Land of Long Ago

Planter:	Green Tortuga
Location:	Mystery, OR (United States)
Plant Date:	November 25, 2002
Clue Last Updated:	September 21, 2004
Status:	active (Last found: Aug 4, 2004)

You know, the strangest thing happened to me the other day. But first, a little history. I kind of live in Portland, Oregon. Kind of. It's kind of complicated. But I wanted to drive down to San Luis Obispo, California, to spend the holidays with my family. And I decided that driving down Highway 101 was the way to go--arguably one of the most spectacular drives in the world.

So there I was, driving and singing along with Neil Diamond in my car, minding my own business, and from around a turn--and I'm not making this up--a gigantic Tyranosaurus Rex jumped out. I immediately swerved into a ditch, narrowly missing his gigantic claws swooping by. If you've seen Jurassic Park, you can imagine how scary that was!

I immediately grabbed my letterboxing survival kit (what else can one do in such a precarious situation?) and started running for my life as T-Rex chased after another car driving down the road.

But I wasn't out of the woods yet. In fact, I just entered them! I stopped to rest and catch my breath at a tree. At least until I realized that it wasn't a tree I was leaning on, but rather the leg of a gigantic Brachiosaurus. His head arched up in anger, and while I knew this creature was a herbivore, I also knew I had little chance of surviving if he accidentally misplaced a step.

I ran further into the forest; through lush, fern forests, filled with other creatures I could only imagine. The Brachiosaurus faded into the background, but a Diatryma soon started chasing me. I didn't stop until I reached the end of a bridge, where I stummbled, knocking a tooth out on the very last post of a fence on my left.

I sank to my knees, immediately trying to find my missing tooth. It looked like it might have fallen in a 'crack' in the ground at the end of the fence, but I couldn't find it. Probably covered with debris in all the excitement.

But I could hear a Stegosaurus howling deeper in the forest, and I thought it might be a good idea to leave--with or without my tooth. I continued running, passing by gigantic turtles and lizards. Triceratops and Pterodactyls. I ran and ran until I reached a road. It was Highway 101 again. While T-Rex was menacing a poor family from Japan, I waved down a trucker who offered me a ride out of this prehistoric time trap.

Oh, and if you find my tooth, it's mine! =)

Hike Length: 1.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 0 feet