It's a walk in the park. It's a contest. It's two, two, two events in one.

For the second year, the Maryland State Park Service is running "Park Quest," an adventure and scavenger hunt with a pot of prizes at the end that begins tomorrow and runs through Aug. 8.

Last year's inaugural contest was strictly an Eastern Shore affair, involving a half-dozen parks. Families and friends formed more than 100 teams and competed to see who could answer the most questions about the flora and fauna (and a few manmade items) at each site. The quest took part in the woods and on the water, with the parks service supplying the boats and kayaks. Some scavenger hunts were timed, some weren't.

The competition required teamwork and problem solving. As the only member of Team Spartacus, I was adopted by two other groups--Team Wandering Wootens and Team Fearless Foxes, both of Ocean Pines--and had a blast.