tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86072335793851523592024-03-14T02:56:27.977-07:00Not All Who Wander...Wandering has been a big part of our life this past year. We have wandered over mountains and through rivers, in big cities and small towns. And all in search of letterboxes! Take a minute to join us on our adventures. However, I won't promise we aren't going to get lost.dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-91560289899282528642008-06-05T10:31:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:03:35.476-08:00Panther Tracks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LA5RG2wZXYvxm0OrYf1jzFwb5Z6d-PrD3OEaa2ek94UrBmWnMIcV8NbCEGFVN05YzbH25bFM10MXUYUBN_4q3nrthSAUK6RhYiyTLoWQ9pEsUntB8Pfq3xeXMmElJkQ4nkJwF310rbU/s1600-h/black-panther-walking_~003116TB.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LA5RG2wZXYvxm0OrYf1jzFwb5Z6d-PrD3OEaa2ek94UrBmWnMIcV8NbCEGFVN05YzbH25bFM10MXUYUBN_4q3nrthSAUK6RhYiyTLoWQ9pEsUntB8Pfq3xeXMmElJkQ4nkJwF310rbU/s200/black-panther-walking_~003116TB.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208451752388008306" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Here we go again....</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> I swear we must be emit panther attractant or something! Today it was my son and my nephew who sighted the panther. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I was going to be helping Holly put some finishing touches on letterboxes today and the boys asked if they could fish in the river while we were working. So at 6:30 this morning the three of us headed over. When we arrived Holly and I drove the boys down to the river access at the campsites and dropped them off with a walkie-talkie and their fishing poles. We told them to fish their hearts out and left to get our work done. Not much after that my walkie-talkie went crazy. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I called to the boys, “What's going on? Talk to me!!” </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Mom” my son whispered, “We think we see that panther you were telling us about. What should we do?” </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Hold on, stay where you are unless you can quietly walk back. We're on our way.”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This time Holly grabbed the gun and we sped across the hayfield to the campsite. When we got down there the boys met us white as sheets. The panther was gone, just as quickly and as quietly as he had come.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Holly said, “Show me where you saw him.” We followed their pointing hands to the river. Was he across the river, in the river...where?</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They said “In the tree...”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Holly and I slipped down to the riverbank and looked all around. We didn't see the panther, but we did see the tree hanging over the river. It was just the kind of tree you would expect a panther to be in. And on the other side of the river we saw some fresh tracks and a tuft of black fur. Yep, there had definitely been something here. Maybe even still was. We didn't hang around to find out.<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The boys are over their scare. Although they did say they aren't camping with me this weekend.<br /> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Anyways, we thought we'd let you know, The Troll will be on standby with ammunition, if needed. Heck the Troll could probably scare a panther away without ammunition!</p>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-42167098642962942512008-05-25T05:28:00.000-07:002008-05-25T06:18:50.971-07:00The Adventures of 't' at the Valley<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Last night after leaving work, I headed over to visit Holly on the farm. I had a few treats I was dropping by and I wanted to check out the camping area. Who knew it would be such an exciting night?</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I pulled in her drive to be greeted by two grubby boys, a few cats and a chicken. I was promptly embraced in a hug from one little buckaroo, while the other boy looked at me like I was crazy...and maybe he's right. But the buckaroo is used to crazy women, so he loves me anyways: )</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After a quick change, a delicious farm burger and a small glass of wine, Holly took me on the grand tour. There is nothing like being on a farm on a cool spring evening. The animals were beginning to settle down, the crickets were chirping and the fireflies were getting ready to go out looking for their special someones. Of course, there were lots of other critters rustling about too, but I was blissfully unaware at this point.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We visited with the farm dogs...let's see all together I counted 7 dogs. I'm not sure which dogs went with the farm and which were just dogs of the Valley, but when you live out there in the wild, you can never have too many dogs. Two dogs (Hobo and Sadie) tagged along with me on my tour, something I would be glad of later on.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We walked across a hayfield or two and headed to the camping area. It is beautiful! I could hear the sound of a spring feeding into the river. The river was chilly, but not too cold. As Holly and I surveyed the boxing and tent arrangement possibilities, we kept our feet in the river. After being on mine all day at work, this was pure bliss! Holly pointed across the river to a horse riding trail that she likes to go on. Should she plant some boxes across the river? Sure, everyone needs to get their feet wet on a farm. We were both laughing at the thought of Mama Fox holding her pack above her head and crossing a river AGAIN, when suddenly Hobo stiffened and began barking. Sadie followed his lead. I followed his glance just in time to see a black streak through the forest across the river. I've heard tales of black panthers in this area. Last fall I actually saw one while I was taking care of a friend's animals. Ever since then, I must admit, I have been a bit paranoid about them.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Come on, let's get out of here, “ Holly immediately directed. My heart was pounding as we raced away. Once we were back in the hayfield, Holly seemed fine. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“What was that back there?” I asked her.<br />“Probably nothing, these dogs will bark at anything. Let's go see the orchard.”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So I followed her down the mown grass trail to the orchard, the whole time thinking about what that could've been. One strand of assurance I was holding onto was that at least it was across the river. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We arrived at the orchard. There are peaches, apples blueberries and even a bee hive. Wow, if I was a bear, this would be a great place to hang out in the fall! Holly tells me that they often do find black bears here. I begin thinking that maybe that is what we saw. And now I am not scared. I can handle seeing a bear in these parts. Hollerin' Holly is pretty loud, her holler could definitely scare it away! I still was a little startled when I hear a rustle in the nearby woods. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We headed over to the horse pasture after this where Holly introduced me to her jack ass. No I don't mean the Troll either! I've already met him and his bark is worse than Holly's bite; ) Markie, the donkey says hello to us and then Glennda the mule introduces herself. Before I know it I am standing in the pasture surrounded by beautiful horses. But wait one of these horses has horns...what!?! That is the biggest goat I have ever seen in my life! Be sure and gawk and take lots of pictures of Weston the mutant goat when you come to Holly's farm. I have never met a goat that is almost as big as a horse and thinks he is a horse. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Holly wanted to show me the fishing dock down behind the horse pasture before it got too dark. So we said goodbye to her horses. Jr. kept nudging Holly, almost pushing her. Then suddenly all of the horses ran towards the barn. Holly thought maybe Glenn had called them in.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The sunset was absolutely gorgeous. The night air was getting damp. The whipoorwills began calling back and forth. We headed down to the dock. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Looking back now, there are lots of things I should've noticed, like the huge tracks, the dark shadow in the tree, the tentativeness of Hobo and Sadie, but I was so wrapped up in the beautiful moment that I was completely unaware. Even so, as soon as we got to the dock, I had a funny feeling. The river was deep and black here. Holly, though, just kept chattering on about the big flood and the fish they've caught here and swimming in the summer. I didn't want her to know I was spooked. I knew she loved this place and if she wasn't scared than there was nothing to be scared of was there?</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">At the moment I reasoned this out, everything changed!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A low purring growl pierced the darkness. The whipoorwills stopped calling. The dogs started whining. I looked at Holly and for the first time saw real fear in her eyes. For a paralyzing moment we waited. The night was silent, there was just the sound of the river quietly slipping past. Standing here on this dock, it occurred to me that we were cornered. And whatever it was that was out there was not going to let us go without a fight. Where was Charlie of seekers1108 when we needed him? </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Holly and I moved close together and tried to figure out the direction the sound came from. Looking out into the semi-darkness, it seemed that the sound was a little to the left of us. There was a tree there. If this was what I feared, there was a good chance it was on that tree. Black panthers often hide their prey in a tree and then return to eat it later. Had we interrupted a feast...or were we about to be the feast? Had we even been stalked all evening? </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The dogs now started barking. Holly and I looked at each other. Holly pointed down towards the river. While the dogs were making lots of noise we quietly climbed down the side of the dock onto the river bank. Faster and quieter than either of us have ever moved in our lives, we headed down stream. We finally came out at the campground. We were panting and we could hear the dogs still barking back at the dock. We kept running, across the hayfield and into the house.