There's Treasure Inside

Part 1: Back to America

My friend Kevin and I haven't had a trip together in eight years. I know that because when I returned home from the last trip, I was told my girlfriend and I were expecting our daughter, who is now seven and a half.

The last trip was in search of Forrest Fenn's treasure. The treasure was a chest hidden in the Rocky Mountains by an art dealer who had been told he had terminal cancer. After his diagnosis, the idea of creating a treasure hunt came to him, and ultimately, he decided to leave a quest for others as his personal legacy.

Fenn published a book outlining the highlights of his life, from his childhood to his service as a war veteran, and finally, his career as an art dealer. However, this was no ordinary memoir, as this book included a cryptic poem. Fenn told the public that if you decipher the poem correctly, it will lead to his hidden treasure.

Kevin and I both had different ideas about where the clues led, but our search areas ended up being close to one another. That trip took us to New Mexico and the Taos Pueblo. I created a short documentary about the hunt, which I later uploaded to YouTube.

At the start of 2025, we heard about There's Treasure Inside, a book with clues to five treasure boxes laid out by author and crypto millionaire Jon Collins-Black. We decided it would make for an appropriate follow-up trip. Jon admits he was heavily inspired by Forrest Fenn, and one of the five boxes is called the Fenn Box in his honour.

Now, it's no secret that I prefer historical hunts and remote international destinations over America (other than Hawaii, which is a beautiful exception to that rule). I've been to most of the States, and at this point in my life, I have had my fill of North America.

I'm typically not interested in manufactured treasure hunts orchestrated by millionaires and publishers trying to be clever. Do a little research, and you will discover there are a fair number of them. I prefer poring over historical documents that aren't trying to give you red herrings, and old documents will often take you on a journey where you walk in the footsteps of legends, rather than a tour of national parks.

The wealthy authors of these hunts claim various altruistic reasons for hiding the treasure, but let's be honest, it's not to inspire people to go outdoors and experience nature; rather, it's to sell books and promote their own name.

In each case, they have plenty of money but lack fame when they decide to hide a treasure, write a book of clues, and go on Good Morning America.

Also, you are subject to their clue-making thought process. If you look at where Forrest Fenn's treasure box was actually found, it doesn't line up with the clues in his poem at all. Someone found it searching a section of Yellowstone National Park near to where a photo of Forrest Fenn's dad was once taken.

So I'm not entirely sure my solve will pan out, no matter how well it lines up with clues from Jon's book.

I should mention Kevin is 63, and often referred to as the Sully to my Drake. My daughter affectionately calls him Uncle Sully. Kevin prefers North America, the Commonwealths, and Europe over the remote destinations I tend to visit.

Given that fact, I decided to pack my bags and head to America once again to take a trip with my friend.

Jon's book, titled There's Treasure Inside, has chapters covering the different treasure boxes. Surprisingly, the one we decided to look for was titled the Pokémon Box.

Now, Pokémon was after my time; most of what I know regarding the Pocket Monsters is through my daughter. She does have an Eevee-themed bedroom after all.

I chose that box because the clues painted the most complete picture to me. I will walk you through my solve as we go.

At the start of that chapter, Jon references a childhood trip he took, and he focuses the start of that recollection mainly on his experiences in New Orleans. Later, Jon briefly drops the fact that they stopped through the Ozarks on their way back to North Carolina after leaving Louisiana.

As a result, most people are looking near New Orleans. But I settled on the Ozarks for two specific reasons.

Jon references seeing many Pokémon along the route to hiding the treasure. If you research a little, you can find out what real-world animal or insect a Pokémon is based on, and this allows you to substitute what fictional creatures he encounters with their real-world counterparts.

Jon says he hid the treasure in the summer of 2024. He mentions explicitly seeing Cicadas everywhere. He also provides two useful images: an artist rendering of two Pokémon (with hidden clues), as well as a heavily filtered photo of a river or creek.

With my background in photography, it was easy to remove some of the filtered effect and make it more natural. I also researched Cicadas more than anyone would care to know.

Comparing the Ozarks to Louisiana geographically, the creek terrain in the picture is far more likely to exist in the Ozarks.

These Cicadas hatch in 13 and 17-year broods, and in the summer of 2024, both the 13 and 17-year types hatched simultaneously in one area—the Ozarks in Northwestern Arkansas.

I will explain my solve further as we get into it; however, my focus was on an area near the Buffalo River in the Arkansas Ponca Wilderness Area. I convinced Kevin of the general search area, and so we booked flights and a hotel for a trip to the Ozarks.

I should mention, Arkansas and the Buffalo River in particular, are the epicenter of Sasquatch sightings. Though I'm more of a Yeti man myself, it did add an extra element of allure.

To Be Continued.