Chasing the Thrill of Fenn's Treasure (Fiction, Part 7)

This is Part 7 of a work of fiction. Please check my blog for the other parts. This chapter will not make sense unless you've read Parts 1-6 first!

The first clue was probably to “begin where warm waters halt” and that was critical to nail down. Generally, one might say that all waters halt at the Great Divide and, even more generally, at the Rocky Mountains themselves. The mountains are a giant spine that leaves water falling to either side of the continent. And being on the western edge of the Great Plains, Denver sits right beneath the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The mountains provide a beautiful backdrop to the city and on a clear day, they look close enough to touch.

For the thousandth time, Brody thought about the clues. “Warm water” was a term often used by fishermen and Forrest Fenn certainly identified himself as a fisherman in his book, which paid homage to fly-fishing. Flowing water, in rivers and creeks, was often considered “warm water” compared to the colder water of oceans and some lakes. So in general terms, any water flowing from points east would halt at the Rockies, and any water in the mountains was unlikely to be as warm.

Denver was nearly as close to the mountains as one could get. So could Denver be the place “where warm waters halt”? It certainly was one interpretation.

“So what brings you to Denver?”

Brody had a sudden flashback to his conversation with Carlos in the Denver airport when he passed through. More than a week earlier, Carlos had used those same words. And this time, the speaker was a young woman who was sitting one table away from Brody. She had a pleasant Asian face, and since Brody was sitting at a Japanese noodle restaurant where he had just ordered a bowl of udon, he thought she might be Japanese.

As it turned out, she wasn’t. Jill was Korean-American and, like so many others before, she seemed compelled to talk to Brody. She soon moved to his table and they ate their dinners together. Brody didn’t know why, but people often approached him in public places and began conversations with him. Carlos at the airport wasn’t the first and Jill in this restaurant wouldn’t be the last. Maybe he had an innocent, trusting appearance. People found him to be approachable.

In Jill’s case, there might be something else going on. She seemed a little lonely, but so was he. Treasure hunting was a solo quest for him so far. She must have been watching him, probably noticing the map, since she'd concluded he was from out of town. He'd taken off his Alabama hat so that he wouldn't be too obvious, but she'd still pegged him as an outsider.

Jill was a grad student in geology at the University of Denver. Without being annoying, she explained the main geology of the region and the various rock patterns here at the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Brody found her attractive, but he didn’t plan to spend very long here in Denver. Also, he was listening closely to what she was explaining because it could be important to his search.

Geology 101

Jill described the region’s geology like a teacher. She was very good at conveying the information in terms that even Brody could understand. As a Literature major, he hadn’t had much exposure to geology before. According to Jill, long ago, this region was the site of a convergence of tectonic plates, which had left a ridge as one plate subducted beneath the other. It also left a volcanic arc under much of Colorado, though the area is no longer associated with volcanic activity.

Then later, for long periods of time, a warmer earth saw this part of the continent covered in water. A shallow sea covered all or most of Colorado, leaving mudflats, river bottoms, and sandstone where one can still see fossils of marine creatures. Still later, the North American plate started to compress, uplifting this area above the water and forming the Rocky Mountains. Sediments were uplifted above some of the metamorphic rocks. Again, there were volcanoes, this time along the Front Range, which is the part of the Rocky Mountains that reaches closest to Denver. Lava flows formed and then eroded, leaving their sediment in the basin where Denver currently sits.

“So basically,” said Jill, “within driving distance of here, we can find geological evidence of each of these major changes that happened in the most recent time periods.”

Brody thanked her for that explanation. “You mentioned erosion here in the Denver area. Is there one particular waterway that caused that?”

“This watershed drains to the Platte River,” said Jill. “The South Platte runs to the west of town. And one of its tributaries is Cherry Creek, which runs right through metro Denver.”

“Cherry Creek,” Brody nodded. “That’s what I thought also from the map. Warm water could be associated with sweet water.”

He explained to Jill what brought him to town, as a point on his treasure hunt journey, showing her Fenn’s book and poem. Jill was fascinated, never having heard of Forrest Fenn or his treasure before. Treasure hunting was a solo pursuit for him, but he liked this young lady and she seemed very knowledgeable about the land.

If, as Brody suspected, some of the clues in Fenn’s poem referred to geological features, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have some expert knowledge of the land from a geologist. On a whim, Brody invited Jill on his hike tomorrow at a local park. She accepted and they agreed to meet again in the morning.

This was Part 7 of a fictional story

Please check my blog for the other parts. The picture above is a montage made by the author based on images from the Forest Fenn books, Thrill of the Chase (One Horse Land & Cattle Co. 2010) and Too Far to Walk (same publisher 2013) and public domain material, including the border photo of the Yellowstone River. Here is a link to Fenn's book; I do not make any profit from recommending it. https://www.collectedworksbookstore.com/product/thrill-chase-forrest-fenn I simply thought the whole saga would provide an interesting background for this novel.