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We slammed the screen door behind us and who was standing there with a gun but the Troll. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Holly! Where were you? I told you not to go down to the fishing dock at dark, you promised you wouldn't. You didn't go down there did you?”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“I just wanted to show 't'...”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Holly, YOU LIED!”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I think the panther is still out there. The troll went out this morning and found the tracks and the head of a goat at the base of the tree. Be careful at the gathering...and don't ask me to go anywhere near that dock!</p>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-70934737095906464492008-01-18T06:16:00.001-08:002008-01-18T06:29:45.948-08:00Snow Day in SCWARNING: this is not a letterboxing blog! This is just pics of the fun we South Carolinians have with a couple of inches of snow!<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://widget-6a.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=144115188090683754&site=widget-6a.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188090683754&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-6a.slide.com/p1/144115188090683754/bb_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188090683754&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-6a.slide.com/p2/144115188090683754/bb_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-71433286629507654142008-01-16T05:11:00.000-08:002008-12-10T02:03:36.103-08:00Punks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4wcqdO-PjG9Oc1nYD4OuDYCwfQlwF6cvClUvzthXukBNNMY_LcNgbXKU5pt7rSfYV38CnNOOhBA2scpY0npDwp-ymNCaNowcOCHwUYi2hoeguzjbd-6IytM-1I8gduQsyppPsOUS9cU/s1600-h/chicken+alley.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4wcqdO-PjG9Oc1nYD4OuDYCwfQlwF6cvClUvzthXukBNNMY_LcNgbXKU5pt7rSfYV38CnNOOhBA2scpY0npDwp-ymNCaNowcOCHwUYi2hoeguzjbd-6IytM-1I8gduQsyppPsOUS9cU/s200/chicken+alley.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156068657764249426" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7vdEyCpAiDq8MHI7Q1CmhNewrzOxoq2LIpxBqC9zbbU-1VyiMAY49m0ID5dxbtbljIyBIPArZwKQakmcoMW8B2DrUoRjl6JcwuuuafkYc-BGDZJrKLsAK4fKCFOBiUMN5sxxl5R5xLk/s1600-h/chicken+alley+2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7vdEyCpAiDq8MHI7Q1CmhNewrzOxoq2LIpxBqC9zbbU-1VyiMAY49m0ID5dxbtbljIyBIPArZwKQakmcoMW8B2DrUoRjl6JcwuuuafkYc-BGDZJrKLsAK4fKCFOBiUMN5sxxl5R5xLk/s200/chicken+alley+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156067820245626690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzyIYbFX6Am4o4H4aO9he3-pYe7KFrU85J-n8-PZfLjGH2Hpo61syqddZwio-ZCLvnGapBxUDEdmzOwy4smJIsi1XDyvSAYFZc3gISgAKIZlkxukNZOu0wNq7XMyGSDRIA4N13ndlzOI/s1600-h/chicken+alley+4.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzyIYbFX6Am4o4H4aO9he3-pYe7KFrU85J-n8-PZfLjGH2Hpo61syqddZwio-ZCLvnGapBxUDEdmzOwy4smJIsi1XDyvSAYFZc3gISgAKIZlkxukNZOu0wNq7XMyGSDRIA4N13ndlzOI/s200/chicken+alley+4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156064070739177266" /></a>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-66153702202424918282008-01-13T18:47:00.001-08:002008-01-13T18:47:18.291-08:00Mountain Mysteries Pictures<div><embed src="http://widget-9c.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=144115188090653596&site=widget-9c.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188090653596&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-9c.slide.com/p1/144115188090653596/bb_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188090653596&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-9c.slide.com/p2/144115188090653596/bb_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-8760678908091529992008-01-13T18:45:00.000-08:002008-01-13T19:07:42.278-08:00We Aint Chicken!!Warm pancakes sizzled on her griddle. REAL maple syrup stood at the ready. A simple country woman sat down and tried to satisfy herself with a simple country breakfast. However, this was the 2000s and technology was just a room away. <br />“Hmmm, wonder what's going on over at AQ?” <br />Simple questions don't always lead to simple answers. <br />She turns on her computer and found a partner in crime. (That's where I come in.)<br />You see, I had spent the weekend working hard. I had a fun time with my nieces who spent the night. I had cleaned up some 'piles' in desperate need of being sorted through. And I REALLY wanted to go boxing. And I REALLY thought I deserved to go boxing. So when I saw Holly was making pancakes and sensed she was dreaming of a day spent boxing, I jumped on the chance. It just so turned out Holly wasn't the only Farm Maiden in need of rescue. Mama Fox joined us for our adventures of the day.<br />Three very well behaved women, some fox kits and a buckaroo were off to spend an afternoon in the park. We found ourselves communing with river spirits, searching for the three sisters and hunting Little People. We were having a great time when we noticed a dark cloud looming on the horizon...literally. But we could just hear the voice of Straw Man Pete haunting us...we had to go on until we found him. About the time we found him big drops of rain began falling. We quickly covered up with a bright yellow poncho from Holly. Talk about discreet! But the logbooks must remain dry at all costs! We stamped in and headed back to our cars (a good ¼ mile away). We found a few little folks peeking out along the way, so we visited politely with them and went on. By the time we got to our cars we were all wet and cold. So what did we do? We followed Frank's example and went for coffee! Nothing like a nice hot drink when you are damp and chilly, mmmm.<br />Something about being warm again made us very brave. It was time to prove that we weren't chicken. Of course, we had Mama Fox to lead the way. We crossed the crosswalks with only seconds to spare. We passed by men in black. Punks winked at us as they strutted by, as if they knew where we were headed and why. In this way we entered Chicken Alley. We got the grand tour. We were glad to find that nerds are loved and respected there. I thought I saw the headless chicken peering out from under a stairwell, but I'm not sure. In any case, this is one of those treasures not found in your tourist guidebooks! My favorite part of this experience was the photo I captured on my cell phone of Mama Fox looking like a true punk, herself. That graffiti is a great backdrop for photos! <br />I reached my 400th find today. Exciting stuff, but not nearly as exciting as the AWESOME friends that I have come to know and the adventures these finds represent.dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-64973073219766913292008-01-13T18:04:00.001-08:002008-01-13T18:45:06.791-08:00Mountain MysteriesOur very first gathering ever was Twelfth Night in Asheville, NC. It was January 2007 and we were nervous about meeting REAL letterboxers. We were excited about finding some fun boxes in our old hometown, though. We visited haunted bridges, old castles and a real mountain farm. It turns out that real letterboxers were nice and fun. Dixie was a legend in our minds at the time. As we have gotten to know her over the last year, she is still a legend! But she is one of the nicest legends we've ever met. And I don't care how many finds she gets. I just hope she keeps planting because she has some of the neatest boxes around.<br />When I saw the Mountain Mysteries gathering slated for this January I knew I had to be there. It was all I remembered from last year and more. This time there was the haunted prison, a valiant cemetery visit and fishing in the French Broad. Old friends were there, as well as new ones. <br />My favorite moments of the day:<br />*Happening upon hopeinnc and CDQ as we had an epiphanous moment. It was wonderful to see familiar faces before our day even began. And thanks goodness for small children who run into bushes!<br />*Being in the right place at the right time to be the very first to visit with Frank and Alpha! Yes, Frank was there...if you knew where to look.<br />*Finding Darth Wolf's stamp in my logbook.<br />*Seeing Firefighter Daddy find his special box. It was a moving moment. It was very kind of him to share it with so many of us!<br />*Watching Mojo and the kids with the cemetery kitty.<br />*Running down the LONG stairwell of a haunted prison after hearing noises!<br />*Eating pizza and visiting a bookstore with letterboxers. Journals were on sale and we all scoured them for books with no lines!<br />*Visiting Helen's haunt with Holly. Yelling for Helen to come forth. Then yelling for her to go away. Watching the teenagers who were scared silly. Seeing an SUV full of clowns or scouts tumble out of their vehicle in search of Zealandia. Later finding out they were letterboxers!<br />*Driving home with ARK asleep beside me, satisfied and full of new memories.<br />Thanks Dixie (and all who helped plant and prepare) for another great gathering!dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-50560792985414907032008-01-03T05:58:00.001-08:002008-01-03T06:19:56.293-08:00New Links for the New YearWow! There are all kinds of really neat new blogs about letterboxing getting started. <br />Like this one from the <a href="http://foxesltc.blogspot.com/2007/12/first-endeavors.html">Little Foxes</a>. Her trading cards are amazing works of art! For Mama Foxes letterboxing adventures with her two little foxes, check out <a href="http://letterboxingwiththelittlefoxes.blogspot.com/">Foxes with Boxes</a>.<br />Then there is Holly's new blog: <a href="http://gotclues.blogspot.com/">Got Clues?</a>. She has the funnest adventures. I want to go letterboxing with her!<br />For any really cool letterboxing accessories You absolutely must check out <a href="http://www.dixiegraphix.com/">Dixie's Cool Stuff</a>. She has T-shirts, car logos, ink...just about anyhting you can think of! And if she doesn't have it, she can find out how to get it, I guarantee it!<br />Finally, The Great Green Tortuga, otherwise known as Ryan, creator of Atlas Quest, has gone on <a href="www.floridatrail2008.com/">Another Long Walk</a>. This time he's hitting the Florida Trail and He's not stopping until he makes it to the Head of the AT in Georgia! Since most of us can't leave our day jobs, we like to live this out through him. He is so great to share his trip with us!