Terrapin Station

What a long strange trip it's been. - Grateful Dead, Truckin'

Have pants, will party

Sometimes you get invited to the party, but you just can’t find your pants. So begins the premise for one of the most surprising (and good) puzzles of what has been one of the most surprising (and bad) years in recent memory. This puzzle is so good it will make you forget about 2020, for a little while. It’s a trip worth taking.

Well I ain't often right, but I've never been wrong. - Grateful Dead, Scarlet Begonias

Turtle Trip by Gerard Hudson

“Turtle Trip”, a 3D printed puzzle box, emerged from the incredibly creative mind of Gerard Hudson. The New Orleans local is no stranger to a party and understands the importance of proper pants. Incredibly, Hudson only started 3D printing about two years ago with an introductory printer. He quickly gained skills making life essentials like a bicycle holder and belt holster for ... corn dogs. He used the newfound free time during the pandemic to get better at 3D modeling and turned his sights on puzzle boxes, thanks to the influence of a friend who introduced him to the hobby and traveled with him to Hakone, Japan, where they watched yosegi being made. A testament to Hudson’s newfound skill, and some insight into why his creation is so incredible, is the fact that one of his recent projects was to model and print a perfect copy of the Angel Box, with permission from Wil Strijbos, for friends in the puzzle community to experience.

Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills, one man gathers what another man spills. - Grateful Dead, St. Stephen

You'll need to think outside the bog ...

The puzzle presents itself as a brightly colored, 3D printed cube with a closed portal of sorts on top. There is a festive riot of features on each side ranging from our protagonist, napping on a favorite log, to an assortment of magic strawberries, a trippy field of bubbles, and the puzzle’s name emblazoned in distinctive script. On the bottom we discover something else that’s completely trippy – a clear trap door that appears to be holding a pair of items that are rather unusual for a puzzle box: batteries. Hmmm … is this a toy? Can it be taken seriously? For some puzzle box purists, plastics, and certainly batteries, are not included. But let’s not be so hasty. It takes a certain highbrow hypocrisy to avoid the fact that collectible puzzle boxes, and puzzles in general, are merely fancy toys. Turtle Trip redefines what is possible with 3D printed puzzles, and with incorporating electronics into puzzle boxes. It sets a new standard with a high bar for this type of puzzle and will change the mind of many purists who consider wood or metal to be the only options for high quality. Which is not to say it wouldn’t look nice in metal or wood …

Since it costs a lot to win and even more to lose, you and me are bound to spend some time wondering what to choose. - Grateful Dead, Deal

Turtle Trip started in Hudson’s mind with the central locking mechanism, which is a truly unique application, and grew outward from there. He has a degree in electrical engineering and works for a major telecom. His knowledge of electrical circuits can clearly be seen in his puzzle, at least once it has been solved. He wanted the box to tell a story, like an escape room type experience, and the theme of the turtle developed from a practical joke. While he was in Japan, his girlfriend bought hundreds of small plastic turtles and hid them around his house. He has since been finding turtles for almost a year. It reminds me of another similar joke known to a few puzzlers … it’s on the tip of my tongue but I can’t quite recall ... it’s depressing that I can’t think of it but never mind, let’s press on. Hudson thought up the general concept, created the puzzles, and produces them, a friend drafted the storyline and another the puzzle's logo, and his girlfriend even sews the tiny turtle pants. This party is a team effort!

The trouble with you is the trouble with me, got two good eyes, but you still don't see. - Grateful Dead, Casey Jones

An invitation to the party

Turtle Trip is a terrific sequential discovery puzzle box, full of wonderful challenges and surprises. The storage capacity is extremely limited, but it only has to hide a pair of tiny turtle pants, after all, so still counts as a box in my book. Hudson sets the stage for this long, strange trip with an introduction that accompanies the puzzle and explains your goal: help Turtle get to the party, wearing his favorite party pants. The journey takes many twists and turns, and you may get lost along the way. Perhaps there is a clue or two in the intro to interpret, if it wasn’t all so psychedelic. There are so many tools that Turtle finds along the way, and so many steps. The description suggests there are fifteen, but depending on how one counts these, I might suggest it’s closer to twenty-five. The point is, don’t be in a hurry. Slow and steady wins the race with this little guy. There’s a lot here that he has to navigate, in highly creative and surprising ways. And finding the pants in the end will prove properly mind-altering and awe inspiring. It should go without saying – you’ll feel like partying!

I may be going to hell in a bucket, baby, but at least I'm enjoying the ride. - Grateful Dead, Hell In A Bucket

The Old Fashioned Turtle

Let’s have a toast to Turtle with one of the tastier tipples that has tickled my tonsils this season. Many will be familiar with the Old Fashioned, that original cocktail of whiskey, water, sweet and bitter. It returns again and again, because it never left. It’s slow and steady. Classically made with bourbon or rye and a bitters soaked sugar cube, the Old Fashioned is ripe for reinterpretation and revision. In other words, lets muddle it.

Daddy made whiskey and he made it well, cost two dollars and burned like hell. - Grateful Dead, Brown Eyed Girl

If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is it homeless or naked? - George Carlin

Many will also be familiar with the turtle candy – that irresistible clump of chocolate covered caramel and pecans that’s sort of shaped like a turtle. Here’s the adult version, which I say ingenuously since I love candy too. But if we deconstruct the candy, we can find some common cocktail correlates. First of all the base spirit should be a nicely sweet bourbon – it’s not exactly corn syrup, but not too far off, either. For the nuts, we have orgeat, a delicious nut syrup (traditionally from almonds, but a pecan version is just perfect here) typically found in tiki cocktails. For chocolate, there are many, many options, but I chose to keep it subtle by using chocolate bitters, which also balance and ground the drink. Finally, I went for the ultimate flavor boost by making a salted caramel syrup. I must say, this one is delicious. It’s an Old Fashioned toast to this technological terrapin treat. Cheers!

Ain't no time to hate, barely time to wait. - Grateful Dead, Uncle John's Band

Trip and sip

The Old Fashioned Turtle

2 oz bourbon

1/3 oz pecan orgeat

1/3 oz salted caramel syrup

2 dashes chocolate bitters

Stir ingredients over ice and strain into a favorite glass. Enjoy with or without pants.

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