Nevada Focus: Farmer's field a real puzzle

The Fallon maze is one of only a dozen worldwide opening this summer and is billed as the newest wave in family fun and entertainment.

The Maize Maze at Lattin Farms is about three acres in size and one of two in the West designed by puzzle master Adrian Fisher of England. Other Fisher mazes are located in the Midwest, East, Canada and England.

The theme for all Fisher's maize mazes this summer revolves around dragons. The Lattin Farms' attraction is cut in the shape of the state of Nevada and residing within are Cecil the Walker Lake serpent and Tahoe Tessie. The addition of a footbridge in the maze achieves a fully three-dimensional puzzle.

The maze will stay in business as long as the corn holds up. In conjunction with the maze, Lattin Farms is planning special events for Halloween and the fall harvest season.

"We wanted to do something that would add some fun to our produce stand and when we first heard about these mazes, we knew this was it," said Rick Lattin, owner of Lattin Farms.

Lattin Farms budgeted about $50,000 for the maze project, according to family member and farmer Shelley Christiansen. The design was transferred to a map and divided into 15-feet by 15-feet squares. Each plot was cut by hand out of the tall corn one at a time.

"It just took us a couple of days to cut it," she said.

Christiansen said planning the maze began back in January. The Lattins hired designer Fisher after meeting up with him in Victoria, British Columbia, and signed a contract for the exclusive design.

The object of the game, of course, is to start the maze and pursue the myriad of paths through corn stalks more than 6 feet tall until you find the finish. But the fun is the puzzling complications that arise on your journey, as paths cross over and under each other, and the route you've decided is the way out is actually a dead end.

Everyone who enters the maze is given a map and a flag to hold up for speedy rescue should they become lost, frustrated, befuddled. Observers on platforms will be on hand to spot any flags or offer help.

There are only two ways out of the maze, a walking Rubik's Cube of a challenge, and that's either by solving the puzzle or raising the flag. Popular overseas, the maze is bound to be hours of mind-boggling fun for some and confounding complexity to others.

Christiansen said the corn has been "deviously" cross-planted to prevent anyone from being able to see out of the maze by looking down typical rows of corn. The Lattins have placed "you are here" signs in various locations so puzzle solvers can get their bearings.

She said there is more fun at the Lattin Farms besides the corn maize attraction. There's also a rope maze and hay maze, a picnic area for families and food and drinks.

"We wanted more out of our maze," Christiansen said. "We really wanted to get to a family theme on the farm."

The maze fad started in Europe several years ago when farmers began to cut intricate patterns in fields. Mazes first appeared on the East Coast and now have made it to western Nevada.

Fisher designed the world's first cornfield maze in 1993. He has since created a total of 21 maize mazes and 135 other mazes, giving him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The designer plans a visit to see his work at Lattin Farms in August.

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EDITORS NOTE: Lattin Farms is located at 1955 McLean Road, off U.S. 50 west of Fallon. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for children and youths under 16, or $20 per family. The maze is open every day, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. For information, call (702) 867-3750.

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