<br />Keep an eye on my Check it Out section for great new links like these!dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-41094470934822756382007-12-31T18:15:00.001-08:002008-12-10T02:03:37.868-08:00Our Last Letterboxing Adventure<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qohJbH7ZGgKK5MsN8LMXrGQZqogqGYsWZgI8D6Px0zH6dtSCD-sUFYWPGUGr15q0TwtvDT1XC_yeU20qhYIXYkOV98hOVSXa7H32HUybykRRGlIGoD1E9baxFbGMojlq8h8Rb7acRjg/s1600-h/IMG_9188.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qohJbH7ZGgKK5MsN8LMXrGQZqogqGYsWZgI8D6Px0zH6dtSCD-sUFYWPGUGr15q0TwtvDT1XC_yeU20qhYIXYkOV98hOVSXa7H32HUybykRRGlIGoD1E9baxFbGMojlq8h8Rb7acRjg/s200/IMG_9188.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150334923668729634" /></a><br />...of 2007.<br />One last adventure for 2007 with a good friend was all I was looking for. I packed the girls up and grabbed our letterboxing bag. We were heading to the place where all good adventures begin, Leopard Forest Coffee shop. There were three Little Foxes waiting on us there. <br />We certainly could not think of a better way to spend the day!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVBmDFVpqxjv2tluhT2Wb6cWTTB29q7eu-BH5hmC7s5Jm5O5f7EcCV2zqoivlGIJxxGIIknxc8eCk-Hf6ewOAXthzALGumSnY9I-JI21bldvBrKa3X8WBZiHoH7rMOLF8LZIDbOaxp3s/s1600-h/IMG_9168.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVBmDFVpqxjv2tluhT2Wb6cWTTB29q7eu-BH5hmC7s5Jm5O5f7EcCV2zqoivlGIJxxGIIknxc8eCk-Hf6ewOAXthzALGumSnY9I-JI21bldvBrKa3X8WBZiHoH7rMOLF8LZIDbOaxp3s/s200/IMG_9168.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150329477650198194" /></a><br />Once we settled in with our coffee and our clues, we decided to head up the road towards Wildcat Wayside. We made a few quick drive-by stops and then we got to the good stuff. “Just a short little hike...really easy...nothing to it” I assured Mama Fox. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhduNlotOWmBnwCxzdiPqSgm8P1dmtWhdwWd4ukjzAKv7Cx7g23HrsD2WpilTw9YSlAZdgCCYtP00H5Vwu_RgaJyi5yHC0yOakHDAHNzcmNFQEn9rIeh5c6Gk23Oa7jmACs-Q-oxZbTnDo/s1600-h/IMG_9164.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhduNlotOWmBnwCxzdiPqSgm8P1dmtWhdwWd4ukjzAKv7Cx7g23HrsD2WpilTw9YSlAZdgCCYtP00H5Vwu_RgaJyi5yHC0yOakHDAHNzcmNFQEn9rIeh5c6Gk23Oa7jmACs-Q-oxZbTnDo/s200/IMG_9164.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150328279354322594" /></a><br />I always forget those uphill climbs, creek crossings and bouldering spots: ) We only needed a “Little First Aid” along the way. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4YjsxEe28C0DUFzZjMZ34HUW-gOsQbIUF1CPcMbdM_xVkWU38ue9dQzx5hgBA65aY0WXvUx0PwmK5iNrVlB0_NXR6Z9Ufyx6vHrShqxMsZt7TzYjB7A07Cvt-1JeiCEto_KRWkLQ_Bs/s1600-h/IMG_9170.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4YjsxEe28C0DUFzZjMZ34HUW-gOsQbIUF1CPcMbdM_xVkWU38ue9dQzx5hgBA65aY0WXvUx0PwmK5iNrVlB0_NXR6Z9Ufyx6vHrShqxMsZt7TzYjB7A07Cvt-1JeiCEto_KRWkLQ_Bs/s200/IMG_9170.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150330229269475010" /></a>This box actually might have come in even handier later in our day. Maybe Holly should consider making another for the “extreme” box at Jone's Gap? We found the wildcat at Wildcat Falls and then after seeing the BIG falls...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-KbaavYhorTbA6h-X9YgXJ0OP_bDcQZY79L2NH4ifA6X0k46HHoQVDuQJPv-2lQerpiON6H16BafIGnWfNCv9BWAgAyDWw3UXVdnLb4d-OfL8jPbZ36TSOFGHaQp_BzP2rVipKNRwPE/s1600-h/IMG_9173.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-KbaavYhorTbA6h-X9YgXJ0OP_bDcQZY79L2NH4ifA6X0k46HHoQVDuQJPv-2lQerpiON6H16BafIGnWfNCv9BWAgAyDWw3UXVdnLb4d-OfL8jPbZ36TSOFGHaQp_BzP2rVipKNRwPE/s200/IMG_9173.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150331135507574482" /></a> we headed “Home” (my last box of the year, by the way).<br />We contemplated Ashemore Heritage Preserve, but there is a bit of a river crossing in that hike and we thought better of it since it was chilly and the rivers were running full. Of course, if I had known Mama Fox was going to be showing her adventurous side, I might have pushed the chance to do this one, too!<br />We drove over to Jones Gap and headed straight for that dang Carolina WoolyBooger! What was I thinking even telling Mama Fox how fun this was? Why didn't I just tell her it was too far to do with kids? The river was truly raging and churning. It was enough to strike fear in my heart and cause Mama Fox to think not once...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5ENv2P5apQ1GrmTAMX7b9vfpIH-ccXka3l6TZk9ILt6z7PVZdo0nq37neYWi-7Dk87g1s72TElxGTiDwh0xMoMl9HkQB4YX2etqnYZ7tk33tINNcNwRQNtjoibGJhuQspGPifHnj2DA/s1600-h/IMG_9176.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5ENv2P5apQ1GrmTAMX7b9vfpIH-ccXka3l6TZk9ILt6z7PVZdo0nq37neYWi-7Dk87g1s72TElxGTiDwh0xMoMl9HkQB4YX2etqnYZ7tk33tINNcNwRQNtjoibGJhuQspGPifHnj2DA/s200/IMG_9176.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150332088990314210" /></a> but twice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HKFbCT70vPPSfN-G-PhESw8ZqoiU2Wu6FWGk0NKunNjiY_LFSk24etJyvl832b0nQYxAIW4eFyTnpA7OJOj3ie75ZZMFjaSd1pE-CQXvkEPLIdhGk4k6Z2k0UExjfbG-pb9Dkzf3ei8/s1600-h/IMG_9177.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HKFbCT70vPPSfN-G-PhESw8ZqoiU2Wu6FWGk0NKunNjiY_LFSk24etJyvl832b0nQYxAIW4eFyTnpA7OJOj3ie75ZZMFjaSd1pE-CQXvkEPLIdhGk4k6Z2k0UExjfbG-pb9Dkzf3ei8/s200/IMG_9177.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150332862084427506" /></a> about it. I offered to get it for her, but she declined. She prepared to leap. Over the roaring water, I said, "Maybe we should wait..." but it was lost over the noise and she took the leap.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsiwtsmD9zrRblfDBnAqrtH3w9BsqrHzSa3mTusN9u3rTX51CTJi-7r38uobKFuFfSqFMRxvwZTNaNKIYXJjiLy-zx3X6Tw7dmmKBywhQesfT2nh74XSTV8pIJ6bOv6wPBsIDnZb0d2I/s1600-h/IMG_9178.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsiwtsmD9zrRblfDBnAqrtH3w9BsqrHzSa3mTusN9u3rTX51CTJi-7r38uobKFuFfSqFMRxvwZTNaNKIYXJjiLy-zx3X6Tw7dmmKBywhQesfT2nh74XSTV8pIJ6bOv6wPBsIDnZb0d2I/s200/IMG_9178.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150333506329521922" /></a> She made it to the box just fine, but getting back was another story. Mama Fox decided on another route for the way back. She disappeared into the rhododendron. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5r27UnX5eDmA58NpG2RGX66Ourp_i7ZmI7aCEQ-BAzLprdqD0IURCSQNaqHubKG0gUcDZ6BGO_BvWdy8ji__D8PR0R97kQyz6HjJWsOlfPWMA9IAbeQKFW2ab8mWBFkMZ9TWMY8n-ySo/s1600-h/IMG_9186.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5r27UnX5eDmA58NpG2RGX66Ourp_i7ZmI7aCEQ-BAzLprdqD0IURCSQNaqHubKG0gUcDZ6BGO_BvWdy8ji__D8PR0R97kQyz6HjJWsOlfPWMA9IAbeQKFW2ab8mWBFkMZ9TWMY8n-ySo/s200/IMG_9186.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150334129099779858" /></a><br />We waited and waited. I began to imagine her in the river, her logbook soaked (tragedy of all tragedies!) Foxy Boy looked at me with those blue eyes that see into your heart and I knew if she was gone it was my fault. Hikers passed us and I wondered if they had seen her upriver. I kept glancing upriver looking for her. Finally my heart stopped as I saw her, pants rolled up, precariously balancing her backpack making it across the river in 40 degree December weather. I wish I had snapped a photo, but I was too busy praying, “Please, let her make it across, please!” I started taking off my socks in case she needed them.<br />She made it.<br />One pair of wet pants and one pair of wet shoes later, she came down the trail smiling! Great, Muggle Fox was NEVER going to let her go boxing with me again. Crazy Fox!!! She got the box and kept her logbook out of the river. AND she was still game for a few more boxes. However, she reassured me that I was not to blame, it was Holly of Talley Valley Farm Clan's fault! Holly gave Mama Fox the idea after the adventure with her grumpy troll. Whew! Maybe Muggle Fox will still let Mama Fox out of the house with us?<br />All's well that ends well, right?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXs9EMSAhlHI7jTPipJxPT8THoTNy0IlUyMtgfa6yq9x32hI7R-A1s4-7nOwZXV0dLtQYPDW4b6G-mtwAHUDp5T7dizh6mHV3wOiG4anw14UFd0UrfTy_T8D4iiANEQBNrj0_nMct95Qs/s1600-h/IMG_9167.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXs9EMSAhlHI7jTPipJxPT8THoTNy0IlUyMtgfa6yq9x32hI7R-A1s4-7nOwZXV0dLtQYPDW4b6G-mtwAHUDp5T7dizh6mHV3wOiG4anw14UFd0UrfTy_T8D4iiANEQBNrj0_nMct95Qs/s200/IMG_9167.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150327665173999250" /></a>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-46861539403474377852007-12-24T16:45:00.000-08:002007-12-24T22:29:32.034-08:00My Christmas Present!I got a wonderful Christmas present this year! My family (husband, four kids and two dogs!) took me letterboxing on Christmas Eve. For a few of them the gift was at first, a little forced. But by the end of our day, we had all had a wonderful time together. And a bonus is that the little ones were worn out sufficiently to crash for the big day. I don't even think they could hold open their eyes to listen for reindeer hooves!<br />We began our trip at Wildcat Falls, where we found “A Little First Aid”. Wildcat Wayside Park is a popular wayside park. On any given day there are 5 or 6 cars parked here. We were pleasantly surprised to see not one car today! I guess most folks aren't out hiking on Christmas Eve. That was good news for us letterboxers. We hiked to the end of the trail before we finally found a “Wildcat”. I am so glad Traveling Duo made us go that far for the box. My husband and I had hiked this entire trail years ago. Without that box there, we may never have hiked it again, Thanks for the box TD: )<br />We headed out from here to Ashmore Heritage Preserve. There was a “Grumpy Old Bear' waiting in a cave for us. We found him and a nest full of mice! The dogs really wanted to get at those rodents! But we kept them apart. We headed up the trail a little further to find a beautiful “Blue Bottle”. We love the wood backing on Kya and Karver's stamps. It is such a special touch. We have been to AHP three times now and were very happy we had no need to go all the way down to the lake. It's a steep climb back up!!<br />From here we made a quick stop at the F-mart. Not sure what the F stands for, but when I was a camp counselor at the local Girl Scout camp, we called it the 'Fart'-Mart. If you have never been by the F-mart, this box is a great excuse to ramble on in. There are a few things you should know first. Somewhere around there is a 60 pound black cat! He's friendly. The owner is friendly too. He lives across the street, and knows everything about everybody in this neck of the woods! He will also try to sell you a 50 cent piece for $5. Check out the wall inside the store over the tables. There are a zillion pictures and newspaper articles that are VERY interesting. My favorite is the article about the 42 rattlesnakes found on Wonderland Range Road nearby! We had already driven past this box once and seen that we were not going to be able to get it. We were hoping this would be our chance. The horseshoe drive was unoccupied and we got our dogs out for a quick potty break next to a big stump. But...what is that? A letterbox in the stump? Yep, with one of those famous hot dogs! That's another thing I forgot to tell you. F-Mart really does have the best hot dogs in town!