Vermont Morning

Friday night Sue & I ventured to Vermont for a meeting I had on Saturday. Driving up Friday night in the rain was such an effort - heavy rain with fog and mist combined with the fatigue of another busy week here in Pineconeville. This was the very last thing we wanted to do!

Waking on Saturday, I found an unexpected and glorious morning taking shape - with the sun shining and the birds singing - weather that was not predicted. In the quiet of the morning on our deck, letting freshly brewed coffee clear out the night's cobwebs, the following reflection popped into my head and I thought I would share it with you.


Vermont Morning

The morning quiet -
A symphony of solitude.
Then, a sudden burst of breeze
brings forth the rustling of leaves.

Amidst bright blue sky overhead,
I plan my day - coffee in hand.
A protesting bird reminds me that I am
but a guest in this unspoiled, untouched land.

Heard a Letterboxing Rumor . . . .

Amidst all of the excitement of the Spring into Boxing Gathering, I forgot to mention that our sharp reporter's ears picked up on a rumor that day.

It seems there is a "series" of what some are calling "hole plug" letterboxes that have shown up around CT. These little devils have no clues but are located around the state in "likely places."

Have you ever seen something amiss as you walk along the trail? You know there isn't a clue for a box there but you overturn a rock or move that pile of leaves and voila - a letterbox! These "hole plugs" are planted in the same fashion - no clues but in hidey holes where you might expect there to be a box - and somewhat in plain or easy view from the trail.

Sue & I found one such "hole plug" box when we did Noah's Ark back several weeks ago. We heard at the gathering in East Hartford that there are 14 more of these boxes-without-clues out there in the state! Have you found any???

So, get out there & box and turn over some rocks!!!

A Special Email from Der Mad Stamper!

Mark,

I'd love it if you could let everyone know how much we appreciate the huge response we've been getting for our "We Live and Breathe Letterboxing" event. We'll be posting a list of attendees sometime soon, but for now let me just say that we're really excited about how many people have already registered to attend! We do still currently have space available, both as overnighters and Day-Trippers, but if people want to attend they shouldn't wait much longer to register. Nobody's gonna wanna miss out on all the fun we're planning in celebration of the first ten years of American letterboxing!

I'm thrilled that we're holding this event in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest. The region is known not only for its breathtaking scenery, but also for its highly creative letterbox clues. This gathering is going to be a perfect chance to get a taste of the beauty and innovation that make the PNW such a special place for 'boxing. There's gonna be picture clues, narratives, puzzles, riddles, and rhymes... not to mention plenty of straightforward, easy-to-follow clues for those moments when your brain just needs a little rest. You may also want to polish up your orienteering skills and be prepared for some old-fashioned, Dartmoor-style, compass triangulation clues.

Oh... did I mention night-boxing? I'm totally pumped about the night-boxing!! We're completely taking over a huge residence camp and its adjacent old-growth forest for the entire weekend, so there won't be anyone telling us that we're up past curfew and need to go to our cabins. We're gonna have a special series of letterbox clues that you'll only be able to decipher after dark with the help of your trusty flashlight! It's a slumber party in the woods... doesn't get much better than that!

But don't forget, this isn't just another letterboxing event. It's a freakin' celebration... a full-blown PARTY!! On Friday night there will be a fabulous barbeque to welcome everyone to the camp, followed by a special campfire circle with music, laughter, and (of course) S'mores! And throughout the weekend there's gonna be lots of fun and games, including frisbee golf, a swimmin' hole, and plenty of other indoor and outdoor activities. I promise we're gonna have something for everyone, regardless of whether or not they're into letterboxing.

The highlight of the celebration will be Saturday night, when we're hosting something we like to call the "Letterboxer's Masquerade Ball." We'll be encouraging people to dress up as their trail personas, favorite 'fantasy' characters, or whatever else they want to be for the night. There will be dance music, prizes, special performances, and even a little bit of karaoke thrown in just for laughs. The concept is that all the entertainment will be provided BY letterboxers, FOR letterboxers. So, if you've got any hidden talents, please step up and share them with your peeps! It's all in the name of FUN!!

For all the details, be sure to visit our official event website www.WeLiveAndBreathe.com and check out the FAQ section.

I'm really looking forward to seeing you and Sue again, along with all the other people who are going to be attending this full-tilt blowout shindig. It's gonna be a blast!

Your Friend,

Mitch,
Der Mad Stamper

What a Day . . .

Saturday was quite a day for us!

