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.
Digital Detective & Treasure Hunter 
You dont actualy drive the car home you drive away from the camera for kicks and giggles. You will work with your local dealership on getting your dodge journey. So the car will be driven early in the morning to where it is going to be
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Simply the fact that there is so much directly conflicting information given in the commercials. Namely the differences in direction on the various videos, I’d say Chrissy does not know where the Journey is. Like all the videos there is no way to know EXACTLY where it is hidden, you simply have to search in the general vicinity until its found. I think most everyone would agree that of the three hunts this one is the most ambiguous. Good luck to you all!
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I generally agree with you Jeremy, with one exception: if you’re familiar with the area and can identify the location of the bike shot, which is a LOT more helpful (wide view, a number of landmarks: hill top, lake view, mountains) than the balloon shot or creek shot for the Midwest, you’re golden 😉
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Like the Main Street, Sayre, Okla split second shot. You barely got a full frame on the commercial, yet some guy recognized it from having been there and it was a valid clue.
By the way, in the Sayre clue, the Journey is making a right turn at Main, which would have it heading east TOWARDS Elk City, instead of due north to the hiding spot. So this also demonstrates that the directionality of the car is not relevant, only the location.
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The direction the car is traveling is very important or else none of this would make sense. If direction didn’t matter we might as well assume they started at Ticonderoga, went south past Lake George and south down towards Albany (which may be the case anyway since we have now confirmed they are last seen going west away from Ticonderoga and they were seen going south over the bridge towards Albany). Plus they are going to be in a State or National Park so find those first and spend the day searching them for a lake and your new car!
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I can give a piece of first hand information, i live in queensbury and commute everyday back and forth to albany. I was in saratoga when the commercial was being filmed at PJ’s, watched, ate dinner ETC. There was a lot of talk on where they were headed next. I heard Plattsburgh, Ausable river an then New hampshire as well. They could of been just trying to throw people off, who knows. But, for sure the video is 787 (the northway) south bound over the twin bridges. A lot of my family does logging in vermont and up near warrensburgh, vermont is still very washed out, in fact i cant post pictures for those who would like to see. i’m flying to florida friday or else id be hunting as well with a team of 5 in Ausable forks, plattsburgh, new hampshire, lake george and the New paltz area. good luck to all!
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The how to guide shows an example showing 300 50 20 10 and 5 as the clue videos, which we haven’t seen yet. Perhaps that’s a clue too.
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but if you look at the midwest David the clues are given at 200, 150, 100, 50, & 25 …. so may be totally different for East…
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Steven-
The ferry into VT looks like a misdirection. There aren’t any other clues or references to VT, and everything else is in NY. It’s confirmed the car was last seen going WEST past Eagle Lake and away from Ticonderoga and VT, towards the Adirondack Mts and lakes region. The VT reference is just like the email clue in the MidWest meant to throw everyone off. They probably didn’t expect people to figure out the Eagle Lake clip so they didn’t think we’d figure out they are heading back to the west and into the Adirondack Mts and lakes. They apparently don’t realize how smart we are!!
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Hi Susan. Yeah, this one seems to have good bit of that. At Magic Forest, they’re heading north. From that point, they’re moving south on the Twin Bridges, East to Vermont via Ticonderoga, and West along Eagle Lake 😦 And I don’t believe the VT is misdirection, they may all very well be. However, with history as a guide, for every other clue, somewhat off the general route, we always had a shot of them moving back to the primary road, including Emerald Bay at Tahoe for the West search, the Midwest drive and intersection shot in the Midwest search. That final destination shot is key and the last remaining video segment that has not been identified. Cheers!
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Steven –
Did you, or anyone else, notice that the bikes are not on the top of the car as it passes by the Magic Forest in the Lake George area (while heading north)?
We do have them on the car heading south over the TK bridge, however.
Adds to the inconsistency picture.
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They’re there. Just hard to see. If you pause on a big HDTV you can see them.
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Hi David. Jen’s right. On the YouTube video, you can also switch from 360p to 1080i, then full screen. Because of the Journey’s speed, they’re a bit of a blur, but def there. Cheers!
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Everyone,
Love all the work thats been done here. It really is outstanding. Kudos, Steven.
