Upcoming Letterboxing Events

SHH & Triple T Bring the FORCE to SLC (Murray, UT)

SHH and Triple T are stopping by briefly with their kids for an exchange and potluck lunch on their Biggest Field Trip Ever. Join us and don't forget your sig stamps, travelers and LTCs for trading.

Bring something for the potluck and join us at Pavilion #1 at Murray City Park. Email Boxer Lover47 with your selection so we don't end up with all desserts - not that that would be a BAD thing! KFC chicken, rolls, paper plates and utensils will be provided. We need side dishes, egg salad for sandwiches, drinks and desserts.

Directions: from I-15, exit at 5300 S. Go east 1.3 miles and turn left on Parkside Drive (at the school crossing), the second entrance into Murray City Park. Drive north across the creek, turn left before the school drive and continue to the dead end at Pavilion #1.

Our guests are driving from Nampa ID, so their arrival time is an estimate, but we will be ready and waiting before 1:00pm. Their time is short - they have to make Moab that night - but we'll pack lots of welcome into the visit! Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Legends, Folklore & Native History Pow Wow (Pound Ridge, NY)

Schedule of Events:
10:00am-12:00noon: Meet and Greet, Exchanges, Food, Boxing.
11:00-12:00pm: Talking Turtle Carving Class
1:00-2:30pm: Exchanges, Food, Boxing.
2:30pm Group Photo and Raffle Prizes

Kids Events:
11:00-11:30: Find the Arrowheads, Win a prize.
12:00-12:30: Decorate a Nature Bag
12:30: Woodland/Nature Scavenger Hunt

Food List:
Suzietoots: Utensils, Plates, Tablecloths, Macaroni salad, cookies
Luna: Potato salad, hummus and crackers,
Batwomen: Case of Water
Lana bean: Trail mix, Apples
Marshlin: Cheese, crackers and pepperoni
Flowerdaze: Rum Cake
DMC0320: Lots of Brownies
RiverKat: Bananas, grapes and watermelon

Patches for the Event are fantastic.....

Saturday, May 10, 2008 10:00am till 4:00pm

Ward Pound Ridge is a 4,700-acre reservation owned by the Westchester County Park System. It was purchased in 1925 and set aside as a sanctuary for wildlife. The park consists of diverse habitats. (meadows, hardwood forests, pine plantations, wet meadows, vernal pools and sandy moraines.) These habitats host a variety of flora and fauna. It has nearly 1,000 species of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, reptiles, amphibians and plants. The park is recognized as an Audubon Important Bird Area.

We will explore the history, folklore and legends of this great park. The reservation has 35 miles of hiking trails. "The park has many carriage road trails and stone walls that are a testament to farming days gone by. The secondary trails are fun to explore. There are many points of interest worthy of a destination."

The Trailside Nature Museum exhibits birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, minerals, American Indian artifacts, and also house the Delaware Indian Resource Center. (Lenape) It will be open on Saturday from 9am to 4pm.

Parking is $8 per car. :( We will have raffle prizes to cover some of the costs of this event. Any handmade and small donations for the raffle will be welcomed.

April 8, '08: GREAT NEWS: If you were leery about signing up, no need to worry...
We have secured Westmoreland Sanctuary in Bedford Corners, in the event of rain. This event will take place rain or shine! You will be notified a few days prior if we need to change. The Sanctuary has a great room that we will be able to use. Electricity and indoor toilets. It has wonderful artifacts for the adults/kids to explore. A Fall event, is in the early planning stages for this wonderful sanctuary.....Look towards Late September, early October....One big plus, Parking at this Sanctuary is free....

Please sign up to bring a Pot-luck dish/snacks to share.

Area Hotels: Holiday Inn, Mt. Kisco, NY. West Lane Inn, Ridgefield, CT. Stonehenge Inn, Ridgefield, CT. The Days Inn, Ridgefield, CT.

This is our first event and we hope to make it an annual one. Please e-mail us if you would like to get involved. We are also looking for a person to teach a "carving class." We met someone at a "Hudson Valley" Fall event. She was fantastic. We hope she says: Yes.

Talking Turtle will be doing the carving class!!!!

Sign-ups:
Flowerdaze
RiverKat
Dmco320
Sartymom
MarshLin

The event will be held at Pell Hill. Enter park. The second road on your right is for the Pell Hill area of the park.

We hope to see all of those Westchester letterboxers that frequent all of our boxes.
Suzietoots and Luna

Please email us with your stamp submissions. We will give you our mailing address.