Sue & I attended the Spring into Boxing 2008 gathering in East Hartford. This gather is always one of our favorites as it is organized by MayEve, RTRW, Music Woman and Wild Rover, which means great boxes and a real good time.

We arrived at the gather at about 1:30 and noticed that the room was pretty full - about 100 people had signed up and exchanging and general stamping was well underway when we arrived. Tony, Veronica, Butterfly and Donutz arrived as we did so we said our hellos and gave our hugs.

After stamping the event stamp - another stellar effort by RTRW, we stamped our name badges with our sig stamp and stamped 2 entries - one per person - for the raffle. The organizers decided to copy Astrii and Celtic Root's idea of not selling tickets for the requisite raffle but to let everyone have 1 entry per person. With the wonderful gifts on the raffle table at the Spring into Boxing gather, it worked out that every boxer went home with something.

As we greeted our hosts, Wild Rover made mention that I might like the raffle item on the right corner of the raffle table. There, in a protective plastic sleeve was a mint, April 1998 edition of the Smithsonian Magazine - the edition that featured the article that started letterboxing in the US - "They Live and Breathe Letterboxing." I tried to picture myself going home with this treasure but was realistic enough to know that my chances weren't that good! Funny, just yesterday I told Sue that one of the letterboxing items I would like to own someday would be this historic piece of boxing history.

Sue & I then waded into the letterboxing pool of exchanges and table top boxes. MayEve, who along with her brother, Wild Rover, are very creative and table toppers were a cut above the norm. Many of the table toppers were posted on AQ the night before but the bulk of them had a story that went with them. You felt like you were finding something special. There is always something special at this gather. Scarab sent part of Boch's Circus; which included several new boxes that weren't with the original circus when Sue & I proudly brought it to the Michigan gather several years ago so it was fun to stamp those into our journal.

Wild Rover several weeks before had let me in on a special series that he was planting with help from the rest of the committee. The series, Hospital Rock, would make its debut at this gather, and told about the history of healing done on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington. In the late 1700's, several physicians took the position that administering a smallpox vaccine, which was innovative at that time, would help protect people from contracting this dreaded disease. A makeshift hospital was established on Rattlesnake Mountain and treatment began, including prominent families from Farmington, Hartford and other parts of CT. Many of those treated enscribed their names in a flat rock near the hospital. While the hospital is gone; the rock remains. This series is a must do and Sue & I plan to head up there the first open weekend day we have. I venture to say that this series is one of the most exciting ones to come to CT in a long time.

Sue & I were so pleased to see Rubaduc! We haven't seen the Duc since our first Dartmoor trip, we believe, although we do correspond via email. It was great to see her and to finally meet her new beau, Gizz. He seems to be the perfect match to her and the Duc had a glow on her that we've never seen before! Another old friend we saw from our first Dartmoor trip was Alexis, Talking Turtle, from NY. It was great to see Lex and catch up a bit on our lives. Patrick & Amy showed up mid afternoon with their 2 sons and I even held Sam for a bit. He wanted to come to me to examine my mustache - which he grew tired of very quickly and went back to the welcoming arms of Bookworm!

The time came for the raffle and our name was called for a homemade tissue box cover. And we waited a bit, ever watchful of that Smithsonian Magazine. We assumed correctly that the magazine would be the final prize given away. Some time mid-raffle, our names were called and I won a headlamp - which suited me fine because I know it will come in handy for our night boxing at the We Live & Breathe Gathering coming up in September in OR.

Speaking of that gathering, I heard from Marmalade who was supposed to attend this CT gather but was sad to inform us that her business trip to Boston was canceled and she would not attend the gather. She mentioned that there is still room to join the rest of the hearty for this historic gathering in September. Be sure to book soon. Info can be found here on the gathering website. Be sure to register and if you have any doubts, poke around the website for the weekend schedule of events and Funhog's whirlwind tour of area attractions. We hope to see you there!

Anyway, as disappointed as we were at not getting the Smithsonian, we were happy to have the headlamp that we would have had to purchase for the September gather. We watched the rest of the happy faces as the raffle continued. Then, drum roll, the last name was pulled for the Smithsonian Magazine and Music Woman was the winner. Lucky her!

A group of us helped the committee clean up, fold up the chairs and some of the tables and Sue, RTRW, Bookworm, Brandy and myself left the gathering with a promise to join the group at the restaurant for the post gathering celebrations. But first, we were headed a few miles away to get the Spongebob Squarepants series carved by RTRW. After fighting the mosquitos the whole way, we found the 5 boxes and headed to the restaurant to join the rest of the group.