<br />Last stop was Jones Gap. This is one of our very favorite parks in the whole wide world! We don't even need the excuse of letterboxes to go here. But the letterboxes we found today were lots of fun! Smokey the bear was the first box. Then we went to cross over the bridge into the park and a grumpy troll jumped out! The troll made us give him our first born son in exchange for the right to cross the bridge. It was a fair trade and our son is happy with the grumpy trolls. At least he won't have to letterbox anymore: ) From here we were in search of a missing dog, “Benson”. He really gave us a run for our money. We tried a few trails before we finally figured this out! But we did manage to find that cute little puppy! Then we headed to Jones Gap trail for a puzzling box, “3rd on 6th”, still puzzling over that. After that we thought we saw a “Wildcat' in the cave of a boulder. We ran ahead on the trail until we had to face the “Carolina Woolybooger”. Were we brave enough? This was a really fun box once we figured it out! We were really going have to go after this one! It took some courage, but we faced him! We highly recommend you do too!<br />What a great day! I love my family!! Merry Christmas to my letterboxing family, too! May you be as blessed as I was today. I also want to mention ldm. I met them in Leopard Forest a few weeks ago and they knew me right away from reading my blog. She and her husband were so nice! I can't wait for all of you to meet them!dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-6054064419085418792007-11-18T14:17:00.000-08:002007-11-19T07:03:52.385-08:00Table Rock Ups and Downs-Part IIFrom our summit experience, we headed back down. Only 7 more miles to go! We had renewed our energies since we knew would be going downhill and then following a ridge. The trail ahead of us was daunting but we felt strong! We made our way precariously down the Table Rock Trail. We had that look I had seen in those who passed us as we trudged uphill. We looked satisfied, energized and most importantly we were not panting. <br />We came to the crossroads and watched as some of the familiar hikers we had seen along the way continued down. We took the road less traveled.<br />Right away we could tell it was less traveled. It was as if we entered an entirely different world. Where we had been headed on a minor hiking highway before, now the trail was more like an Indian foot path, the earth was soft beneath our feet. The weeds criss-crossed ahead of us as if to keep their well known secret. Most noticeably, the boulders disappeared, not to be seen again until much later in our hike! The ridge immediately confronted us with it's steepness. There were no rock stairways here to guide our feet, no showiness, just steep hills.<br /> “Mom, I thought you said this was going to be flatter,” came from behind me. <br />We pushed our calves until they felt like concrete blocks begging us to stop. The trail would level out, we would sigh relief and then up we would go again. Finally on a level ridge, we passed a small group of hikers headed the opposite way. They asked us how much more uphill they had to go and then we knew we must be headed down. We went down into a rhododendron tunnel and enjoyed the cool, lush greenness of it. Somewhere just past the bottom of this descent was the Mill Creek Pass trail. I had already decided we were probably going to take this. The thought of one more steep climb to Pinnacle was too much for that moment. We got to the pass and I thought I would run up the Ridge trail and get the Little Brown Jug box. Surely it was fairly close by. After searching for a few tenths of a mile, I couldn't find the landmark so I returned to the fambly. 'd' and I made a decision. After looking over the map, it wasn't that much farther to get to Pinnacle's summit. Sure it was all uphill, but then it would be all downhill from there, right? We decided to go for it. We knew we would regret being that close and not doing it one day. So after eating our Power Bars we headed on up.<br />Our Hiking South Carolina book had warned that this part of the trail was steep, but we found it to be very do-able. We ascended to a high point, only to be greeted just around the curve in the trail, by another hill. After we ascended the third of these, we were sure we were at the top. The summits are not very well marked here. Table Rock Summit did not a marker, so we weren't expecting Pinnacle to have one. Our guide book had also warned us that the summit was tree covered, with no views. We looked around us and could not see another higher point. So we decided it was time to plant our summit box. We found just the perfect tree. A little too perfect! It looked like a bear might be setting up camp there any moment now, so we opted to hide the box behind the tree. We didn't want to risk being responsible for any letterboxer losing a limb to a grumpy bear! After this we set off with light hearts and feet, knowing that the road would be all downhill from here....<br />But we were wrong! We ascended a few more steep hills before we actually made it to the summit. It was too far to go back and get the box, so it still lies just short of the pinnacle of Pinnacle, oh well! If we ever make it back up there,we intend on moving it. But that will have to wait.<br />Now we were really headed downhill. And downhill was no joking matter. We reeled down several twisty, steep inclines just barely hanging on. It was like a roller coaster for hikers! We knew one thing for absolute sure: we were glad we had not come up this way!! <br />After passing the beginning of the Foothills Trail (which I left my box at home for, dangit!) we soon came to Bald Rock. Not to be confused with the Bald Rock that locals send cars over and my college friend found a dead body at! This Bald Rock has a spectacular view. Probably one of the best in all of Table Rock State Park. The sea of mountains gently rolling out of the flat lands against the late afternoon sun was comforting. We were still feeling good, knowing our big hike was nearing to an end.<br />We descended a little more and came to the Mill Creek Pass. This was a great resting spot and we managed to locate a hidden still, which could've made the rest of our hike painless. While we were able to find the still, it appeared that the Revenuers had confiscated the moonshine!<br />We enjoyed the cool river for a moment and then headed on. We were guessing we still had about three miles to go and we were ready to be back at the bottom of the mountain. When we came to Mill Creek Falls it was clear that our area is in a sever drought. Very little water trickled down the stair step rock faces. We did several river crossings on our way down. The rivers here are not the smooth pebbled mountain rivers, but wild and full of boulders and long slick rocks. I was fascinated with the sluice that channeled the entire river through a 6 inch gash in a flat rock. The water rushed through as if it was a sharp knife slicing cleanly into it.<br />After this we entered into forest hiking. Lots of land and boulders beginning to pop up out of nowhere. Rock walls dwelt beside the trial in harmony with the land, not imposing giants like on the Table Rock trail. This was when we began to walk with a hypnotic step. One foot in front of the other. We could've been doing it in our sleep! We were getting very tired and more than ready to be done, but there was still a mile or so to go. Our feet were aching and our legs would probably not know how to stop when we did get to the end of the trail. <br />When we saw Carrick Creek and then hooked up with the Carrick Creek trail we were elated. I am sure that the Carrick creek trail is beautiful in it's own right, but it was beautiful to us because it meant the end was truly in sight!<br />As we rejoined the paved section of the trail I reached in my pocket to get our hiking pink slip out. I placed it into the box, so the rangers would know we made it out alive. Then I headed straight for the nearby water fountain. As I greedily slurped water, 'd' elbowed me. I thought he was trying to get his turn at the fountain, so I tried to get in one last slurp. When I looked up he was pointing to the kiosk where I had dropped off our hiking slip and there were Kya and Karver Redfern! It was so good to see them. We chatted a bit and then headed on our way home...to meatball subs and Coke! Delicious!!! Maybe one of the top three meals of my life.<br />Total hike: 11.4 milesdtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-12314179923745216732007-11-11T12:10:00.000-08:002007-11-11T12:16:23.107-08:00You Came!!When the Jwalkers and our family discussed having a gathering at Table Rock, we hoped that a few of you would make it...we were VERY pleasantly surprised. Quite a lot of you showed up! It was a lot of fun meeting so many new friends and seeing lots of old friends. We think letterboxers are some of the nicest folks in the world and you all proved it! The crowd started trickling in Friday night and the party continued through lunchtime today. We all agreed we want to do this again, but in warmer weather, so look out for next year's event!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Highlights:</span><br />Meeting two muggle dads in one day: Muggle Fox and Dixie's Muggle! Very nice young men. I hope they weren't forever scarred by the craziness. It was quite a treat to see the men behind these famous women: )<br />Seeing the cornucopia bread that Flour Girl made for the event stamp! It was amazing!! We were sorry to see pieces of it go to feed the ducks, but I am sure the ducks were happy to get it.<br />Watching the cootie center! I don't think it kept a cootie in it longer that 15 seconds. Those kids were cootie-ing fast and furious! And I think we only came home with 2.<br />Special guests! We were able to meet Cyclonic and Schizokete from PA and VA. High Roller came from WI (he actually just moved here, but since he still has WI plates, we're claiming it!). Isabeau and her crew came from GA. Ghopper and family and Firefighter family was there. The florys and Richards6 came all the way from mid NC. Of course, Dixie, Knit Wit and the Foxes from WNC were there. The Box Hunters from Columbia, SC and the Dawg Pound. The Grey Crazy crew and the Peas came up from Greenwood. LOTS of local boxers came. I didn't have enough time to get around and speak to everyone, but thanks SO much for coming!! One surprise guest was Paula, of the Woody Clowns. She made us some chicken for breakfast and wienies for late night snacks. Nothing like waking up to a clown wandering around the campground!