Local resident Sherri Smotherman (left) cheers the patrons on and wishes them luck as hundreds of patrons in their off-road vehicles took off Saturday to seek little buried treasure chests during the 46th annual Treasure Trails event at Salton Sea Beach. |
SALTON SEA BEACH — For Mark Anello looking for buried treasure is nothing new, especially if the search requires looking for small plastic versions of treasure chests around a desert region.
That’s why Anello brought his sons, A.J., 19, and Keith, 17, as well as his other family members Saturday for some off-road fun.
“They look forward to it every year,” said Anello, an Hermosa Beach resident, of his sons. “It’s good family fun.”
About 460 other desert lovers found the three-day 46th annual Treasure Trails event equally fun as they searched for nine trails from 405 different sets of clues. The event, which organizers stress is not a race, started Friday for registration and continues today.
Clues can consist of short rhymes or puzzles that can lead to the location of the little treasure chests, which are turned in today in exchange for prizes.
The event is a fundraiser for the local ambulance service, the volunteer fire department and setting up scholarships for two “deserving students” in the Salton Sea Beach community, said Jan Gilson, president of the Treasure Trails Inc. The search covers about 55 square miles from Tule Wash to Desert Shores, Gilson said.
“We have multi-generations of people that have come up” for the annual treasure hunt, said Gilson before resident Rae LaRue interjected, “We had a pregnant come to the event.”
Marilyn Smith, a Sonora resident who owns a home in Salton City, said at first that she and her loved ones have attended the event for the past 10 years, before she corrected herself and realized that she has probably been coming out to the Imperial Valley to search for little buried treasure chests for the past 20 years.
“Everyone’s a winner who has a chest,” Smith said.
Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at spanta@ivpressonline.com
That’s why Anello brought his sons, A.J., 19, and Keith, 17, as well as his other family members Saturday for some off-road fun.
“They look forward to it every year,” said Anello, an Hermosa Beach resident, of his sons. “It’s good family fun.”
About 460 other desert lovers found the three-day 46th annual Treasure Trails event equally fun as they searched for nine trails from 405 different sets of clues. The event, which organizers stress is not a race, started Friday for registration and continues today.
Clues can consist of short rhymes or puzzles that can lead to the location of the little treasure chests, which are turned in today in exchange for prizes.
The event is a fundraiser for the local ambulance service, the volunteer fire department and setting up scholarships for two “deserving students” in the Salton Sea Beach community, said Jan Gilson, president of the Treasure Trails Inc. The search covers about 55 square miles from Tule Wash to Desert Shores, Gilson said.
“We have multi-generations of people that have come up” for the annual treasure hunt, said Gilson before resident Rae LaRue interjected, “We had a pregnant come to the event.”
Marilyn Smith, a Sonora resident who owns a home in Salton City, said at first that she and her loved ones have attended the event for the past 10 years, before she corrected herself and realized that she has probably been coming out to the Imperial Valley to search for little buried treasure chests for the past 20 years.
“Everyone’s a winner who has a chest,” Smith said.
Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at spanta@ivpressonline.com
