Scavenger Hunt Summer 2023

Photo:

Groucho Marx a piece of fruit.

After your photos are taken and posted, don’t forget to eat the fruit.

Unofficial NotGISH Scavenger Hunt

Hereby known as: Scavenger Hunt Summer 2023

I designed this hunt to coincide with the traditional week of GISH that I’ve been participating in since 2013. I’ve designed scavenger hunts for classes I’ve taught as well as one for my kids to do on vacation, which went pretty well considering their ages. It might also have done well because their vacation bags included snacks and money, but I digress.

Whether or not I’ve thought of life as a scavenger hunt, I feel as though I’m always on the hunt, on the lookout for different things to bring to my website with music playlists, photographs, thoughts, and information, and doesn’t that sound a little bit like a scavenger hunt with no list to follow?

I’ve been working on this hunt for several weeks, and hope that its participants enjoy doing it.

Below are some rules and information. Any questions can be directed to me as a comment on this post or through email at: kbwriting11@gmail.com.

How to Hunt

This scavenger hunt is inspired by Misha Collins’ GISH Hunts, but it is in no way affiliated with Misha Collins, Supernatural, Random Acts, or the GISH hunts. This is not a charity hunt, and I will be collecting no money in regard to this scavenger hunt.
There are no points awarded, however there is a random drawing that we will refer to as a prize.
All participants are acting in their capacity as individuals and are expected to follow all local and federal laws. The items are open to interpretation; however, no interpretation will be accepted that violates the law or any other party’s civil or US constitutional rights.
- No participants will be discriminated against or discriminate against anyone, in a protected category or not. We are ambassadors for good.
I expect to add two items each day including on the 7th, which would be a total of 18 items. There may be bonus items.
- All items should be rated PG-13, for all social media audiences.
As I said earlier, no judging, no judgment. Purely for fun, but I will choose one winner RANDOMLY on August 10 at Noon. Prize to be determined prior to the drawing. Winner will need to provide a valid email address.
To qualify for the random drawing, you must either post your item in the comments on that day (You have until the 7th for posting; it does not need to post on the actual day the item appears) or a link to your own social media/blog posting of the item, labeled with the day it’s for and item 1 or 2. Do not do anything illegal or violate any town/village/etc. ordinances. This is fun for you, and neutral for everyone around you.
- While you may post your items anywhere, posting on any GISH related pages and media will not count towards the random drawing unless you also meet the posting criteria of #6.
- Each item receives a “ticket” for the random drawing, so if you do one item, you’ll have one chance, five items, five chances, and so on.
Do not do anything illegal or violate any town/village/etc. ordinances. This is fun for you, and neutral for everyone around you.
I will be attempting to do all the items, but I will not be eligible for the random drawing.
The hunt began this morning at 9am EDT and concludes at 11:59pm on Monday, August 7. That gives you NINE (9) full days to complete the items.
Hydrate. Do Good. Be Good. Create. Laugh.

Item #2 coming up!

Unofficial NotGISH Scavenger Hunt Begins NOW!

Twice daily, items will appear on site.

Official rules will be posted this afternoon, but no worries, this is for fun. No judging, no judgment. Just do it.

For anyone familiar with my yearly scavenger hunt traditionally run by actor and activist, Misha Collins, there is always a mascot, a hybrid of two animals creating a new one. I don’t have that kind of energy. The mascot for my last hunt was a beeline – a bumblebee/ cat hybrid.

Our first item is to create your own mascot for this week. Design them, draw them, photoshop them, name them. My first draft is below the cut. I’ll be back this afternoon with a new post containing the day’s second item.

Good luck and most important, have fun!

ANNOUNCEMENT: NotGISH Scavenger Hunt Coming at the End of the Week

A preview of the Not-Greatest-International-Scavenger-Hunt!

(I do realize that what that says is NotGreatestInternationalScavengerHunt Scavenger Hunt, much like chai tea and ATM machine, but there are no grammar police in the NotGISH world!)

With the end (for now?) of the Scavenger Hunt formerly known as GISH, nee GISHWHES, colloquially known as Misha’s Folly, I miss it, and I’m a little bit sad that I opted not to participate last year, which turned out to be the last year (I guess, although Misha is mercurial, so we will see) and so I wanted to do a bit of a hunt here; for you.

And yes, for me, too.

Beginning on Sunday, July 30th, I will furnish two items per day for you to find, create, do, and overall still your neck out of your comfort zone, but not too far out; I’m not a hypocrite on neck sticking out, but I hope that you’ll use the 8 days that follow Sunday to do something extraordinary or at least something extra and perhaps ordinary.

You can share your items on your own blogs and social medias, you can include links in the comments section of each item I post or include the items themselves.

I don’t have the capacity for prizes, but I will choose one random participant for a “grand prize” or at least a “lovely prize” or maybe simply a “mediocre-I-didn’t-know-I-needed-this prize; what the heck is it?!”

If you want to get your mind in the scavenger hunt feeling, glance at my previous GISH items over the years by searching #gish on this site.

And may the gishes be ever in your favor.

^{Lindt chocolates and the Candy Taste Test.}
^(c)2020-2023

National Scavenger Hunt Day

Long time readers know of my affinity of the annual GISH scavenger hunt. I had opted out of last summer’s, and wouldn’t you know – that was the last one. I know Misha Collins, the actor who started that hunt has been pulled in too many directions, and he finally decided that last year would be the last. This has led me to two ideas.

The first is to honor the legacy of fun with a quick hunt today. It’s similar to one that I’ve done with my kids when we were on vacation. How that one was set up was that they each got a small bag, like a party goody bag that among other things included a journal, a pen, and a photocopied list of things to look for. It gave them something to do in the car, and it reduced the complaint, of “I’m bored.” At the time, my kids ranged in age from 10 to 19.