<br />Watching the kids play, play and play some more! They had marshmallow roasts, scary stories, blond stories (from the head blond, PizzaNia!) and glow sticks (thanks JJJAKERS!). Also seeing them carry that dead muskrat across our campsites, sheesh!<br />Knowing at elast one person made it to the top of Table Rock! Thanks highroller!<br />Night boxing. We had a total of 10 night boxes. Nine on the trail and one very special bonus box that Cyclonic shared with us. AMAZING, is all I have to say about that! Also thanks for your cheerful rainbow lights Cyclonic!<br />Noticing the generosity of letterboxers. Raffle prizes donated from near and far, canned goods for the food pantries and clothing and dog toys for the family whose house burned down, well wishes for our military dad in Afghanistan. All of these were wonderful gestures. But it was all capped off for me when JJJAKERS, who had decided to head home early to thaw out, offered to leave their tent set up for Woody Clowns so that the clowns would not need to set up in the dark! <br />Hearing the banjo band at campsite #62. Whoever you are, thanks! We really enjoyed the music.<br />Warm bathrooms! I can't tell you how many times I truly considered putting my bed in the bathroom for the night! <br />This mornings sermon on letterboxing. Did you know that there was letterboxing in Jesus' time? Just ask TD of the Jwalkers! I hope to post his acronym for letterboxing for all of you who missed it. I never thought I'd hear a sermon like this one: )<br />I am sure I have forgotten some more great moments. After a few days rest I hope to be a little more coherent! Thanks you for coming to our event and making it so spectacular! We really enjoyed meeting you.dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-35547598013534118902007-11-04T08:33:00.000-08:002007-11-04T08:40:36.018-08:00Table Rock Ups and Downs Part IYesterday was a perfect day for a hike! Even Weather.com agreed with us on that. We set out on our pilgrimage completely prepared. We had sandwiches, hot soup, water and trail mix. We had our first aid kit, glow lights, and emergency blankets. We had maps, books and clues, of course! I even wore my Pocket Full of Rocks T-shirt over my long sleeve shirt in case we got lost and ended up on the news: ) I figured a little publicity for my cousin's band couldn't hurt. Plus it's a really cool T-shirt! Over that I wore a red vest for easy spotting. <br />Those of you who know me, know that it was an extraordinary accomplishment for me to be this prepared. My unusual sense of caution came from the voice of all of my friends who care echoing in my head. So you see, you all are rubbing off on me: )<br />The boys came with us. Being 12 and 13, we thought they could handle the hike. And handle it they they did! I venture to say that they were far more physically prepared than we were and have fewer aches today than we do!<br />Our prelude to the hike was a stop for a roadside 'Hiawatha' box. This was clever and fun to find.<br />The hike itself, however, opened with tragedy. As I was climbing a steep grade in search of a hidden treasure, my camera, which had been wrapped around my wrist, fell off and rolled down into the waterfall below (while I truly looked on in horror!). We were able to retrieve it, but it is not working and I was not able to take pictures of the wonderful sights we saw yesterday. Unfortunately, I spent the next two or three miles consumed in grief. My camera is almost a part of me. It is truly one of my most loved means of communication. Once I overcame my sorrow, I tried to catalogue as much of the wonder in words as I could to share with you. We'll see how much I can remember.<br />Anyways, in spite of my grief, I couldn't help but be in awe of the boulders and rocky giants that guarded the trail. Table Rock trail is a difficult hike. It is constantly up, up and up! There are steps gouged into the stones to help you on your way. For all of it's difficulty, we saw many young and old traveling the way. We saw cub scouts, boy scouts, teenagers, and retired folks. We saw families like us and young couples holding hands. We saw a grandfather and his four year old grandson. Amazingly we never heard the boy whine! The common factor was that we were all pilgrims on this well worn highway to our hiking mecca and we were all panting at one point or another! <br />As we forged ahead past the stone trolls, we eventually came to Governor's Rock. This rock is a God-send. As you come up out of the trail onto the rock face, you are first overwhelmed by the sudden open sky. Then the enormity of the rock you are standing on hits you. Finally, as you return to normal breathing, you take a seat and let the beauty of the spot sink in. The rock face itself is rippled and pocked, covered in spots by a soft worn moss. The moss is graced with yellow flowers that sway in the mountain top winds. The view from this rock is a western-facing view towards the two highest points in SC, Sassafrass mountain and Pinnacle mountain. We were tempted to be completely satisfied with making it to this point. However, after a few minutes rest, we pressed on.<br />The trail ascends a little after this and the gives you a chance to rest your weary feet along a ridge. The light speckled through the golden, orange, pink and red dangling fall leaves. At one place in the trail we walked under a few red maples. The light passed through the trees and then reflected off of the carpet beneath our feet and bathed us in a salmon glow. It was a surreal feeling. We found the summit of Table Rock and enjoyed another brief rest. <br />After the summit, we headed down hill a good ways before coming to the famed 'Table'. We investigated the many rock faces, each time going on a little further. We found a great picnic spot on some soft moss covered rock under the twisted wind blown pines. From our spot we had a view of Slicking Rock Falls. This is a huge scar shaped Rock face on an opposite mountain side. A monarch butterfly also flew lazily past our heads. Our lunch was a welcome feast! We had peanut butter and honey, chips and hot chicken soup. Wally-world carries these soup/hot chocolates containers that are self heating. Too heavy for an extended hike, but we were willing to carry them for ours. Yum! Nothing like chicken noodle soup on a mountain top. <br />Once our bellies were full and our feet were rested, we got up the nerve to find and 'Adrenaline Junkie'. We found the true end of the trail and the box. This, in itself, would have been awesome, but we were seeking another mountain top experience.dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-792253792046931632007-11-02T04:28:00.000-07:002007-11-02T04:34:12.351-07:00Nothing to do with Letterboxing...We had so much fun on Halloween this year. We took lots of fun pictures and I thought some of our Letterboxing friends might want to see them: ) So <br />Happy Halloween!<br /><br /><p style="visibility:visible;"><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://widget-ff.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" height="320" width="426" style="width:426px;height:320px"><param name="movie" value="http://widget-ff.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="l" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/> <param name="flashvars" value="cy=ms&il=1&channel=144115188088670975&site=widget-ff.slide.com"/></object><p><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=ms&ad=0&id=144115188088670975&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-ff.slide.com/p1/144115188088670975/ms_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=ms&ad=0&id=144115188088670975&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-ff.slide.com/p2/144115188088670975/ms_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></p></p>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-47752146595815375582007-10-20T20:09:00.000-07:002007-10-20T20:14:15.933-07:00Setting the TableTable Rock, here we come!<br /><br />If you haven't signed up yet, I am going to lure you with these fun pictures from our last stop at Table Rock!<br /><br />Friday the Little Foxes and the Fambly headed over to Table Rock to do some scouting. I am so excited about this gathering. The lakeside picnic shelter is going to be a neat place to eat and greet. The playground and bathrooms are a stones throw away. The trails are covered in fallen leaves. The views are breathtaking. I can't wait to see all of our old friends and meet some new ones!<br />Bring your tents, campers, coats and marshmallows. Don't forget canned food for the food shelter.<br />By the way, The Little Foxes and I did see a bear on our hike Friday, so please be careful. We are sure these same bears will still be out there in November.<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://widget-80.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=144115188088416384&site=widget-80.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188088416384&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-80.slide.com/p1/144115188088416384/bb_t016_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188088416384&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-80.slide.com/p2/144115188088416384/bb_t016_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-65496347143984141222007-10-19T05:57:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:03:38.762-08:00Above All: Be Discreet!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgngJdsWqupBzG5l689i3OzPh2PJ9L0z8FgHHVrgcvkg1LnEHmEZdKm5g0Nh2GLqbbKzW3MaIouB8vKz5AR-tqATJpyZWBpEy5cXKJyyDIp0NA0wuvpAnjzCUqjAxKMdqIRVmLTUmG6aIU/s1600-h/IMG_7495.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgngJdsWqupBzG5l689i3OzPh2PJ9L0z8FgHHVrgcvkg1LnEHmEZdKm5g0Nh2GLqbbKzW3MaIouB8vKz5AR-tqATJpyZWBpEy5cXKJyyDIp0NA0wuvpAnjzCUqjAxKMdqIRVmLTUmG6aIU/s200/IMG_7495.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123037228454157026" /></a><br />Media coverage, large groups trampling the area, children screaming,"Here's the letterbox, mom!" for all the world to hear...All of these topics are sure to get a response on the AQ message boards. Letterboxers are almost like a secret spy organization. We memorize our clues, we go from tree to tree always watching behind us, we call outsiders 'muggles' or 'birds'. We grab our loot, get our work done and carefully replace it until it is invisible to the human eye. All the while looking over our shoulder. We wear our 'plain clothes' so that we never attract attention. <br />Usually.<br />When I met a local clown, I was skeptic about her blending in abilities. She assured me she was discreet. She always took her round, red nose off when boxing. She never made insane balloon animals while boxing, although her children might be wearing balloon hats. She reassured me this was normal. <br />I wasn't so sure.<br />Yesterday she proved to me that a clown can actually be a perfect disguise in some cases! At a local Senior Citizens Fall Festival a few of us managed to have a mini gathering. Nobody ever even took a second look. <br />I think I might get one of those noses. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRt9OepXMvizOGDnf0dxzFY2qKByjqsN12QGjk6RpdZxwlrdXMv1rptuD2TXNLYryTPSmzGcSrK7U-Xg6GY2OHDVeUHOt8Q2V9EdV2xdFvzoqqVVQqEUS8sDmNxMLE8Oj-lACkGIYBUs/s1600-h/IMG_7496.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRt9OepXMvizOGDnf0dxzFY2qKByjqsN12QGjk6RpdZxwlrdXMv1rptuD2TXNLYryTPSmzGcSrK7U-Xg6GY2OHDVeUHOt8Q2V9EdV2xdFvzoqqVVQqEUS8sDmNxMLE8Oj-lACkGIYBUs/s200/IMG_7496.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123038972210879218" /></a>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-13470412357905031602007-09-15T05:09:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:03:40.561-08:00We Got Our Passport!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZd-yH1ZKRCK4hTzzLlHgNNbPRdF49PMRdqTmx6Fi34CCPTFeSom0laxaRwB4n-yatTV5T1lDYhX-FcJk0FBC6buyyrC09jVBVkZbAHmUQHB-J93W6ryZBb6KTL1_4Xfung51lKyle_o/s1600-h/IMG_6666.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZd-yH1ZKRCK4hTzzLlHgNNbPRdF49PMRdqTmx6Fi34CCPTFeSom0laxaRwB4n-yatTV5T1lDYhX-FcJk0FBC6buyyrC09jVBVkZbAHmUQHB-J93W6ryZBb6KTL1_4Xfung51lKyle_o/s200/IMG_6666.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110407051093391042" /></a><br />Life can get hectic and sometimes you just need to get away. That's exactly what we did last weekend. We packed up our tent and headed to Boone, NC. Of course, our getaway was coincidentally timed to match a gathering. And we coincidentally had camp sites right next to the Flory Family and the Little Foxes. <br />The gathering was very laid back and wonderfully put together. Thanks Shoafsters for all you put into it, especially all of the planting you and Sweet and Sour did. We were able to find many boxes and see most of the highlights of Boone and Blowing Rock. <br />The Boone Greenway is home to several boxes. Our fambly had a wonderful walk first thing Saturday morning on this paved trail. Walking it left us longing for one in our town. The girls slowed us down a good bit, though, and it wasn't because of their walking speed. It was all of the jewelweed lining the path. They love popping <br />the seed pods. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdQl3lb5UtwYEb6XNPqXGgqBbsQtiI7HGgLOuYZQoSVK2vVst7AQSRr9SydtkIRy1cm3k8sAJz1QeMmtf9nmjU54TXf5QSI_h64Qehxp4Ybuo0BqtjDnj4njMT2HgrQpbayBqKSLvNAE/s1600-h/IMG_6660.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdQl3lb5UtwYEb6XNPqXGgqBbsQtiI7HGgLOuYZQoSVK2vVst7AQSRr9SydtkIRy1cm3k8sAJz1QeMmtf9nmjU54TXf5QSI_h64Qehxp4Ybuo0BqtjDnj4njMT2HgrQpbayBqKSLvNAE/s200/IMG_6660.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110405058228565618" /></a><br />Bring a picnic lunch and make a day of it. There is a baby apatasaurus that needs to be rescued, after all. <br />When we returned to the shelter we found the playground series. The girls loved digging them out of the sand. What a neat idea. There were several very cool event stamps. I especially loved the shredded carrots. That had me fooled, for sure. I'm glad I didn't get a spoonful of PZ cut on my salad. I blinked and almost missed Mama Wolf-with no cubs in tow- and jeepsterhound. I did miss Mountain Scorpia. I think she was somewhere acquiring the sweet nectar of life I like to call good coffee.<br />After spending a good part of the day here, we headed back to the campground where the dads and kids wanted to stay. Considering the awesome rope swing, the river full of trout and the cool bouldering area that came with our campsites, I don't blame them. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRK1eajHpkRi3wCDvBrzGpP9bnW4QjIvnl_y1ZDN1uttAzJaSPLfbDqCJ4HBOr7QL-wN2Iod7-2AmHagnzo-e-k_untCC2ESzDXay7mu3GRFMxPHNW30KICMlPA7QFD3gu1qNBnH8xrZw/s1600-h/IMG_6644.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRK1eajHpkRi3wCDvBrzGpP9bnW4QjIvnl_y1ZDN1uttAzJaSPLfbDqCJ4HBOr7QL-wN2Iod7-2AmHagnzo-e-k_untCC2ESzDXay7mu3GRFMxPHNW30KICMlPA7QFD3gu1qNBnH8xrZw/s200/IMG_6644.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110404766170789474" /></a><br />But Erica and I were itching to get at those boxes, so we headed out and got a few on our own. We got some of our passport stamps and ran into The Little Foxes along the way. <br />We returned to camp just in time to make dinner and smores. Yum! <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisolarRZv7lbcKl_WCfizCF88orA0EcrLPv4Eca6-vSfxor6E4YXIyAS0kJEL96u3w76FcZvRpUoDsRhMQovBHCkZoaFpv8TYf8ajwYDmf1Gj5x1PC45Vbj1XreLtbpyrMI5ObEpaTRgo/s1600-h/IMG_6684.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisolarRZv7lbcKl_WCfizCF88orA0EcrLPv4Eca6-vSfxor6E4YXIyAS0kJEL96u3w76FcZvRpUoDsRhMQovBHCkZoaFpv8TYf8ajwYDmf1Gj5x1PC45Vbj1XreLtbpyrMI5ObEpaTRgo/s200/IMG_6684.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110405230027257474" /></a><br />The whole time we were licking the sticky off of our fingers, though, we were remembering which boxes we had missed. So Erica Flory and I decided to find some in the dark after the kids had nestled down in their sleeping bags. The dads held the tents down while we were out on the town. Hey, at least it was letterboxing. And we managed to NOT attract the attention of any police. We did learn that one of the boxes is near a gazebo that is lighted all night, great for midnight log-ins. And the Performing Arts Center looks even more magical at night when it is all lit up. However, for the Blowing Rock box we highly recommend 2 flashlights with working batteries. There is a bit of a drop off there. We did make it back safe and sound.<br />Sunday we said goodbye to our camp buddies and hit the road with as many boxes mapped out on our way as possible. We really didn't need to say goodbye to our buddies, though because we saw them again and again along the way. We never knew who was following who.<br />The Candy Barrel was a great stop for the kids. And then we, of course, had to go see the original Mast General Store. We were treated to live bluegrass music on the back porch.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRALaE9lK_CrajymTWDjKR5lJ9_C7-LBX2QHxlTwYdRNwW5E2s-UaF2P-w-wGqxTrIyIBDR8x1zdE6nlUabquze3dYKRYIo8FThY6BboNtZRv00HxDh7nRAb1BJNR8G6JAw9S2KUroSs/s1600-h/IMG_6804.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRALaE9lK_CrajymTWDjKR5lJ9_C7-LBX2QHxlTwYdRNwW5E2s-UaF2P-w-wGqxTrIyIBDR8x1zdE6nlUabquze3dYKRYIo8FThY6BboNtZRv00HxDh7nRAb1BJNR8G6JAw9S2KUroSs/s200/IMG_6804.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110405457660524178" /></a><br />Now our only passport stamp left was the Grandfather Mountain one. We mapped the parkway boxes out and got one or two, but were short on time. Since 'd' had been so patient we did the viaduct with him. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pcFO5pWb-jAn7ZG0zzV74Z1ZfVTGyU6i4Mk7tJwKlgFfs_A1HQjojlfGRL9aCmD4INgMdXsfZOoiiHo8uuKIdtPxcZAJ7dicOrIOKK1MkPXW5DW0hXMfbsnwMegzZaXE79ur9-Row8E/s1600-h/IMG_6855-1.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pcFO5pWb-jAn7ZG0zzV74Z1ZfVTGyU6i4Mk7tJwKlgFfs_A1HQjojlfGRL9aCmD4INgMdXsfZOoiiHo8uuKIdtPxcZAJ7dicOrIOKK1MkPXW5DW0hXMfbsnwMegzZaXE79ur9-Row8E/s200/IMG_6855-1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110406277999277730" /></a><br />He loves engineering feats and had never driven this section of the parkway. It was amazing. The Missing Link had to be one of our top ten all time favorite boxes EVER! We are all about the place when it comes to boxes and this box was in such a wonderful place. But then the stamp turned out to be a treat, as well. WOW!<br />We finished up our trip with a stop at Grandfather Mountain. It was a sweet victory to get every box in that passport filled in. To top it all off, the last box was near monuments to two of my favorite botanists, Asa Gray and Andre Micheaux. Micheaux is known for discovering Oconee Bells, a subject of one of our Woodland Wildflowers series. His feet have trod Grandfather Mountain in search of the many diverse flora and fauna. I hope that ours will follow one day. <br />After finishing our passport, we were content to ride off into the sunset. Too bad we had to go back to the real world!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KsDTpvJ-cb_VlfdQHVcERP02y8XPqpRHeD9nRw9xtdpWsurbFNzkiqwnbGXOKEls5EOGjYP_t4atHxtUfJCIz4gmvPxNxKWt0OV9-qjscThKgYPNy8yQWW0VFulbwjUIHpGN1GPo7pY/s1600-h/IMG_6869.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KsDTpvJ-cb_VlfdQHVcERP02y8XPqpRHeD9nRw9xtdpWsurbFNzkiqwnbGXOKEls5EOGjYP_t4atHxtUfJCIz4gmvPxNxKWt0OV9-qjscThKgYPNy8yQWW0VFulbwjUIHpGN1GPo7pY/s200/IMG_6869.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110406595826857650" /></a>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-51946243416727862242007-08-30T14:47:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:03:40.694-08:00Reflections<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWhYf-pjrH7_71vK5ACkR5kT4RJSvU7yldWjYAa9cjAR5EPuM4wQ9EVuNWHmuQkQIMHkctQ0tMJ9OsAq-1ZR8wkH2CV4iJ5zPEXi-SznDrbqudXJIgZH9PhA6mUHq2E_QwzzxWPBeeCg/s1600-h/IMG_2662.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWhYf-pjrH7_71vK5ACkR5kT4RJSvU7yldWjYAa9cjAR5EPuM4wQ9EVuNWHmuQkQIMHkctQ0tMJ9OsAq-1ZR8wkH2CV4iJ5zPEXi-SznDrbqudXJIgZH9PhA6mUHq2E_QwzzxWPBeeCg/s200/IMG_2662.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104614425010758802" /></a><br />Finally...after what seems like ages (probably just a month), the boys and I got out and got one letterbox!! It was such a good feeling to be on the trail with my pack on my back. I could've gone a few miles, but I only had a short time. I knew exactly where the box was because it was on the way to the first box we ever found. So after finding “Tiger Swallowtail” (which is a beautiful stamp, by the way!) we decided to go re-visit that first find. “Knot in Paris” was still in place, high and dry with the original logbook! We found our first sign in. Each of the kids had signed their names and we had a little store bought stamp, but had forgotten our ink.So we traced the stamp image onto the paper. A year and about 280 finds later, we are still boxing!<br />With two of our children in public school this year and me working on weekends, we will not be boxing quite so much this year. I guess it is nice to slow down and enjoy the hunt, though. We'll just keep taking it one box at a time.