I think that is a great idea! Shelley and I did a motorcycle rally in New Mexico many years back which was basically a scavenger hunt all over the state. There were over 60 motorcycles participating, about 20 were couples. It was a complete blast! Each rider or team had a flag with a number on it. We had to go to certain "bonus locations" and get a picture with our flag and the location in the back ground. We saw things that we would never have normally see, like Billy the Kid's gravesite.
I don't know where you are, Morticia, or the area you are in, but I bet you could get local businesses to participate. It gets people into their place of business. Even if it is a quick thing, they may see something they like and come back. Also look at places of interest that they might come back to on a future visit.
Another thing you might consider is using GPS coordinates. Geocaching is a very popular hobby. You could market your scavenger hunt on geocaching forums. I bet that you wouldn't even need to give a prize more than a mug. For our rally, we all got a glass with the logo of that year's rally on it. For the front runners and the winner, all they got were bragging rights--but that was enough. If you make it fun and socially interactive, the prizes won't matter all that much.
If you decide to do that, let us know how it goes. We might try something like that on a slow weekend..
OK, that's the way I want to go - see Billy the Kid's grave. That gives me some ideas for things to do. I know our chamber just did a town-wide scavenger hunt so I can ask them how it went getting stores to pitch in. Because the stores here are staffed with a lot of part time temp kids it can be hard to find places that will participate. I'll check with the smaller shops.
I'd like to keep the 'things' you have to find free.
Did you need to verify you were at each place? Take a photo or something?
I know there are a lot of geocaching spots around, we've found some of them just hiking on our own. And we've had guests on a hunt here.
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