Spring Into Boxing 2008 (East Hartford, CT)

What: Spring Into Boxing 2008 Gathering
Where: East Hartford Community Cultural Center
When: May 10, 2008 -- 1:00 PM -- 5:00 PM
Sponsored by: MayEve, RTRW, Music Woman and Wild Rover

SPRING INTO BOXING 2008

A gathering will be held on May 10, 2008 in East Hartford, 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 East Hartford Community Cultural Center at 50 Chapman Place, which is best accessed from either Main Street (Chapman runs off Main Street) or from the rear via Prospect Street to Richard Road. If you need directions and cannot MapQuest or Google please feel free to email me. Parking is ample in the lot at the Town Green adjacent to the CCC off either Richard Road or Main Street.

With the help of the East Hartford Parks & Recreation Department I was able to secure a large space in the Community Cultural Center that belongs to the Circle Of Life, Arts For All, Inc. non-profit entity committed to teaching art and dancing (http://www.circleoflife-eh.org/index.htm) who had booked the CCC gym for an all-day event -- since they were using the gym, their own space was open, and they generously offered their space to me!!! The Director of P&R offered to set up the space with seating for 100 or more, whatever we need.

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. There will also be a posterboard like at the recent SVT Gathering for attendees to stamp on -- great idea Dale End Farm.

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 pot-luck type gatherings.

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 indeed ENCOURAGED, as are cooties and the like. 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. We hope to have both a carving class abd a logbook/stitch class during the event for persons interested in bettering their abilities. A post-gathering feast is being planned at a nearby location (Charlie's Fine Food & Pizza), with more definite information to follow as the gathering date nears.

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

Thank You. --Wild Rover

Holy Cow!!! 4GC is in NY - Mini-meet (Red Hook, NY)

4GC is traveling to NY for some boxing fun. Come meet us at Holy Cow Ice Cream for....what else....ice cream, exchanges, (knowing 4GC, cooties) and boxing adventure.

Holy Cow is a local legend. Everyone within 30 miles drives to Holy Cow for their ice cream treats.

Prior to the event: we will be doing some boxing in the surrounding area, if you are interested in joining us, let us know by AQ mailing us. We will leave early in the morning from Red Hook.

Salsa! for TTT and SHH (San Antonio, TX)

This is a chance to welcome SHH, TTT and their families to San Antonio. We'll meet at El Tipico Mexican Restaurant, enjoy Mexican food, exchange stamps, stories and trade a few LTC's. I'll make an event stamp unless I hear from anyone else that they want to! The link above is a Google map of the area. Let me know if you need more specific driving directions.

365 finds in 365 days (Pickens, SC)

This is not really an event as much as it is the celebration of a milestone. May 14th will be my one-year AQ cake day!! I set a goal for myself to find my 365th box on this day. (365 finds in 365 days)

I chose Adrenaline Junkie to be the goal.
http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=58790

What could be even better than seeing an out-of-shape basset hiking over 7 miles?

1. Seeing her do it inside of a near-impossible time frame.
That's right - I have to drop off a child at 8:00 and pick child up at 2:00 - at a location 1 hour away from Table Rock. There will be no other box finding on this trek, unless we make good time and can find a few on the way back down the mountain!

2. Seeing a clown do it too.

3. Our mountain guide is none other than the Troll Master!

so, come on out and join our fun!!

or . . . . . . maybe this box will be "Plan B"
http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/clue/index.html?gBoxId=59563

Icing on the Cake (Houston, TX)

Mmmmm......dessert!

Come meet Triple T and SHH, from the great Pacific Northwest, on their Great American Road Trip. They and their families will be stopping in Houston on May 14th. We're having a welcoming party at the Galleria-area Dessert Gallery on Post Oak.

Event is set up as a casual, buy-your-own-dessert affair. Dessert Gallery also has soups and sandwiches if you'd like dinner. More details to follow. I'm just putting it out there.

Still No Theme - CANCELED (Titusville, NJ)

UPDATE - This event has been CANCELED. I am very sorry to anyone who was looking forward to this event.

Well, it went so well the first time, I might as well do it again.

This year's gathering theme will be the same as last year's, no theme. We don't need no stinkin' theme to have a great time!

The gathering will start at about 10AM at the Greene Pavilion, which is just inside the park's gate. You are welcome to come earlier if you like. We will have the pavilion area all to ourselves, with plenty of parking, bathrooms, and even a playground for the little ones.

The park already has more then 30 boxes hidden it, but you can expect more boxes of all types to find their way there. Also expect plenty of table treats and event boxes, bring as many as you like.

