Did You Know $20,000 is Hidden Somewhere in Maine?

Better get started, because there is a TON of ground to cover!

Having officially become a state back on March 15, 1820, Maine just celebrated its bicentennial. One couple, though, wants to keep the celebration going by creating a reason for everyone to check out every square inch of the state -- they hid $20,000 somewhere in the 207.

According to CBS Boston, Newcastle couple Kurt and Kelly Stokes, spent three years exploring different parts of the state and taking the most beautiful pictures along the way. And that's how the Dirigo Treasures, LLC treasure hunt was born.

It's simple (well, not the treasure hunt itself, but beginning it is) -- Kurt and Kelly turned all of the pictures they took into a deck of 52 regular playing cards, along with 2 additional Jokers. To get started, buy the deck of cards and the rest of the game; and that's literally where the "simple" part ends, and the four-level treasure hunt begins!

Each of the 52 cards has one of the pictures that Kurt and Kelly took on the front of it. The first step is to identify exactly what you're looking at and where in the state it resides. Once you've identified all 52 locations, your next task is to travel to all 52 spots to "find the clues" with the help of an instruction manual.

After all 52 clues/answers have been gathered, step three involves having to "find the pairs," which is basically cracking a list of codes that are tied into the clues/answers you found in step two. The fourth and final(ish) step is to use all three previous steps to solve a paragraph that reveals the location of the "7 Dirigo Stones," which, when combined, will reveal the location of the $20,000.

Here's the best part, too (well, other than the $20,000). Other than whoever discovers the treasure being benefitted by $20,000 they didn't have before, this entire treasure hunt benefits the state, too. Proceeds from all sales of the cards/game go toward helping Mainers in need (through a donation to the Maine Cancer Foundation) as well as supporting the state's future (through a donation to Maine Rivers.)