<br /><br />EDITED to say: OK, I see our last trip boxing was actually August 8, <em>less</em> than a month ago. It feels like it's been years: )dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-557709699743228502007-08-15T11:06:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:03:41.088-08:00Clowning Around<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkr-0hos-ZwxhPTyRr54wSAdLdqxl0Teo8r8HWghJyFsSrrMhAVtIYm1opFtcl8WrzrNgs2hOh607U_QA6J_jcY1U5JjMFAL8ZQizNJBYcC4CuY_u1JVKNr16eLAxSqIt5RvhqWeipl_Y/s1600-h/images.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkr-0hos-ZwxhPTyRr54wSAdLdqxl0Teo8r8HWghJyFsSrrMhAVtIYm1opFtcl8WrzrNgs2hOh607U_QA6J_jcY1U5JjMFAL8ZQizNJBYcC4CuY_u1JVKNr16eLAxSqIt5RvhqWeipl_Y/s200/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098992669594444610" /></a><br />The Woody Clowns contacted me about getting together because they had a little 'surprise' for me. You can't imagine the wonderings that filled my head in the days preceding this meeting. I don't know what it is about me and clowns. I think I have some childhood issues I need to resolve! Anyways, I was certain I would be explaining to the owners of Leopard Forest why there were clowns in the cafe. And I was mildly afraid that I was going to be clown-napped. I left most of the children at home for this reason: ) I only brought one to keep me company should we end up in the circus.<br />As usual, the Woody clowns surprised me, pleasantly! They are really SO nice and not scary. If any of you have clown issues, like me, they are the clowns to meet!! They did not show up with little red noses, big shoes and brightly colored hair and the only clown-napping that was imminent would have been of my own planning. With only one vehicle (van is begin repaired for cooling system failures...imagine that in this heat??!!) we did juggle a few ideas for carpooling to the Greenwood mecca of letterboxes together before school starts.<br />My surprise from Paula of the Woody Clowns was a plb of a clown car! It was perfect!! Also, Threespoiledboxers passed on a HILARIOUS cootie! Be on the lookout for the BP cootie, coming to a boxer near me..SOON!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKD1Vj178ELaf3J3vgBtzy9rjxVohDW4i_S22O-7_Weg-7EW0lOPiF4ZnKl2BJBTPty_S39ZJAr6NKc6yeMqFLFouCIx8qRDjRR7sIIiVJloncqOgkPPBQ15C5s3j-EBl7fpXMBcGhEc/s1600-h/IMG_6324.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKD1Vj178ELaf3J3vgBtzy9rjxVohDW4i_S22O-7_Weg-7EW0lOPiF4ZnKl2BJBTPty_S39ZJAr6NKc6yeMqFLFouCIx8qRDjRR7sIIiVJloncqOgkPPBQ15C5s3j-EBl7fpXMBcGhEc/s200/IMG_6324.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098991690341901106" /></a><br />Threespoiledboxers and a new boxer, Armymom, also showed up. Yep, another mini-gathering: ) We are all looking right at home in the coffee shop aren't we?<br />Armymom was well indoctrinated and I am sure left with her head in a whirl..postals, cooties, exchanges... She still seemed more excited, not less, when she left. I think that's a good sign that she is one if us!<br />So for all of those boxers I asked to come in after me, should I not make it out alive...I made it! And who knows, I might even become a clown for a day myself one of these days?<br />Especially if there is a letterbox involved!dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-89350013317187973602007-08-10T14:23:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:03:41.263-08:00That's Just WEIRD!!!<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja30nVuh-z5PVSDkdpifTay2Cptiy1BbWt8qWyGTsXq8NaAKJnA7NIW-N1mxImdDGAhcMotJn-5fEynmPdQvqrQDXP21UTIoK_1B_sKtUBw1agVpNXOAlpMooUrXa-3eAjsWo11G55_ks/s1600-h/518kmBwumfL__AA240_.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097187950106469154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja30nVuh-z5PVSDkdpifTay2Cptiy1BbWt8qWyGTsXq8NaAKJnA7NIW-N1mxImdDGAhcMotJn-5fEynmPdQvqrQDXP21UTIoK_1B_sKtUBw1agVpNXOAlpMooUrXa-3eAjsWo11G55_ks/s200/518kmBwumfL__AA240_.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />While browsing a local Barnes and Noble a very special book caught my eye. In large fiery letters I saw the words <em><strong>WEIRD CAROLINAS</strong></em>. Touristy type things usually lose me, but you say WEIRD and you've got me! This book claimed to show and tell some of the weirdest places and stories in SC and NC. This seemed to me almost like a letterbox planters guide book! I didn't purchase the book that day, but since I couldn't stop imagining what was in between the hard cover of this captivating book, I finally used my Amazon certificate I'd been saving for a rainy day and got it.<br />The book arrived via UPS today and has been in somebody's hands all day. Fender Bender was the first to be hypnotized by the strange tales and as soon as I saw him set the book down, I grabbed it. Now Large Talons is being drawn into it's mysterious web. It feels like <em><strong>The Deathly Hallows</strong></em> all over again. We are each just waiting for a chance to get our hands on it again. And 'd' has yet to open it. As soon as he gets home, he will have to pry it out from under somebody's pillow, I am sure! There is so much fun information in these pages that it is impossible to absorb it all in one day. And after you read it you will be ready to get in your car and GO see them. After all, they are right in your state!<br />With chapter titles like, Local Legends, Bizarre Beasts, Roadside Oddities, Road Less Traveled and Cemetery Safari, you can see why our attention has been captured. This book is full of strange stories about the towns and cities near us, like the UFO Welcome Center in Bowman, SC. There are strange sights like Vollis Simpson's Whirligig Park in Wilson, NC . There are strange people like the Button King of Bishopville, SC and there's the Bureaus of Biggism in High Point, or how about the bottle farm on the outskirts of Forest City, NC. Judaculla Rock, Elmwood Cemetery and Poinsett Bridge are also featured.<br />When I see names of the counties and towns listed I can't help but imagine all of the letterboxers that go with those places as I read. Here are box ideas begging to be made and hidden, many of them already have! <br />What's even cooler about this book, is that it is part of a series based on <em><strong>Weird US</strong></em>. There is a book for most states! Somewhere near you there is a weird tale waiting to be told. Check this book out, I am sure you won't regret it. I am also secretly hoping that a letterboxing boom will come on the tails of this wonderfully weird knowledge.</div>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-80042492263940245002007-08-08T19:53:00.001-07:002007-08-10T17:02:53.915-07:00Too Hot to Letterbox? Never!<div><embed src="http://widget-90.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=144115188086480272&site=widget-90.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188086480272&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-90.slide.com/p1/144115188086480272/bb_t046_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188086480272&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-90.slide.com/p2/144115188086480272/bb_t046_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div><br />If you are lucky enough to have boxes like somebunny's near you! The temperature was 104 in upstate SC today and we decided to head to the coolest place around, Jones Gap State Park. Jones Gap is a mountain cove with the Middle Saluda River running right through it. This river is normally cold enough to make your toes go numb. There are mountain ridges on either side that tower above the gap. The rhododendron and tall hemlocks keep the air about 10 degrees cooler than the countryside where we live. This was the place to be today! <br />It just so happened there was a new letterbox here. Don't you love it when that happens? There are actually two more boxes here in this park that I haven't made it to, but the other two boxes involved small hikes and we weren't dressed for hikes, we were dressed to swim! Plus, it was way too hot for whining today. On our way out, however, we did grab some Vintage Whine. Somebunny has been so kind to all of us who box with our kids by planting a series of boxes in honor of those whiny days when the kids just can't take another one. Since the kids were so cool from their swim and the box was SO close to our car: ) we managed to letterbox on one of the hottest days in the past few years with not a single whine. Way to go somebunny, it worked!<br />We also got Africa #7 on our way home. It was a quick drive-by and also very appropriate for today. In the clue threespoiledboxers speaks of their experiences hauling water in 130 degree African heat and then having to get home, boil it, and filter it before they could drink it! We definitely felt grateful that it wasn't that hot here today. And grateful for our easy access to thirst-quenching, life-giving water. Thanks for reminding us of our blessings.dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-18593917410778797332007-08-03T19:26:00.001-07:002007-08-03T20:22:46.093-07:00Garden and Park Boxing AdventuresToday we went letterboxing in our own neighborhood. We went to a certain bookstore for a box that should have taken us about 5 minutes to get. BUT...we LOVE bookstores!! It took us about 45 minutes to get out of there!<br />Then we headed to Roper Mountain Science Center. Our family has been there many times to go to the observatory and planetarium. However, today we went to the butterfly garden, the pond and the pioneer village that I never even knew existed!! Large talons got a few good opportunities to hone his photography skills there. We will definitely be back soon. <br />When we could finally peel ourselves away from that place we headed over to find the "Day at the Park' series in Simpsonville. We were to meet a few of our letterboxing friends there. Letterboxing is always more fun with friends! This park has a little bit of everything, including one of those fabulous water parks. Since that was not on our agenda for the day, the kids satisfied themselves with a field sprinkler! <br />Another fine boxing day! We sure are going to miss these days when school starts.<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://widget-35.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=144115188086418229&site=widget-35.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188086418229&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-35.slide.com/p1/144115188086418229/bb_t024_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188086418229&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-35.slide.com/p2/144115188086418229/bb_t024_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-32385910301159979242007-08-02T08:21:00.001-07:002007-08-03T19:42:38.855-07:00Burnsville Pictures<div><embed src="http://widget-75.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=144115188086398069&site=widget-75.