Food will be total pot luck. Bring your favorite dish to contribute. Flatware, dishes, cups, soda and water will be provided.

Camping is now set! We will be camping at Bulls Island Recreation Area, which is not too far up the river from Washington's Crossing, right on Route 29.

Camp HQ will be at site's 57-58. We will have a great campfire as well as some night boxing, so even if you are not camping, come on up for a good time. You will have to call the park to reserve your own site, and two nights are required. Right now there are still plenty of sites available. You can also take your chances of getting a site that night, but there is no guarantee there will be one available when you get there. Get more information online and reserve here:

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/bull.html

Boxin' on Tulsa Time! (Sand Springs, OK)

Come one, come all!! Spring is in the air and there's boxes to be hunted!!

Everyone is invited to attend our Spring gathering!

Date and Time: Saturday May 17, 2008
10am to 4pm

Location: Keystone State Park
1926 State Hwy 151
Sand Springs, OK

Link to the google map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=keystone+state+park+oklahoma&sll=40.379244,-79.385662&sspn=0.05623,0.088921&ie=UTF8&ll=36.140647,-96.266842&spn=0.05961,0.088921&z=13

We will be gathering at shelter #4 in the Red Carpet Country area of the park.

Here's a link to a map of the park, with our areas of interest highlighted:
http://www.atlasquest.com/gallery/viewphoto.html?gPhotoId=38428
(click on the map to enlarge and print)

Everyone bring the items needed for exchanges and box hunting!

There are boxes planted close to the shelter area, which we will be taking time to find. There are also boxes planted on the two trails in the park which you can hunt either before or after the gathering.

And you just can't have a decent letterboxing gathering without good food to share.
Everyone is asked to bring some type of food item, snack, etc. to share with the group.
Keep in mind, we will not have access to electricity, so anything needing to stay hot is not recommended. Be fun, be creative!!
I will be providing hot dogs and buns plus drinks and ice. (We'll get a fire going for an old fashioned wiener roast!!)... do I smell marshmallows???

Now for the business part... To reserve the shelter is costing us $35.00, plus I'm trying to develop a game or two with prizes to entertain us. Any donations towards this would be appreciated. If you'd like to donate a boxing item or two to go in a prize pack, or dollars to help defray the cost, let me know.

I hope to see all my old friends, plus meet some new friends too!!

You can contact me at
Belmer@atlasquest.net or
mel4pg@aol.com

Box on!!
Mel

Summer Dreamin' (Palestine, TX)

JB Kokopelli and I just realized - school's almost out and everybody's dreaming of vacation time!

What's YOUR fantasy vacation??? We want to make Palestine everyone's dream vacation spot - or at least their favorite place to dream about their fantasy vacation!

Book your trip on down to Palestine and pack your bags, or at least your boxes, and see what's making this little town in East Texas the best little vacation spot in letterboxing.

***********************************************************************

Palestine sports several very nice planting locations and has a nice selection of boxes already in place. Please feel free to make a box about your fantasy vacation (or any other inspiration you may have) and plant it, or maybe a box about what you would want to do on vacation (besides letterboxing - we KNOW that already) or who you might meet on your fantasy vacation - or just come and find a few.

Here are a few highlights about Palestine:

My personal favorite indulgence - Eilenbarger's Bakery (gooey bars!).

Interesting locations:
Pilgrim Church - Elkhart (a suburb of Palestine)
Davey Dogwood Park
NASA Columbia Facility (Balloon Exploration)
Wolf Lake (AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!)

And there is a cemetery (JBK) out 287 that has a really WEIRD monument - every time I pass it, I can't help thinking it needs a box (it has a virtual geocache!)

More cool places to come...

More details to come - but there will be a potluck lunch, so be thinking what sort of food would go with your fantasy vacation and plan to bring it!

Tour the Fort (Prospect, ME)

5/6/08 - Completed the Event Stamp!!

4/17/08 - I'm planning on planting some additional boxes around in the surrounding towns of the Fort. the idea that if there are more boxes maybe more poeple will want to join us next year. If anyone is willing to carve a stamp or two to be planted after the gathering (or before if you are interested in mailing them to me) let me know. The plan is to plant them in a 15-mile radius of the Fort. Thanks for your help.

4/11/08 - I received the event stamp Saaa-lute today in the mail from Nurse Wanderseek in Indiana! This is a wonderful stamp! I can't wait for you all to see it!