To that end… Dodge will be hiding this car somewhere simple. The liability is too great to be hiding it somewhere difficult. Dodge already got the bang for their buck with this promotion. Someone posted that it will be found in under three hours. I’ll bet my next paycheck it’s under an hour!
Nonetheless… I’m taking off from work and throwing the family in the car. I’ll be on the ground by 6am. Good Luck to everyone! Thank you, Steven!
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Many thanks for the kind words 🙂 Personally, if I were Dodge, I would want to get, at least, an entire weekend out of the campaign. They were still running the Midwest regional commercial through the football games on Sunday … (and it wasn’t still there, right there … Haha). Best of luck to you!
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Just found this site after seeing the commercial and talking to a friend on the east coast earlier today. She lives in Newcomb, NY and told me that she remembers seeing a film crew around Newcomb like 3 weeks ago with “a bunch” of those red cars in the commercial. Not sure if that gives you any clues but good luck to anyone trying to find it! Is there any way we can confirm if the cars she saw will be used in the search this weekend?
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Hi Rachel. Newcomb, NY would be a trek farther west from Eagle Lake, and is somewhat an extension of that drive from 74. Interesting info … it would be great if someone grabbed a pic while they were out there to confirm. Cheers!
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most of us THINK we know where the journey will be parked sat morning, some
may think they know the exact location (and they are correct) do to their own great detective work, and some will know where it is going to be do to a leak from someone with access to the knowledge of the exact location on or before setting up this location sat morning.
by 9.02 sat morning this vehicle most likely is found. steven do you know of any other treasure hunts going on now and throughout the year? regardless of the reward,
i love treasure hunts!
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You can find more treasure hunts at http://www.tweleve.org
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So true Mike … been a member of that site for some time now 😉 Thanks for sharing.
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Another site / group you may want to check out: ravenchase.com. I’ve been on a good many of their hunts: physical, centered in a particular area, like Richmond Va, Washington DC, Boston, MA, etc featuring codes, ciphers, etc – they’re a blast.
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OMG!!!!!!! my computer was frozen when i first tried to post my reply and this site kept showing my post still in the reply box as though it never did post. i kept hitting post reply maybe five or six times not knowing that it did post each time. steven plse remove all but one of my same posts. i’d do it,but i think you have to be the one to do it, if possible.i’m sorry, my bad !! didnt know it posted ea time!!
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All tidied up … and no worries 🙂
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thank you steve! will you be updating your google route on your map soon?
what should we expect from the clues on sat morn when its live? is there anything your hoping for?
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There really isn’t much more to add to my google map right now. We’ve identified every segment or sequence of the video, except for the final destination (bike shot) – much like the Midwest search – plus we’ve added PJs. With the West search, in the first clue (300-mile), they gave us Hwy 89, which took you farther west, and Emerald Bay (which took longer to identify). That added about 10-15 miles to the route. With the Midwest search, they added a main street shot of Sayre, about 10 miles from Elk City (although Elk City was closer). The radius searches haven’t really added to what we already knew.
What I hope and expect in the very first clue (either 200 or 300 mile) is first, that number: 200 or 300 to quickly rule in or out some possible destinations; second, the starting point (hopefully NYC, maybe Albany) to give direction, hopefully northbound. Cheers!
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just keep the last post of my same. delete the first 4 of them if you would. crazy sorry
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to chrissy and everyone else on the east hunt posting on this site.. if you find this car plse come back here and let all of us know who you are by your user name and that you found that car. steven has been stellar!!
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The eagle lake is on the north side of route 74, so the vehicle is traveling east possibly towards a vacation spot in Addison or Panton, VT. Our route requires the somewhat obscure Ticonderoga Ferry. Lake Champlain is known for its bike trails so it makes sense the view of bikes taken off car could be anywhere along those bike routes – that’s 1200 miles across 2 countries, 2 states, Assuming the ferry crossing is the last clue, then the Rebel’s Run bike trail is probable. I cant find the actual route to follow, but I am still looking. I thought Mt. Independence would be a fitting site to end this because of its name and theme wise it fits – make a journey, be a rebel, be independent. It is within 10 miles of the welcome to VT sign, but the view from there does not match. Is it clouds or mountains on right side of picture of bikes being removed from top of car?. It looks like part of a lake on left side? . . .
