DuPage Forest Preserves Mark Centennial With Scavenger Hunt
The DuPage County Forest Preserve District has been celebrating its 100th birthday in fun fashion, with a treasure hunt.
The district has been running a contest to find six medallions, with prizes ranging from running shoes to the $2,500 grand prize.
Clues to the location of each medallion have been posted in the print and online editions of the Daily Herald.
Brianna Pecora, of Carol Stream, won the prize worth a pair of running shoes. She found a medallion leaning up against the information sign near the parking lot in McDowell Grove in Naperville.
Pecora is what's known as a geocacher – someone who takes part in online scavenger hunts in wooded areas – she's very familiar with DuPage County forest preserves.
"If you're in any of the preserves frequently, the pictures seem to be of something recognizable. So if you're a regular visitor, it should be relatively easy to figure out," she said.
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For Pecora, it was a real contest finding the medallion. She says she showed up at the forest preserve just as it opened at 6:15 Wednesday morning.
"I happened to pull up right as they were opening the gates. So I was the first person to pull in. There was one car behind me," she said.
And, yes, the person in the car behind her was there for the same reason.
"We both got out of our car at the same time. I headed straight for the info sign, because that's where it looked like the photo was taken from. He kind of headed more towards the shelter, and the medallion was just right on the ground, in the grass, next to the information sign," she said.
The $2,500 prize medallion was found by another geocacher, Peter Geldes, in the Mallard Lake Forest Preserve.
DuPage Count Forest Preserve District President Joe Cantore said the contest is all about celebrating the district's centennial.
"People come to our preserves, but we wanted to get people excited about coming into our preserves again," he said.
Cantore said about four million people a year visit DuPage County Forest Preserves.
