From the two introductory commercials, there are three clues that identify a 90-mile segment of the Dodge Journey (East) route, showing it traveling north (from Magic Forest), towards Ticonderoga, then either leaving New York and moving into Vermont, as well as moving west past Eagle Lake.
Update #1: Added unsolved clues, including possible final destination.
Update #2: New location added: PJ’s Barbecue, Saratoga Springs, NY
Update #3: Location identified, Eagle Lake, NY. Google map updated.
Update #4: Edited version of possible final destination with clearer view of background added.
Warning: I’m aware that a number of individuals are either flying or driving long distances to participate in the search. The final (possible) location may have been identified, originally posted and discussed on Dodge’s YouTube board. Assuming they have a contingency plan, they may very well change the final location or resort to, according to the contest rules, “administer(ing) a skill-based tie-breaker.”
General search comments —
- For each of the last two Dodge Journey searches, the final destination was a National Park: Eldorado National Forest (West) and Black Kettle Grasslands (Midwest). There do not appear to be any in New York and just one in Vermont (Green Mountain), but south. White Mountain, in New Hampshire is another possible destination (and only if they stick with this MO).
- The final location for each Dodge Journey is used in the introductory commercials: creek location (West); hot air balloon (Midwest); bike removed from rack (East)
- PJs Barbecue has not appeared in the known commercials or videos and will most likely be a radius search clue, provided the day of the hunt.
- Eagle Lake may be a location for video footage alone, as it deviates from their apparent route, like the Midwest drive and intersection shot. Of course, crossing into Vermont by ferry, could be a bit of misdirection as well, like Emerald Bay in the West search.
- There are conflicting clues, unlike the last two searches. The journey traveling south across the Twin Bridges, east into Vermont and west by Eagle Lake.
- For the West search, with the two introductory commercials, the clue furthest west was Kyburz Garage & Mini-Mart, Kyburz, CA. With the launch of the 300-mile clue, Hwy 89 (quickly identifiable) and Emerald Bay were added, extending the route by about 15 miles. Not much was added with the 200-mile clue for the Midwest search. They did give you Sayre, OK (which adds about 10 miles) but Elk City, OK was actually closer. Bottom line: it is possible with what we know before the hunt actually begins, the route could be extended up 15 miles.
- You may not be just looking for a Dodge Journey at the final location. There could be a supporting cast: a trailer (probably to hide the Journey until show time), other cars and crew or it could be on private property. Here’s a shot on location from the Midwest search final destination (contributed by Jessi). See also this article from the West search about location.
Best of luck to all the “boots on the ground”!
1. Thaddeus Kosciusko Bridge or Twin Bridges, NY
In the video, the Dodge Journey is traveling south along Interstate 87.
Notes: I fully expected this clue belonged to the Dodge Journey (East) route and combed through far too many images of arched (suspension) bridges. The breakthrough occurred by searching for parallel arched bridges. Google street view to confirm:
2. P.J.’s Barbecue, Saratoga Springs, NY
Article: Portion of TV commercial filmed at PJ’s Bar-B-Q on Route 9

Notes: This was a great find by by Brad and will most certainly be used for one of the radius search clues, e.g. 100-miles. Expect to see a shot of this sign, location or reference to the food. This does not extend the route but may already provide a range limit.
3. Magic Forest, Lake George, NY
In the video, the Dodge Journey is traveling north along Highway 9 (Magic Forest is on the east side of the highway).
Notes: A search in google reveals the location of the Magic Forest (google image search: uncle sam statue) and google street view can be used to determine location relative to the highway.
4. Ferry crossing, leaving New York, entering Vermont
In the video, the Dodge Journey is entering Vermont, traveling north.
Notes: This took a bit of detective work. First, you can assume that the Dodge Journey was traveling north from New York, crossing into Vermont. You also find that water creates a natural border between the two states. After checking the obvious highway border crossings, including a bridges, I resorted to ferry crossings and bingo – Google street view verifies the location:
Here’s a great picture of the ferry crossing departure point into Vermont:

Notes: This was provided by Hadrian. Source: Wikipedia – State Route 74
5. Lake view drive, Eagle Lake, NY
The picture below, that made it’s way around earlier actually came from Panoramio. Using Google street view, there’s a Panoramio option in the south lake to view. It’s a definite match. It was mentioned this came from the Addison, VT or Panton, VT. That certainly is not the case.

