do you guys stop Letterboxing for the Winter for real??

Since I just got going I will be disappointed if no one is going out hunting and planting now.

the winter is an awesome time to get out and hike...the landscape is just so different, the creatures that are out are more apparent, and the sky is brisk and clear. I hat to be cold but a few good minutes walking usually remedies that.

ok... i guess im loseing this one... Grr for you parents people... lol jk

:Shamefully Admits defeat:

its ok.. i only sat outside waiting for you gies until ten at night....

Grrr...watever.. life is to short, i do not expect you gies to keep me company whenever my mom becomes miss evilness all the time!...
*poke*

---Just most of the time ;)

i can crouch!!!

Tell my mother that....



ughh.... my life blows

Do you understand how amazing money is? not that i have anything to spend it on... but im saving up for a "Big goliath" at this one store.. its like a huge bean bag chair.. but its filled with orthopedic heaveness..... its the most comfortable thing on the earth. If we did'nt have anything else to do that day.. i would of stayed in the store the whole time and slept..

:wonders if i would get yelled at?:


Humph....

They put the clues in the article!?!?! WTF? Wonder how the planter thought about that, and how long they'll stay there now.

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the winter is an awesome time to get out and hike...the landscape is just so different, the creatures that are out are more apparent, and the sky is brisk and clear. I hate to be cold but a few good minutes walking usually remedies that.

I can't argue with anything that you have said...but my reason for stopping boxing in the winter is that I live in Syracuse, NY. Thigh to chest high snow has a way of slowing you down when you are only 5'2". :) I will probably stick to drive bys (um..which is kind of another problem...lol) or at least more accessible boxes. Actually, I plan to research historic areas online, carve stamps by my fireplace and maybe try my hand at another handmade book.

Lock Wench

They WERE amazing chairs. Yep....gotta get me one of those.

Hopefully, the cats won't tear it to shreds.....:-(

-CQ

Yeah, I don't forsee myself doing much boxing during the winter, either...I will be trying to get several of mine out there, though. I do know of a few places that look like they'll still be pretty accessible during the snowy season, so I'll be trying to plant a few once they're ready.

Now, the trick is getting the stamp material to carve them with now...:-)

-CQ

Well, I am from this town, and I don't think that this is a good thing either. I am very angry about this article.I believe that many of these boxes and others in the area will go vandalized. I hope that I am wrong. I had a feeling that something like this would happen when i saw those boxes posted. It is a very small town. Regretfully, the "other" surrounding boxes are planted in Forests and and small wilderness areas. These are beautiful places. Personally, If I were back home visiting, I'm not sure that I would search for a box out in back of the McDonalds by a dumpster, or what ever the clue is. I don't believe that is the way to have someone come to visit your town.
We can't keep this wonderful hobby to ourselves, but I am worried about how it is introduced to future boxers. I started after reading an article in "Family Fun" magazine a few years ago. I am so glad that article was published. I think there is an element of control there, however. I enjoy bringing people into letterboxing, but I spend a great deal of time on boxing ettiquette and respect for both the box and the surroundings. There has been many discussions on the appropriate way to promote this hobby, and I know views vary greatly.
I hope Patriotic Girl monitors these boxes closely and sends out an alarm if boxes start to be vandalized. If one goes, I believe others will follow. Time will tell.
I bid you all safe trails. KOYOTE

Regretfully, I have decided to pull my boxes from the list in the Winsted Ct. area. These are still available by WOM or by contacting me by my e-mail. The Four Directions series is too involved, but Mark will be assisting me with hiding those clues aswell. I will repost the clues to AQ only, after I sort things out. Safe trails to all.
Koyote

My son was grounded from Trick-or-Treating for similar reasons, Wolf Mama!--Being defiant gets you nowhere in my house. Younger son couldn't believe he was sitting on the couch answering the door... hehehehe! That'll teach him.

I did, however, let him go to a pre-TOT pizza dinner with his friends next door. My goal wasn't to isolate him from his friends, but to restrict his ability to collect sweets. As soon as they took off to TOT he had to come home.

Older son is 14 and still loves to go out with his friends. The rule in this neighborhood is you get candy if you have on a reasonable costume, no matter your age. We got a few groups of high-school kids, but they were dressed up and very polite. Fine with me!

Our neighborhood is the magnet for the surrounding area. We are a city neighborhood with actual cul-de-sacs so it's very safe. Our 80+ houses go all out, with one even doing a very professional "Haunted Mill House" attraction in their home and yard going all the way under a creepy street culvert and into the adjacent field. Amazing special effects and actors doing monsters, etc!
I bought 600 pieces of candy and ran out in 2 hours! Sigh... Sorry PumpkinQ.

Oh yeha, I definately think it's fine to go trick or treating no matter how old you are, but you HAVE to have a decent costume...I mean, if you're 20 and running around wearing a mask that you bought at Party City or Spencer's, and that's it, i don't think you deserve candy.
But if you've gone to the trouble of making a full costume, makeup, and the whole shebang, heck yes, have some candy. I don't remember any rules saying that you had to stop trick or treating at some age...
Now, i'm 18, and I just went trick or treating with some of my friends. It was great, and to be honest, I enjoyed the actual walking around and trick or treating, and the costumes, and the reactions from people about the costumes FAR more than the candy we got in the process.

