*Cross Posted to California*

We have just decided to do a crazy drive in April (boss approval pending) from Portland to Los Angeles in a week. The route is essentially 101 and 1 all the way through Oregon and California. She is basically a noxer but likes to hike so will tolerate me up to a point. I have not started looking at clues yet but thought it might be faster if I could get some recommendations along the route, keeping in mind that we have a somewhat limited time since we have a lot of miles to cover and sights to see and not a lot of boxing time in the schedule.

Any information is appreciated, including tourist highlights, great boxes (this is not a boxing trip so I don't expect to find more than a handful so be selective if recommending). I also don't mind trying solving mystery boxes if you tell me that I "might want to look at this box".

Thanks.
--Cory

I've planted three different letterboxes along the Oregon coast which I'll highlight. They haven't been found in years. So far as I know, they're all still there. Or rather, nobody has gone looking for them and reported them as missing. =)

Around the World in 80 Days: I just love the clue on this one. It's a mystery box which is why I suspect so few people have tried to find it. If you figure out the location, though, contact me for more information. At least one part of the clue has changed. Technically you can still find it without additional help, but it's considerably more difficult and I'm willing to give hints about the specific place to search. (No hints about the starting point of the hike, though!)

Bombs Away! I'll admit, this one is kind of boring. The hike is boring, the stamp is crappy, the location isn't particularly far off of Highway 101, but the drive is surprisingly long on a windy dirt road that goes seemingly nowhere. There are no views or waterfalls to enjoy. The pleasure of this box is that it takes you to the one location that enemy planes have bombed the United States (I'm talking actual states here--not US territories!)

The Japanese had gotten the idea that bombing trees in Oregon would start a devastating wildfire, so they sent a submarine-based airplane to bomb... trees. Except for a small crater in the middle of where and a few broken trees, no harm done. The guy who dropped the bomb returned to Japan and was hailed as a national hero for the event. In the United States, almost nobody knew about the event. (It was censored heavily to prevent panic.)

Long after the war, the city of Brookings (the closest town to the bombing site) invited the guy who dropped the bomb for a celebration of sorts commemorating the unique event. He was a bit nervous about the idea afraid that it was a trick to get him into the country where he'd be arrested for him "crime," but eventually he went anyhow and seemed to enjoy the event. After he died of natural causes at an old age, one of his requests had been to have his ashes scattered at the bomb crater which was later done.

It's kind of an interesting, funny and strangely touching story, so that's why I'm including it. =)

And finally, there's the Land of Long Ago which I suspect most people overlook because it's a mystery box. Mostly, I just like the clue and it's a silly place to visit. =)

-- Ryan