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Hi Judy. Eagle Lake is on the north side but the view is south – and direction of the Journey is west. You can use the google map I’ve added, use street view for the marker, then reproduce the direction of the video sequence by moving towards the outcropping / building structure on the right, and you’ll see that you’re moving west. Cheers!
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Steven,
Thanks for all the help. On Friday at 2:00, my brother and I left Grand Forks, ND and drove straight to Yukon, OK. Arrived at the Starbucks at 8:56 to catch the first clue. From there we determined that it would be around Cheyenne and Strong City. We drove straight there and got to one of the gravel roads leading to the car at 11:00. We came to a T intersection and decided to turn around. if we turned left, we would’ve found it by 11:05. Man I am tempted to make the 1500 mile trip to lake george. Thanks for the help .
Andy
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Hi Andy. My pleasure entirely. Hope you had a blast. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner, so you need to enjoy the moment and make an adventure out of it 🙂 Sorry to hear you were that close … ouch. The clues will only get you so far, then it’s a matter of trusting your gut … and a little luck 😉 Cheers!
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Sad thing is that I trusted my gut to get down that road, then the 32 hours of no sleep said, you are crazy, turn around. It was the adventure of a lifetime.
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That’s the tough part of this. The clues will only get you so far, best case, a 5-mile radius search. Beyond that, it’s trusting your gut and luck. I think you nailed the important take away though, make an adventure out of it, enjoy the experience, create some memories. Cheers!
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trying to figure out if the earlier commercial pic where the car is on a road to the right of rocks, with a lake in the background (there is is some sort of stuff on the ground to the right of that lake…like an airport runway) is in VT or in California near lake Tahoe. The trees are similarly tall. I wish I knew what kind of trees these are to be sure. Can you help Steven? Thank you!!
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Hi Amy. I know the scene you’re referring (0:20-21). Because of the color of the exposed rock (and abundance), type of trees and elevation, I’m pretty sure that’s a shot near the Eldorado National Forest and Tahoe area. Cheers!
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I just found out about the competition last night and I live right in between all of the clues. I would love to venture out and make a go for it on Saturday morning. I am trying to figure out where to start. Since I live right here, close to Lake George, I could get up early and start looking at some VT state parks by 6am.
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HI Aimee. If you live in the area and can identify the location for the probable final destination (pic in East post), in advance of Saturday, you might just be the new owner of a Journey 🙂 I would definitely consider some advanced recon as well, because they will have a pretty large supporting crew, see pic on the East post. Best of luck!
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There are three problems, that part of Vermont was hit very badly by hurricane Irene and there are still some road closures. Next, for anyone who is familiar with that area, there are so many trees, that you could VERY easily hide people, a car, and anything else associated with it. Third thing is Vermont has very bad cell phone service in that area. You are lucky if you can find service, let alone search the web on your phone to view the clues!
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You’re right Aimee. The road conditions (from Irene) and cell phone service in Vermont has been mentioned as potential barriers. I can’t speak to the road conditions but it would def be a good idea to know where those wifi hot spots are 😉
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steven in the past 2 hunts how close did your predictions come to the exact locations of where the cars were found? just wondering. i know u were only online instead of phys hunting on site.
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I started late for the West search but had the mini-mart identified initially (about 20 miles, as the crow files, from the final destination). Hwy 89, plus Emerald Bay was added the morning of, and sent you further west (but you may have been misled by the Tahoe shot). With the Midwest search, I think everyone had a solid drive west to include Elk City (again, about 20 miles, as the crow flies, from the final destination). If I were a betting man (and I’m not) I would put the final destination about 20 miles from Eagle Lake and the VT crossing.
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Minor correction. We had Hwy 89 from the introductory clues, which did put us even closer.
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Is there any order to the clues in the commercial?
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No. Not in the general, introductory commercials, nor the 200/300 mile clue. For example, with the Midwest 200 mile clue, you had:
OK City
Yukon
Route 66 National Museum (Elk City)
El Reno
Yellow Bridge
Sayre
Clinton
Midwest drive
Final destination
Expect for the start, then Yukon and the final destination, the order was mixed. So, you’d need to be very aware of what we already know and note what new has been added to the mix.
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Thanks Steven! Do mind sharing why White Mountain got totally tanked? or is it still something that is on the radar?
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I can’t say that it has and a lot will depend on the first 200 or 300 mile clue. If they start from Albany, NY, then it’s within a 200-mile radius. If they start from NYC, it’s at 250 … but, we also know where the last two wound up 😦 And with the last two, the farthest directional clue we had was about 20-miles, as the crow flies, from the final destination.
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You are so cool to share this stuff… Thanks again and please don’t let me harp. I never did get where the mid-west ended up in the BKF…..Do you know exact info on that? I saw your crew member shot. Obviously the bottom right hand corner was the place, but just curious more info on that find. May i ask how you happened upon the crew member shot? Thanks again- Amy 🙂
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Go to Dodge’s YT page (http://youtube.com/dodge) and check out the clue “zone” – you’ll see the marker in the map. Jessi, one of our contributors participated and took the shot (plus one of the journey on location) herself 🙂
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Thank you!! Silly me. 🙂
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Steven,
I isolated the background from the video here:
There are a couple of editing artifacts, but other than that I think it depicts an accurate landscape.
Feel free to post at the page top if you like my work. (credit would be nice 🙂 )
CZ
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Nice job! Thank you.
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Great job editing 🙂 I’ve added to my post presented with the default width but you can click for a higher res version (and credited you). Many thanks!
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The big question about the bike picture is to see if the mountains in the background are the Adirondacks or the Green Mountains, that will help determine what state they are in. As you drive down 87 in NY you look across Lake Champlain at the Green Mountains and as you drive route 7 and 22A in VT you look at the Adirondacks. I noticed there is some questions whether the Journey is in NY or VT. They look a lot alike.
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i am so excited about this Journey Search…. but alas i can not go in person…. i live on the western edge of the eastern time zone…… and my car is very unreliable….. a 1992 buick that i just had to put $400 into getting repaired…. and am pretty sure it wouldn’t make the 1000 plus mile hunt….that compounded with the fact that i have been unemployed for over 14 months….. so flying and renting a car is out of the question….. its been so soo much fun here looking on the internet and finding clues…. but i Wish you all the best of luck….. and maybe just maybe whom ever finds the Journey will name her after me…..
Cheers…..
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Jenni wanna be my computer person? I’ll be searching and could use a person of your caliber to help point the way
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I think I figured out where that last photo is… but I’m afraid to mention where, or what my logic is.
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Hi Adam. That’s your call. We’ve got a great group here 🙂 that can help vet the location, if you don’t mind the scrutiny. Of course, if you’re in the hunt, there’s nothing wrong with holding it close to your vest. If you’d like to share/discuss privately, just let me know. Cheers!
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OK, I’m gonna try to stop my questions for just moment here today… 🙂 This is my last for now. The :32 shot. Ca or east coast? I keep looking for that lake and while silver lake looks fabulous….. that ridge over the right side is throwing me off of it. It’s such a harsh clearing and honestly, I don’t see any lone trees there or same mtn range backgrounds. Is the :32 shot something to consider or is it obviously Ca? 🙂 Thanks! We have to figure out if our D.C. to New England drive is worth the effort with our tiny kiddos. lol! Maybe we’ll get some custard on the way. 😉
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No worries Amy. I’m pretty sure that brief shot at (0:32) is from the Eldorado/Tahoe area and part of the earlier sequence … especially given the lack of trees. Not too much of that in the Eastern mountain regions. And on the drive, yeah, an understandable, personal call. Cheers!
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For those of you thinking about Green Mountain at a location you might what to THink again….. i just found this and the US forest system site……
Forest Order (Areas Closed)
” Tropical Storm Irene has caused extensive damage to the Green Mountain National Forest’s forest roads and recreational trails.”
this includes Middlebury/Rochester districts…..and Manchester Districts…
here is a link to the web page talking about this
http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPwhQoY6BdkOyoCAPkATlA!/?ss=110920&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=FSE_003853&navid=091000000000000&pnavid=null&position=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&ttype=main&pname=Green%20Mountain-%20Home
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They have maps showing whats closed and it looks like more than half of the forest roads are closed still as up the 16th
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and another link from the Vermont Division of Forestry with a chart of Closures still from IRENE….
http://www.vtfpr.org/resource/RoadsandTrails.cfm
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In the beginning of this board with regards to the East search you say “Bottom line: it is possible with what we know before the hunt actually begins, the route could be extended up 15 miles.Bottom line: it is possible with what we know before the hunt actually begins, the route could be extended up 15 miles.”
