MoDayTrips: Fennboree 2016

We'd planned our annual trip Southwest around our April 30th anniversary, but when we heard when Fennboree was scheduled, we move the whole schedule by about a month so we could attend. For those who are wondering what kind of festival a Fennboree is, it's a gathering of folks who are hunting for the treasure chest a retired fighter pilot and art dealer named Forrest Fenn placed somewhere in the Rocky Mountains north of Santa Fe. The clues are contained in a cryptic poem published in 2010 in a book called "The Thrill of the Chase"; it's a lot harder than the first look would indicate, since tens of thousands of people have been looking for it for 6 years now. Want to know more? Google "Forrest Fenn treasure."

We've been involved in this rather Herculean quest since 2013, when friend Theresa called to tell us that a $ million hunt was covered on a station we don't watch; she was home to watch TV only because Leeton had a snow day. It looked easy; we took a ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway, then headed for the Abiquiu area where we thought it might be from reading assorted blogs. After a couple of nerve-wracking jaunts on slick wet-clay roads, we realized it wouldn't be that easy.

In 2014 the first Fennboree was held at a semi-primitive camp at the Gallina Canyon Ranch, hosted by "Desertphile" (blog name). You can read of our experience there at our 2014 Trip story. After that experience, we'd had enough of tent camping, so we skipped the 2015 event (which turned out a mite muddy, we understand).

The 2016 event was held the weekend after Memorial Day, in Hyde Memorial State Park, at 8500 or so feet in the Sangre de Cristo Range north of Santa Fe. After our museum visits in Santa Fe & lunch at The Shed, we checked out the location for the Friday evening campfire get-together. Then it was back to Santa Fe & the Silver Saddle Motel to check in, offload what wasn't needed, pick up some beer & ice, and head back up the mountain to party. What transpired then - look at the pictures.

Left the party about 9, dodged a big muley on the way down, and hit the hay. Up early in the morning, breakfast at Weck's, a visit to Museum Hill, and back for the cookout and fun and games. A few observations: parking was tight, glad we got there fairly early. There was plenty of food, and those who stayed late took some home. Game prizes ranged from a $100 map down to a Fennboree coffee cup. Forrest Fenn himself was present for both Friday's & Saturday's event. Sacha & Cynthia did a bang-up job organizing it. A film project about the Chase included filming of events and interviews with principal figures in it.

One of the special things about the event was seeing other searchers we'd met at previous events; a lunch in 2013, Fennboree in 2014 and a party last year. We also were able to put faces to many we'd met on the Chasechat blog and sometimes saw on Dal Neitzel's blog. In any case, here's an album of pictures - 186 strong (I'm going to go back & identify some of the people, help is appreciated). They'll expand if you click on them. Enjoy.

Bill's Friday Pictures: