Domino No. 7 has been placed

I didn't want to put any of the dominoes in a church or cathedral because that has sort of sacreligious feel to it but I've gone and done it anyway. However, it doesn't cost anything to visit the cathedral in question but you do have to pay €6 to climb to the top of the dome which is near to where the domino is hidden, so I don't feel to blasphemous about it. And besides, if you go looking for it, that's another €6 for the catherdral coffers. Everybody wins.

Ok, the catherdral in question is the 4th largest in Europe after Saint Paul's in Rome, St. Peter's in London and the one in Milan. It is the Duomo in Florence. To get to the domino, you must pay the €6 and climb to the very top of the dome, the part where you can go outside at the top. As you head back down, first descend the almost ladder like steps that you ascended but the next part of the 'down' is different than the way you came up. Once you have descend that flight, you will turn left and in just a short bit you will be at the bottom of the flight that took you up for that portion of the trip. Continue straight as if exiting. You will go down two or three steps and be on a landing. To your right is the way to exit. Straight ahead are two or three steps up. Go up those steps. There is a door about 5 feet straight ahead of you. Before you get to that door you will pass a low wall on your right. On the side of that wall facing the door, you will find the domino on the floor where the floor, that little wall and the sloping wall meet. There is a small (very small) offering in the organza bag with the domino. It would be nice to place that offering in one of the collection boxes inside the cathedral but that's up to you.

If you have searched for and found this domino or if you have found it by accident and removed it, please email me to let me know so that I place a notice of the find here. Thanks for playing my game.

Domino No. 6 has been placed

This one is probably the most vulnerable to the elements so I don't know if it will survive. If it is found by someone who is looking for, that person will know what to do with it but if someone happens upon it, the instructions may be obliterated. Anyway, if you are going to search for it you must go to Vernazza, Italy which is on the Italian Riviera. Vernazza is one of the seaside villages that make up the Cinque Terra. Once in Vernazza climb to the highest part of the Castello Doria. Take in the view and descend the tower. Stop at the first window/opening in the tower wall as you descend. On the right side of the opening count up three stone layers. rom the bottom of the opening. The domino is in it's little organza bag on top of that third layer and behind the first stone of the fourth layer. There is also a .50€ coin in the just for fun.

If you have found Domino number 6 and want to know more you may either email me that you have found it (you must include the password that attends the domino) &/or read the previous posts on this blog. I would appreciate being notified that the domino has been found so that I may put that notice here as well. Thank you for playing my game.

Domino #5 has been placed

To claim Domino #5, you need to visit the Basque region of Spain. Specificially the city of Bilbao. This one is one of those hunts that'll cost you a few €. The domino is placed in the exterior portion or the Maritime Museum tour but it's worth the 5€ just to visit the museum making sure you see the film/slideshow presentation. After you visit the interior, you exit the building to visit the docks. The docent explains all of this when you buy your ticket. There are a couple of boats you can explore while down in the docks. The domino is on the Auntz which is the one farthest away from where you entered the docks. When you are on board the boat, go below deck to the most forward section. There are four berths. Forward of each berth is a little cupboard. The domino is on the right, in the very back of the cupboard of the lower berth on the starboard side.

This domino was hidden on Nov 21st. I don't think the Auntz is going anywhere soon but I really have no way of knowing that for sure. As far as I could tell, it looked pretty much like a permanent part of the Maritime Museum collection.

If you happened upon this domino, congratulations! It is yours to keep. Read on to find out if that really means anything to you or not. Regardless of that, if you have found it, please email me so that I can let others know that it is out of circulation. Thank you.

Domino number 4 is placed

Be prepared for an uphill hike to get this domino. The town of Bacharach is on the Rhein River in Germany. Above the town is the Burg Stahleck (Castle Stahleck). This castle is also a Youth Hostel but you can visit the castle grounds even if aren't a guest, I think. Once in Bacharah, locate St. Peters Church. There's stairs leading to a path up to the hostel. You will pass the Warner Chapel on the way. Take the path up to the castle. It's not that bad of walk. The switchbacks keep the grade relatively easy-ish. The last leg of the trail is sort of within the castle walls. You will have made a hairpin right turn and then through an archway, up some steps, then some more steps into a short entry way sort of thing, then into open air again and up some more kind of steps. All this time the castle is to your left. At the end of this climb you come to a rock wall. Turn left and go up the steps and turn left again. Go through the door. Look left and now, face the long information board with several panels. The longest face of the sign should be directly in front of you. The shorter face shoud be to your left. Behind the corner and at the bottom of the info sign where the two faces meet is a metal support for the sign and right above that is a small recess. Domino #4 is in that recess.

Bacharach is a nice little town and probably a jumping off point for a lot of Nordic Walking trails. In the summer, it is one stop on the boat cruises on the Rhein. This time of year, there's not a lot to do so if/when you come looking for the domino, plan ahead to get the most out of being here.

The Third Domino has been placed.

To seek this domino you must travel to Rothenburg, Germany. This is a place that is worth a visit even if you are not hunting dominoes. There are parts of this town that date back to the late 900s and no, there is not a 1 missing from the beginning of that date. Rothenburg was once a medieval walled city. The part of the city where the domino is located is not that old but it has some history of its own. I'll let you look up the history between the 900s and WW II. That's where the history of our part of the wall begins. The Allies bombed the city in 1945. About 40% of the city was destroyed including the eastern wall. The rest of the city was spared and, again, I'll let you look it up. Eventually, the city wanted to rebuild the wall and sent out an appeal around the world for funds to do so. People from all over sent money and all those that did now have their name engraved on stones that went into the new section of the eastern city wall. You can walk the ramparts about 3/4 of the wall around the city but as you do so, pay attention to those engravings. When you come across one that speaks of the George Pal production of The Brothers Grimm in 1961, you are very near domino #3. Above you and to the left of the engraved stone is a wooden roof beam/support/truss (I forget the correct building term) that crosses the walk. The domino is in an organza drawstring bag to the left on top of the beam.