The candy just makes it all totally cool.

-CQ

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We can't keep this wonderful hobby to ourselves, but I am worried about how it is introduced to future boxers. I started after reading an article in "Family Fun" magazine a few years ago. I am so glad that article was published.

We got started after reading an article in Roam Magazine:

http://www.roam-magazine.com/archives/2005/09/raiders_of_the.html

It was really good and sparked our interest, in fact we found our first box, Fourth Creek Cemetery, that very day! But it didn't say anything about the "rules" of letterboxing and respecting the environment. While on the internet, we read a lot about getting started which included those basic rules. I'm glad we researched before barreling out there (not that we wouldn't have taken care in the first place).

Plus, this article makes it sound as if geocaching and letterboxing were one in the same. They are close, but not the same. It was some time later that we learned what geocaching really was.

I hope that article in Laurel City will introduce people to letterboxing without inviting vandals.

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Now, i'm 18,

OK...now that just blew my pea brain!
Not only do we need some way to tell if a person is a male or female, we need an age indicator!
Not having gone to an event and living all the way out in OHIO, I have no idea who people really are. I always pictured Celtic Quinn as a 40ish dad kind of guy!

Hey Dixiekin

Check out Mark and Sue's blog through "my page"
They do weekly polls. I hope this one's still up, but it's "how do you cover your tracks in the snow when Letterboxing"
Very funny. Read some of their other articles too. Very cool blog.

Sits N Knits.... who lives in Florida

do you guys stop Letterboxing for the Winter for real??

DixieKin,

Don't worry, down here in the SE most of us do letterbox all year round. Heck DebBee in FL does most of her boxing in the winter. :-)

My family tends to slow down the pace because the kids get whiny in the cold temps, but I still force them out for one or two every now and then. Snow's not usually an issue here in GA.

Amyrica

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Heck DebBee in FL does most of her boxing in the winter. :-)

Florida Letterboxing is best done in the winter. I also recommend Letterboxing in Inland Southern California in the winter! And those other desert-like locales are better in the winter. Vegas in the Summer is grueling 100 degree heat! I just got back from an October visit to Phoenix and it was still in the 90's!

-Amanda from Seattle

Check the listings for a new box. There are also some letterboxes in Belgium listed as letterbox/geocache hybrids on Groundspeak.

We get hammered with snow up in Oswego County NY. Little boxing gets done.
It is possible, but unlikely.

-WINK

I'm not sure if this is in the right place or not, but I have a question for everyone. I have been thinking about teaching a class about letterboxing through the local adult education program. I haven't done it yet, because I'm not sure how I feel about the publicity. On one hand, I think it would be great for people to learn about the hobby and get some information about the unspoken rules/etiquette. On the other hand, I know how much we all dislike the publicity.

What do you think??

~Oceanwytch~

I personally think it's great. A local adult/child/family education program is how I myself learning about letterboxing. Also taught in that same workshop were orienteering and geocaching. There were several people who participated, mostly kids/teens. However, my daughter and I are the only people from the class who really took off with it. It seems to be something that people either totally lose interest in as soon as they start learning about it, or they go berzerk like I have and get addicted. Most of the people in the class lost interest and there wasn't much publicity at all, other than advertising that the class was taking place. I do wish there were more people who would get involved, at least in my area, so I could have another 'boxer to go 'boxing with. My mom has gone with us once or twice, but she still sorta snickers and pokes fun when my hobby is mentioned to others.

Last spring my son's school had an outdoor education day. I volunteered to teach the kids (grades k-5) about letterboxing. My friend and I "planted" 5 small letterboxes around the school grounds and gave each class a clue sheet for the teacher to read. The younger kids had simple directions (right, left), the middle kids had to use the compass (north, east...), and the older kids used the compass for degrees. We used register tape rolls for logbooks and they got to stamp in with their finger print (washable ink and diaper wipes!) and sign their name. They were also given a information page to put the letterbox's stamp on and take home to mom or dad. At the end of the day I collected the letterboxes. The kids had a great time and were so excited. Even some of the secretaries and special area teachers came out to see what all the hype was about! I'm not sure if any actually got their family to go out on a real hunt. But the way I look at it...they were introduced to something new.

I do believe that The Family wrote something about that book on this board. Check it out!

(Or just write a note to The Family (the mom is my sister) and I'm sure she'd be happy to discuss.)

Amyrica

Grr if you get one before me .. im going to live at your house until you get soo sick of me being around.. but ill still be there ... ha..

hahahahahahahah... omg

you have no idea how much that just cracked me up...

until he protests, im going to tell you to just go with that.. haha lol

yea.. and *cough* forgot to visit me *cough*

Woah...40ish? Oh god, i sound that old?

No no no...sorry to disappoint, but no, I turned 18 just a few months ago. My two siblings (both younger) as well as my parents (definately older-lol) all box too, although i am definately the most enthusiastic about it all.

I have managed to pull a good sized group of my friends into it, though...they make it fun, and give us one more option when we're bored and getting together.

Sigh...great, now i'm middle-aged.
And it doesn't help that when I was trick or treating two nights ago (as a girl-don't ask, long story), one of my friends remarked that I looked like the mother of the group....

:(

-CQ (who is definately NOT 40ish...)

hmmm..... 40ish.....
does.nt sound as appealing at the Ac...lol ;)

--pq