I am always looking for new and exciting things to do with my family when we're out of the road so I was particularly excited when I stumbled upon the Double Key Treasure Hunts (click here to check out their website) which just happened to have an adventure in Salt Lake City, where we were headed on our winter break. They also have hunts in Boston, Charleston, St. Louis, and Washington DC (with Monterey coming soon). My kids and I loved the National Treasure movies and I instantly thought this would be a home run with my gang.
I contacted Becky West, the owner, who explained how it worked. She and her family put together a treasure hunt either with replica documents or real vintage ones that serve as clues. The clues take you on a mini tour of the city while you search to find the answers to fill in the blanks that you will later use to solve the location of your treasure. Through a variety of stops we learned about the Salt Lake City's history and growth and the importance of community. Filling in all the blanks from our clues, we were able to find a secret message that led us to our treasure. That's as much as I'll say as I don't want to give away any of the surprise.
I can honestly say, this was a lot of fun, hunting down the clues which necessitated short stops at various landmarks (although running around in arctic single digit temperatures in Salt Lake City over the holidays made it a little challenging-it was tough prying everyone out of the warm car). Occasionally we did get sidetracked-which I gather is sort of the point. As we headed to Temple Square, we wandered into the visitor center where we saw a cut away model of what's actually inside the magnificent temple. We read about Brigham Young and the amazing effort to construct the temple that stands as the cornerstone of the city.
If you are going to be traveling to the city you'll be treasure hunting in, do yourself a favor and have them send the package to your hotel so it will be there when you arrive. The box can get a little heavy and the last thing you want to have to do is pay extra because your suitcase is overweight. There are a couple of options available as far as the treasure is concerned depending on your budget but remember ... the greatest treasure is the time spent who those you love ...