Google street view to verify:
Notes: This location was properly identified by Kevin. The Dodge Journey is traveling west, the view is on the south side of 74.
Google Map of partial Dodge Journey (East) route, using introductory videos.
Final destination?
Like the sequence of the “family” exiting the Journey near the hot air balloon in the Midwest clues – this may very well be the final destination for the East search. Kayaks were a theme for the West search and the hot air balloon for the Midwest search. Bikes are on the rack as they cross the bridge in NY and pass by Magic Forest. There are a couple of inconsistencies however. The both the West and Midwest searches, the final location shot was tighter (reducing the chance of discovery by matching landmarks) and we see the travelers exiting the vehicle.
After the bike is removed, note the lake and mountains in the background.
Notes: Same shot with foreground images removed (courtesy of Cycling Zen).
Given that the Dodge Journey Search (West) started from a landmark city like San Francisco, Dodge Journey Search (East) will probably start from New York City, traveling north, toward the two known destinations (estimated route length: 225 miles). With the addition of the Twin Bridges location, this pretty well confirms NYC as the starting point, although Albany, NY, can not be ruled out.










how are the roads up in vt after irene? do you think that it will be more difficult to get around up there after all the flooding and road damage?
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Hi. The roads, I’ve heard, are problematic. I’m sure Dodge didn’t factor that into their advanced planning but it could be an issue. Cheers!
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Ok in the video at the view of the GPS shows Hwy 89…. does this pertain to one of the other searches or to this one??? i searched hwy 89 on google maps and there is one in NY, and Conn, N Carolina, S Carolina, Tenn and Mich….. but the GPS is showing something near water…… so you can count out HWY 89 not near water….
I can ‘t read the #’s on the right hand side of the GPS screen… Can anyone else??? am i way off here?
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Yes Jenni, the GPS image is for the west coast Journey. It was for HWY 89 that is near Lake Tahoe.
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Highway 89 was where the Lake Tahoe Journey was found.
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thanks Rob…..
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Hi Jenni. That’s definitely for the West search. Highway 89 runs along Tahoe (west side). I could find an exact match for the two bodies of water that appear to be on the GPS display and has been noted there is an Interstate 89 in VT … but the clincher is, if you review in hi-def (1080i), you can see the elevation at 6703 ft (I just added a close up shot on my West post) That’s the elevation around Tahoe (6200 ft, plus), and not VT 🙂 Cheers!
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I totally agree with this. I went up and down tre 89 in VT looking for those 2 bodies of water they show on the GPS in the video. The hwy 89 depicted in the video is definitely NOT the one in VT.
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How in the world did Brad find the article about the filming of the commercial??? Now that’s hard work! KUDOS KUDOS and KUDOS!
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Google is your friend 🙂 And yeah, I tried to get any additional hits for the Vermont area. No joy 😦
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Google “dodge journey commercial, filmed, local” and it actually comes up on the 1st page of search results. =)
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Lake Winnipesaukee? Looks very similar..
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Pardon, this may bee a dumb question, but the Journey isn’t eligible to be found until Saturday, right? Like it isn’t physically there right now, is it? Part of me is thinking that Dodge knows about sites like this and can monitor all how close people are getting (hence, maybe, the Texola clue). I guess what I’m trying to say is that, do you think they would move it, or toss in some fake clues that would throw everyone off? Or do you think they would have expected people to be as good at picking apart these commercials as everyone has been?
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I certainly don’t want to imply one thing or the other, but just so everyone is aware, Dodge has seemingly confirmed that the next Journey will be in New York/Vermont. All this research, I’d say that’s a given but it’s interesting that Dodge has appeared to give up on keeping everyone in suspense. Dodge Dodge
@
We hope to meet you somewhere. RT @bryanhenry: @dodge you haven’t seen the last of me… See you saturday in newyork/vermont #JourneySearch
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Ok i have an ODD question….. or maybe just ODD to me….. if you solve the first clue how do you get the second once the Hunt starts….???
like do you have to input it somewhere or do you have to wait til a specific time when they release it to everyone???
