After finding our initial box in June 2002, we have since found letterboxes in 18 states and placed them in 13 states; 4 countries: Aruba, Bermuda, The Netherlands, Great Britain; and on a cruise ship! Thanks for stopping by our website and we appreciate your continued support.
"Have fun and just get out there & box!!!"
Email us: mjpepe1@comcast.net (Mark) or suepepe1@comcast.net (Sue)
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
New Box is a Tribute to a Lost Explorer!
Natty Bumppo & Walker have just placed a new box, The Grave of Willem Van Kikkerblij. This letterbox is a tribute to the Dutch explorer of the same name from the 1600's whose claim to fame was "his complete ineptitude at navigation and his incredible run of luck." Check out this new PA mystery box, loaded with history and find out how lucky some people can be!
We got home from work tonight and found MayEve'sBook of Kells Postal Letterbox awaiting us. What a wonderful job she did on this box - I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might have signed up for it - but she used a great amount of creativity and thought behind this one!
After supper, Sue & I decided to attempt another of the mysteryboxer's letterboxes and finally found it! This is the same box that Butterfly and I went searching for 2 weeks ago. That time I only found poison ivy . . . this time, I found the box!!!
Thanks to Mandarin & Oakman for emailing us that they recently placed a new letterbox to be added to our I-95 Letterbox page. Their contribution is in Fredericksburg, VA and it's called Walk the Dog.
Many of you might have read our recent post detailing a new Indian Tribal Series that will be planted along the Mohawk Trail in CT sometime this coming fall. We were just informed that this series will be called "The Four Directions." This huge undertaking is being coordinated by Koyote, Rush Gatherer and PowWow Dancer, all from CT and includes the participation of over 15 carvers from around the country, who will carve stamps representing the various American Indian tribes. Recently, these 3 letterboxers have agreed to let us host the clues for the series on this website. While we are honored to do so, we would like to make it clear that our effort is only the hosting and some help with page design. This project and the hours of work involved are the result of the work of Koyote, Rush Gatherer and PowWow Dancer. They are the true brains and brawn behind this wonderful series. Stay tuned for details.
Amymisha'sMoomintroll Mini-Series, Part 1 is our Box of the Week. Based on Finnish author Tove Jansson's children books, these 2 boxes, in what appears to be an extended series, are located in Jamaica Plain, MA.
Our Poll of the Weekdeals with the Talk Lists discussions about the propriety of handing clues to a specific group of letterboxers as opposed to sharing them with the wider letterboxing community. Vote your feelings now!
Website of the Week honors go to The Alphabit Bandits website. Find the link in the right hand column under the proper heading.
Sue and I, along with 4 great friends, are headed to Boston on Sunday. Our main destination is the Fanueil Hall Marketplace, temporary home of 15 of the 75 InspEARation Mickeys - as in Mickey Mouse. These celebrity-decorated Mickeys will be auctioned off for charities around the country, but not before all 75 come together in DisneyLand in Anaheim, CA. This is a similar idea to the cows that are done nationwide, pigs done in VT and the lighthouses in ME. We also hope to snag some of those urban boxes planted there, as well as some on the outskirts of the city. These plans have been in the works for many months, so we will be missing the Sharon, MA gathering at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. Hope you all enjoy yourselves there!
Steve & I did some box maintenance for a friend while Sue worked today and ended up finding Queen Troll, the new, third box in the Troll King series planted in Springfield, MA.
Sue and I took a quick ride after supper and snagged another of the mysteryboxer's letterboxes. Hopefully, this enigma will email us additional clues. Great fun and wonderful stamps. The packaging for this box is reminiscent of a famous letterboxer. As dusk approached, we saw many deer and watched the sunset. Great way to end the day!
Sunday, June 27 is the date for the second Moose Hill gatheringin Sharon, MA. While Sue & I will not be able to attend this one, we have fond memories of the first one, since it was the first gathering we ever attended. We also met TeamGreenDragon, Jay Drew and many other letterboxers who later became great friends. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would become so involved in this addicting pastime! Say hello for us to CSCM and RustyPuff, who are sponsoring this event. This is a wonderful facility, the boxes are great and the weather forecast looks phenomenal!