Why only 15 miles? Do you think its possible that they could start at NY, and begin with a 300 mile clue? Putting the final location well outside of Ticonderoga?
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So are you stating that you think the final spot is within 15 miles of the Ticonderoga Ferry landing in VT? NYC to Ticonderoga is 250 miles, don’t you think it could be within another 50 miles of that staying within the 300 miles of the other journey?
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I haven’t studied the other two locations much, because I’m focusing my efforts on this one. What I’m saying is, could the clues that have been figured out already simply be the beginning legs of a longer route. Could the 50 mile clue be at Ticonderoga, when the Journey crosses into Vermont, leaving us 50 miles into Vermont to deal with. That would allow some legs into the Green Mountains, and even up along Lake Champlain into Burlington…. where there are some interesting bike paths.
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I know, the 50 miles into VT from Ticonderoga is HUGE and includes a lot of forest land, closed roads and no cell service. I personally think they are not going to pick a location too remote because of these problems. I also think heading up towards Burlington would be to far north into the “city”. I am assuming Adam that you are familiar with the area and/or live in the area.
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“Could the 50 mile clue be at Ticonderoga,”
Possibly. Yes.
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Using history as a guide, yes.
With the West search, using just the introductory commercial, you had the mini-mart about 10-15 miles away, as the crow flies, and a reference to Hwy 89 (even closer). For the Midwest search, we had Elk City, about 20 miles, as the crow flies, so I really should say the route or search radius could be extended by 20 miles. However, we have conflicting shots: West past Eagle Lake and East in VT (assuming they’re running through Ticonderoga) … and even south through the Twin Bridges.
If that’s not enough, they could throw a real monkey wrench with the very first clue (200 or 300 mile) clue – so far, they haven’t done that (but the Texola “exclusive” clue was a stinker) I wonder how closely they’re monitoring the online discussions and I’m sure they would have preferred the Midwest search run longer (b/c they were running commercials on Sunday). I don’t know if they’ve already edited the clues coming Saturday and it’s set in stone, or if they have a couple of versions.
With that said, I’m hoping the first clue gives the boots on the ground clearer direction, in particular, the range (200 or 300) and the starting point. The question will be: what else will they add?
If I was physically doing the hunt though, I’d start from Ticonderoga and be prepared to drive within a 20-mile radius – and I’m not short-selling that kind of coverage, that’s a lot of ground to cover. Luck will be a factor unless that last shot location can be identified (and assuming it is the final destination).
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Does anyone else feel like this site is getting annoying? If there are still 5 days left until the “search” everything is going to be posted here and there will be a dozen cars parked right next to the site waiting for it to go live. It will be over by 9:05 and most likely none of those people made any effort to actual figure out the clues themselves, they just drove to that spot and sat there at 6am like some kind of Black Friday sale. Thoughts??
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Hi Hannah. I’d like to believe the site is helpful vs annoying 🙂 but to each their own opinion. You’ll find that with the past two searches, even having what we knew for each, in advance of the start on Saturday a.m., there’s still a lot of ground to cover and a good bit of luck involved. It’s true that the Midwest search lasted about 5 1/2 hours, a great deal less than the West search, but there are some misgivings about how the events unfolded and who found the Journey. Cheers!
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I don’t think it’s annoying at all. Most aren’t able to physically be in the mix on the search, so this is a fun way to collaborate with like-minded people. I think Dodge has made this predictable to an extent from how they’ve conducted the first two events. They’ve given us an idea of how the video clues relate to the actual search the day of, but I think it would be awesome if they threw the east search a curveball. If they held all 3 on the same day, that would have been great!
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I agree, IMO its certainly not “annoying”. This is a contest for a free car. Of course those who have the motivation and opportunity to find a FREE CAR are going to use every advantage possible to do so.
You can make a contest as difficult or as easy as you choose. Dodge had to know that almost every location given in their introductory video was going to be identified.
I still think the last location is going to be well outside of the range of any of the clues shown in the video, because they must have realized as time went by, internet crowds would be scrutinizing the clues.