Let me know if you find it, please and I hope you enjoy(ed) the rest of Rothenburg!

The Second Domino has been placed

The city I was looking for in the clue I gave previoulsy is Brugge (or Brugges or Bruge), Belgium. To find the domino you need to climb to the top of the Belfry in the Market Square. It'll cost you 5 Euro to do so. (And no, I am not getting any kickbacks on that). Once you have climbed as far as you are allowed, you'll be in with all the bells and they are behind a wire cage like structure. At the top of the steps go to your right then continue around the bell cage as far as you can. Go to the last vertical timber. The 2nd domino is between the timber and the wall (not the cage) and on top of a small board about 6 or 6.5 feet up. I'm 5.5 feet tall and had to reach above my head a bit to place the domino. The domino is in a silver/gray organza drawstring bag. Please email me if/when you have found it.

If you are reading this because you happened across the Rose Red Domino, Congratulations! You have just become part of a world wide scavenger hunt. Read the previous posts if you want to play along. Even if you don't want to play along, please email me so that I can let others know that #2 has been found and is out of circulation. Thank you.

PS-this is a totally non-commercial, no money, just for fun activity.

The First One is an easy find . . . if you can get there!

MortonHampstead is located within Dartmoor National Park in Southwest England. From my home it took two planes, two busses and a train to get here. I like the little town except that in the off season, as it is now, I couldn't find any public transportation to get me anywhere else with in the park. The pleasant townsfolk were quite helpful in getting me past that obstacle, however, and I did make it out on to the moors. I even found a letterbox! Getting out on to the moors is most (but certainly not all) of the reasons to visit this region but you don't even have to do that to find the First Domino. All you need to do is a tiny bit of research in the local library. The extent of that research is to simply ask the Librarian if she has the Rose Red Domino. (I told you these clues would not be very clever!) I did not really want to have intermediaries involved in the hunt so I would ask that you please email me if/when you claim possession of this domino. (I'll know your have the real First Rose Red Domino because you will know the Password.) I will let everyone know so that no one need travel here for just that and also that the librarians aren't continually bothered. Hm. . .I suppose it could be a wee boost to the tourism. Let's put it this way--make sure you have an appreciation/interest for this region beyond the Rose Red Domino Hunt if you head this way.

There will be a total of thirteen dominoes. I don't imagine I'll plant another in the UK so it may be about a month before the next one is hidden. I think I all ready have a clue where it might go. There was a movie with Ralph Fiennes and Colin Farrell. Figure that one out and email me before I get there and I will send you the Second Domino postmarked from that city!

Maybe this is how it will work. . .

I have a few other tchotchkes from my time on the Rose Red set. . . a glass (maybe it's faux glass) paperweight, a wrist watch and the script (and lots more dominoes AND the script for the Rose Red sequel "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer") so I'm gonna make this a contest, sort of. Anyone who wants to play along has to find one of the dominos. I'm going to include a password or something that will identify the domino as one of the ones that I will have hidden. If you find a domino send me an email and include the password and "Rose Red" or "Domino" in the subject line. The email should also include a photo of the finder and the domino at the location of the find. OK, if you are camera shy, just the domino but I have to be able to identify the location of the find in the photo. Any other info you want to include in the email about how and when you found the domino would be fun, too but that's up to you. The paperweight, the wrist watch (I think it still works. I've never worn it) and the script will be given away as prizes but I haven't yet figured out what will actually determine a winner. Since I'm gonna be on the road for the next six months and I'll be hiding these dominoes all during my trek, this is gonna take awhile. Also, everything I own, including the above mentioned prizes, will be in storage while I'm away and I'm sure it's gonna be a bit longer after I get back that I will get to unpacking that storage space so we're looking at about an 8 or 9 month endeavor for this project.

Well, watch this space for more info and I'm open to suggestions. Anyone interested in making a chase of this? Catch me if you can!

Rose Red RTW Domino Hunt

OK, I'm not going to be able to make this as intriguing (or maybe even as fun) as I'd like to but I'm not gonna let that stop me from doing it all the same. Just what is this "IT" that I'm talking about? Well, it's not the "It" of the title of Mr. King's novel but it does have to do with Mr. King. Years ago I worked as a below the line crew member on the production of the mini-series Stephen King's Rose Red. In the miniseries there's a scene involving dominoes. After filming was completed, I was able to get a bunch of those dominoes and I'm going to be hiding them around the world as I make my first circumnavigation of the globe. After I've hidden a domino, I'll leave directions to its location on this blog. I'd like to be very clever and make it so you have to solve riddles and puzzles or decipher codes and such to locate the dominoes but A)I'm not that clever so the 'clue' will be something like "It's hidden above the third stall in the ladies loo at such and such a movie theatre". And B) I'd like to think that I'm going to be preoccupied with exploring strange new lands and seeking out new life and new. . . OK, I'm mixing my media metaphors but you know what I mean. This domino hunt is not the main objective of my trip but I've been carrying a whole bag of these things around since that production back in 2000 and it's about time I did something with them and this is what I came up with. As I go along with this little side project maybe the clues and hiding places will get better. I'm thinking of offering a prize for the person who finds the most dominoes. I might inscribe each domino with a code word and do something with that idea.

Well, as you can see-The Rose Red Domino Hunt is an evolving endeavor and all I know for sure is that I'm starting my trip on Sept 2nd from Portland OR. That's the only for sure thing. The next thing may be that the first domino will be hidden in the moors of Dartmoor National Park, UK on or about Sept 4th.

Watch here for further details of this adventure.