Have a great time!
Bell Lady has planted a new Gilbert & Sullivan Series #1 in West Simsbury, CT. This series of 4 letterboxes is dedicated to the Simsbury Light Opera Company, which will soon be celebrating it's 60th anniversary. This series has a number 1 after it's title which must mean that this series isn't over until the fat lady sings!
[Not you, Bell Lady!] ;-)
Deanne, the Lazy Letterboxer, has just planted a new box, Everybody Loves Ginger, which explains why Ginger is never available to box with Deanne. Maybe if Ginger found more time to letterbox with Deanne, Deanne wouldn't be so lazy! ;-)
I guess I have to take that lazy remark back! Deanne has also planted Dave's Faves. This series of 6 letterboxes, also located in Sterling, MA, details the 6 things that Dave likes the most! Looks like Dave & I have more in common than I thought!
We have chosen The End Gang's The End of the Trail as our Box of the Week. This box is dedicated to Rush Gatherer and and PowWow Dancer. This 3 hour hike is located in Falls Village, CT and is not for children.
Website of the Week goes to the great folks at Letterboxing Central. Find the link in the right hand column.
Our Poll of the Week is awaiting your vote! This week we survey our readers to see how many times you have changed your signature stamp from when you first started letterboxing.
What a wonderful evening Sue and I spent at the home of Jay and Margaret Drew Friday night! It was an intimate group with Jay and Margaret, TeamGreenDragon, Sue and I and the guest of honor, Funhog! It was such a thrill to meet and spend time with Funhog. Our interview of the Hogleft us wanting more and Jay afforded us that opportunity Friday night. The hosts were the best, the gossip was plentiful, the exchanges were fun and we established what we hope is an annual "Pig Roast" tradition. Thanks to Jay and Margaret for the invitation, to Funhog for just being there and to TGD for being yourselves!
After a somewhat late night on Friday, we headed north to VT for a relaxing weekend. On Sunday, we found time to do some box maintenance on our Symbols of Freedom series. All was well except for the last box that was hidden in the wrong location! These boxes, our very first plants, will celebrate their 1 year anniversary this coming July 4th.
Congrats to Fleur de Lis, and her new husband-to-be on their letterboxing engagement. Seems he pre-visited one of the boxes they had planned to find and placed in a little HH of his own - a wedding proposal! Great idea - and we wish the best to both of them. Now - will the wedding feature an event stamp?
Poison Ivy Strikes Again! [The Boxer, not the Rash!]
I'm sure most of you have read the hilarious, tongue-in-cheek new Letterbox Rating System, as proposed by Poison Ivy. We just couldn't let this gem languish in the talk list archives, so we've created a special place for it! Enjoy!!!
Best wishes to Sue, who celebrates her birthday today!
May all of your days be sunny & healthy, and your letterbox finds have hitchhikers!
You are truly the best!
Butterfly and I went out last night to hunt down a mystery box and we looked for over 2 hours. Driving up and down the street - aimlessly looking for something to fit the clue criteria. As I was foraging around a rock, Butterfly warned me that I was in poison ivy. My reply was that I usually don't get it!
Well - I'm sure you can figure out what happened - we didn't get the box but I got poison ivy - the rash - not the letterboxer!!! After feeling quite stymied by not finding the box, Butterfly, in her positive way, said "Now we can eliminate this area!"
Thanks to a great friend for keeping me company. It was a pleasure being with the great Winged One, whom I regard as one of CT's letterboxing treasures.
The Engraver has decided to keep the interest up in the CT State Stamp Seriesby giving all of letterboxingdom 1 year from today to complete this 8 county series.
All boxers who complete the series, after emailing or mailing proof of the 8 county stamps to us, will be listed on our CT Stamp Hall of Fame page. After the year has expired, 10 lucky letterboxers' names will be drawn and they will receive a personalized gift from The Engraver! The year will be culminated with the CT State Stamp Series Gathering, which will take place some time next summer after the 6/15/05 expiration date.
Thanks to The Engraver for this great series and pushing the envelope one more time!
