NIN Google Earth Treasure Hunt Part 6

The Nine Inch Nails Google Earth treasure hunt that started last month in LA ended with fans finding 28 pairs of tickets to a private NIN rehearsal concert at The Forum. Would the geocache adventure continue during the tour?

The answer came about three weeks into the Lights in the Sky tour when a new ? popped up on the Google Earth NIN map. Someone found a letter + a postcard numbered 001 autographed by Trent Reznor at the "base of the tree" in rural Texas. The letter said, "We'll send you a gift at the end of the tour." Cool.

The treasure hunt now had a new name:

LIGHTS IN THE SKY
points on the earth: north america 2008

The next day another ? clue showed up in St. Louis "on top of the box, next to Hard Rock." Postcard 002 was found. Over the next few days, three more clues popped up in Ohio: "Steel outhouse?" [003] - "You'll recognize the tower" [004] + "ARG style..." [005].

The "ARG style..." clue was a reference to last year's Year Zero Alternate Reality Game where fans found USB sticks containing song files in concert venue bathrooms. This postcard prize wasn't found, so a note was added to the clue: "No one found it. Should have taken a closer look at the paper towel dispenser" along with a picture of it.

Once the band reached New York City, various pictures of the city posted on nin.com blog had fans wondering if more ? clues would be revealed. Fans converged near the corner of 12th and 3rd in Downtown Manhattan - hoping there was a prize to be found at the location below:

The caption read: "Excited tourists!" The photo appeared to capture a taxicab's GPS screen. No one claimed to find anything at the location though. Later that night, NIN played an awesome concert in East Rutherford, NJ.

The next night [last night], after swimming + recording audio samples in the pool, I saw a picture posted on nin.com with the title:

? 5: NYC
No map this time. The photo is the clue.

Where was that? I didn't recognize the bridge, but members of the forums figured out it was in Central Park. It wasn't too far away, but I had other plans. I decided not to go after it and took a shower instead. After I got ready, I checked the forums, and it looked like nobody had found the treasure yet.

Decision time...

Let's go!

Read on... Part 7...

Or go back to the beginning... Part 1...