This message board is open for business! Enjoy!

Hi All,

We're heading out to my in-law's place on the Oregon Coast for Christmas next week. (Yachats, to be exact.) We're flying from Boise into Portland Wednesday morning the 22nd, renting a car, then driving down to the coast. We'll be heading near Salem, and down through Philomath, that general direction anyway. (Path could be altered slightly due to really tempting boxes or boxers. =)

We have one or two stops in Portland before we head down, and weather and toddler permitting, I'd like to hit a few area letterboxes. I'd also love to meet up with any letterboxers on the way for an exchange.

If you're not around Wednesday, we will be returning the Monday after Christmas, though we'll have a lot less time. I'll be checking letterboxing.org and Atlas Quest for boxes along the way. If you know of some special must-sees, I'd appreciate the heads-up. With the boy, I can't do any real hiking (that will be saved for another trip), but I do like a good mental puzzle box. Drive-bys are fine too for road trips!

Thanks,
Grifos

Hmm.... I'm not really up-to-date on the latest and greatest boxes in that area, and most of the boxes I do know about require a fair amount of hiking to acquire. My Yakina Lighthouse box is pretty easy to get.

If you make it to Tillamook, the cheese factory there is a fun place to check out. =) Especially if you're there on a regular working day when the factory is running flat out. Lots of fun!

There's also an air museum nearby that's pretty fascinating to check out. It's in an old blimp hanger used during WWII. They used blimps to search for Japanese submarines off the Oregon and Washington coasts. Allegedly, they even sank a submarine at the mouth of the Columbia River, if I recall correctly.

I like Tillamook. Even if they do have a lot of cows out there. =)

-- Ryan

Hi!

My Yakina Lighthouse box is pretty easy to get.

Yep. Thanks! It's on the list. I'm planning to take my SIL to that one as she wants to see what this whole "letterboxing" thing is - but she didn't want to go out herself and try it first. She's in Minnesota, so there isn't a lot around for her to try anyway.

We go out to my in-law's place in Yachats generally every August, after my husband's concertina music "camp" is done in Newberg, so we've seen quite a bit of the coast over the past few years. Tillamook is a nice area, and I've eaten their sharp cheddar for years and years. The funny thing is, it is several *dollars* cheaper here than on site!

Anyway, I'm excited to try for a few boxes on the coast. To think, I've been walking by them all this time! In fact, it was a geocache in Yachats that got me indirectly into letterboxing. My toddler actually found it in a really neat hiding spot, so I followed the link to the website and decided I'd have to wait a while to affort a "good" GPSr. While doing some searching on their website, I found a link to letterboxing and the rest is history, as they say! I did get my GPS for Christmas this year, but I'll be doing quite a bit more letterboxing than geocaching, I'm sure. I like the artistic "requirements."

Grifos

The amazing duo has struck again. Watch for a clue to pop up near you soon! I've got mine... Funhog

And i don't suppose you want to tell what general areas of the city you were boxing in when you found these lovely clues do you?

LOL.. I didn't really think so, but hey, it never hurts to ask.

maiden

Welcome aboard! From where we live in WA, we look straight out to Fox Island! Give us a holler when you're back in the area. We also planted a couple of letterboxes amid your view of Oahu a couple years back (and a few on the Big Island, too)! ;) Welcome to this interesting and adventurous hobby!

dvn2r ckr

Welcome! We hope you'll become addicted LBs too... It's a creative and adventurous!

quill

The 3Bears are very excited to be returning to Portland, OR for the first time since we discovered letterboxing a year ago. (We learned about it by reading Randy Hall's book in the aisle of Powell's Bookstore.) Unfortunately, by the time we heard about it on our last trip, it was too late to find any Portland boxes. Oh, the frustration of seeing clues to places we'd already been that week!

So we are very excited to get out and find some boxes, but given our travelling companions, they can't be long or strenuous hikes. I've already done a cool AtlasQuest search for Drive-By boxes within 25 miles of Portland. But there are oodles and oodles of Portland boxes not listed here. Any that people particularly recommend? We'll be staying in NW downtown (not far from Powell's). I wish that Powell's box was still around!!!!!

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!
Mama Bear (Jennifer in NY)

Quote

We learned about it by reading Randy Hall's book in the aisle of Powell's Bookstore.

