Mystery at Mountain Lodge

A LITTLE HISTORY

Tired of being cooped up inside during COVID, our family started walking around our neighborhood in the evenings. In doing so, we met more neighbors than we ever did in the time before COVID--it was great!

Then, in 2021, as a way to continue meet neighbors and allow neighbors to meet each other, we made the front of our house look like a castle for Halloween--complete with drawbridge and moat. We dressed up like a king and queen, had our boys dress up like a prisoner and a guard, and we passed out candy. It was incredible fun and we really enjoyed seeing people.

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From new TV shows, to departed monarchs, 2022 has been a year of royal events. So, we thought we’d continue to give back to the neighborhood by building upon last year’s castle, and add a little something more, like a throne room, Leonardo da Vinci's workshop, a dungeon, and a cast of characters--oh, and an adventure that went beyond Halloween night.

You might've thought the fun ended when you left the dungeon of the castle, but, the adventure continues through an interactive story called "Mystery at Mountain Lodge: A Knight in Mountain Lodge."

This is completely family-friendly, down to the youngest ages...and up to the oldest ones. In fact, it’s something we designed for families to do together—to enjoy the outdoors, meet some new people, and maybe even walk off some of those Halloween calories while doing so. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

MYSTERY AT MOUNTAIN LODGE: A KNIGHT IN MOUNTAIN LODGE

PROLOGUE

In 1889, Mark Twain published the book “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” It was about an American engineer who goes back to the medieval period; his engineering knowledge is thought to be magic, and he uses this to his advantage…you’ll have to read the book to get the rest of the story.

“Mystery at Mountain Lodge: A Knight in Mountain Lodge” flips that story around—instead of an American in the medieval period, this is about a medieval knight in our time period.

How does it work?

This adventure primarily involves reading a story and going outside to get clues to solve puzzles. Chapters, and their additional clues, will be released on the website each week, for a total of four weeks (culminating Thanksgiving week); in order to see each successive chapter, you'll need to type in the answer to the previous week's puzzle on the website.

The first chapter and clue are already on here, the other chapters and clues will be released on the dates below:

- Chapter 2: 7 November

- Chapter 3: 14 November

- Chapter 4: 21 November

In order to access the chapter for each week, you’ll have to solve the previous week’s puzzle. If you’re ever stuck, just email MysteryAtMountainLodge@gmail.com for help (though you likely won’t need it, because they should be pretty easy). Think of it as a really easy outdoor escape room…really easy.

Everything that’s in this adventure is in and around the Mountain Lodge community. You should be able to walk to the locations; although if you live in The Villas, The Oaks, or Alta Mira, some locations may be a pretty good hike. Really, though, this is the idea--that you and your family would use it as an opportunity to walk around the neighborhood, get some exercise, and even meet other neighbors doing the same thing!

Contact: MysteryAtMountainLodge@gmail.com