losing the box as I was at several people having to waste HOURS looking for a clue that was no longer there!

Anyhow, after finding out this clue was missing (big thanks to Kimber who not only took these photos, but hunted around Gilroy looking for the clues and after realizing they were missing, helped me confirm that the painting had not been taken from it's hiding place yet) along with the NEXT clue, I decided to post the final clue.

This is a picture of Casey Tibb's Funeral. Casey Tibbs was the cowboy from the statue that use to adorn the roof of Hall's at 6th and Monterey, although the current location of the statue remains a mystery:

The text I added at the bottom of the message is from his headstone (although I put it in a really loose quick code...)

The painting was taped to the window of Hall's, which has been condemned. It was sticking out right next to the sidewalk, but since no one walks around downtown it remained unmolested for nearly 12 hours!

CLUE #19 - FOUND!

2011-04-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

CLUE #18 - FOUND!

2011-04-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Evan for finding Dinosaur #18!

Here's a synopsis of hunt in his own words:

I was so stoked to find that clue 18 was just a short bike ride from my house! I hopped on and rode over (motivating my ride with 'Dino DINO dino Dino DINO dino' under the breath), locked up, and started looking for that robot . . . maybe looking a little too long in the middle of the street. I crossed Grand to check out that All Seeing Eye neon sign, and then the little alien they have in the window. But didn't see any dinos till I crossed back over to get at the same perspective the clue was taken from. And right by my bike on the trash can there, a sticker with a dino phone number to call.

(You can still call the number: (206) 312-6254 -AdamD)

I was late. He had been waiting for me in Grand Lake Theater for like an hour and I was holding him up, he had things to do, etc. He told me he had to get on the freeway and would leave 'it' with the penguins. I first thought of the bird sanctuary at Merritt, and started to hop through the Farmers Market, trying to remember if there were penguin statues or something by the eastbound 580 onramp . . . when I remembered the totally sweet mural I had just walked past (without noticing it that time, but I do love driving past it, even though there's never enough time to really check it out).

Turned back around and found some adorable little penguins on a rock, but no dino signs!

I looked in a bunch of those little holes for a note or something, then decided to continue up the mural, to make sure I wasn't missing anything before getting over to the bird sanctuary on my bike. And! At the very tip top of the mural, giant emperor penguins! And behind the support beam for the pedestrian walkway! ... Some kind of object?

I ran up the penguin-incline and there was what looked like an red-orange dino -- ENCASED IN A BLOCK OF ICE. (didn't see any 'found' sticker though. . . )

(Oops, forgot to put that in there before I froze it -AdamD)

Well, I'm not the patient type so I went with 'smash' over 'melt', and cracked the whole thing open on the North Pole. My dino was free! We are so happy together! Thank you dinohunt!

CLUE #17 - FOUND!

2011-04-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kimber, Donny Shot & Rue for finding Dinosaur #17!

Here's a summary from Kimber of the hunt:

Donny, Rue and I were loaded up and ready to hit the streets for Dino#17, and the clue dropped! I knew right away that the numbers on the image were GPS coordinates. The only problem I was having is that I was missing the (,) and the (-) when I was putting them in my google maps app. I hadn’t noticed them being part of the image. Therefore, my result kept coming up as “Yellow Sea” in Korea. Thinking this might be some silly part of a clue, I searched “yellow sea” in SF and Oakland, hoping maybe there was a restaurant, business or landmark with the name. After getting no results, I looked at the image much closer. Alas!! Once I noticed the (,) and the (-) and entered them correctly, we had an address of 217 Leidesdorff St, in SF!

Upon arriving at the corner pictured in the clue, I immediately noticed a little card hanging from the pole on the right. I quickly took all the information from the card and headed back to the car where Donny & Rue were waiting. The front of the card contained a random group of words. On the back of the card, a picture of a Dino and in the corner “password:qwerty”. Donny and I got to work at trying to solve the meaning of the words I jotted down. I couldn’t make sense of them to mean anything specific so I started looking at them being some scrambled word puzzle. After taking the first letter from each word, I got “Bummer and Lazarus”. Donny quickly found a lead on google, containing the location of a plaque, just a block away, honoring the two stray dogs that once roamed the city streets.

As Donny & Rue circled the block, I quickly roamed through the Transamerica Redwood Park. On the concrete planter box where the plaque was located, there was a picture with text that read “In Emporer Norton We Trust” “SODOZL GY IGKOMGF OO”. Back at the car with Donny&Rue we started googling and letter scrambling. For the moment, the password:qwerty had spaced my mind, and no letter codes I was familiar with were working to solve the jumbled letters. After googling, Donny had found information on Emporer Norton that linked him to Mark Twain, as well as San Francisco Brewing Co. Near the park there was an alleyway named after Twain, but after a thorough search, we found nothing in that alley. San Francisco Brewing Co. was not too far away to walk, just a few blocks up Columbus.

Upon realizing the SF Brewing Co. was a bust, Donny remembered the password:qwerty and learned how to use the code to solve the jumbled letters at the bottom. It spelled out “limits of horizon II”. He found that it was a sculpture in a park at One Maritime Plaza, near Embarcadero Two. We quickly headed back down that direction and to the park. Once at the park, we looked all around the sculpture trying to find either the Dino or another clue. We were just about stumped when Donny discovered a little tag attached to some fishing line that had been buried in the shrubs and grass. The metal tag had a phone number that I quickly called, and left a message.

Within a few minutes, I received a callback. The voice on the other end was familiar, and I was asked what the password was. I answered with “qwerty”, and I was then being navigated out of the park and away from the structure. “proceed straight out of the park. Make a right. Make a left. Proced straight. Make a right, make a left, go over the bridge. Etc etc.” The voice had navigated us to a bridge near Sydney Walton Square, at the corner of Davis and Jackson. We were then instructed to check the round planter box. We let Rue look around and she quickly found the Dino stashed under one of the planters. Success!!

This was an incredibly well put together hunt, and was tons of fun!!

CLUE #16 - FOUND!

2011-04-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kimber (with the help of Donny Shot via text) for finding Dinosaur 16!

Here's a summary of the hunt from Kimber:

So, as soon as I saw the clue, I right away thought of the old Parkway theater in Oakland. I knew they were trying to re-open it based on an article Donny had sent me months ago. However, I had not heard of a grand opening. I decided to drive by the old location on my way home from work, around 8:30pm. As I rolled by, it looked very sketchy, with big scary dudes hangin out front. I didn't feel like being robbed, and didn't think this would be Adam's idea of an adventure on a Friday night.
I googled pizza, beer and theaters for east bay, and discovered that El Cerrito theater had the same type setting as Parkway, so I thought it could be a possibility. After looking around Cerrito theater lobby and exterior, I found nothing, and went home.

Waking up this morning, I was sure someone had to have found the dino. However, there were no updates. so I quickly headed back down to the old Parkway. It was a totally different environment in the daytime. I quickly found the next clue.

It was a picture puzzle on stickers on the side of the wall. I wasn't sure the meaning of a few of the images so I used the Google "goggles" app on my phone to find their significance.
I got "bruce lee+N+Ing" "hammertoe+bib weir" "UVrays" "Peets+Extraction"
I quickely sent them off to Donny, asking for help. Within a few minutes he was replying with "Leaning tower of Pizza!! There's one nearby, trust me!!" and he gave me the addy on Wesley Ave.

Once at the leaning tower, I looked all around the store front, remembering to check plant boxes and under tables. I noticed a large mural on the side of the store when I parked, so I rounded the corner. I immediately spotted a little taco man drawn and stuck to a pipe on the side of the wall with a bubble that read "I'll be at MY RANCH. Give me a ring" I sent a picture of the friendly taco guy to Donny. I got an instant reply, "Mi Rancho" its a taco truck at 1st on 14th. "That truck rules!"