Not long after that book came out I went to Powells and found the book. It was smallish and easily overlooked so I deliberately left it sitting out for some random person to find. Wouldn't that be so ironic if it were you?! =)

-- Ryan

"We learned about it by reading Randy Hall's book in the aisle of Powell's Bookstore.

Not long after that book came out I went to Powells and found the book. It was smallish and easily overlooked so I deliberately left it sitting out for some random person to find. Wouldn't that be so ironic if it were you?! =)

-- Ryan"


I do the same thing with the letterboxing book at REI! I look for it on the shelf and make sure to leave it out so it's rather obvious for someone to randomly 'discover'. I've tried it at Borders, too! I've never heard from anybody's who's started letterboxing in our region because of it, though. Someday perhaps...

dvn2r ckr

Well, we really enjoyed our trip to Portland last week. We found Oregon Zoo Lorikeets, Jay's Toolbox (and added our contribution to it), Smith & Bybee turtles, Wilson, and Invisibility Cloak. Maybe we can head out into Forest Park on our next visit for the dozens of boxes that seem to be out there!
I had a hitchhiker I wanted to leave behind, but we couldn't find a box big enough for one when we needed it, (missed my chances earlier in the trip), so, what else to do, but plant another box! So we planted "The Pearl" and left the "Ithaca or Bust" hitchhiker in it as a bonus for the first finder (who's headed east, that is...)

Enjoy!
-3Bears

I went and visited Jay's Tool Box last night and saw your contribution. Please tell Papa Bear that he is a FABULOUS carver. I was very impressed!

We'll be looking for your new box that you planted!

Maiden

Hi! I'm looking for more information on a hitchhiker stamp last seen in Corvallis, OR back in February 2005. I'm trying to get the placer or current location of it. It is a magnificent head of a horse. Bucephalas is the name of the horse and he was Alaxander the Great's famous stallion, but we don't know if that is the name of the hitchhiker. Searches on LbNA and Atlas Quest for variations of the above were a dead end. The book was our first traveling stamp and we did not know to record the placer's name. Any help with this search would be appreciated!
The Three Sisters

I've updated the clues for the Portland Walking Tour, however, so if you've already solved it, you'll want to go back to the last plaque and complete the last section to find the new hiding place. If you don't know what the last plaque is--well--then you'll have to start from the beginning of the clue. ;o)

Happy trails!

-- Ryan

This may be a bit of a cross post but at the risk of being blacklisted...

The Nail Family just returned from a week long vacation in the Sun River area of Central Oregon. We had the chance to revisit some of our boxes and we are very glad to say that two of our 3 original boxes are in fine shape. We had to add new log books as they have had a lot of visitors. Also, we replaced the Lava River Cave letterbox as it had gone missing in the last year. New stamp, new box, same dark location.

We also placed a new box in the area too. Actually, we had placed this 'new' box back in 2002 when we first visited but we never published the clues. We have since relocated that box to a new hiding spot and have published clues on the lbna. (we will post them on atlas quest right away too). It is a very nice location, well worth the hike/bike trip to get it.

Also while visiting the area we tracked down a few other boxes in the region. We found several boxes at Shevlin Park in Bend, solved a Paulina Mystery, and took a trek in a canyon at Crooked River Ranch. Lots of fun. Too many boxes to find on one one-week trip, will have to schedule another visit in early Spring.

Hats off to 4DToes, Birder, the Lennens, and of course, Funhog. (We finally have found our first and second Funhog box after 4 Funhog box attempts!!) I am so glad to see that there are so many boxes in the area...wasnt like that when we visited 3 years ago. Good work folks!

Nailhead of the Nail Family

Makes me want to schedule another trip to Sun River - we haven't been since we started LBing... Thanks for the info!

Liz
SHH

I recently found one of these secret letterbox clues and need to contact the placer.
Does anyone out there have contact info?
email private at dogglesnoffer@earthlink.net
dogglesnoffer

Miller and Hutch do not have contact information. It is my understanding that they do read the LbPNW chat list. You may want to post there.

Maiden

Oh, you sneaky folks at the ‘Spirit of Dartmoor’ meet and greet! I can’t believe I left myself exposed and vulnerable to cooties… and didn’t even KNOW I was infected until I got home and hung up my jacket.

And you all seemed like such nice people. Watch out… payback is a ‘you know what’! ;)
Marmalade

For those of you in the Portland, Oregon area or for those of you who will be in Portland this weekend, June 10 & 11, there is a personal traveler waiting for you.

