2022 Eagle Medallion Hunt clues explained

This year’s medallion was affixed to the bottom of a bench in the middle of the Idlewild Park Nature Walking Trail.

Here are each day’s clues and what they meant.

Day One

For two years Riverfest has had to be nimble.

It’s strong and endures as community symbol.

Spring is the right time for the medallion quest.

So go read the rules and catch up on your rest.

The nature trail sits next to the Oaklawn neighborhood. The oak is a symbol of strength and endurance. Catch up on your rest hinted at the park bench, where one could rest.

Day Two

Hunted before? It’s not your first year?

You need to think like a pioneer.

Keep in mind while you medallion compete:

There is no evidence that is concrete.

The first two lines taken together indicated that the medallion was hidden in a location where one has not previously been hidden. The trails in Idlewild are dirt, so they are not concrete

Day Three

As you enter the hunt you cannot go wrong

Singing along to Mr. Rogers’ song.

In the sky, it’s a bird it’s a plane -

But what is missing in this refrain?

The first two lines invoke Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and its theme song about being a neighbor. You have to drive through a neighborhood to reach the entrance to Idlewild. What’s missing in the third line — a reference to the phrase used about Superman — is “Look” and “up.” The medallion was attached to the bottom of the bench, so one would have to look up to see it.

Day Four

Ask yourself this if you are a searcher:

What’s the other side when fighting nurture?

A series of stars without the wars.

That’s what you’ll do (and it’s not indoors).

The first two lines refer to “nature vs. nurture.” The third line is a reference to Star Trek and Star Wars. Taken together — along with not indoors — nature and trek point to a walking trail.

Day Five

The forecast for hunters? Nearly 90 degrees.

It’s classic, not hostile, made up of two threes.

Oh sweet! Nearby calls to some birds.

Mostly those that don’t know the words.

The first two lines are about the park bench, which is at almost a right angle, or Nearly 90 degrees. It’s in the classic style and doesn’t have an armrest in the middle of it, part of what’s known as hostile architecture. The bench has three boards for its back and three boards for its seat.

Next to the bench is honeysuckle, which can attract birds, particularly hummingbirds. Those who don’t know the words often hum instead.

Day Six

Here we are, it is closer to the end.

Take direction from a sirocco wind.

Riverfest has now marked 50 - for them a year.

Nearly the same for our spot, if that way was here.

A sirocco wind is a southeast wind, hinting at that direction. The last two lines indicate 50th Street, which doesn’t go through the park, but would pass near the hiding spot if it did. Another name for a street is a way.

Day Seven

An X marks the spot where the disc does hide.

Literal or figurative? You must decide.

The warning is clear in the traditional way.

But it won’t keep medallion hunters at bay.

The bench was at the crossroads of two walking paths within the park, forming an X. A warning sign at the trail’s entrance says “NO HUNTING.” Hunting for the medallion is not what the sign is prohibiting.

Day Eight

Think of a place where people have massed.

Both Anne of Green Gables and OutKast.

The middle is good for our hunting wizards.

It’s in plain sight for this area’s lizards.

Idlewild is a place in both the book “Anne of Green Gables” and the “Idlewild” movie starring Big Boi and André 3000 of Outkast. The bench was in the middle of the park. Since the medallion was affixed to the bottom of the bench, it was in plain sight of the park’s numerous lizards.