So I headed over and looked all around the front of the truck. There were many stickers but no dinohunt logos. I then spotted a payphone to the left of the truck and as I approached, there was black plastic covering the hollowed out phone booth, with taco waste resting on the bottom. I peeked behind and saw the wrapped dino hiding inside!!

This was definitely a fun hunt. And I couldn't have found it without Donny's knowledge of the food spots in the area. This was definitely a joint find.

Thanks for the fun Adam! And thanks for the help Donny!

CLUE #15 - FOUND!

2011-04-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Emma Logan!

Here's a rundown of the hunt directly from Emma:

I got clue #15 and knew right away where that pesky little blackbird used to dive bomb folks. It was a little after 10:30 in the morning. Dare I run out of work to go look for a dinosaur? YES! Early lunch! So I run out the door and text my friend Puppet to see if she can play. Good call because she was my clue solver from afar.

I get to the tree and hanging from it, among all sorts of treasures, is a little pterodactyl with a clue!Remembering the previous clue that required rot13, I quickly texted Puppet and she went to work - they were 14 off this time! "Monument to Maternal Instinct". Puppet says there is a statue across the street.

I head over there and try to be inconspicuous looking in the bushes around it. I don't see a clue on the statue. Then I see a fellow wandering around looking too! I have to wait him out so that I don't
have to share, when I realize there is a little wire around the base of the statue. The construction worker on the corner eyes me warily as I pull the little tag out from under the mother's dress and try to take a picture of the clue on it. It's too small for a picture! Dang iPhone 3G. I try to be really sly, standing there next to a statue typing the clue into a text for Puppet:

. _ _ / . _ / . _ . . / _ . _
_ / _ _ _ / . _ _ / . _ / . _ . / _ . .
. _ _ . / . . / _ . / .

Puppet says "Yay. Morse code. Stand by." See how important it is to have help? I can't really look up Morse code with a smart phone and make any progress. I should have brought pen and paper...

Walk toward Pine.

I walk toward Pine and half way down the block see a dino sticker on a newspaper box with an arrow pointing into a little courtyard with a panini place called Birley's Cafe. It is a bank building. I am, again, trying to be sly looking around everything. There are so many tall things! I bet I can't find it because it's up high. I try hopping. 5 ft plus one hop in girl shoes equals not very much taller. I leave the courtyard - maybe I'm in the wrong place? I look in all the newspaper
boxes back out on the street...and then go back to the courtyard. In the fountain? No. Behind the trash cans? No. I text Puppet that I am about to give up and go back to work. I see a metal statue of dragons on a very tall pedestal with a space under it so I drag a chair over to peek underneath and viola! The dino package!

Very exciting. :)

The DinoHunt Goes International!

2011-04-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that there will soon be paintings hidden in Toronto (where I've visited in the past) and Australia (where I've never been!)

I will post clues as soon as they are hidden, but please help spread the word to your friends abroad!

IN OTHER NEWS!

CLUE #15 will be posted TOMORROW, hopefully before noon. Nothing like hunting for dinosaurs first thing in the morning!

CLUE #14 - FOUND!

2011-04-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Robin for finding Dinosaur #14!

Clue #14 was an illustration I did of the Moonrise sculptures by Ugo Rondinone, located in front of 555 Mission St. (hence posting this clue at 5:55pm)

When I arrived, I was saddened to realize that I could not hide the paintings inside of any of their mouths like I originally planned, so I settled with putting it behind the middle pedestal.

2011-04-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

NEXT CLUE

5:55PM today.

I've updated the guidelines on the right. Please read them before heading out on a hunt.
Clues have been going up with no schedule, and I've been toying with the idea of setting up some sort of schedule. Would this work for you? What dates and times would be best for dinosaur hunting? Let me know in the comments below.

CLUE #12, 13 - FOUND!

2011-03-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

~~SOLVE PUZZLE TO REVEAL LOCATION~~

Congratulations to Bruce for finding Dinosaur #12!

Congratulations to Alex for finding Dinosaur #13!

Things didn't go exactly as I had planned for this hunt. First off, I borrowed the puzzle from Mastermind Puzzle Hunt's Monthly Puzzle. I had to modify it slightly to make the answer fit, which I think allowed for some abberations. Here's Alex & Jake's completed puzzle, with the correct sections circled:

Somehow, Nnekay found a combination that did not give the correct answer, but still added up to the correct corresponding numbers:

...so, if this happened to anyone else, sorry!

The coded message was: LIBERTY BELL SLOT MACHINE

After two hours, I still hadn't heard anything from anyone about the location, so I thought I should take a walk by to make sure nothing had been messed with. When I arrived, I found Bruce milling around near the plaque. After letting him pace around for a bit, I went over and introduced myself, and told him to go check the vent (and to put the clue back. Seriously folks, stop peeling off the clues!):

I left to go grab a smoothie, and came back in time to catch Bruce going to the final location. When I asked him about how he found the painting, he said "I asked at the security desk inside the building about a vent, and they pointed me over here." Unfortunately, he had completely missed the vent I meant for him to check! I had another painting with me, so I decided to replace it and see if anyone else would find the other clues. I asked Alex (and her boyfriend Jake) and they ALSO went straight to the finish point! So, here is what was missed.
From the plaque, crossing the street and heading up market, there were dinosaur stickers leading to the correct vent:

Suspended inside of the vent on a string is a clear plastic envelope. Inside the envelope there is a piece of paper with this image printed on it:

The background image image is the tiled windowless wall of a nearby building, and on the wall is the other half of a QR code:

When the QR code is put together, it looks like this:

For those of you with smartphones, you can scan that now to see what comes up. Everyone else, you can see the result by clicking this link.

All of the clues are still in place, so if you're in the area, I recommend giving it a look. The final location corresponds to the dinosaur in painting #12.

Dinosaur #12

Dinosaur #13

The lesson I need to learn from this: I need to specify the locations better, and find a good balance in the level of difficulty.

CLUE #11- FOUND!

2011-03-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kimber Morrison for recovering Dinosaur #11!

The message written backward in code on the above image is: cgrebqnpgly ng gur nyonal ohyo

It's written in a code called rot13, in which you rotate the alphabet 13 places. So, "A" becomes "N" and so on. Kimber figured it out by writing it out:

...but you could also use this website to find the correct answer: www.rot13.com

The message translates to: pterodactyl at the albany bulb

The Albany Bulb is landfill that has been turned into an art garden by artists over the years. Sculptures made out of driftwood and scrap metal line the coast of the peninsula, along with other pieces of art that have been fabricated elsewhere and left to the elements. I haven't been out to the Bulb in several years, so I was amazed by the amount of people living out there in makeshift camps! Chalk arrows lead the hunter from the parking lot to the coastline, where the painting was lashed to a sculpture.

CLUE #10 - FOUND!

2011-03-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Rue, and her dad Donny for finding Dinosaur #10!

Mabuhay Gardens was a punk venue in the 80's that Black Flag, Flipper and the Dead Kennedy's played at. It was located at 443 Broadway, and stopped having shows long before I could have been interested in attending them. At the former Fab Mab, hunters found this flyer:

(the date shows up when I scan this. I blacked it out to avoid confustion)

Club Cocodrie was a club that I got to play at, first with Flat Planet and later with Link 80 (actually, the show with Flat Planet was with Link 80, so that was my first time seeing them). It's also across the street from the Lusty Lady. I felt super weird putting up flyers in front of this club 10+ years later, especially since it's now been divided up into office spaces. At this location, hunters found this flyer:

I've never been to the Purple Onion, but Zach Galfinakis filmed a special there that you can stream on Netflix there. Another flyer at this location send hunters on a long walk:

This venue is now a coffee shop next to Cobb's Comedy Club. I stuck the painting under a planter box and marked the location with a sticker. Perfect height for this little hunter to come along and find it!

MORE CLUES THIS WEEKEND! TELL YOUR FRIENDS! SPREAD THE HIDE-O-SAUR LOVE!

CLUE #10 at 2PM TODAY!

2011-03-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Dinosaur Hunters,

Due to the extreme nature of the last clue(s), I have deemed it necessary to drop another clue today!

