Letterboxing: the greatest family hobby EVER!

Most people have never heard of it.  We discovered it, as a family about 2 years ago.  I cannot say enough great things about it.  Here's why: 

• it's free
• it's something that all five of us really enjoy doing {which is saying a lot with a teenager, a tween and a 7 year old!}
• it gets us outside
• it gets us moving
• we can do it everywhere we go!

So, what is letterboxing?  It's like a treasure hunt!

Here's how it works:  We follow clues {that we get from a letterboxing website} that lead us to a hidden box {mostly hidden in public parks, cemetaries, schoolyards, landmarks} that contains a homemade stamp and a small notebook. We bring our own notebook, stamp pad, and our homemade stamp, too.  Once we find the letterbox {carefully...so that we do not disturb the nature around us and so we are not seen by those who might not be kind to the letterbox...a.k.a. "muggles"), we open it and stamp our stamp in their notebook and their stamp in our notebook.  We record the date and the location, too.  Our notebook is quickly filling up with some of the most beautiful and unique stamps I've ever seen.

So, step by step, here is the letterboxing adventure we went on this weekend that led us to the stamping above.

We use a letterboxing website that allows us to search by city.  There are thousands and thousands of letterboxes hidden all over the US, and really, all over the world!  This particular clue took us to a cemetary about 20 minutes from home.  The clue was titled "Zuzu's Petals"

The first clue was to find the final resting place of a man who shared the name of Jimmy Stewart's character in "It's a Wonderful Life".  Here it was:

The next clue said "from his gravestone, walk SE the same number of steps as the last two digits of the year he died".

He died in '48.  The next clue said these steps would lead us to a lone marker, small and square, about three feet in front of a fence.  It said to reach under the fence to find the letterbox, well hidden at the base of the tree.  Here you see the kids (mine and my nephews...who we've also hooked into letterboxing!) looking for the box.

 

It was a really old, small cemetary.  The kids thought it was so cool that some of the gravesites went back to the 1800's.  Some of the headstones were works of art:

I thought this little tree stump headstone in this line of plain white ones was really sweet:

We also went into a nearby town and searched for a second letterbox.  This one was titled "Quack is Back".  It was planted along a canal trail. 

We followed directions and found the box inside a hollowed out tree trunk:

Another beautiful stamp:

Got my handsome hubby in the picture!

We brought some bread along to feed the ducks:

We have been letterboxing all over Indiana and we letterbox when we go on vacation in other states, too!  We have discovered some really beautiful parks and locations that we never knew existed right here in our own backyard!  By far, the best part of letterboxing is the time spent with our kids...without the tv, video games, cell phones, etc...just getting back to nature and enjoying each other's company. 

Here are some letterboxing tips, if you should decide to check it out...and you should!!!

• bring a small compass...you may have heard of "geo-cacheing" which requires a GPS device.  This is different and a little more kid-friendly.  Clues are mostly N,S,E & W, paces/steps, and nature landmarks
• learn how to identify poison ivy/oak...most boxes are hidden in brush or foliage of some type
• bring a pen to write down where you found it and where you are from
• every letterboxer creates their own stamp and letterboxing nickname that reflects who they are.  Our stamp is a shamrock and we are the "lucky dogs"
• Anyone can plant a letterbox and publish the clues online for free
• The handmade stamp inside the letterbox almost always reflects the location of the box
• Go to these two letterboxing websites for all kinds of great information and the clues you need to get started:
• www.atlasquest.com
• www.letterboxing.org
• Have fun!!!

I promise to post more photos of our family letterboxing adventures in the future.  And, let me know here if you and your family give it a try!  I dare you not to get hooked, too! 

Comments

[tom barrett]

I actually read about this a while back and thought it would be neat to try. Haven't dome it yet (forgot about it!), but may have to take a look and see what is around my neck of the woods! thanks for the reminder and for sharing!

[senta]

How fun is that?!? I wanna try! Thanks for sharing, I'll definitely have to check it out...PS I linked to back to your blog, hope you don't mind!

[Lori]

Tom - yes, do check it out and let me know how it goes! Your family will love it!

Senta - Thanks for linking to me...i'm sorry, i'm still so new to this blogging thing...i linked to you last week and i should have told you, i guess. Sorry! I really enjoy your blog and your art!

[Christina]

Hi Lori!
Nice to see life is treating you and your family well while I have been MIA. I looked up letterboxing in our neck of the woods and will have to try it when life slows down a bit. Our family would love it, including my parents.