I’m among those who think they have a pretty good bead on where the last location is going to be, and if a miracle takes place and I find the car, I’d be quite pleased with all the help brainstormed here.
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Steve, I tried to email you at the link you posted to Chrissy above. It came back to me. Can you repost your email or just contact me directly please?
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Hi Don – steve.barley@rivhs.com. I’ll shoot you an email as well.
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it appears that your spam filter is blocking me?
“blocked by zen.spamhaus.org”
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Sorry about that Don (and that spam filter is not on my end). Try puzzles2crack@yahoo.com
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Something else to think about is that the West and Midwest all had a BRIDGE in their beginning clues…… so maybe the Twin bridges really PINPOINTS Albany as the Starting point…
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Actually Jenni, the Yellow Bridge for the Midwest search was in the middle … but I’m leaning towards a south NY departure. I’m definitely going to spend some time looking at the Albany skyline. OK City caught me my surprise 🙂
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Steven, at what point will you stop posting information here? I mean… if you identify the end point, what’s the fun?
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And now, I find myself in that dilemma. I believe I have the final location but have just posted a pic as proof. Let’s see what happens next. 🙂
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That’s an interesting photo, but I don’t think its the right spot. Look towards the right shore, how much land and trees there are going from the water up to the back ridge. Even the difference in the angle of the pictures doesn’t seem like it could make up for that amount of land.
I’m in the same boat though, I have a photo where I think it is, I guess the difference is that I’ll be at that location come Saturday morning unless I see anything convincingly contrary to my evidence.
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And I’m not saying that to be rude, obviously… I’m just curious.
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🙂 I did decide, at the very least, that if I find the final location, I’ll post proof (so I won’t be one of those after the fact “guys” who knew where it was all along) 😉
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If this many people know about this site already, there is no possible way that Dodge hasn’t taken a look as well. And seeing as how there are conflicting directional shots–the bridge, the lake shot, the ferry–this thing could be anywhere. Anyone who claims to know exactly where it is is a product of the internet age and is only lying to themselves. Truth is, this thing could be almost anywhere in upstate New York or even as far east as Vermont or New Hampshire. We don’t know if the starting clue will be 300 miles or 250 or even 350. So there is literally no way to know where it will be yet (hence the fun). I’d like to think that the bikes being taken off shot is not the final destination. I’d also like to think that Dodge has a couple final destinations to choose from. This site has been cool in that it’s really impressive Steven has been able to figure all of this out, but I think Dodge is going to take this into account–hopefully–and make this search a little tougher than it seems to be right now.
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I totally agree. They’re reading this blog and if we’re spot on or within a few miles, I am sure they’ll go to plan B. They won’t make this last one too easy.
I hope we see more of these cool games in the future.
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Here’s the thing Don: they have shown us the final location for, at least, the last two (and I believe all three). They need advanced approval … but I don’t disagree that they could have a contingency plan (plan B) for whatever reasons, correcting when they release the regional clue. For example, what if they have it in White Mountains (and the park and roads are impassible)? The conflicting direction in known clues is enough already 😉
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Not tooting the new blogs horn, but yeah, around 17,000 views in just three days. 7,700 alone on Saturday.
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That’s awesome, Steve. I’m beginning to think you’re really Nick Cage from those treasure movies. It’s all starting to add up now. haha. By the way, what do you make of people using airplanes and what not for assistance? It seems a bit extreme, but with terrain like this, it also seems like the perfect way to do it. Not that I have access to a plane or anything. Oh, and lastly, have we heard anything else about that whole “has to start and end in the same state” rule? I wonder if there’s someone we could ask about that.
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Hi Spencer. During my initial claim to fame (during the NBC show Treasure Hunters), my online avatar was:
😀 Love the movies. I guess you use whatever resources are available to you (it has a value of about $44K) but I wouldn’t be a fan. I like the ‘ol gumshoe meets hi-tech method. I have not heard a thing about the start and finish “rule” – and I’ve read through their official rules. I understand both sides of the argument though. Cheers!
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Toot toot! You and Dodge both deserve the accolades! What a cool ad campaign!
It just goes to show how a great ad campaign and a recession (depression?) bring out droves of enemployed people (with tons of time on their hands) who would love a brand new vehicle but aren’t able to go buy one.
