Dinosaur Battle! LbNA #23327 (ARCHIVED)

This box is temporarily unavailable! Sept, 2006

Location

Roofed lizard
Tyrant lizard
Well armored head
Two measured teeth
Fast thief
Deceptive lizard
Regal dinosaur
Terrible claw
Little shield lizard


Event

The theropod stood at the top of the hill, and sniffed the air. She was hungry; it was time to hunt. She surveyed the northern part of her territory and decided she would probably find lunch down by the lake. She hopped over a fallen log embedded deep in the trail, weaved her way through the gate of dead trees, and began the slow descent down the hill.

***

The sauropod stumbled ashore and up onto the trail that paralleled the lake. He was tired, and his back leg ached. He knew it was safer to travel with the rest of his clan, but his injury slowed him down too much. The rest of the herd was probably to Jurrasicanada by now. He lumbered north on the trail, following the lake, always wary for predators. He crossed two wooden bridges, which groaned under his weight. A small mammal raced across the path and ducked into a tree cave on his left. Mammals would never amount to much, the sauropod decided. He stopped for a moment to munch on some maple leaves, but stopped when he heard a noise up the hill. Was that a predator? He glanced around nervously. Ducking low under a leaning fir tree, he continued to travel north.

***

The theropod stopped and sniffed again. She smelled something large and meaty. It was close – perhaps at the bottom of the hill near the lake. She licked her huge, dagger-like teeth and broke into a trot.

***

The sauropod reached a very small clearing, where several trails converged. In the center of the clearing was one large tree and several smaller ones. Suddenly, from ahead and to the right, he caught sight of a huge predator racing down the hill towards him! Panic gripped his tiny brain. He thought about diving back into the lake to his left, but it was too shallow to offer much protection. Instead he dashed forward, just west of north, along the lake-front trail.

***

The theropod had found her prey at last! She made a hard right and followed the slow moving dino along the trail. When the paths diverged, she followed her meal slightly to the right on a trail that still paralleled the lake, but not right on the shore. She was gained on him quickly.

***

The sauropod knew he was in trouble. Suddenly, his path was blocked by an enormous uprooted madrone tree. Its trunk split into 4 large arms which dangled in the water. With a surge of adrenaline, the sauropod turned to face his attacker. Although he didn’t have the sharp teeth of a predator, he outweighed his opponent 3 to 1, and one powerful stroke of his massive tail could break the neck of a smaller dino.

Epilogue

Nether creature survived the epic battle that followed. You can visit the site, though, and if you are discreet you can see a relic of this momentous confrontation. In the center trunk of the fallen madrone tree, near the roots lies the artifact. It is on top on the southern side, covered by some dead wood and bark. Please re-hide this box very well, as this location is popular and somewhat conspicuous.


Notes
Boxing time ~ 45 minutes
Hike ~ 1 mile or so, with some decent up and down
Free parking
Double-sided hand-carved stamp
Several other boxes nearby, some mysterious