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Hi Jenni. Personally, I’ve found the real clues to be the commercials we already have. The clues they release once the official search begins (300-mile, 200-mile, etc) are presented as videos with a specific clue and question presented after, like where can this coffee be found, drop the map pin on the location, and the next one is revealed. Those really haven’t provide much else, in terms of the final location. Although, for the West search, it got down to a 5-mile clue. It really depends on the area. A 25-mile search radius in the Midwest, with open plains, isn’t too hard to cover. Cheers!
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i think i might fly to Albany on fri and rent a car…..
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were the previous two in national or state forest/parks? I read a comment that they could only use federal land. does that include state forest?
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Both National. I don’t if they can only use … but it would allow them to approach one group, the national park service, for approval, at all locations, vs separate state park agencies or independent land owners (less chance of a location leak too).
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thanks steven. in that case I think the mt. in the final/ lake scene might be mt.mooslamoo in the green mnts national rec area.
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your right steven lake Dunmore seems too populated to be a like choice…. needs to be more isolated
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Confirming Eagle Lake, Here is a Flickr image that matches exactly –

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Yeah, I saw that pic too and realized that my original perspective in Google street view did not move far enough west. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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OMG thats it…. Amazing…..
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OK ya’ll so if you were going to head out on Friday to try to get a head start…. Where would you go and spend the night???
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Ticonderoga would be my starting point. My bet would be it’s about 25-miles from there. Just need to match up the final destination view. But, I have mixed feelings about this. There isn’t a national park in that range
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I don’t know about the previous 2 locations, but #3 is more my neck of the woods and so many parts of Upstate and New England are really without cell coverage–certainly it could be a problem to go up there in advance, thinking that a smart phone is going to help you out with clues on the road, at 9AM Saturday. We already know “you can’t find the Journey online,” but can you find the Journey if you can’t even *get online*? 😉
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Now that could be a problem. Might not be a bad idea to map out locations with wifi, eh? 🙂
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How about the real-time imagery, satellite uplink or simple 4G cellular?
Also, in terms of National Forests or Parks in New York state, the Finger Lakes are not within 25 miles, which leaves you with Vermont.
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DO YOU THINK EAGLE LAKE IS A POSSIBILITY OR DO YOU THINK GREEN MOUNTIAN IS A BETTER ONE?
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ID SLEEP WHERE I THINK THE JOURNEY IS IN ROUTE!! IF MORE THAN ONE SPOT I’D HAVE ONE FAMILY MEMBR SLEEP AT EA SPOT.
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Well there is only two national parks in Vermont and one National Forest….. so i am still researching all three…..
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Actually two in VT – White Mountain and Green Mountain. Green is south, White is east.
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but White Mountain is in New Hampshire, isn’t it?
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You’re absolutely right Dale (the majority of it is). I had to double-check, Google’s map view. It doesn’t show the state line between Vermont and New Hampshire 😦
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Strike that only one national park and a national trail
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could eagle lakebe the 50 mile clue then the ferry be the 25 mile clue if they took this route http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Eagle+Lake+ny&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7TSHB_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl
and then lake dunmore area is within 25miles of the ferry crossing?
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just so you all know, I found the lake thing three days ago. Just didnt want everyone to know. In fact, (I am not blowing my own horn but,) I found everything that has to do with east coast way before anyone else did. But it looks like everone and there brother are gona be out there looking for it I may not be the first that finds it.
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Given a few knowns… the journey is roughly 300 miles away from the starting point. The journey drove through (or started in) albany NY… went through lake george NY and then into Vermont via the ferry at fort ticondaroga NY.
If the starting point was NYC (Statue of liberty maybe?) and the journey is roughly 300 miles away, it will probably be in the green mountin national forest.
If the starting point is Albany NY (the very unique egg theater maybe?) and the journey is roughly 300 miles away, it will be in NH’s white mountain national forest.
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It could be in the Camel Hump State Forest too up near the largely populated Burlington. You’d think the camera crew wanted to be near a large city maybe. I don’t just an estimated guess. I calculated from NYC to Albany to Eagle Lake to Camel Hump area and it was also 300 mi.
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Steven before you added Eagle lake to the mix you had approx 225miles traveled right???
so now if you add that how many miles to the ferry crossing from your departure point???
