Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! May your day be filled with good food, family, and happy memories!

4eyes

Right back at you, 4Eyes! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and to all Michigan letterboxers!

Looking forward to seeing you Saturday as we do some Winter Fest planning. Everyone, have you had a chance to sign up for Winter Fest 2019: Favorite Book yet? Letterboxes, books, cozy indoor setting, and shenanigans by 4Eyes. What's not to love?

I'll chime in with Thanksgiving blessings from the west side of our wonderful state! Enjoy and cherish all of it, letterbox friends.

I cannot find any mention of the mapsurfer box in either AQ or LbNA. Is it a premium member's only box?

The last couple of times I went to Mackinac Islands have been after Labor Day. In October, most shops and hotels were closed and it was cold. In September, the shops and hotels were open, the weather was cool, and there were few people. No crowds. No families. I didn't have to worry about muggles. I was able to letterbox to my heart's content. When letterboxing in the summer, though, muggles were a big problem.

But the island is still somewhat expensive, even in the shoulder season.

Thanks.

I believe SITE Sleuths knew the exact location and didn't find it.

I looked for it on a trip in 2009 and didn’t find it either.

Thank you so much for helping get the word out, Angel Winks! We are now up to 151 boxes - 49 more needed to reach our goal!

TeachJR

Dawnkey and I were talking about the tools and tricks of letterboxing and using the Atlas Quest site. We thought it would be interesting to open up a discussion about what we've found helpful and hope that some of our Michigan friends might both learn from us but also teach the rest of us some of their ways of using the website.

So here goes...

CUSTOM LOCATIONS - I use this constantly! Once I know where I am going, I search the area. For example, when I do a search of Indianapolis, Indiana, letterboxes come up in a variety of ways and I adapt them to make finding them easier.

When [this box] comes up with the address but not the name of the place, I "customize" it by adding the name of the place along with the address.

When [this box] comes up with the name of the place but not an exact address, I google the address then "customize" it by adding the address along with the name of the place.

But the most helpful is when [a box like this] comes up and I need to find both the address and the name of the location. When I "customize" it, my future searches will put it where it belongs and I don't miss it when I'm at the location.

Does anyone else use CUSTOM ADDRESSES regularly?
Angel Winks

Thanks for getting the ball rolling, Angel Winks. I'm also a huge fan of the custom address feature.

We might want to mention at this point that custom addresses are a perk of an AQ premium membership. There are many perks and you can find them here if you're not already a premium member. (Disclaimer: Ryan is *not* paying us to advertise.) :)

One of my favorite premium features is custom menus. To use:

Go to My Page/Preferences. Select Custom Menu from the bar of options across the top of the page. It's just to the left of Premium Hat.

Under Add Menu Item on the left choose the submenu you'd like your item listed under (Home, Toolbox, Boards, People, etc.), type the way you want the item listed in the title box, and then add the link in the URL box. Once you click the Add Item button you'll be able to access your menu item from the menus that run across the top of AQ pages.

You can add links for AQ pages or external links like LbNA and Rumkin. I like to add links for events I'm signed up for under the People tab. It makes it easy to access the event page before and after event, and then I just remove it from the menu once all my finds are recorded.

I definitely do. And given your examples, I will often customize the Crown Hill Cemetery address to the 32nd Street address (Old Gates entrance). It’s the closest to my sweet daddy’s resting place. If anyone comes without a map, it is easily available at the 38th street entrance (offices).

I didn't know that. Thanks.

This is a great conversation to have. I'm sure there are many helps on here that I don't know how to use.

Thanks, Topcollector. That's what Dawnkey and I, and others, hopefully, have in mind. We will try to keep the conversation going over the winter months when there is less letterboxing to do.

And, we hope, anyone will feel free to jump into the conversation.

Angel Winks
*who is enjoying a relaxed Saturday afternoon at home after buying my last Christmas gift this morning.

I use custom addresses constantly as well. But I didn't know I could add the name of the address i.e., "Jo's Pool Hall" as well as the street address. Can't wait to try this out.

Wow! Didn't know this was available to us. Just added an event under the People tab just as you described. That's pretty cool, and easier to see my current sign ups. Thanks!