Once settled at our table, the late kids ordered and Wild Rover came over and sat next to me. "I was going to do this at the gather but I didn't want to embarrass you so I thought this would be better here." He showed me a folder and said to me "This is a lifetime achievement award for you" and he handed me the folder. Everyone at the table stopped to see what was inside.

And inside was a pristine copy of the April 1998 Smithsonian Magazine! I struggled to keep my emotions in check but this unexpected tribute and surprise was way more than I ever dreamed or deserved. I look at the minor things we do for letterboxing as our treat - I love this hobby and I've always said that I get way more out of it than I give. And here was that coveted magazine in my hand - not only pristine but as a tribute of sorts.

I hugged Wild Rover and thanked him with what words I could muster. RTRW was quick with her camera and grabbed a shot of the magazine between the two of us. I was still in shock. Wild Rover reminded me that he has asked me in an email if I had the magazine many weeks previous when we were emailing each other about the gathering, Hospital Rock and several other items. When he heard that I didn't have the magazine, he proceeded to purchase 3 of these historic volumes from a dealer - one for the gathering raffle, one for himself and the third for me.

Words are not enough to convey the thanks and the gratitude that I feel. This is one of the nicest gestures I've ever received. Even today, as I rode around the yard on my lawnmower some 24 hours later, I still could not believe I own this magazine - and through the kindness and thoughtfulness of Wild Rover and his family. It is truly a day I will long remember. And never will I look at this magazine without remembering all that this game means to me; the wonderful adventures of which we've been privileged to experience, the various places along the way, our unfolding love for all outdoors and the true blessing that nature is but, most of all, the friends - true friends - that we have met along the way on this journey. Thanks Bill & Laurie, Gilly and Liam for a gift that I feel is totally undeserved but so thankful to have received!

Yes - it was truly a special day for Mr. Pinecone; one that I won't ever forget!

A New Personal Traveler . . .

For those of you
with a wild side,
check this out!

News, News, News . . .

There are a few stories on which we'd like to report and thought that this format might work as a vehicle by which we can convey that info.

WHERE IS MY LBNE???

That was the battle cry this morning and throughout the day as waking boxers clicked on the Northeast regional talk list, looking for the latest posts.

What did they find? Nothing - nada - zero - bupkus!

It seems that this beloved talk list has gotten deleted through no fault of the moderators/owners, TeamGreenDragon. In an email to Lori this afternoon, she wondered if her weekend problems with her Yahoo email was the reason that Yahoo decided to pull the plug on this historic group.

Thanks to Jay Drew, our mentor, a new LBNE talk list is up and ready to go. It's unfortunate that the posts from the old talk list may be forever lost. Brian, of TGD, has posted that he has sent an email to the Yahoo people asking them to restore the old group. We'll keep you informed of the result. In the meantime, those of you hankering to rejoin or join the new list can do it here.

Thanks to Jay for his quick-wittedness and to TGD for trying to correct the mistake that some trigger-happy dweeb has made!

Update: I just received an email from Lori of TGD with additional news on the old LBNE talk list. She and Brian have been on the phone and email all evening with Yahoo and they "hope to have it restored soon. We'll post the "big list" once we know what is going to happen."

Thanks, TGD, for the latest news on the LBNE. Watch the big list for the announcement.


DON'T FORGET TO SPRING TO THE GATHERING THIS SATURDAY!

This should serve as your reminder to attend the annual Spring Into Boxing gather in East Hartford, CT this Saturday, May 10, between 1 and 5pm at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center with a communal pizza feast immediately following at Charlie's Pizza and Fine Food.

This gather is a joint effort by CT boxers extraordinaire: MayEve, RTRW, Music Woman and Wild Rover. Watch the major clue repositories for new special boxes that will debut at that event on Friday night. At last check, 114 people had signed up, including Sue & I, who wouldn't miss this event for anything!

Don't just read about this gathering on Sunday - attend it and be part of the story!


NEW PINECONE PRODUCTIONS . . .

Sue and I returned last Saturday from a wonderful week spent at the House of the Mouse - Walt Disney World. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in the park and were enthralled with the vistas of animals living as they would on the savannahs in Africa. We enjoyed our morning coffee on our porch, watching zebra and long horned cattle, giraffe - included a knock-kneed newborn, born at 6 feet in height so they can reach their mother to nurse, gazelles and numerous other creatures.

While there, we found and planted our first Florida boxes, 2 of which we've already published and one more to come. The new published boxes are Nelson! and Hitchhikin' Mutt.