Just trying to get a fix on the 250 and 300 points to figure a final radius….
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Yes and that’s if they depart from NYC, with a visual back drop of the skyline or Statue of Liberty. Similar to the Golden Gate Bridge used for the West search. But they shortened the Midwest search by 100 miles and didn’t start from a “landmark” city. Eagle Lake only adds about 10 miles to the route 😦
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In each of the previous two, the mileage has been a “within this radius as the crow flies”, and not highway mileage. For instance, the 5 mile clue for the West one – Sorenson’s, was only 3.6 road miles to the Journey, so don’t get hung up on highway distance.
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Steven –
Why do you think the car is heading west (as it clearly is in the main commercial) past Eagle Lake on NY Route 74? Doesn’t seem to make sense. The video of the Vermont sign obviously places the car moving east into VT after the ferry crossing.
The same can be said about the TK Bridge. Why is the car moving south (i.e., back toward NYC) over this span?
I ask, in particular, because all of the primary clues in the main commercial had the Mid-west search heading west at all points while touring on Route 66 (through Yukon, El Reno, Clinton, and Elk City). I haven’t checked all of the West region points with Google maps street view but am assuming all of those shots moved from San Francisco up to the Tahoe area in a dedicated eastwardly fashion. Leaving Angelo’s Wine Country Deli in Sonoma seems to place the vehicle moving north but this still works because one can assume the actual shots of the vineyard are further up and east toward Napa before the party heads to Sacramento via I-80. Then, they continue east to Tahoe on Hwy. 50 through Placerville and beyond.
So, if this ‘dedicated directional course’ is the case with both the West and Mid-west regions, why would Dodge include not one but two scenes that clearly contradict the New York CIty north via Interstate 87 into Vermont route?
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Hi David.
For the West search. In the 300-mile clue, they showed Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe (but heading South) after a drive that was consistently east (along Hwy 50). When they got to Hwy 89, apparently they traveled north, at least to Emerald Bay, then back south along 89.
For the Midwest, the sequence that threw us off was the “Midwest drive” that included aerial shots plus the intersection with MB. No real destination, just a deviation (north). However, they were heading south in that shot, back to route 66.
In part, I think they’re looking for great shots and wonder how much thought they give to direction (as a clue) but thus far, if they went “off route,” we have a shot of them moving back to the their general route and direction. So I’m with you. Doesn’t make complete sense, perhaps a bit of misdirection like the “Midwest drive” or Emerald Bay – or a filming snafu. I do believe that Ticonderoga is where I’d start.
That final shot is elevated somewhat, with a lake and a run of mountains behind it, which could be on the Vermont side looking towards Lake George (no mountains on the VT side). Could be farther up along Rte 9 too.
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Hey guys, @stuhill here and I was on the ground for over 1200 miles total during the midwest search. I was about 15 miles from the Journey when the midwest game ended. I wanted to give a few bits of advice to help whoever win that Journey in the East.
Here the deal, we over-analyzed the national commercial where it shows all of the clues. We thought, that during the national commercial they are showing you unique stuff that they wouldn’t use again in the regional search…but that’s not true, they reuse it all.
In the National video, they are showing you .5 second or less highlights, that they will then go back to and reference again in the regional videos (East videos) once the competition in the east begins, but they’ll go into more depth. But, that depth doesn’t matter because Steven here has most of it worked out on this site.
What they have already shown you from the East, and the break down that Steven and others have done on this site pretty much show you enough to make your first move. Go north to Vermont, and if you look at the West and Midwest case studies, you’ll see that he (and others) are right. It really looks like they’re heading up North.
So, if I could redo my search. Where I went to Elk City first, (and it was found about 20 miles N or Elk City) but then over thought it and drove all over goddam Oklahoma trying to figure it out. I went West about 100 miles, then S, then N, then everywhere, then I just about lost my mind.
If I had my chance again I would got straight to Elk City at 9AM and start covering every inch of that place, and surrounding areas that look like they might be of interest.
So, if I was in the East search, I’d go straight to that Vermont Crossing as early as possible and cover ever square inch of back roads and natioanl/state parks in the area. Every in and out, every back and forth, everything. Just to see what the terrain looks like, and see if you can match that to the videos they put out.
