Summer 2019, Session 1: Recap

We discovered daily rainbows cast
by the sun every afternoon in Searles

The detectives gathered three found pennies for the first Three-Penny Mystery of the summer. Madame Drak brushed off the cobwebs of winter and scrubbed away the muddy vestiges of spring, as she polished her crystal ball for the first dream from the dragons.

A Black Skystone of Doom was heading toward earth, and the dragons foretold of a trip back in time to a place where the dinosaurs roamed. Sure enough, a package arrived from Professor Eon Oscaput, a paleontologist with an extraordinary tale about a magic ring that the dinosaurs had that could turn aside the Black Skystone of Doom.

Our team gathered the largest cabbages they could find an headed off for a visit to Timedigger and his Tin Lizzy time machine that loves riddles. Timedigger sent them back 66 MYA, to the Atrocious Period, a little-known era at the tail end of the Cretaceous Period.

The cabbages came in handy as camouflage for the carnasaurs -- and as friendly offerings for the herbisaurs. Our team had a fabulous week of romping and stomping with the dinosaurs. The pictures are priceless and may be viewed here!

We couldn't save all of the dinosaurs, but we did our part rescuing Mamasaura's dinosaur eggs. They'll hatch once in every adventure, when a detective needs a little dinosaur help with future mysteries!

Dinosaur eggs for "Black Skystone of Doom"

With the start of the summer season only weeks away, I've been working on projects for each session.

I have to admit that I have a history of rocks that follow me home -- a habit that I couldn't quite shake from childhood. When Andrea and I visited Washington state, there were several boulders on the beach that were calling to me ... and sure enough, they came home in my suitcase and are sitting in the window of my living room 20 years later.

When I went looking for egg-shaped stones for our dinosaur eggs, I turned to an Etsy vendor from Washington state. Four heavy deliveries later, we have stones for our project. Here is the first round of dinosaur eggs, painted with exotic patterns that enhance the beautiful gray.


If you're looking for the camp location at Bowdoin College, scroll down to the next post. The posts for each week start three posts down from this one--and a specific week may be accessed by clicking the title of each mystery on the Current Programs page.

Summer 2019 Session I: Black Skystone of Doom

Humongasaura Regina
Micron pen and colored pencil
RL McNulty 2019

Dragon's Eye Adventures will begin the 2019 summer session with a mystery called "Black Skystone of Doom." The program for ages 7 to 10 will run from 9 AM to 4 PM on July 1 through 5. We will be closed on Thursday, July 4.

This is a beloved adventure, run many times as a favorite among the dinosaur-loving crowd. A meteor threatens to collide with earth, sending our detectives back in time to the Atrocious Period. This little-known era lies at the very end of the Cretaceous Period, when the dinosaurs were threatened with extinction.

Will the detectives find the legendary jewel that turns aside the black skystone of doom, or will Humongasaura Regina (Big Lizard Queen) enjoy a very rare and tasty mammalian snack? Only time will tell ... and that's in short supply this summer!

Our projects include vegan haberdashery in the latest herbivorean style, and fossilized cipher stones.

Black Skystone of Doom - Recap

The Riddle Ravelers test their plant disguises

A meteor was fast approaching earth and the Dragon's Eye Detectives were on the move--first to the Flight of Mind Travel Agency to find Timedigger and his Tin Lizzy time machine, and then to the Atrocious Period, that little-known end of the Cretaceous Period when the dinosaurs had one last chance to save their world from the Black Skystone of Doom.

We spent the week befriending herbivores and dodging carnivores. The best advice learned along the way: Friends don't eat friends. The most hilarious game of the week? Activating our plant disguises as we ran from tree to tree across the campus quad.

Very special thanks go to Ken Walden, Lou Ensel and Max Middleton for their guest appearances as roaming spinosaurs, searching for something to eat. All they found were strange little plants cropping up across the jungle floor. Where did those Fuzztops go?

Another special thank you goes to Isaac Ensel and Drew Walden, two Mavens of Mystery who played baby quetzalcoatli (giant prehistoric pterosaurs) who turned out to be rescuers--older detectives sent to assist our Riddle Ravelers with their mission.

Humongasaura Regina in shadow puppet replay by J. Jackman

Our Dragon's Eye Adventures Facebook page has some hilarious photos of the plant disguises in the making and then in use as Isaac and Drew led the detectives from tree to tree, avoiding the spinosaurs. They left the spinosaurs so hungry, they seriously considered a vegetarian lifestyle.

The final showdown with Humongasaura Regina (Huge Lizard Queen) was yet another hilarious game of flying yarnballs and a pink purse. Max was a riot as the queen, Rebecca demonstrated her strange ninja skills at interceptions, and the children--well, they won the day! Magic ring captured, escape to 21st century achieved and Black Skystone turned aside -- all in a week's work.

Thank you, Riddle Ravelers! Your courage and determination were second only to your impressive imaginations!

Black Skystone of Doom -- Second Week for Ages 6 - 9

The Riddle Ravelers face Freezing Ice Spells,
otherwise known as incoming yarnballs

Dragon's Eye Adventures is adding one more week to the Summer 2015 programs. This is an additional adventures for ages 6 to 9. Here is a brief summary of the week:

Session IA:  July 13 – 17 Black Skystone of Doom

A paleontologist leads the Detectives on a romp through the prehistoric swamps of the Atrocious Period. This little-known time of the dinosaurs holds a secret that may save the world from a meteor headed its way, if the Detectives can avoid the minions of Humongasaura Regina, the self-proclaimed Queen of the Dinosaurs.