3/26/08 - **If planning on planting any boxes in the area, please do not plant any inside the observatory without permission. They are on the lookout for "suspicious" boxes. - Thanks Beswick for the info!**

3/25/08 - I have 3 traveling event stamps coming in from across the country! Plus, I finally carved an event series of my own that will be making it's debut at the Fort!

Come tour Fort Knox and take a gander at the wonderful views from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory! Make a day of it! This will be a fairly informal event, because most of your time could be spent touring the fort and the observatory.

A special series will be planted for the event!

Bring your own picnic lunch and eat while taking in the views of the Penobscot River, Verona Island and Bucksport!

Oh, and one more thing! Make sure to bring a flashlight or headlamp. The fort has some underground tunnels that are not lit up.

More information to come!

Jiffy

2nd Annual McMinnville U.F.O. Festival Mini-Meet (McMinnville, OR)

Come join us for the alien parade, alien pet costume contest, live music, and one-day-only letterboxes! Great fun for the whole family!

The alien parade will be held on NE 3rd St at 1:00. For more details about the pet costume contest, music, etc., visit the website above.

Letterboxes (with a game element) from some fantastic carvers will be hidden in McMinnville local businesses, all within walking distance of the parade. I will soon post a link to a map and player score sheet. Clues will be posted a few days before the event.

At about 3:00 will meet at McMinnvile City Park, located at NE 2nd and Adams St, also walking distance from downtown. We're going to try to meet at the Lower City Park picnic area, on the west side of the playground. But this is first-come, first-served, so we may have to be flexible about the exact location in the park. It's not a huge park so it shouldn't be too hard to find the other inky-fingered letterboxers.

Please bring your own snacks and beverages, as well as logbooks, ink, and clues. Costumes are welcome too.

Contact Tyra (Murray7) if you have any questions.

REPAIRIN' THE BONE YARD (Fremont, OH)

The Bone Yard Recorder, President of the Sandusky County Kin Hunters Genealogy Society and her trusty assistant Tom Fishbaugh, will present a program on the repairing of headstones, markers and monuments in the cemetery (bone yard). If you have a broken monument, headstone or cemetery marker that you have wanted to repair or have repaired then you should be here for this VERY INFORMATIVE presentation. We will give you the recipe for the correct procedure.

I will also demonstrate headstone rubbing and have materials for you too. You will need a roll of masking tape should you decide to do some yourself.

We will be meeting at the Sandusky County Township Hall/Fire Station on Route 19 in Fremont. It is almost next door to the K-Mart Shopping center just off Route 20.

I will arrive to open the building at 9 am and have directions to many new letterboxes planted in our area. We have had only 5 letterboxes in our county previous to this and 3 are now gone. So I have acquired many new letterboxes from several friends and fellow boxers around the USA, all will be permanently planted in Sandusky County.

As an added attraction we are having the great HEADSTONE EXCHANGE. Carve your own signature headstone or cemetery (bone yard) stamp & exchange with everyone else. You are welcome to leave it after, for planting or for placement in the hitch hiker hostel.

If you have old postal letterboxes or old exchange stamps that you wouldn't mind donating to our county, I would love to plant them here permanently for you. Also we welcome event stamps and travelers!

We will also have a food drive for the LIBERTY CENTER OF SANDUSKY COUNTY. The Liberty Center is a homeless shelter providing temporary shelter, nutritious meals and supportive services to men, women and children in need.
Donations are deductible in compliance with IRS guidelines.
Their needs list includes:
Cash, Grocery Store Gift Certificates,*Toilet Paper,*Paper Towels,*30 Gal. Trash Bags, *Spray Furniture Polish,*Paper Napkins,*Liquid Dish Soap,*Liquid Hand Soap,*Paper Plates, Foil, Windex, Gallon size Freezer Bags, Tall Kitchen Trash Bags, Bleach, Room Freshener Spray, Disinfectant Spray, New or used Twin Bed Sheets & Zippered Pillow Covers, *Coffee - Regular, Sugar, *Coffee Creamer, *Kool-Aid, *Coffee Filters, Juice (100% juice), Splenda, *Spaghetti Sauce, *Tomato Sauce, *Diced Tomatoes, *Crushed Tomatoes, *Chili Mild Beans, Taco Seasoning, Taco Shells, *Body Wash & Lotion, *Deodorant (Men's & Ladies), Hairspray, Shampoo, Conditioner, Shaving Cream, Disposable Razors, Brushes, Hair Picks, French Dressing, Crisco Shortening, Vegetable Oil, Mayonnaise, Hamburger Helper, Fruit Cocktail, Egg Noodles- Medium & Wide, Rice Mixes, Brownie Mix, Butter or Margarine, Business Size Envelopes, and postage stamps. They also greatly appreciate gently used clothing for all ages and sizes. *= The most needed items. Any donated items not listed will be donated to the SANDUSKY COUNTY FOOD PANTRY, who provide food to the needy in our county on a referral basis.