BBStacker,

The way I have found that works best is to first STORE the custom address. Once that is in, then I edit the custom address with the pencil icon. I add the name of the park or cemetery or pool hall :) or whatever and save it again. It should show up with both the name and the address! Love it.

That's pretty cool, and easier to see my current sign ups.

Not a Michiganer here but I do have a few AQ tricks up my sleeve also. For instance, in order to see my event sign ups, I just created a search for them and then saved it, calling it "My Upcoming Events". New ones are added in date order and as their date passes, they disappear from the list. That way they are all grouped together with the next one I will be attending showing up first. I have "Favorite Searches" as one of my widgits on My Page so the list is only a click away.

Once I know where I am going, I search the area. For example, when I do a search of Indianapolis, Indiana, letterboxes come up in a variety of ways and I adapt them to make finding them easier.

I have been doing this for years and loving it. It is amazing how many people are not aware of it. But I do take it a step further. There are areas that I box in regularly such as Florida, eastern PA, Delaware and Maryland, so I have searches set up to notify me of new boxes for each of those areas. (I am a big user of searches!) I have chosen to receive emails when there is a new box added for those areas. When I get an email, I simply check to see if there is a good address and if there is not, I add the custom address right away, even if I don't have plans to visit that area at the moment. That way, when I DO plan on going somewhere, I have the info all ready and I just need to choose a box and then click on nearby boxes and my trip is planned.

Janila,

Welcome to our AQ conversation! I'm interested in learning more about how you do this. How do you actually create the search for them? I've saved several searches I've done by states, but not events. Do you do this under Advanced Search?

Thanks!

Janila, you are a letterboxer after my own heart :). I do the same thing. My husband and I are often dreaming about the next trip we are going to take, so I begin customizing addresses already at that time. I've found many boxes I wouldn't have found if I didn't customize it.

I even go a step further. I search for boxes that are only listed by the state. Here is what I mean:
I do an AREA SEARCH under SIMPLE SEARCH. Under REGION, I'll go to the state I'm looking for. For example, I'll type in MICHIGAN. Once I've done that, all the Michigan boxes I haven't found are listed. But then I will EDIT SEARCH. I will change the DIST (MI) to 0 and run the search again. All the boxes listed with simply the Michigan location will come up and I'll have access to several other letterboxes. I then customize those locations and, hopefully, find those letterboxes while on my travels.

These letterboxes are often mystery boxes and are well worth the time and effort it takes to figure out the location and solve the cipher/puzzle if there is one.

Do you do this under Advanced Search?

Yes. Then on the Search Type in the upper right, choose Events (listed under Miscellaneous). Then there's a check box for events you're signed up for.

Do you do this under Advanced Search?

Yes, Advanced Search, change the search type to Events, check off "Include only events that I'm signed up for" and "Include only upcoming events". Set Sort Order to Start Date. Voila!

Did I mention that I LOVE saving searches? :-)

Thank you!

We do the same, I have alerts set up for Michigan to send an email.
The other locations I track, Rhode Island, Maryland, Grand Haven, MI I have set up as a widget on my menu!

We use the custom address feature regularly. We then change the address at the top of the page, that way when we do a search of the area again, the boxes show up.

Fun! I'm sure there's a lot of things! I like the notes feature, particularly for personal travelers, but it's helpful for other things like mystery boxes. Once I solve the PT clue, I add a note. When I print the list of PTs prior to the event, the note will print as well. I'm not sure if that is a premium perk or not.

One of my other favorite things is the trip planner. This is a premium perk, too. If I'm planning a road trip, I add a trip with my starting and ending destinations. Then I do a search using that trip, customizing distances off the main road (1-5 miles), type of boxes (driveby, stroll, etc). This makes it easy to grab some finds along the way.

I haven't used the custom locations much that Angel Winks mentioned, but this would come in handy with the trip planner to make sure things are really within your desired range.

Another thing I used a lot is the countdown widget. (not sure if that is a premium widget or not!) I add it to the very top of my page so I can easily see what I have coming up that needs to be done.

This is really helpful to keep track of things that are due by specific dates like postals, LTC swaps, stamps that need to be carved for events or whatever else.

I like the notes features also for PTs. Another thing I use them for is to copy and paste LbNA clues. Lastly, I use it if I read over comments on the letterbox and there is something important to note that someone mentioned. Another great feature!

I have never used the trip planner. I need to try that.