We finished our idyllic week with a meet & greet arranged by ThreeHearts with the central FL boxers. Since this was such a small group - about 15 to 20 - we brought along our Pepe-cones to share with the group. During the day, we added 3 more pinecones to our collection finely crafted by ThreeHearts, Sits N Knits and Kilroy.

It was great to meet the boxers whose boxes we had found during that previous week. Thanks to all who attended and a special thanks to ThreeHearts, who played hostess, arranged the meet & greet and took us to Dartmoor West for the day and to Sits N Knits, who came along with us on Friday as well. Y'all made a couple of Northern pinecones feel right at home!

Lost Roman Coin Post = CLUE!

Thanks to all of you who sent heartfelt emails of concern over the loss of my good luck piece - my Roman coin. I wanted to carry this caper a little further but I felt guilty duping you all like that. I'm amazed at how many of you were concerned!

I first thought of clueing this box in this fashion after a recent post on the big list by Silver Eagle, that veteran boxer from TX. During one of his posts, he brought up the subject of giving better directions to clue locations. SI thanked all who took part in the discussion after the thread had run its course - many with differing opinions (moi included!) but the tone stayed civil. SI said that he thought the big list was dead and wondered before this incident, why Randy bothered keeping it going. That got me to thinking about the days when I read every post as if it were a clue; then at its face value!

I wanted to use this post - Please Help Me! - as a method to re-introduce the talk list as a clue repository. "Back in the day," when Sue & I first joined letterboxing and the big list, clues were hidden within the context of certain posts. New boxers ask all the time - "Are there any other places to find clues other than LBNA and Atlas Quest?" I hope our little excercise helps prove that there are many ways - creative ways - to post clues for a letterbox other than the mundane methods we all currently use by simply putting them on one of the 2 sites.

Nothing I've done here is very innovative; it's all been done before many times by those much smarter than me. It's just another method to clue a box called Roman Coin that might show a little creativity and raise the bar a bit. I hope you will all join me in challenging yourself to come up with new and different methods of clues so that this game remains fresh and keeps us on our toes (both on the trail and mentally!)

If I can do it; anyone can! This hobby will be all the better for it!

Please Help Me . . .

The following was posted to several letterboxing talk lists:

Hi Boxers,

Sue & I walked to Timberlin Park in Kensington, CT tonight after
supper to get a few letterboxes. And sometime during that walk, I lost
a rare, Roman coin that was a gift from my college roommate. This coin
has been with me as my lucky charm in Dartmoor and many other places.

I had it in my pocket when I found Astri's monthly boxes and it was
there after we found Butterfly Suzy's new Yo-Yo box. After that, I
noticed a huge, debarked stump that it looked as if the woodpeckers
had visited and that was the last I remember it being in my pocket.

I'm sick about losing it and I know, in the past, others have posted
about lost hats, glasses, etc. I hope the letterboxing community will
come to my aid.

Thanks,

Mark











My Rare Roman Coin

A Picture Perfect Weekend~

Sue & I headed to VT for the weekend and had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect - not a cloud in the sky on either day and temps in the low 70's.

Vermont is at its best during mud-season - we think! Very little mud this weekend, thanks to warmer than normal temperatures the previous week. Many of the locals are on vacation this time of year and the other property owners in our complex stay away this time of year so it was like we were the only people around!

We found time to enjoy the birds and could hear the loud tap-tapping of the pileated woodpecker. While we never caught a glimpse of them, we could "hear" their progress up the side of the mountain, as they advanced their way from tree-to-tree. Very few bugs are around this time of year and the beautiful blue sky was a joy to behold.

Fairly early on Saturday, Sue & I headed out to find a very special letterbox! After a few chores on Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed a nice dinner and capped off the night while sitting around the firepit on the deck - planning our spring and summer adventures - including our upcoming FL trip this coming Saturday and our fast-approaching Letterboxing Cruise!

We hope that whatever you did this weekend, you enjoyed nature's beauty and the wonderful weather that we were graced with in New England and that you had someone special with which to share it!


Have a good week!

It's The Journey . . .

One of the first questions we're asked when we meet people is what we like best about letterboxing. Without hesitation, our answer is the title of this little narrative - the journey. Now the "journey" can be taken two ways - the hike to the letterbox or our overall journey in letterboxing. Either way, we love the journey!