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First of all I want to congratulate you on your detective work! It is much better than mine. I had narrowed it down to Ticonderoga but I wasnt sure where to go from there. I have a thought but I dont want to put it out there for everyone to read. Could you email me personally at rachelkarolyn@hotmail.com and I will tell you what I am thinking? Thank you.
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Hi Rachel. Just shot you an email. Cheers!
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Did you get my reply back to your email earlier? You didnt reply back so Im not sure if you actually got it.
Rachel
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I did. Sorry, I’ve been a bit preoccupied 😉 Give me a moment …
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Steven-
Since it’s going to be in a state park maybe we should put together a list of state park areas west of Eagle Lake off of 74 or even west of 87 and create a radius from both NYC or Albany to see what falls in that range. I saw that one woman mention they saw a film crew and a bunch of red Journeys a couple weeks ago somewhere near Newcomb, NY which according to the map makes sense (and there are also a lot of lakes). Does Newcomb, NY fall in that radius? If so, I am gonna head up there Saturday morning for the great search!!
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Hey Steven! Great detective work! I was blown away that you found that ferry crossing sign. My friend and I were on the same thought process of the final Journey being left in a national park, which would make sense because of Dodge’s message of getting people to explore the world wide world and sending them to some of the nation’s best natural retreats. I had several clues I was working on solving, and then I found your website, which solved all of them but one. In the very beginning of the first commercial (where a lot of general clues are generated) at 0:05 seconds the Journey comes around a bend and drives by a roadside convenient store. The name of the store is blurred out, but nothing else is. The road is cutting through a mountain range and there is a significant (I believe) rock formation on the top of the mountain ridge in the background. This scene was not in the west or central regional specific commercials, so I believe it is a clue to the third. I didn’t read all the posts on this page, so maybe you have already addressed this scene. If not, I hope I could contribute to your sleuthing. We were going to go hunting, but once we discovered this Journey was being hidden all the way up north, us Floridians are sitting this one out!
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Hi Jason and thanks a bunch 🙂 Check out my West post for that mini-mart (it was a challenge to identify but fun) Don’t forget that you can switch these commercials to hi-def 1080i. Cheers!
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I live in the area that’s being shown in the TV commercial video. I have an idea where I think it’ll be found.
I am taking my RV (with scooter on the back) to that town on Friday night. I’ll be camping out and awaiting the 1st clue on saturday morning. I’ll have my laptop and can create a wifi hotspot with my iphone (if I have a cell signal) for internet access.
I’ll be zipping around on my scooter (it does 65mph) checking all the dirt roads and paths when it may be hidden.
My significant other is working all day Saturday. Bummer!
If there’s someone who is too far away to join the physical search in the East but still wants to be involved, I’d love to have a partner sitting at home on the computer waiting for the videos and calling me on my cell phone with updates.
I assume that the videos will be released in the eastern standard time zone so you’ll have to keep that in mind while you’re waiting for them.
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Don, I don’t live in the area, but I will be making the journey with the family as a fun adventure. I would love to be a part of someone finding this thing, so if you want to share forces, send me an email. If not…. see you up there! I’ll be the one sitting in the journey at the finish line 🙂
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hi again steven,
Just a quick question…you said the bikes are the key to the east coast…if that is true why were the bikes being used for the 25 mile clue for the west hunt?
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Hi Dave. Bikes are the theme, if you will, for this one. You see them crossing the Twin Bridges and at Magic Forest and then they end up, apparently, at a place to go mountain biking. For the Midwest, it was the hot air balloon and for the West, they started by loading Kayaks into the Journey and ended up near the creek. You’re right about the bikes uses in the 25-mile clue though (only to show the Tahoe water bottle), makes you wonder where they got them?
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they are in both….and while i think they could be a clue, I’m not sure that these are necessarily *based on* or anchored by those keys: canoe, balloons,… bikes. So far, they have not been explicit in their direction giving.
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Anyone familiar with state parks west of Eagle Lake or even west of Route 87 in NY? I think I’ve got the final scene pin-pointed so let me know if you want to work together to scan the area. Winner take all!
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rachel email me niitsiapi@yahoo.com
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“…if you want to work together…”
“Winner take all!”
?????
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Thank you Megan, I thought that was weird too…
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Just a theory, but based on all of the sights that have been posted, I was thinking what they all had in common. So here it goes:
Twin Bridges – Built by Kościuszko who arrived in Colonial America a month after the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence.
