Browns Branch County Park is a great little park with a playground and short trail. While my oldest son practiced soccer, the younger kids enjoyed the playground and the dog and I often explored the trail.
One warm evening, while watching the boys play soccer, we watched in awe as a kid with a cannon as a leg, launched the team soccer ball into the woods. The dog and I set down the path to see if we could find it. We only made it about 23 paces past the second bridge before my dog had to stop at a stump along the side of the trail to inspect something. As I tried to pull her along, I looked across the ditch to find a multi-limbed tree and the soccer ball was right there. How on earth did it get covered with leaves already?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
When I started Letterboxing
In 2003, recently single and the mother of three boys, I was always looking for decent ways to contain their energy and find family activities to keep their interest. I came a cross an article in Family Fun magazine about letterboxing, it looked fascinating, like a scavenger hunt. We set out on our first "box" and found nothing but a snake in a bush....
My roommate Angel and I later set out with a bunch of letterboxing clues in hand and packed a bag with a first aid kit, bottle of water and we purchased a hiking stick with a pointed end (Thank the snake for this accessory) and found our first set of letterboxes, we were hooked. We started boxing every weekend after.
Eventually, this hobby led to my second hobby, scrapbooking, which became sort of an obsession. Hence my first blog Scrappin Outloud.
They really are great hobbies for each other. Letterboxing has led me to some great places, that I would never have come across without. Of course, when you find new places, you want to take pictures (my third Hobby) and scrapbook about them.
All that said, this is going to be my letterboxing blog, a place to tell the tales of my letterboxing adventures and list my clues, for the letterboxes I have hidden.
If you have not yet read about letterboxing, please do, it really is a fun, active, get you out of the house kind of hobby.
http://letterboxing.org or http://atlasquest.com
Below is an article, by fellow letterboxer, Silend Doug which answers tons of questions you might have before you set out.
What is Letterboxing?
Internet (see the Web sites listed below), and then record their discovery in their personal journal with the help of a rubber stamp that's part of the letterbox. In addition, letterboxers have their own personal stamps which they use to stamp into the letterbox's log book.
According to legend, letterboxing began in southwestern England in the mid-1800s when a Victorian gentleman hid hiscalling card in a bottle. Today, the nearby area is the Dartmoor National Park, and there are several thousand letterboxes hidden there! (As a result, Dartmoor is akin to the Holy Grail for American letterboxers.)
The hobby came to the U.S. in 1998, following the publication of an article in Smithsonian magazine about Dartmoor. Soon, a loose confederation of letterboxers began to plant boxes in the U.S., using the Internet to exchange information and clues. Letterboxing North America is host to a web site and discussion list where new clues are posted nearly daily! (See the letterboxing links for more details.)
Equip yourself: at the minimum, you'll need a journal, a rubber stamp, a stamp pad, and a pen or pencil. Part of the fun of letterboxing is to make your own stamp; it can be easily carved with an eraser and a X-acto knife. (If this sounds challenging, you may be surprised at how easy it really is.) If you'd rather, you can buy a ready-made stamp at a stationary or crafts store. You'll use your personal journal to record all the letterboxes you've found -- at last count, there were more than 10,000 boxes in the U.S. You may also need a compass for some clues. More on Getting Started.
Get a clue! Those 10,000 letterboxes were created and hidden by other letterboxers, and you can find the clues for boxes in your area on the Letterboxing North America Web site. I've hidden a few boxes in the Northeast and you're welcome to search for Silent Doug's letterboxes.
Create and hide your own letterboxes. Once you've been hooked, you'll start to think of parks near you that would be perfect for a letterbox. Then you can create a stamp and come up with the perfect clues to your letterbox's hiding place.
There are hazards of letterboxing - notably poison ivy (and its cousins, poison oak and poison sumac) and crawling creatures like snakes or spiders who tend to like the same crevices and cavities where letterboxes are often hidden. As a result, you should use caution when reaching into holes and make sure you can identify poison ivy when you see it!
When you find a letterbox, be discreet in opening it so that passers-by can't observe. When you're finished stamping in, make sure to restore the letterbox to its original condition and location.
More Letterboxing Articles
My roommate Angel and I later set out with a bunch of letterboxing clues in hand and packed a bag with a first aid kit, bottle of water and we purchased a hiking stick with a pointed end (Thank the snake for this accessory) and found our first set of letterboxes, we were hooked. We started boxing every weekend after.
Eventually, this hobby led to my second hobby, scrapbooking, which became sort of an obsession. Hence my first blog Scrappin Outloud.