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:300px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188086398069&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-75.slide.com/p1/144115188086398069/bb_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&ad=0&id=144115188086398069&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-75.slide.com/p2/144115188086398069/bb_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-5020215302656124362007-08-02T08:01:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:03:46.729-08:00Finishing the Quilts of Burnsville, NC<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJwBJiSzWD-7YxHknszNh6HHIJsEK57d0rlVDLMOY2_E1HP6ICtJjtJPOM6E9XxwmBWVLxdSx-C5OJ5BEtdPwYtqsNUgEvS6n382HxNyKPwzRPdqqmN90MepVOjbjTPBLzVx7xOSAOTs/s1600-h/IMG_6043.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJwBJiSzWD-7YxHknszNh6HHIJsEK57d0rlVDLMOY2_E1HP6ICtJjtJPOM6E9XxwmBWVLxdSx-C5OJ5BEtdPwYtqsNUgEvS6n382HxNyKPwzRPdqqmN90MepVOjbjTPBLzVx7xOSAOTs/s200/IMG_6043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5094122056421696226" /></a><br />Today's journey began early this morning with a little side trip into Africa. Threespoiledboxers were missionaries in Africa until one of the family contracted malaria and they had to come home. They have put together a series of boxes that will make you feel as if you know Africa as well as they do by the time you are through.I have really enjoyed the extra information in their clues. Some of the logbooks even have pictures of the sights of Africa.<br />Then we headed up the mountain into Asheville. We were able to visit Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary in the summer. Last time we were there, the foliage was just beginning to come out. Wow! What a difference! We found Anna's Rose and got to see a blue heron while we stamped in.<br />Next we went to Lake Louise to get our 250th find!! Mama Fox has planted a box called “Good Friends”. She had seemed a little bit anxious for me to find it and now I know why!! It was a beautiful image of Baby Fox and Little Bird made from a picture she had taken last time we were there. Little Bird was amazed and very proud!!! Thanks Mama Fox, we are honored to be called your friends.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvko02NlIc8zYFgQjXADdOjrzZ7I_50ERAFUF4xgFAQad_rq5ovneo4bvSrky5xE2H9fNs3KehTY6O9VekNAW4e2kCrXfNQbQyf79zEnZSqz-Vtjm9M2Rx5PLZ79opbDttjczbo_oZd_A/s1600-h/IMG_5908.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvko02NlIc8zYFgQjXADdOjrzZ7I_50ERAFUF4xgFAQad_rq5ovneo4bvSrky5xE2H9fNs3KehTY6O9VekNAW4e2kCrXfNQbQyf79zEnZSqz-Vtjm9M2Rx5PLZ79opbDttjczbo_oZd_A/s200/IMG_5908.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5094120527413338802" /></a><br />Now we could hit the road for some real boxing. We met The Little Foxes in Burnsville, NC, home of the Appalachian quilt squares. There are quilt squares all over town and country here based on the traditional patterns. At the Southern Highlands gathering in June, boxes were planted in honor of them and I only found half of them. So I was looking forward to finishing up my collection.<br />But first we visited the tea shop because I wanted the kids to have tea with me in the coolest tea room ever! The Orchid tearoom is a self serve tea lounge in the upstairs of a paper shop. The décor and the teas are exotic. They loved it and at the end of the day, this was one of their favorite stops. <br />From there, we headed over to an amzing used book store. All of the kids were busy devouring books, while Mama Fox and I tried to restrain oursleves from buying them all!<br />Mama Fox and I found a few more drive-by quilt square boxes. I loved standing at the box and seeing a barn with the same square on it just across the road!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBI8_tFApOaHtApc0HT8N81LZUAv8lgqFsCGxswjwQu0NNBLavpA6wZSxJyIDyLBm9BIKOcD0kzS9nxVRFoFvHdUuVH1-9JR_yJt68__urNPlMmAU2i2fylF9u8ZaqPq4Figxrwfr8Roc/s1600-h/IMG_5984.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBI8_tFApOaHtApc0HT8N81LZUAv8lgqFsCGxswjwQu0NNBLavpA6wZSxJyIDyLBm9BIKOcD0kzS9nxVRFoFvHdUuVH1-9JR_yJt68__urNPlMmAU2i2fylF9u8ZaqPq4Figxrwfr8Roc/s200/IMG_5984.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5094120956910068418" /></a><br />The high point of our day, however, was 4338'. We made it to the top of Phillip's Knob without a jeep. We did take our cars up a good way, but we also hiked about 2 miles. Those amazing kids were right there with me all the way! (most of them were, anyways) The walk was beautiful. We saw a deer and lots of deer tracks. In fact, by the time the day was over we had seen 6 deer!! We also saw lots of unique Appalachian wildflowers. Turk's Cap lillies, Black Cohosh, turtle head, indian pipes, bee balm, spotted jewelweed, and pale jewelweed to name a few. The younger girls also found tons of large pieces of mica. I guess being that close to the ground pays off sometimes. In all of that wonderful nature, the kids managed to see an old wrecked car down the hillside that just fascinated them. It was just near the top of the mountain on a steep hill. I can't imagine wrecking there. It was a good thing the trees stopped them!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxfsYDRbjgQSlCMsY-s8VSmOFF2OJR33Fk2wTAswoGtRs9PFeu2RqKeLWfT76YclED8FkkmItmZ32nnYMGgA4g-0-GspqbZXhYHGs0Nv4d88Tuq7ztPWoEBhOUyA1SZh5ieRIsZQIoJc/s1600-h/IMG_6036.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxfsYDRbjgQSlCMsY-s8VSmOFF2OJR33Fk2wTAswoGtRs9PFeu2RqKeLWfT76YclED8FkkmItmZ32nnYMGgA4g-0-GspqbZXhYHGs0Nv4d88Tuq7ztPWoEBhOUyA1SZh5ieRIsZQIoJc/s200/IMG_6036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5094121339162157778" /></a><br />Our next stop was supposed to be a quicky. We headed over to Yummy Mud Puddle art studio to replace that box, only to be greeted by the duckmaster, himself. John promptly took us on a tour of his studio. He showed us some works in progress and lots of finished art. He uses lots fo salcvaged material -that's trash to most of us. His art was amazing. His organization system for all of that trash was even more amazing! We left inspired! <br />Lastly we had some night boxing adventures with boxes that were not meant to be found at night! We drove a Mountain Scorpia couple of miles out into a place where everybody knows everybody. And they definitely know when someone new is aorund! We found the box at the Bee Log School's baseball field while the kids played on the playground in the dark. We managed to only attract a few strange looks out of lighted front doors and rocking chairs on porches. Then we spent some time trying to decipher another Mountian Scorpia clue: ) When we finally 'got' it, it was about 10pm. We had to get the box, it was the last one and here we were ALL the way out in who knows where!! The clue stated that we had to walk in a gate where we were welcome, and although Harold and Mavis the dog would bark at us, they were friendly. We really trusted Mountain Scorpia on this one.<br /> We crossed an old mountain bridge and headed very quietly up to the barn that displayed the quilt square....at least that's what we thought it was in the dark. So far, so good. The gate had been open and the dogs had not even barked. Then just as we approached the bar to figure out where vampires never go, an automatic motion sensor light came on!! That immediatley set the dogs to barking, but it also lit up the box. There it was...our final box. We grabbed it and ran towards our cars. But, of course, we had not escaped the notice of the barn owner. When he got to us, we told him Lucy had sent us. We were crossing our fingers that he knew who Lucy was. Luckily for us, he did and he was happy for us to get the box. Whew! <br />We returned home from our mini vaction at midnight. We had seen many interesting places, met a few interesting people and made memories we will not forget soon. That's what letterboxing is about: )<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYmR0Wu581Nje2T5-U1JWRRqUFmRqLKROQdkzpmXFfzESnsScCZlH1F79vGHLqn4WkUWn483E-Ou9ZtoMIdrCt0B2b7o8dBIc6yQePcRmxYEJNVMYPR_Ui9pbZxSmaRdCp-a9jnOz92Q/s1600-h/IMG_5872.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYmR0Wu581Nje2T5-U1JWRRqUFmRqLKROQdkzpmXFfzESnsScCZlH1F79vGHLqn4WkUWn483E-Ou9ZtoMIdrCt0B2b7o8dBIc6yQePcRmxYEJNVMYPR_Ui9pbZxSmaRdCp-a9jnOz92Q/s200/IMG_5872.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5094120166636085922" /></a>dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607233579385152359.post-63713186392077970872007-07-30T18:26:00.000-07:002008-12-10T02:03:46.855-08:00Do I Need a 12 Step Recovery Program?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5x_kGToJ7iX58mOSZgVAfAyaxjhIz99v7EohxR3tW2M2lPD400pJlkqrrb25-TsWqr782uzc8MvneLcPBDbVNOBOT1k1ep8AHJQBfL0gXrMmT_uIws1KT6DqtSSzUqIsBUSrVVPbqolI/s1600-h/IMG_5830.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5x_kGToJ7iX58mOSZgVAfAyaxjhIz99v7EohxR3tW2M2lPD400pJlkqrrb25-TsWqr782uzc8MvneLcPBDbVNOBOT1k1ep8AHJQBfL0gXrMmT_uIws1KT6DqtSSzUqIsBUSrVVPbqolI/s200/IMG_5830.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093167594429440658" /></a><br />Yep, I finally have to admit it, I am a hopeless letterboxing addict.<br />There are lots of ways to identify a letterboxing addict: inky fingers, stashes of PZ cut, a stream of strange packages in your mailbox, seeing places to hide boxes everywhere you go. These are all the usual symptoms.<br />But I am getting way past all of that. Today as I was spray painting my Lock-N-Locks with the Krylon camo paint, I knew I had gone past the point of no return. This used to be a hallmark sign to me that the planter was a die hard boxer!! Camo painted boxes are awesome. Especially when you are getting ready to plant about 20 new boxes. You just lay out your boxes and spray. 15 minutes later you are done and your boxes are beautiful. Camo duct tape is a thing of the past! I'll save it for the double sealed ziploc baggies.<br />But that's not all.<br />Some of you may remember that one reason our family ended up letterboxing and not geo-caching was that we didn't have a GPS. After discovering letterboxing, I decided we wouldn't be needing a GPS. Times have changed. I've got to get one of those things!! As a matter of fact, technology has been calling me like never before and why? Because of letterboxing! <br />I NEED the GPS so I don't get lost when I leave my mapquest directions at home. <br />I NEED an iPOD, so I can download clues to keep with me!<br />I NEED a laptop so I can race resQlou to log those finds in as soon as I get them. And so I can write on this blog from anywhere.<br />I NEED a cell phone so I can meet any letterboxer anywhere, anytime!<br />How have I lived this long without all of this wonderful technology? <br />I guess I wasn't addicted to letterboxing back then.dtandfamblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16228456143247391695noreply@blogger.com2