Many times while boxing with Sue and others, I'll be bird-watching or enjoying the scenery - the rushing Metolius and grand peaks in the distance in Oregon, the patchwork-like "quilts" of Dartmoor with its majestic, granite Tors, the 360 degree views at Putney Mountain in Vermont or the stunning beauty of where rock meets sea on Mt. Desert Island in Maine. I clearly remember Funhog and Don (of Don & Gwen) laughing at me as I seemed to be disjointed from the quest at hand. I was too busy taking it all in! I was enjoying the journey! As we approach our 6th letterboxing anniversary, I began to wax poetic!

It might seem, at times, that I'm just along for the ride and I guess - maybe I am! It's the smell of the pines and the song of the birds, the passing of rumors and sharing of special WOM clues with other boxers, the views, that weird-shaped rock, the awesome blue of the sky - all of the sights and sounds that add to the memories of the journey.

Our memorable personal letterboxing journey began on June 16, 2002 when I took Sue away for a major milestone birthday that she was less than pleased about reaching! "Consider the alternative," I told her but to no avail. So I secretly made reservations at a B & B in southern CT for the weekend. "Pack your bag for a weekend," I told her and we were off to Essex, CT. Unbeknownst to Sue, I had purchased a commercial stamp of a pinecone and a ruled journal (both items that I was to learn much later we not the best choices!) and ran off some clues in Essex by a family called The Drew Clan. I was intrigued with their website and secretly packed this little packet of clues, stamp & logbook.

The morning of June 16, we headed off for our first letterboxing hunt - Sue was very excited. Many months previous she had spotted an article in the Hartford Courant that had a picture of eagles and the accompanying story about letterboxing including the reference to the now famous Smithsonian magazine article. She thought it was something we might do together and we talked about it briefly but put the article on the shelf "for the future."

We had the clues in hand for Zoom Zoom Zoom by the Drew Clan. We followed the clue - passed the library, crossed at the crosswalk, etc. And we reached the end of the clues. Now - what was a juniper? We figured it out but realized early on that we had to study up on our trees and all of these sisters! Two sisters, three sisters . . . We made mental notes to check out the internet for a primer on trees but at this moment we savored the view and the victory of finding our first box!

Several personal traits proved to be very useful in our letterboxing journey - Sue always loved a challenge (she married me after all!) and is very persistant. I am curious by nature and love to search and wonder "why?." With some of those traits in hand, we found the big talk list and some individual clues that were hidden in all the nooks and crannies of the internet. This letterboxing thing was getting interesting!

Our first big jump into the letterboxing ocean was one cold January Saturday in 2007, when Sue & I attended our first gathering with our 2 nieces. We arrived at the first Moose Hill gathering and saw many cars in the parking lot. Once inside, we were amazed at the people! After dropping off our potluck item (chili, I think) we headed upstairs to the restrooms. There, at the top of the stairs sat a man who said simply "Welcome - I'm Jay Drew." Oh my God, I thought, this is Jay from the Drew Clan! I had been to his website at least 100 times!

We all walked downstairs and starting exchanging with others. What a crazy scene it was! People of all sizes and shapes and ages! We then ended up going outside in the 17 degree weather to find some of the letterboxes on the grounds and were met by a couple who had a young son with them. "We are TeamGreenDragon" they said and thus a strong friendship developed that has lasted since our first words of introduction. That day we met many special people who would remain close to us over the years: Deanne the lazy letterboxer & Dave the letterboxing ham (although I don't remember them from that gathering,) Butterfly and Lobsta, RTRW and Bookworm, our hosts CSCM and RustyPuff, Pine Tree and a whole host of others too numerous to mention.

Since that first gathering, Sue & I have had the pleasure to attend 2 special gatherings with Godfrey and Anne Swinscow in Dartmoor National Park, several events in Oregon with our porcine host and great friend, Funhog and Der Mad Stamper; a Detroit area gathering where we met SpringChick and others; VA Beach where we ended a vacation with a small gathering overlooking the beach and hosted by Shell & BullDawg; a lovely lakeside gather in Ithica hosted by Angele and other gathers in Maine with Phyto, the Cape gather hosted by "the girls," and who knows where we'll show up next! And at each stop, we met boxers who were strangers at first but became part of our extended letterboxing family.