Uncle Sam – A symbol of independence.
PJ’s BBQ – An American known food on Independence Day
Eagle Lake – A symbol of American Independence
The street sign shot in Vermont suggest Hwy’s 73 & 74. Hwy 73 travels South to none other than….
Mt. Independence State Park, Vermont. If I had to chose a theme for the last Journey, it would be to live the American dream and have the freedom to travel the United States. What gave us that dream was our Independence.
In all, I would have loved to take the 900mi trip at a chance to find this Dodge Journey, but if I can help out another American family by helping them solve the clues, then that’s really what America is all about.
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Ray, Steve and Don, I think you nailed it! This is amazing sleuthing and I’m glued to your problem solving skills posted in this blog. You all deserve a new Journey in my book! I think it will be in a national park or trail, and maybe it will be easier to bike to it rather than drive to it. I also think Dodge may be moving it to a new location. Yes, they will blow their budget to do it, but haven’t you noticed there are no new commercials? And they aren’t saying “Here it is, just find it and it’s yours”? I’m pretty sure they did show the final location for the other two 2 days before the “start” and I think that’s why they are delaying the start until noon. They need to do some major editing. I’m in Michigan and too far away to search for it, but I’m originally from upstate New York and it will be a beautiful drive to search for it. I’m kind of surprised they aren’t planting fakes out there to throw people off, but hindsight is always 20/20. Great job on this ad campaign, Dodge, and great puzzle solving skills to all of you, especially Steve. You are amazing!
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Hi Elaine. Thanks for the kind words and I think you’ve pretty well summed up where we are, and they are right now 😉 What I have found interesting, from a number of references, that in filming, they always had a number of Journey’s available. I agree with you, the day of, I would have a number out. Great advertising, great game play. Cheers!
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Paradox Lake Maybe ????? I like the name anyway…. so the Adirondack state park is not a National park but it is considered a National Historic Landmark…. so i dont know if that helps or if that will count as close enough to a National Park to hide it there?…. Also Steven once again I just want to say you are the man, you are kinda like a Dodge Journey celeb now! lol
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Oh also I want to bring up the exact location of the Midwest Journey…. If you really looked close at street view on Google Maps it seems like it was actually on private land because there are farm houses around there and driveways and so forth. And was it just in the middle of a field? would you have to off road it to find it? Because on the map it really looks like it was just off the road in the middle of a farmers field? But technically in the “Area” of the National Grasslands, (which i totally called btw) Any thoughts?
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I also anticipated that it would be the Black Kettle grasslands last week, mainly because it was the most pristine area with wild grass that seemed to match the final clue in the commercial and was reasonably close to Elk City. Got there Sat morning and did many grid searches in areas that looked likely. My closest was a grid search about a quarter of a mile north of where the Dodge was. (In other words, I took the E0940 Road east of 47, but went north to do my grid searches instead of south. Oh well…) But I ran into a fellow searcher later on who complained that he too was there, but didn’t take the correct dirt road because “it looked like private property.” In many federally managed wild areas there is a checkerboard pattern of private and public land. Black Kettle is no exception due to natural gas pipelines (underground) and cattle/bison grazing. I didn’t let this deter me, since what are they going to do? Shoot me? I don’t think it was “off road,” but it apparently the “private” look of the road did deter some people.
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I think Dodge should upload a picture to google earth at the exact sites where the cars were located. Were there even roads to the location that can seen on maps? I thought it was found north of E0940.
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Lake Placid is 293 from NYC. Just sayin
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Eagle Lake and surronding roads the elevation does not look right , the lake sits lower on the video
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Look at the very first video and it shows 5 pics of clues in the 5 mile pic the Truck is in the middle of a road. if you compare these pics with the allready found clues you will not see these same pics on the 5 clues
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What are you talking about Ryan? Take credit for what? What did you find out?
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Also what other forum are you on? whats the name?
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That would explain so much. I thought it looked way too “pretty” on that grass to be anything other.
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Just take out the periods at the end and you can see the page
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Thanks Adam – I can’t believe I didn’t do that…
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Sorry to be the one to bring bad news but no bikes are allowed so if steven is right about the bikes that can’t be the place
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