There will be stamps available for the above donations, as well as a 10 for 10 stamp for donations of 10 or more items, and there will also be a stamp for clothing donations as well. So clean out your closets and bring along a load for those less fortunate.

We have a DOLLAR TREE in town that has everything in the store for $1.00 or less, if you need to pick something up.

You can letterbox all morning and be back for the presentation which will start at about 2:30 (there will be a very brief genealogy business meeting at 2:00), and then after the presentation you can choose to head out and letterbox some more... or just hang around here all day with me. I will provide my cell phone in case you get lost... I realize it is a Sunday so I planned the program for as late as possible.

If it is nice we will be outside on picnic tables for at least part of the program... if not we will be inside the entire time. I have the hall all day long...

There will be an event stamp and table toppers, county maps for everyone who signs up, and refreshments, including cemetery cake. You are welcome to bring along table toppers and mystery boxes... and COOTIES! I will also bring the TIME FOR A COOLER HITCH HIKER HOSTEL!

The Kin Hunters have a 50/50 raffle which will be drawn after the presentation. You can bring lunch along if you wish. We have a microwave, coffee pot and refrigerator. We also have MANY fast food places just down the road.

Hope to see many of you. My Genealogy family know just a little about letterboxing so here is a chance to show them how fun we are!

3rd Annual International Plant a Letterbox Day (Mystery, ??)

We came up with the idea for this day in 2006. At first it was a to see if we could break the AQ record for the number of boxes posted on AQ in one day. And we did! Now we just celebrate for the fun of it! The idea is to get out there on the event day and plant letterboxes in your area. (If you need to plant them the weekend before the event or several days before, we understand). Then post the clues on AQ. So, it's not really a get together, "face-to-face" event. But more of a get together "in-spirit" kind of thing. Just think of all those letterboxers out at the same time on an international planting spree!

2008 SouthEast Gathering - 5th Annual (Stone Mountain, GA)

It's the BIG ONE!

Please join us for the 5th Annual SouthEast Gathering at Stone Mountain Park. The LbSe group has continued to flock to the rock for this event, and it's a 3-day weekend for most folks (Memorial Day is the 26th), so recovering afterwards should be easy.

We'll meet at the same place as prior years: the back part of Studdard Picnic Area (see the event photo). We'll be following the example of last summer's event and give everyone a lot of opportunity to scamper about the park. This is a VERY informal gathering; it's too big for anything else, really.

There are fire pits scattered through the area and everyone is encouraged to bring their own briquettes and easy food like hot dogs and burgers and chips. Bring lots of water! We'll have a table set up for community water, snacks and plasticware. If you can contribute to this table, please do!

I'd like to discourage planting any permanent new boxes, as the park is already WAY over the practical limit, but there will be a couple of event and traveling event stamps, more than enough PTs and cooties, and probably a few temporary letterboxes. You should print up clues ahead of time and try to figure out from the online park maps roughly where they are, but what usually happens is that people hook up in groups of 6 to 12 with one set of clues and just go all over the place. There will be plenty of folks to act as tour guide. See the park website www.stonemountainpark.com for maps and attractions.

TIMELINE:
****6AM*** Park gates open. Red's Bunch and all who want to help "squat" the site and set up arrive on scene.
****7AM*** Picnic site all staked out. Hit the trails, participate in stamping frenzy or socialize.
***11AM*** RETURN TO PICNIC SITE FOR MEET&GREET AND EXCHANGES. Fire up the grills for lunch, raffle, birthday cake with Silly Ol' Bear, group photos, and lots of letterboxer social time and chitchat.
****1PM*** Hit the trails again and socialize, or stick around the picnic site and socialize. More chitchat.
****4PM*** Start talking about dinner and collecting lost letterboxers from around the park. Pack up. A long line of cars following each other will most likely leave the park around 4:30PM.

Don't freak out and try to do it all! You'll have fun if you set an easy pace and bring an easygoing mindset. Plans always seem to change at this thing. I've never got to do all I thought I would, but I've always had tons of fun. First-timers should seriously consider returning to the park for the lasershow at sunset.