They really are great hobbies for each other. Letterboxing has led me to some great places, that I would never have come across without. Of course, when you find new places, you want to take pictures (my third Hobby) and scrapbook about them.
All that said, this is going to be my letterboxing blog, a place to tell the tales of my letterboxing adventures and list my clues, for the letterboxes I have hidden.
If you have not yet read about letterboxing, please do, it really is a fun, active, get you out of the house kind of hobby.
http://letterboxing.org or http://atlasquest.com
Below is an article, by fellow letterboxer, Silend Doug which answers tons of questions you might have before you set out.
What is Letterboxing?
06/19/2002
by Silent Doug
Letterboxing is growing hobby that combines elements of hiking, treasure hunting and creative expression into an activity that the whole family can enjoy. Participants seek out hidden letterboxes by following clues that are posted on the by Silent Doug
According to legend, letterboxing began in southwestern England in the mid-1800s when a Victorian gentleman hid his
The hobby came to the U.S. in 1998, following the publication of an article in Smithsonian magazine about Dartmoor. Soon, a loose confederation of letterboxers began to plant boxes in the U.S., using the Internet to exchange information and clues. Letterboxing North America is host to a web site and discussion list where new clues are posted nearly daily! (See the letterboxing links for more details.)
Getting Started
Keep reading! There's plenty of information on this site and the sites linked from here.Equip yourself: at the minimum, you'll need a journal, a rubber stamp, a stamp pad, and a pen or pencil. Part of the fun of letterboxing is to make your own stamp; it can be easily carved with an eraser and a X-acto knife. (If this sounds challenging, you may be surprised at how easy it really is.) If you'd rather, you can buy a ready-made stamp at a stationary or crafts store. You'll use your personal journal to record all the letterboxes you've found -- at last count, there were more than 10,000 boxes in the U.S. You may also need a compass for some clues. More on Getting Started.
Get a clue! Those 10,000 letterboxes were created and hidden by other letterboxers, and you can find the clues for boxes in your area on the Letterboxing North America Web site. I've hidden a few boxes in the Northeast and you're welcome to search for Silent Doug's letterboxes.
Create and hide your own letterboxes. Once you've been hooked, you'll start to think of parks near you that would be perfect for a letterbox. Then you can create a stamp and come up with the perfect clues to your letterbox's hiding place.
Rules and Traditions
Letterboxing is intended to be an environmentally friendly activity, with no destruction of nature involved in the hiding or discovery of letterboxes. Boxes are hidden in publicly-accessible areas, yet out of sight of casual visitors. Letterboxers should endeavor to leave any area cleaner when they leave than it was when they arrived.There are hazards of letterboxing - notably poison ivy (and its cousins, poison oak and poison sumac) and crawling creatures like snakes or spiders who tend to like the same crevices and cavities where letterboxes are often hidden. As a result, you should use caution when reaching into holes and make sure you can identify poison ivy when you see it!
When you find a letterbox, be discreet in opening it so that passers-by can't observe. When you're finished stamping in, make sure to restore the letterbox to its original condition and location.
More Letterboxing Articles
Why Beyond Dartmoor
This sole purpose of this blog is to list clues and discuss one of my favorite hobbies, letterboxing. I chose the name of this blog because while the hobby began in Dartmoor England in the 19th Century, it has become popular in the United States and elsewhere and has transformed into it's techie sister geocache. To find out more about letterboxing, you should click the photo above to be transported to the official Letterboxing of North America site http://www.letterboxing.org/ or http://www.atlasquest.com
clipped from en.wikipedia.orgLetterboxing originated on Dartmoor in the 19th century and has become increasingly popular in recent decades. Watertight containers, or 'letterboxes', are hidden throughout the moor, each containing a visitor's book and a rubber stamp. Visitors take an impression of the letterbox's rubber stamp as proof of finding the box and record their visit by stamping their own personal stamp in the letterbox's logbook. A recent related development is geocaching. Geocache clues make use of GPS coordinates, whereas letterboxing clues tend to consist of grid references and compass bearings.
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clipped from en.wikipedia.orgDartmoor is an area of moorland in the centre of Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers 954 square kilometres (368 sq mi).[1]
Parts of Dartmoor have been used as a military firing range for over two hundred years. The public enjoy extensive access rights to the rest of Dartmoor, and it is a popular tourist destination. The Park was featured on the TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as the top natural wonder in South West England.
The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops (known as tors), providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The highest point is High Willhays, 621 m (2,037 ft) above sea level. The entire area is rich in antiquities and archaeology.
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