Then, as the videos come in, I’d do a few things:
1. Watch the videos on the highest quality mobile device I could.
2. Have a “phone a friend” at home to help me analyze in detail every aspect of the video if you can’t get the best quality in your car.
3. Have a “phone a friend” at home, or in your car, to watch the live feed and see any potential messages that they’re trying to send you.
That’s all I’ve got. I was in the car for 13 hours yesterday with my lady, and my dog, and it was fun, but it would have been great to get that car. If I can help you all at all send a note on twitter to @stuhill. I’m telling you all, go to VT, and do some serious back road searching.
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haha just say the comercial saying its still stilling in OK ready to be found. I think someone is a little confused.
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steven last nght i somehow got a google map of your route. however cant find it now could u send me the link?
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I think you should look towards new hampshire francetown has 2 streets around haunted lake called journeys end rd and dodge hill rd
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Stu, you sound like you did a great search. There never was a clue to go north from Sayre. If you scoll up , you will see the link for the east coast search and they closed the road to film part of it and the police had to do this. Don’t you think that is odd that a head of the police dept in that area found it? I think Dodge should dq him. JMHO
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I didn’t know that, very interesting. The hardest thing for me was that bullsh%& Texola clue. Additionally, the Po-po has held me down before, so I have no doubt that they’d do it again. 🙂
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Steven how much do you think it matters that the car appears to be heading west at the eagle lake photo? Do you think the journey is definitely west of ticonderoga and do you think its possible it could still be in vt?
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Hi Benjamin. It is inconsistent. I mean they have gone off route but the shot always showed them heading back to their main route (9, in this case). Now, we have them moving east into VT and west, along Eagle Lake. I tend to like the New York side because of what I believe is the final shot. (Worth noting: so far, they stuck to a single state)
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I hear ya, I’m conflicted because so far they have: A)stuck to a single state as you say; and B)used national park/forest as final destination. Both don’t seem possible which I don’t like. Which are you giving more weight to (i.e. are you leaning towards ny or vt)?
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local source told me that Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers escorted the production crew while taping at Grasslands (final site) I would think a Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer wouldn’t then be eligible to win
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dude you are a genius. go work for the fbi or something like that. ive literally been trying to figure out what youve done and i never woulda thought of the street view thing. good shit
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Thanks Dom! I’ve done some similar work during a NBC show – Treasure Hunters. I was able to predict, using cryptic scenes for next week, where they were going, along with other contributions. It made show “must see tv” 🙂
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http://www.harveyslakecabins.com/recreation.html
Is this the mountain and lake?
Pat (Dennis’s wife)
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If we’re supposed to believe that they just took a ferry from fort ticonderoga NY into Vermont, why in the world would they be shown driving WEST on 74 past Eagle Lake in NY.
We know they’re on Rte 9 in saratoga NY at PJs BBQ and then again on rte 9 in Lake George.
The next thing we know is they are in fort ticonderoga NY going east on the ferry into Vermont.
They could have stayed on rte9 going north the whole way to fort ticonderoga NY or they could have gotten back on rte 87 (the highway) and went north to Rte 74 and then gone EAST ON RTE 74 PAST EAGLE LAKE to the ticonderoga ferry and then into VT.
No matter how you look at it… they should have never been driving WEST past eagle lake… never. It just doesn’t make sense. Unless, they really aren’t going to VT and points east like they want us to believe!
I think they are headed to NYs adirondack park. That’s where you’ll find me searching for the dodge.
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I meant to say WEST not EAST. Sorry for the confusion.
No matter how you look at it… they should have never been driving WEST past eagle lake… never. It just doesn’t make sense.
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No worries Don. I corrected your post 🙂
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im a little confused steven here’s what ive gotten thus far: nyc to lk george via i-87 no. is 209 mi then from lk george over to ticno via 9no then 76w to eagle lake then once in eagle lake head back e to ft ticno for the ferry into vermont heading no. to green mount national forest in vermont? around 300mi
correct or not so?
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In the commercial, the Journey passed Eagle Lake traveling East on 74… towards Ticonderoga, which means it took US 9 or I-87 up to Eagle Lake.
In the other two locations, there was no doubling-back.
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That is wrong. The vehicle was driving WEST past eagle lake… away from fort ticonderoga.