The next stop on this continuing journey takes us to the Orlando area in Florida in a week and a small gathering set up for us by Three Hearts on May 2. Although we've been to Florida many times, we're looking forward to getting our first Florida exchanges and boxes! After that, we hit our Letterboxing Cruise on June 22 for an awesome week at sea and on the immaculate, pink sands of our favorite island - Bermuda with 35 boxing friends. May is time for Spring into Boxing hosted by MayEve and Wild Rover. August brings us to the Murder Mystery gathering at the Austin Hill Inn in West Dover, VT! September and the cooler weather brings us out to the mother-of-all-gathers, We Live and Breathe Letterboxing in Oregon - a gather that we and the rest of the country are awaiting. We end the year with our Bed & Breakfast gathering that will be happening in November. Whew - that's 7 scheduled gathers in CT, VT, NH, Bermuda, and OR. Do you think we're addicted?

Now matter where we roam and how long this letterboxing journey lasts, Sue & I relish every minute of it and we're so thankful to those who have befriended us along the way and all of the planters from around the world whose boxes we've found.

It's been a great journey thus far and the future looks even better!

A Boatload of Fun!!!

Sue & I spent 6.5 hours today in East Hampton, CT doing a series called Noah's Ark. This 29 box series, coordinated and planted by Flutterby, features pairs of animals carved by some of CT's best carvers as well as a handful of other carvers from across the US, including the Ark and Noah and spouse!

As if these 29 weren't enough, several other boxers decided to fill in with missing animals not in the original series so they have added their own to the menagerie! Two-by-two we found them; hither and yon!

The series is hidden in Salmon Brook State Forest - an unspoiled natural habitat of ups and downs that is host to some ancient trees of all species. While the weather looked iffy this morning before we left, we only ran into a few very brief showers and really enjoyed boxing in the cool temps.

It was a wonderful day that found our pedometer reading 5.16 miles when we finally returned to our car and our logbook showing a record 44 finds in one day! While we don't generally count our finds, we were naturally curious as to how many different pairs we had found - including the Beatnik HH by Wisconsin Hiker. It sure was a blast and we thank Flutterby and her many carvers (and those other creators who filled in with missing animals!) It was a great way to begin the week!

Finally - A Whole New Twist . . .

Ryan/Green Tortuga of Atlas Quest fame, has finally done it! He's taken letterboxing to a whole new level and we're excited! Let's face it - this new venture will probably bring thousands of new, eager letterboxers into the fold.

Atlas Quest has partnered with the hamburg giant to produce a new letterboxing website for the masses - McLetterboxing, if you will!

So visit the site, click on the links and join in the fun! Check out the drive-bys in your area.

I'm lovin' it!

Ever Been to Hanapepe???

As you may know, we routinely troll the new letterbox lists on both LBNA and Atlas Quest in search of new boxes that might prove interesting. Performing that check this morning, I was amazed with a new box we found placed in HI!

Longtime friend, Tempus Fugit, just planed a box near the town of Hanapepe called HanaPepe. You can imagine our surprise when we read the clues!

Thanks, Donna, for starting our mundane work week with a nice little surprise!

Easter Greetings!

Sue & I would like to wish
you and yours
a very Blessed
and
Happy Easter!

Long Arm of the Law . . . and Letterboxing!!!

Now here's a story for you . . .

I just got a call from our older son, Matt, who works as a police dispatcher in town. Matt is the son that still, after almost 6 years of letterboxing, doesn't quite understand why Sue & I hunt Tupperware in the woods. He's really freaked out by what we do and thinks it's quite foolish!!!

So - in our phone conversation of a few minutes ago, he tells me that he's at work and a woman just came into the police station with a paper. "Can you help me," she asked.

"Do you know where this is?" she asked. "We're with a group of letterboxers and are looking for this location." And she proceeded to hand Matt the paper with the fireplace picture.

"Did Mark Pepe plant this box," Matt asked as I'm sure he rolled his eyes!

"No, not this one, but we've done alot of theirs!"

Unfortunately, Matt wasn't able to determine the location but he had to call! He assumed that if the box was in Berlin, I was somehow involved. He even admitted that he was my son! Surprising!

I told him "Face it, Matt. Letterboxing is everywhere so you'd better get used to it! There's no escaping it!"

And this small world keeps spinning around . . .

Mystery Book Ends???

It seems good friends, Tony & Veronica, are at it again! As you may or may not know, all of their letterboxes are mystery boxes. Not a single non-mystery in their collection. While this might put some pressure on the finder, Tony has told me in the past that it does create some angst from their side as well. Mystery boxes are sometimes more difficult to clue than straight-forward boxes.

Their newest box is called Book Ends Mystery Box. While we're not the brightest bulb in the letterboxing light department, I easily solved this one at 2 in the morning after a very hectic 3 weeks at work so I'm sure you'll all do just fine. Try it!

