So if you are looking to make some extra cash this month you could sign up and drive for Uber…or you could use your car in a different way and drive to the Rocky Mountains.
If you haven’t heard of Forrest Fenn and his real life treasure hunt, get ready for an amazing journey. Fenn is 87 years old and has hidden millions of dollars deep into the Rocky Mountains. He’s said before that it may take a thousand years to find the treasure.
Apparently over 350,000 people have attempted to find the treasure and some may have even died?
Fenn spoke to NPR back in 2016 and said:
“No one knows where that treasure chest is but me. If I die tomorrow, the knowledge of that location goes in the coffin with me.”
The “Treasure Map” if you will was published in his memoir, “The Thrill of the Chase.” He has also posted the image and coinciding poem on Instagram as well. The poem reads:
“As I have gone alone in there
And with my treasures bold,
I can keep my secret where,
And hint of riches new and old.
Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyon down,
Not far, but too far to walk.
Put in below the home of Brown.
From there it’s no place for the meek,
The end is ever drawing nigh;
There’ll be no paddle up your creek,
Just heavy loads and water high.
If you’ve been wise and found the blaze,
Look quickly down, your quest to cease,
But tarry scant with marvel gaze,
Just take the chest and go in peace.
So why is it that I must go
And leave my trove for all to seek?
The answers I already know,
I’ve done it tired, and now I’m weak.
So hear me all and listen good,
Your effort will be worth the cold.
If you are brave and in the wood
I give you title to the gold.”
I don’t know about you, but this seems like a real life Ready Player One without the technology element. Going on, he has been known to say it’s located above the elevation of 5,000 feet. That still doesn’t totally help because the map measures out over a thousand miles in length.
He has also said where it’s not and what not to do in order to find the treasure. But what if that’s just a ploy to get us not to look there?!
“The treasure chest is not under water, nor is it near the Rio Grande River. It is not necessary to move large rocks or climb up or down a steep precipice, and it is not under a man-made object. Please remember that I was about 80 when I made two trips from my vehicle to where I hid the treasure. Please be cautious and don’t take risks.”
How would people not take risks when there is $2 million on the line?! The treasure is also in a cliché treasure chest and has been seen in a vault in his home filled to the brim with emeralds, rubies, gold coins and diamonds.
He originally filled it when he was diagnosed with cancer back in 1998. He was going to drag it to the top of a mountain and die next to it, but he beat the cancer! Why did he begin this treasure hunt though?
He concluded that the real reason was:
“I wanted to give the kids something to do. They spend too much time in the game room or playing with their little handheld texting machines. I hope parents will take their children camping and hiking in the Rocky Mountains. I hope they will fish, look for fossils, turn rotten logs over to see what’s under them, and look for my treasure.”
So if you need something to do this weekend…road trip out to the Rocky Mountains!