Google map/street view it. You’ll see it was not driving east.
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It’s also wrong that they never doubled back- at Tahoe, they doubled back.
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Forget last question. I see the location of the mountain and lake has been found.
Pat
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Note there are differences between National Parks and National Forests and Grasslands. They are both administered by NPS but Forests / Grasslands are managed by the United States Forest Service and therefore have different rules than Parks regarding vehicles, camping, and hunting.
I am thinking about driving up I-95 and searching the camping areas run by the Forest Service in White Mountain, especially those near bike trails. I’ll bet the vehicle and the Dodge guy (its the same guy in both “found” videos, right?) will be there by Friday; he’ll need to set up his campsite and the camera.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/recreation/biking/
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White Mountain really would not make a whole lot of sense, simply because it is so far off the path that has been pretty clearly established. My guess is set up a 25 mile radius around Ticonderoga and that’s where they’ll find it.
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there are Lots of things under the operation by the National Parks system….i have a map of them from the NPS….. and the list of types of sites 21 different types of places under their management….. including National parks, National Forests, National Battlefields, National river ways, National trails, national Recreation areas, National lake shores….. ETC….. so don’t limit it to National parks, forests and grasslands…..
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steve any updates
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like the question posed..do you believe ny or vt…seems like your the man to trust on all of this and thats where i’m putting my faith…
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Hi Dave. Right now, I’m pretty comfortable with Ticonderoga as a starting point, assuming a 10-15 mile drive radius. With what I believe is the final destination, elevated (above trees) with a view of a lake and mountains, I would lean towards the NY side. I’m hoping to nail that last shot of the guy removing the bike from the Journey. I’ll add more as it becomes available. Cheers!
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we really need to know where that “chains off” store is. You can tell it was a gas station in the 50’s-70’s because of the rusted sign post.
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“chains off” store is from a different journey, not the East one
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The Chains Off store is in Lake Tahoe from the West search.
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It’s definitely West Don. I had fun tracking that one down. See my West post: http://stevenbarley.net/2011/09/15/dodge-journey-search-west/
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Are you sure? The terrain sure looks like upstate NY and eastern VT.
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This was already covered if you scroll up on this site.
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Follow the link he posted, there’s conclusive proof.
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Steven — Excellent updates! One question – on the Eagle Lake posts the caption says the Journey is headed West … it looks in the video like they’re headed East.
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Hi Jane. Check out my google map, then switch to street view. You’ll find that the view from car is looking south. If you match the cars movement, by moving street view along, getting closer to the outcropping on the right, you’re moving west. Cheers!
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What about all the grapes in the backround? have those been identified yet?
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Hi Jennie. The specific site wasn’t found (although I spent my fair share of time examining street views along a number of routes) but one would assume it’s somewhere near Sonoma, CA (near a known clue) or Nappa Valley, CA.
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I know where —it is Hurry Hurry- it’s at Lake George —–I know the statue hurry and thin k of me when you find it. I was within 75 miles of the last one—
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I’m starting to lean toward the NY side. My logic on this is based on two things. One, every time you “drop a pin” on the official map, it draws a circle of radius X miles – so the mileage, to me at least, seems to be “crow flies” from the clue location, and unrelated to highway miles. For instance, the distance from the GG bridge to the Tahoe Journey was nowhere near 300 miles, even with the detour to Tahoe and even if a considerable Napa/Sonoma detour was taken. So I still say don’t get wrapped around the mileage axle. Second, I think it’s quite possible the trip into Vermont was just a detour, and there is precedent for this too with the Tahoe detour. The Lake Tahoe clue was off of the common sense path and then doubled back to it. This would explain why the Journey was headed west on SR74 at Eagle Lake, too.
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I’m pretty well in the same boat, but if I were on site, I be sitting at Ticonderoga, waiting for a bit more direction 🙂 Worth noting, at least with Tahoe (Emerald Bay) they were heading south (in the right direction) … but clearly they’ve gone both east and west 😦
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Dammit go -its the world largest uncle sam the same statue GOOOOOOO!!
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I’m with you Rob, there have been a lot of detours and don’t forget about the Texola flop. I just noticed that the NPS issued a memo today about numerous area/road closures in Green Mountain. We know from the article dated 8/30 in the Saratoga Springs paper the time frame they shot this in but these closings are within the past few days. Seems like too much liability for a bunch of crazed folks trying to find a free car.