So, check back at 2PM TODAY!

CLUE 7,8 & 9! - UPDATE #7/Act 1 FOUND! #8/Act 2 FOUND! #9 / Act 3 FOUND!

2011-03-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

To find Dinosaurs #7, 8 & 9, you will need to return to the scene of the first clue, The Jejune Institute!

As a game within the game, one Dinosaur has been hidden in each of the three Acts.

I would like to make a request that those people who have already completed all three acts, please do not go hunt down these paintings! I would like to have these paintings be an added incentive to those people who have either put off checking this out or not completed all three acts.

If they have not been discovered by April 10th, you are welcome to go look.

Shortly after posting Clue #1, this article came out: http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/last-chance-the-mysteries-of-san-franciscos-creepy-jejune-institute

...Which made me want to make some sort of effort to get people to check this out before it's too late!

UPDATE: Dinosaur #8, hidden in a hollowed out book, has been discovered!

UPDATE #2: Dinosaur #7 has been discovered-

UPDATE #3: Dinosaur #9 has been taken from the lock box on Telegraph Hill (although no one has emailed me about it yet.) I did leave a surprise for anyone who winds up going there soon...

CLUE #6 - FOUND!

2011-03-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Roses are beauty but I never see
Those blood drops from the burning heart of June
Glowing like thought upon a living tree
Without a pity that they do so soon.

-John Masefield

MIDAS TOUCH

Congratulations to Jake Precht for finding Dinosaur #6!

The hiding place was the Morcom Rose Garden in Oakland. At the entrance to the garden, the above poem is on a plaque:

I walked around the garden a little bit, re-familiarizing myself with the location. Lots of folks who live in the neighborhood take walks through there, and some of them volunteer to help maintain the garden, so I wanted to make sure that where I decided to hide it wouldn't interfere with their routine.

All of the roses in the garden have names like "First Kiss" and "French Lace". I found a hole in a rock wall behind the bush labeled "Midas Touch" that would fit the painting perfectly:

NEXT CLUE: Wednesday!

CLUE #5 - FOUND!

2011-03-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Amber for finding Dinosaur #5! Thanks for bringing it in out of the rain!

Click the picture to see Amber's dinosaur hunting adventure in South Park!

Slideshow & more clues this weekend!

2011-03-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

As you can see, there is now a slideshow to the right that will be updated with the paintings as they are found! I'm currently painting all of my free time away cranking these little (and not so little) dinosaurs out. I usually have streaming netflix on in the background while I paint, so if anyone has any recommendations for me please leave them in the comments below (just nothing with subtitles. I gotta be painting, I can't be looking at the screen the whole time).

I'll be posting up a new clue (clues maybe?) this weekend, possibly as soon as 5pm tomorrow! Keep your eyes peeled and get those dinosaurs!

CLUE #4 - FOUND!

2011-03-16T13:13:00.001-07:00

GO TO:

FOLLOW:

Congratulations to Corissa and Kelly for finding ANOTHER dinosaur painting!

Upon arriving at the Banksy mural in Chinatown, it was plain to see that I had covered the area in dinosaur target stickers. A small sign next to one read FOLLOW, instructing the hunter to follow the stickers through Chinatown!

Around a few corners and down a couple of alleys led the hunters to a tree next to a park. Up in the tree was the painting, wrapped in a plastic bag and suspended by a string!

More clues this weekend! Keep your eyes peeled!! Find those dinosaurs!!!

CLUE #3 - FOUND

2011-03-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Uriah Findley for tracking down Dinosaur #3!

Here's a rundown of the hunt:

Upon arrival at the Play Sculpture, located near Fairyland, there was a note left inside of the tunnel the dinosaur's neck was protruding through. It read:

Robert,

I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all week! This brontasaurus is really making it hard of the band to play! I can keep it locked up under here for a few more days, but then I’m going to have to find somewhere with more space to keep it. Your friend had better come pick up this dinosaur soon!

-James P. Edoff

This then lead to the nearby James P. Edoff Memorial Bandstand, a nearby gazebo. down a few steps to the locked gate beneath, another note:

Dear James,

Now, you know I’m glad to help, but I really need to make the hall available to the public! Keeping a dinosaur in here is NOT what I had in mind! I already have enough problems with the satanists stealing the address numbers off the building every other day! Please see to it that your friend picks up this dinosaur by Friday, or I will need to find another place where he will have more room!

Regards,

Marsha Jean Corprew

Up the hill a bit lies the Lakeside Park Garden Center, Marsha J. Corprew Memorial (the address is 666 Bellevue Avenue, the numbers whether removed by vandals or the estate of Marsha Corprew, I'm not sure...) Behind the plaque commemorating the life of Mrs. Corprew, there was another note:

Hiya Marsha,

I can keep the dinosaur over here, there’s plenty of room, and it’ll be like we’re keeping his on a leash near a huge water dish (haha). He’s a good fella, big! Hopefully, if he gets hungry he can just eat the leaves off the tree. Otherwise, I’d worry about the restaurants nearby!

See Ya Later, Alligator!

John E. McElroy

Across the lawn bowling courts behind the garden center, lies the McElroy Fountain. Inside of the fountain on a pipe was the following illustration and caption:

"I REALLY NEED TO USE THE LITTLE BOYS ROOM!"

Standing up in the fountain, clearly visable across the street is a taqueria called Los Cantaros. Inside the men's room, there is a tiny toilet next to a regular sized toilet, and inside the toilet tank (which was marked with a dino-target), placed inside a ziploc bag, was the painting!

I had a lot of fun setting up the clues for this excursion. In the future though, DO NOT REMOVE THE CLUES! Uriah pulled the first note down after finding it, so anyone who showed up after he did could not follow it to the other clues! So, the only thing you should be removing from these locations are the dinosaur paintings I leave behind. Cool? Cool.

TOMORROW AT NOON / CLUE #3!

2011-03-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

2 down, 98 to go!

The next clue will go up tomorrow at noon!

This is a hint to the next location!

...but if you work it out, don't go there before TOMORROW AT NOON, OKAY!?

CLUE #2 - FOUND!

2011-03-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Kelly Nabours! Please enjoy your painting!

This was the clue:

The painting was hidden inside of the Icosaspirale, a metal sculpture located at 1 Maritime Plaza!

reaching in...

unwrapping...

...and there it is!

I think the painting was recovered within 25 minutes of the clue being posted. I'll have to start making these clues harder!

(watch this space)

2011-03-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

Wheels are in motion.

Clue #2 will be posted today...

at 12:21 PM

CLUE #1 - FOUND!

2011-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

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To those dark horses with the spirit to look up & see...

~~a recondite family awaits.~~

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The first painting has been recovered from those jack-a-naps at the Jejune Institute! Congratulations to Corissa Solis!
The Jejune Institute (which is really the entry point to the Games of Nonchalance) is a huge inspiration to this project. I went down the rabbit hole several years ago, and have a hard time describing just how awesome the whole experience has been. While the dinosaur painting is no longer at this location, I urge EVERYONE who has not taken the time to check out this experience to do so. It's the best way possible to experience the city, and it will give you quite a bit of insight into how I am thinking about hiding the rest of the dinosaurs.

Welcome to the 100 Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt!

2011-03-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

About a year ago I completed painting 100 Robots. I had a lot of fun doing it, learned about my own abilities as an artist, and (most importantly) finished it. I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a while for my next project, and I realized I wanted to paint some other subject matter than I like: Dinosaurs!

The main problem presented to me was that I didn't want to just repeat the same sort of thing, I wanted it to have an added twist to it. So, for this project all of the paintings are FREE. Of course, rather than just handing them all out, they will all be hidden, and you'll have to find them! While the majority of these will be hidden in the bay area, I plan on having some of my friends help me hide paintings in other cities, states and countries!

Check back at noon on Tuesday, March 8th for the first clue!

This project has been made possible by:


(click to learn more about the Awesome Foundation)