Below (and on the Download page found in the sidebar), you will find a colorful sheet to print out for your own hunt. The directions are at the bottom, and you can add your own items to the back if you like. Below that, I have just the list if you’d prefer your list to fit on a quarter sheet of paper or for emailing.

The second thought I had was to have my own scavenger hunt during the traditional week that GISH is held: July 30 through August 6. I’m still working out the details, but here is a preview of the logo I’m creating.

My idea is to post two items per day (perhaps 16-20 items). You can put your “entries” in the comments on either the main post or the individual item posts. I’m not going to judge anything, but I will draw a random name from the participants for a small prize (still working out the items and the prize). That person will receive an e-gift card and to receive the prize must consent to share their email with me. (I will not sell or share their information with any third parties.)

Enjoy today’s mini-hunt and I look forward to seeing everyone at the end of July for the hunt-that-has-no-name-yet.

Reflection on Weekend’s Book Bash

This past weekend was spent in scavenger hunting fun! Since the pandemic, they’ve (GISH) been doing more and more mini-hunts to give people on lockdown something to do and raise money for charity. This most recent hunt was called a Book Bash and most of the items centered around reading and writing. My go-to’s if you will. With my writing retreat cancelled I found myself with nothing* to do so I signed up at the last minute.

[*Nothing to do means: cleaning house, taking a shower, going to mass, planning and cooking dinner, writing, preparing and filing my taxes, typing up interfaith meeting notes, writing and sending Cursillo reports, and half a dozen other things that are still on my to-do list, but hey who doens’t have 48 hours to spend aimlessly. I also signed up for a free vision journal workshop at a food co-op.]

Aimlessly doesn’t accurately describe the weekend, but I think you get the drift of the lack of impulse control I sometimes have.

Before I share the few items I did, I want to share the link to the charity that we supported with our registration fees: World Central Kitchen for their current humanitarian work in Ukraine. Their leader is Chef Jose Andres who leads with his heart and encourages giving especially where getting hungry people their necessary nourishment. If you have the mean, please give generously. They are on the ground in the world’s poorest and dangerous places, bringing hope with their meals.

World Central Kitchen

Gratitude Scavenger Hunt – #3

Original List

3. Something you love to smell:

A Gratitude Scavenger Hunt

With Thanksgiving in two weeks, the Election over, and despite the continuing pandemic, we do have much to be grateful for.

This graphic will give you eight days to have your own scavenger hunt for the things you hold dear, that you’re grateful for.

I’ll be following up this afternoon and throughout the eight days, although not in a row of where I hold my gratitude, especially this year.

Graphic from Simple Acres Blog dot com. (c)2020

GISH Recap

GISH is The Greatest Scavenger Hunt started and organized (if you could use that word to describe it) by Supernatural actor, Misha Collins. It is in its tenth year, and this will be my eighth participating. This year was a little different due to the pandemic, and Collins, his GISHGnomes, and the players really stepped up to provide food and water to those in need while also giving us a well-deserved respite from home isolation.

There were three GISH hunts held this year (and one more still coming up for Halloween); two mini hunts, one in April and one in May and our regular week long hunt in August. The mini hunts were unusual in that they were about twenty-four hours long and they were meant to be done while on home quarantine.

They were a break from the daily pandemic news, and let us take a breath and do more than fret and worry about what was happening. They included a kids’ menu with items especially for our stuck at home kids to do, either with us or on their own.

The big hunt in August was similar to past hunts but most items were meant to be done at home or on social media. No in-person gatherings according to local laws. There were also several tributes to John Lewis who had recently died, inspirational items, and items that were civic minded like protesting, prison reform, and voting including our rights and registration drives.

The registration monies went to No Kid Hungry, which you can still donate to individually.

I can only give you my August totals. I was not great about keeping track of the mini-hunts for points. I contributed to a total of fifteen items, seven of which were individual, the other eight being team items for a total of 214 individual points and 480 team points totalling 694 points.

I have to be honest, but I enjoyed these hunts more than I’ve enjoyed some of the previous years. I like the civic mindedness, the social justice aspects, the caring for neighbors, random acts of kindness and compassion.

I would encourage people who are curious to join the Halloween H(a)unt. Each registration donates money to UNICEF providing clean water for a person in need for six months. Registration ends on October 23rd, and the H(a)unt will go live Oct. 30 – Nov. 1.

The captions on the following photos will explain the items. For the spring mini-hunt, I have them listed as April/May although they may have been done for either:

Travel – Scavenger Hunt

Last week, I shared Kids’ Travel Bags for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Today, I am offering some suggestions for one of those items in the bags: the scavenger hunt sheet. It is below the cut, and permission is granted to download and print it for your own use with your family.

One of the things the past seven years of Gishing has taught me is that there are many ways to interpret something. It’s allowed me to rethink my concept of the scavenger hunt for one thing. Rather than collect things only to get rid of them at the end, I’ve really incorporated the idea of re-purposing, finding and documenting, and being a force for good, whether that’s as a Good Samaritan, doing good deeds, or making the world better through my time, talent, and treasure, and of course through civic responsibility. All of those things will be different depending on the hunter’s perspective.

I planned a mini Scavenger hunt for my kids for our most recent vacation. This is not an easy task as they are somewhat spread out in age: 13, 14, and 22, as well as personality and tolerance for this sort of thing.

Some items were be for collection, although not many. Most were photos or videos and journaling. It was a lot of fun, and it kept them busy for our long drive. Hopefully, it will help in your Thanksgiving travels.

Griffins and Ginger Snaps

-I write, and I have a blog because of course I do-

Scavenger Hunt