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Steven in the twin bridge pic the car is actually headed south if you match up the pics with the trees in the background about the middle of the bridge behind the flatbed semi on street view, the otherside does not appear to have any big tree topping out of the grove ???
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Hi Scott. Someone else raised that as well. That may very well be right, creating an inconsistency (and we have a few of those with the East search) It’s unfortunate though that Google street view runs on the southbound side. Cheers!
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it looks like there’s a mileage marker going south too… the journey could be blocking it from the camera car’s perspective if it is in fact going south. something to watch for when the regional video is posted perhaps.
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Yeah. I watched the sequence several times and examined the street view. 1) there’s a green, square sign at the end of the bridge (video) but there’s one on each end via google street view; 2) as you point out, on the southbound view, a mile-market sign (82) … and the Journey may be blocking. However, as Scott points out, there’s one large evergreen tree that extends above the tree line, not visible on the northbound view.
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If it were Southbound – what would that mean then? We’d have confirmed paths heading West, East and South from approximately the Lake George area.
Obviously a northbound confirmation makes an obvious NYC/Albany departure, but does anyone want to think about what it would mean if it were south?
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Hi Brian. We have a definite north from Magic Forest and east to VT or West to Eagle Lake, so at least, in isolation, they make sense. Also, they have to start from somewhere. I like the thought of an NYC departure, like the Golden Gate Bridge, but they could start from Albany. And, there are no clear starting points north, east or west of Ticonderoga.
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I’m sticking with the original theory. The first two both started in major cities and worked their way to progressively more isolated spots. It doesn’t make sense that they started at Eagle Lake or in Shoreham, Vermont and worked their way to Ticonderoga, then Saratoga, then Albany.
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If this is true then they drove north from albany NY all the way up to fort ticondaroga NY, over into VT via the ferry, back into NY via the ferry, west on 74 by eagle lake and then south on 87 back to albany?!
That’s at least a 200 mile loop (depending on how far into VT they went) just too fool everyone?
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Well, we def have a few inconsistencies, unlike the last two 😦 I have a hard time believing that they would head towards Albany …
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Here’s my opinion where the first three pins will fall, with potential narrowing down of search areas. These circles are 300 miles at New York, 150 miles at Saratoga (PJ’s) and 50 miles at Ticonderoga. http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff412/ParrotRob/Capture.jpg
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It you assume 50 miles at Ticonderoga, then 25 miles would also encompass most all of Green Mountain except for the far Southeast corner (Pittsfield area). So if the 25 mile clue does not take us much further East, the focus of the search could be the Moosalamoo / Silver Lake area.
The other question is, you could start looking soon, to narrow the “where?” question, leaving us with the “when?” question. Any other conjecture as to when the Journey will arrive? Is it there already? Do you agree with my proposition that he would need to set up came by Friday at the latest?
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I would even lean towards 25 miles (or less from Ticonderoga) and don’t like the idea of Journey heading back south. Silver Lake is a def possibility for VT (and there are a number of possible locations in NY). If you were in the area, you could def start to do some recon, trying to match that bike view. I’m going to check with someone who was on location for the Midwest Journey to see what kind of equipment or support was needed (e.g. did they have a crew or another vehicle to broadcast the live video) They would certainly be in the area Friday, probably with a trailer, to hide the Journey. But depending on what equipment and support was needed, they could probably arrive and set up, starting at dawn.
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I don’t know about that, G Carter, It doesn’t start until 9am and it doesn’t take long to set up a minimal amount of equipment for a live feed.
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They did have a pretty full size crew on site. Here’s a pic: http://i56.tinypic.com/29fp0yo.jpg Note: there’s a trailer, to hide the Journey. So keeping an eye out for a caravan or collection of vehicles in the area, would def give you an advantage.
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It would be pretty easy to spot that bunch of large support vehicles from a plane in the sky. Even if the plane didn’t fly directly overhead. You could fly miles and miles away and still see that pack of vehicles.
I honestly think this would have been a better, more fair, more fun contest if the vehicles were located in cities with many other vehicles.
You couldn’t fly a plane over albany NY or any other city and pick out a certain vehicle or a bunch of support vehicles gathered together.
