Trail of Tears holds scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunters wandered around Trail of Tears State Park grounds Friday night playing a tape that kept repeating "who cooks for you, who cooks for you all."

That's the call for the barred owl, one of several types of owls in the area. Scavenger hunter Shelia Saffel of Cape Girardeau said they got a taker after learning about owls in a program Friday night.

"We did come across one that flew over us and was real verbal, but then he got mad at us and wouldn't talk anymore," Saffel said.

The owl program was part of Trail of Tears' first 24-hour scavenger hunt this weekend, designed to get more people involved in the park and teach them about cultural and natural resources of the park, according to Tara Tucker, park naturalist. Fifteen people participated in the Holiday Scavenger Hunt, which ran from 3 p.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Several members of the park staff worked together to organize the event, which included more than just a list of items to find.

Scavenger hunters had to answer questions, such as "What is the name of the road in Trail of Tears State Park that is actually part of the historic Trail of Tears?" and "What initially kept the Cherokees from crossing the river?" (The answers are Moccasin Springs Road and ice floes, respectively.)

Two programs made up another part of the hunt, the "Owl Prowl" that Saffel attended Friday evening and "Forced Removal of the Cherokees," presented by Tucker Saturday morning.

The actual scavenging was for 15 items, including an animal track information card, 10 pieces of trash, a fallen leaf from a dogwood tree, five fruit balls from a sweet gum tree, a handful of Japanese honeysuckle, a trail map or trail registration card, a grasshopper and a snake skin.

A point system

Scavenger hunters earned points for correct answers, program attendance and acquired items. The hunt had a grand prize winner as well as prizes for second and third place, and everybody receiving some kind of reward for their efforts.

"We thought the kids would have fun with it and learn something too," said Jeffrey Lovejoy of Crystal City, Mo. Lovejoy and his family, including wife Maranda, and sons Jordon Brock, 10, Chase Lovejoy, 3, and Hunter Lovejoy, 2, were camping at the park for the weekend when their camp host told them of the scavenger hunt.

By noon on Saturday, Jordan said he had learned were the three main duties of a park ranger and that thousands of Cherokee Indians were forced out of their homes.

Saffel and Merla Brooks of Patton, Mo., worked together while searching for items and answers. As camping neighbors, they had talked about the hunt and decided to join in.

Saffel said she recently moved to the area from South Dakota and participates in many park programs. Through the scavenger hunt, she hoped to learn some history about the Cherokees and the region.

Many local businesses and agencies donated items as prizes for the scavenger hunt, including restaurant and golfing gift certificates, T-shirts, jackets, caps, free tire alignments, CDs and nature books.

jgosche@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133