“Letterboxing” is a Fun Family Hobby

Today we were going to go to Portland for the Old Port Festival. I was going to take the boys and let Lynn and Vikki have a low key day but Dylan decided yesterday he didn't want to go and early this morning Justin dropped out too, so it was ether me going solo or pass on the event. I decided to pass on it this year, maybe we'll go next year? So what did we do instead? We went "Letterboxing!"

My son Dylan learned and found a hobby at school he likes called "Letterboxing." What is "Letterboxing?" It's sort of a scavenger hunt, orienteering or Geocaching I understand where you look for a "letterbox" and leave a note with your rubber stamped emblem and of course leave the "letterbox." To find a "letterbox", you print off the clues from a community site online. It's like the old fashioned treasure chest map you see in movies or TV.

An example of a last paragraph of a clue might be, "You take 20 steps north after the bridge, then take 40 steps east until you find an oak tree at this point if you look west you'll see a set of rocks, lift up the one furthest to the right and you will find your prize." Some clues use give compass directions so a compass can be a helpful tool.

Because we live so close to Mount Apatite we choose to look through that area of Auburn for "letterboxes." We found two of the three we printed clues off for but not the third. Either we misread the clue, too tough for us beginners, the "letterbox" was moved or removed or maybe it was an old online post? We'll try for that one again another time.

We as a family decided to make our own "letterbox" and hide it. Our stamper is of an owl. And yes it is somewhere in Mount Apatite like the other one we looked for that we couldn't find.

Kind of a fun way to spend a day with the family. Not the best adventure for a two year old who needs a nap but all is well that ends well.