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I heard about "Letterboxing" a couple weeks ago and the weather was good enough this weekend for me to get out with the boys for our first adventure.
Letterboxing is an activity that combines hiking with a treasure hunt of sorts. It usually takes place in public parks. The idea is that you show up to the park armed with your notepad, pen, a rubberstamp and stamp pad, and the clues and/or maps to find the letterbox. You can get the clues on websites very easily. Once you get to the park, you follow the clues with the ultimate goal of finding a hidden box. Inside it are another notebook and a stamp. You take the stamp and stamp it in your notebook to show that you've found the letterbox, and then you stamp yours in the box's notebook and leave a message so the owner of the box gets a record of all the people who found it. Sometimes people leave other goodies in the box, too.
There are literally thousands of boxes hidden all over the United States. Apparently this is a tradition that started in England when a gentleman left his calling card inside a bottle tucked behind a rock for his friend to find, or something like that.
It may be a little high on the cheesy scale for some, but I like the idea of the adventure of it, and of collecting mementos from other people in the form of their personal stamp image.
My mom and her husband have been doing it and have collected over 30 stamps or something. They travel a lot and live in Florida during the winter, and it's a hobby they can do when they're away from home as well. Unless a park charges parking during peak season (which is mentioned on the web site so you're prepared), it's free. And the web also tells you the difficulty level, mileage, time estimates, etc. What a great way to spend time with family and get some exercise to boot!
So, I took the kids today to a nature preserve near us, clues in hand. It took about an hour and was definitely a good workout. And it was so much fun! We even looked and found the stamp my mom and her husband left when they were there, which the boys enjoyed looking up.
When I looked on line there were 8 boxes hidden in my area, with lots more hidden within a 45 minute drive. It's something we can do every weekend. The boys absolutely loved it. They're already planning on how we can hide our own box for people to find. Next time we'll bring more water and maybe some healthy trail mix. I think we're going to do another local letterbox hunt either Sunday or Monday.
Here's a website that has a lot of information on this activity, as well as a very comprehensive listing of locations:
Letterboxing is an activity that combines hiking with a treasure hunt of sorts. It usually takes place in public parks. The idea is that you show up to the park armed with your notepad, pen, a rubberstamp and stamp pad, and the clues and/or maps to find the letterbox. You can get the clues on websites very easily. Once you get to the park, you follow the clues with the ultimate goal of finding a hidden box. Inside it are another notebook and a stamp. You take the stamp and stamp it in your notebook to show that you've found the letterbox, and then you stamp yours in the box's notebook and leave a message so the owner of the box gets a record of all the people who found it. Sometimes people leave other goodies in the box, too.
There are literally thousands of boxes hidden all over the United States. Apparently this is a tradition that started in England when a gentleman left his calling card inside a bottle tucked behind a rock for his friend to find, or something like that.
It may be a little high on the cheesy scale for some, but I like the idea of the adventure of it, and of collecting mementos from other people in the form of their personal stamp image.
My mom and her husband have been doing it and have collected over 30 stamps or something. They travel a lot and live in Florida during the winter, and it's a hobby they can do when they're away from home as well. Unless a park charges parking during peak season (which is mentioned on the web site so you're prepared), it's free. And the web also tells you the difficulty level, mileage, time estimates, etc. What a great way to spend time with family and get some exercise to boot!
So, I took the kids today to a nature preserve near us, clues in hand. It took about an hour and was definitely a good workout. And it was so much fun! We even looked and found the stamp my mom and her husband left when they were there, which the boys enjoyed looking up.
When I looked on line there were 8 boxes hidden in my area, with lots more hidden within a 45 minute drive. It's something we can do every weekend. The boys absolutely loved it. They're already planning on how we can hide our own box for people to find. Next time we'll bring more water and maybe some healthy trail mix. I think we're going to do another local letterbox hunt either Sunday or Monday.
Here's a website that has a lot of information on this activity, as well as a very comprehensive listing of locations:
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