Have fun with this box and to Tony & Veronica - Cheers for another great box in your very mysterious tradition!

You Need Adventure in Your Life!

For the past year, we've read with a passion a new magazine by National Geographic called simply Adventure. This magazine is for those of you that are active and love to travel to those offbeat places - or those of you who want to travel someday. The articles, like the parent publication, offer insight into out-of-the way destinations, the newest in hiking/biking gear and tours with guides that can take you to any of the four corners of the world! Their motto is "Dream it. Plan it. Do it"

In the most recent edition, there was an article by a doctor who put together a portable ER - a makeshift first aid kit for those readers that hike, bike or generally find themselves many miles away from the nearest emergency room. With the upcoming September letterboxing gathering in Oregon and the influx of boxers from around the country that will be hiking in areas unknown to them, we thought it might serve the letterboxing community to itemize those items you might want to consider stuffing into your backpack before you head out to do the Columbia River Gorge series - a must for all boxers heading to OR - or any number of those great hikes that this state has to offer! The notes in parenthesis after the item are suggested uses as detailed in the article.

1) Ziploc bags (dry storage, wound irrigation)
2) Moleskin (chafe prevention, blister protection)
3) Gauze (padding, absorption)
4) Sunscreen
5) Non-antibacterial soap (dish, body and teeth cleanser)
6) Butterfly Bandaids
7) Water purification tablets
8) Imodium A-D (antidiarrheal)
9) Ibuprofen (pain relief, anti-inflammatory)
10) Duct tape (splinting, casting, fastening)
11) Iodine (antiseptic)
12) Multitool (ideally with pliers, wire cutters, a serrated Blade, flat & Phillips head screwdrivers and scissors)
13) Tweezers (splinter, tick and wood debris removal)
14) Safety pins (fasteners)
15) ACE bandage (limb stabelization, elevation, support)
16) Krazy glue (gear repair, wound closure)
17) Latex gloves (CPR barrier mask, sterilization)

So - just get out there and box - and be prepared!

A Duc and Seven Fishes~

I'm sure you've figured out by now that we keep a close eye on new letterboxes that are posted on the 2 major clue repositories - LBNA (letterboxing.org) and Atlas Quest.

Reading the new boxes this evening, one caught my Italian eye! It was called Feast of the Seven Fishes. Longtime readers of this blog know that every Christmas Eve our home is the location for the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes - a joyous evening that our nieces and nephews tell Sue & I is their most favorite night of the year; filled with family, fun and traditional fare!

A letterbox, I thought? Imagine our surprise! So, I clicked. And there it was - a Rubaduc production! And many months early as well. Find the clue here. And the Duc has asked that those boxers under the age of 12 to submit names for each of the 7 fish.

All I can say is "Atsa nice, Duc!"

CT's Own Letterboxing Cookie Monster!

You might know her as Krusty Krab - a favorite of ours - but Gillian Horan has made news on the CT Public Broadcasting Network for her efforts in joining other Girl Scouts around the country as they sell their yearly fundraising, delectable cookies.

Below is an excerpt from that article.

You might have spotted someone nibbling a Girl Scout cookie recently. While the size of the cookie is small, the scale of the sales is enormous.

"Would you like a bag with that."

"Sure I would love a bag."

Brownie Troop 327's table of treats sits in front of the produce section of an East Hartford Stop & Shop. Gillian Horan is eight years old. Each time she sells a box, she thanks the customer and then a couple seconds later, she exclaims "Awesome." She wears a brown sash over her gray sweatshirt and sits behind the snacks.

"Well, we have natural Tagalongs, All Abouts, Chocolate Chip (sugar free), Do-Si-Dos, Thin Mints, Truffles, Trefoils, Lemon Chalet Cremes and Samoas."

In front of this cookie line up is a little cardboard sign that reads $4 a box.

And for Horan those dollars add up. For each box she sells, her troop gets 75 cents that can be used towards troop activities, like camping. She’s already sold 80 boxes, and she tries to calculate what that means for sales.

"So 80 times 4 is probably around $325."

Horan is one of Connecticut's 32,000 Girl Scouts trying to meet the statewide sales goal of $12 million. And if you wanted to translate those millions in terms of boxes, you’d go to the Girl Scout of Connecticut's enormous cookie jar.

Great job, KK! Seems as if you are as voracious a cookie-seller as you are a letterboxer! See you in May at your aunt's (MayEve) and father's (Wild Rover) Spring Into Boxing gathering!