However, that’s easy to do in a remote, wide open location where vehicles are not supposed to be.
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True Don. But so far, no one has gone to that length 🙂 We’ve learned a lot through each search, getting better at predicting … and I’m sure Dodge is learning from this as well. Personally, I like the idea of exploring areas of the US. If I were to tweak the campaign or contest, I would make the clues more relevant and helpful and release them slower, at least to get a full weekend of exposure.
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If anyone needs something else to look at, follow this link for proof of the southbound direction over the twin bridges on I-87. Forward video to 1:58 to see tree line profile that matches the hint in the commercial.
You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsSgbgt99kA
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That’s a great video Paul. You can see, approaching the bridge, the 84-mile marker, right before the bridge, the 83-mile marker (oddly, the 82 is missing on the bridge, unlike google street view). Thanks for sharing.
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was just coming back here to post same video. definitely southbound. now what?
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Trust your gut 😉
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When you get the clue and are asked something to unlock the next clue, what is asked? Is the question “where did they start?” “where did they end up?” or something else like that?
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Watch the videos for the Midwest. When launched, each option (200, 100, etc) will be disabled, so you’ll need to refresh the page until the first once is enabled. You would watch the video and “answer” a related question. For the first video, it was something like move the pin to the location where they started. So, you’re not typing anything. Observe, always thinking about location. You may need to zoom a bit as the clues get more specific, then drop the marker. Like where did they stay (when a picture of the cabins was shown). Hope that helps. Just remember, with the exception of the 300-mile clue for the West search, not much was added by the “clues.”
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Thanks. That does help. Just have my wheels turning and some of the thoughts I have depend on what is asked (or more specifically, whether they just kept asking where they ended up at the end of each little segment).
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How does the whole pin drop thing work? Can you explain? Thanks.
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Hi John. If you ever worked with Google maps, it’s the same. Actually, they use Google maps. You watch the video. A screen pops up re: the clue. There’s a map with a pin or marker you can grab with the cursor and move around. If you release or drop in the right location. A radius circle will appear and the next clue will be unlocked (unless it is withheld until a specific time).
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I’ve gathered from the West recap video that the first 4 clues were available at 9am local time and the final wasn’t available until noon. Was that the case in the midwest, also? (wish i would’ve been following along for those). Thanks for the help.
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No, the midwest clues were available at 9am, 10am, noon, 2pm and the Journey was found before the 5th clue dropped. All central time.
There was also a 1pm special clue by email only that was essentially worthless.
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I think we have to remember that theyve used driving scenes and physical landmarks as just general pointers to cities and regions…. clues have almost all been specific restaurants or museums.. things with noticeable signage….
i think that puts a lock on PJs and Magic Forest…
and Ticonderoga HIGH probability….
we need a VT sign…
i’m going to call all the parks in the area pretending to be Dodge, and needing clearance for an additional trailer Saturday morning…. see if anyone will give me a hint of possibly knowing something….
16 hours for Journey 1
5:40 for Journey 2…
We’ll have this one in under 3 hours…
🙂
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There is a VT sign, in #4 above
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Is it true that the contest has to start and end in the same state?
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There has not been an official statement but for the last two searches, they did stick to one state: California and Oklahoma (both large states).
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Steve thanks for your help I have this exact location locked down of where it’s going to be.. Exact views etc… I knew exactly where the Midwest one was at 10am that morning! Im on the east coast so This one is mine! Cant tell my theories to my competition.. All clues make sense I’ll make sure I have my home partner send u an e-mail explaining just how I knew n how I put the clues together as far as final location! As soon as I see the car You’ll be the 1st to get the info to post!
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Hi Chrissy. That sounds great on all fronts 🙂 You can hit me up by email: steve.barley@rivhs.com or DM via Twitter: @stevenbarley – anytime. Best of luck!
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I’ll bet you a Dodge journey that you don’t know where it is.
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That’s great Chrissy. I assume you’ll be there right at 9:00 on the dot so you can simply walk right up toit when it rolls off the trailer, just in case someone else figured it out too. Looks like this one will be gone at 9:01!
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Damn it. If Chrissy knows right where it is I guess we should all just stay home Saturday. Enjoy your new car Chrissy!
LOL!
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