I am on a dragon boat and the races are all day long, June 10 & 11. All the teams have their spot under a huge tent ringing the lawn by the race finish line.

You need to come to my team's booth and ask for me to get this personal traveler. My team's name is Draggin' Butts. (By the way, ask for Susan, as my team doesn't know me by KuKu.)

I was going to make you do our rally cry ("Who's got the best Butts?" "DRAGGIN' BUTTS!"--response by whole team) but I figured my team would get tired of that. So, just ask for me. If no one is at our tent, it means we are lining up and about to race, so go cheer us on as we wing across the water. I sit on the 3rd bench on the left in a yellow lifejacket. Then, just hang around our booth until we come back!

The lawn is right next to the roundabout with flags, the Riverplace hotel & its restaurant, Three Degrees. For googling purposes, the address for the hotel/restaurant is 1510 SW Harbor Way.

Hope to see you there! I'm looking forward to greeting old and new friends.

KuKu

Sue & I would like to thank each and every one of you who made it out to the Spirit of Dartmoor gathering on June 2nd. We were amazed at the number of well-wishers who showed up, exchanged with us and even cootisized us! You are a sneaky bunch.

You may want to check out our blog as we are going to be featuring a series of Postcards from Oregon of which you might enjoy. They will be published a few a night.

Hope you enjoy and thanks so much for making us feel like part of the family!
We'll be back in a few years and can hardly wait!

Mark & Sue

Remind me, Lily. Was that going to be your plant or mine - in other words, do I email you the clues and you place it or do I??

THere was too much going on to remember!
Nice meeting you as well.

Mark

Our family is new to letterboxing. We're out in McMinnville and finding ourselves all alone out here. We've planted a half dozen boxes and found a few but we're trying to get others in our community interested. Are any of you close by? If so, will you come visit our boxes? They are convenient if you're taking a trip to the coast.

Any suggestions about how to infect others with letterboxing? I'm trying to get some info in the local paper and I'm handing off kits to some of our friends. We're are having a great time with it but would sure like company.

Thanks for listening!

There are dozens of boxers in the Portland area who will eventually make their way to your boxes. Don't worry too much about infecting others. The hobby has been growing by leaps and bounds in the last few years. We've gone from about 2400 boxes in the US five years ago to nearly 24,000 today! You already have lots of company. You just haven't met the locals yet. Funhog

We have relatives in Amity and have been attempting to find boxes in the area everytime we visit. Awhile back I'd planted a box in West Salem but it kept disappearing so I gave up on that particular area due to vandals (I know it's not Yamhill County but it's still much closer than some of the other boxing spots in the area). I wish you'd found boxing a couple years ago as we'd been driving back and forth between Seattle & there for the past 5 years and there weren't but a couple of boxes to seek out during our trips down to that area! As for new boxers in the area, give it time. Plant them & they will come!

Welcome aboard!

daelphinus

Mark - You are welcome to keep it as your plant as long as you give me the carver status. I'm unable to maintain that box - for obvious reasons. IF you are uncomfortable holding that box under your name then I have not trouble accepting it under mine - however, I want you to have the say on whether it's yours or mine since you are doing all the work.

SMILE!
I may have it under my log as a hitch hiker.....I'll run check and delete it. It was originally suppose to be a hitch hiker but when the opp came to offer you a box - I ditched that idea.

Hey All -
We leave for TN next week so I am having a last Hoorah before departing where all my friends and acquaintances can come by and say Howdy and See Ya before I leave.

In the event anyone in the PDX/Vancouver area would like to stop by - please feel free. If you have a box you'd like me to plant in Knoxville - bring it by and I'll carry it with me.

We'll be at: Who Song and Larrys in Vancouver on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in the Cantina.

So, we were visiting friends in McMinnville on our way back from the Stargazing extravaganza, and our hosts told us that Yamhill Parks & Rec are trying to re-invent the letterboxing wheel. Seems they've planted their own private boxes--in an effort to get people to visit the parks!--and published the clues in a "passport" that must be purchased for $2.

More at: http://www.tanglebox.org/index.php?pr=Home_Page

Has anybody else heard of this?

Celt

Quote

Has anybody else heard of this?

I'm not on this board but I saw it in the *recent messages*.

Anyway,here in Arkansas our state parks did something simular for kids. You got a passport and everytime you visited a state park you got the book stamped at the visitors center. I never looked into it so I don't know what the prize was if anything, other that bragging rights for having visited the most parks.

Shiloh