Alaska or Bust!

Several weeks ago, Donutz wrote to me, telling me about a HH she wanted to launch while she and her husband were in Florida. Her idea was to have the HH, which she would launch in FL, make its way to Alaska, where her brother would finally retrieve it once the Alaskan boxer emailed Donutz telling her that they had found the much-traveled HH.

This week I received another email from Donutz on vaca in FL letting me know that the HH was in the wild - somewhere in the Sunshine State and would hopefully begin its journey forthwith.

Here's the background and the explanation in her own words taken from that initial email that she first sent me:

" . . . Several years ago when visiting Alaska, my husband and I spent a few days in Seward and came across a Memorial for Benny Benson. John Ben "Benny" Benson is responsible for creating the flag for the Territory of Alaska in 1927.Up to that time, Alaskans had flown only the U.S. flag since the territory was purchased from Russia in 1867. Benson's design was chosen over roughly 700 other submissions from school children statewide in grades 7–12. He was 13 years old at the time and an orphan. He looked to the sky, choosing the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) and the North Star for his symbols. He described his choices: "The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska Flower. The North Star is for the future state of Alaska, the most northerly of the union. The dipper is for the Great Bear symbolizing strength."

His sentiments are echoed in the state song. The whole story behind the creation of the Alaska Flag inspired me, so now I would like to try something. I don’t know if it will work, but I think it would be fun to launch a stamp in Florida of the Alaska Flag as a hitchhiker, “I want to Go Home HH,”and see if it could travel to Alaska. The logbook would ask that the finder move it in a Northwesterly direction. Perhaps people on LBNA and AQ could post that they’ve found it. Would you be willing to post something on your Blog? My brother lives in Anchorage and would be happy to retrieve it if and when it arrives."

So there you have it - the story behind the "I Want to Go Home HH." If you find this wayward HH, please email Donutz and do your best to plant it in another host box in a northwesterly fashion.

We wish good luck to Donutz and the journey of her ambitious, new HH which is now Alaska bound!

Spring Into Boxing Gathering Set!

In springtime, a young boxer's fancy turns to . . . . . .
gatherings and the essential gathering of the spring is the Spring Into Boxing 2008 Gathering!

This year's location will be at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 2833 Main Street, Glastonbury, CT on May 10 from 1 to 5pm

Event hosts are MayEve, RTRW, Music Woman and Wild Rover.

The following is the official text submitted by Wild Rover:

A gathering will be held on May 10, 2008 in Glastonbury, Connecticut to celebrate the arrival of Spring, and with it more temperate New England weather that encourages more Letterboxing. The event will be sponsored by MayEve, RTRW, Music Woman and Wild Rover.

The original Spring gathering in 2005 was a drive that originated in Glastonbury, continued to Bushnell Park, and concluded at RTRW’s house in West Hartford. The Spring 2006 gathering christened the newly opened Glastonbury Cultural Center on the Connecticut River, followed by feasting at Luna’s Pizza. Despite the wonderful success of both events, a Spring gathering was not undertaken in 2007, but returns with vim and vigor for 2008.

The gathering will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall at 2833 Main Street in Glastonbury, which is best accessed from Welles Road. Parking is ample in the lot behind St. Paul’s Church, which is adjacent to the K of C Hall. There is no fee and no requested donation for this gathering. There will be a raffle, but no raffle tickets will be sold. Astrii’s method of collecting stamp images from attendees for the raffle will be emulated at this gathering. Any donated raffle prizes will be greatly appreciated, but please do not feel at all obligated. Please bring a snack to share, as with most gatherings.

Several new letterboxes will be planted in the area, with clues available the night before or the morning of the gathering to encourage boxing in the area before the gathering. Tabletop boxes are welcome, and in the past several wonderful boxes debuted at the events because of the kindness of Donutz, Bandaid, Warrior Woman and many others. I am excited to report that Scarab has accepted Bookworm’s invitation for the Phineas Boch Traveling Circus to attend Spring 2008. And RTRW will once again be carving the event stamp, which is sure to be fantastic!

The gathering will begin at 1:00 P.M. and conclude at 5:00 P.M. A post-gathering feast is being planned at a nearby location, with more definite information to follow as the gathering date nears. The only downside of this gathering is that the size of the K of C hall restricts attendance to about 65 people, and if a larger venue is not booked soon there will be an RSVP list limited to about 65 people posted in the near future.

Hope to see you at the Sprint Into Boxing 2008 Gathering!!!

Thank You. --Wild Rover