Sue & I finally got our answer! The mysterious one has asked that we not share our clues! Clues may only be meted out by the mysteryboxer themselves. Sorry! Now - I'm on my way to find their second box! Wish me luck!!
Thanks to mysteryboxer, that elusive entity, Sue and I hit our F600 mark today after finding one of his/her emailed clues. We both did the F600 dance, which is slightly more vigorous than the F500 but not as crazy as the F1000! This is a great find - don't want to give up anything to ruin it for you, but the carving is Legerdemaine-like! I am waiting to hear how these clues will be distributed and if we can share them.
There's a new boxer on the block, mysteryboxer, who hails from parts unknown and has been sending emails with clues to, what turns out to be, several of us CT-based letterboxers. This boxer has finally come out from behind their cryptic emails and has posted to the LBNE talk list this afternoon. Care to share a clue or 2? Email us!
Pine Point is this week's Box of the Week. Placed by The Family in Stonington, CT, this letterbox celebrates the history and accomplishments of this private school.
Poll of the Week relates to the highest number of letterboxes you have found in a day. Website of the Week is Letterboxing Minnesota ~ find the link in the right column.
Koyote, of The End Gang, recently posted that he would like to place a new series based on Native American Indian Tribes. This series of about 20 boxes will be placed along the Mohawk Trail in CT. He has asked letterboxers from around the country to contribute. The Mohawk and Nipmuc indian tribes have already been taken. We look forward to it's premiere!
Sue and I hit 6 East Hartford letterboxes on Saturday. Today, Sunday, we took friends letterboxing for the first time, Margo & Will. We so enjoyed Waterfalls 3 Series and Above it All by Sadie and Russ. With this clear weather we could see past the Long Island Sound. Thanks to the East Hartford crew, Waterfalls and Sadie & Russ for providing us with some great stamps and locations. When we counted our finds, we learned that we were 1 short of F600 and were going to go out for 1 more after supper - but my first mistake was sitting down !! We'll save that one for another day. Ended up with a total of 14 for the weekend. Hope your weekend was special too.
We have placed a new mystery box this weekend called The Sad Clown. Have fun!
Wanda has won the CT State Stamp Series. Since she is the first to email The Engraver or myself with all of the completed images, she get the prize! Congratulations.
The Engraver posted a new box that she just planted in Torrington, CT called The Embrace. She has apologized in advance since some boxers might find this stamp sexually offensive. The Engraver's clues call this box a "drive-by" . . . should she have called it a "quickie"??
With the coming weekend, Sue & I have plans to hit some of MayEve's and Wild Rover's East Hartford, CT boxes on the way to visit friends on Saturday. This sister/brother team have been carving and planting in East Hartford since the beginning of this year. It's time we check them out!
On Sunday, we are taking friends from church on their first letterboxing excursion. Our destination is Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, CT - letterboxing mecca for southcentral CT! There are over 35 letterboxes planted there but we are being very realistic!
Regardless of what you do this weekend, the weather promises to be amazing so . . . have fun and just get out there & box!!!
Jessica, from Delaware, has posted a clue-to-come for a commemorative USA 10,000 Letterbox to celebrate the LBNA and it's 10,000th registered letterbox. While she acknowleges that there are many more boxes out there that are not on the LBNA site, the 10,000 mark is cause for celebration! Keep checking for the clues once that goal is met.
Thanks to a recent email from Solar and Binx, letting us know that NY's first letterbox, Sloop Cove, is alive and well as of the Memorial Day weekend when they last stamped into this box. Placed by Erik [The Viking] and Susan Davis in August of 1999, Solar told us that the box is in perfect shape defying it's 6 year old age! These are the early treasures that we are trying to preserve. Check out our First State Letterboxes page, visit one or two and let us know of it's condition. These boxes are an important part of Letterboxing History!
Our new talk list for new letterboxers has surpassed the 100 member mark today. Hopefully, new letterboxers can learn by asking questions of more experienced boxers that are also members of this list. Thanks to all who have joined and make this a special place for newbies and oldies alike! To join, hit the link at the very bottom of this column.
Sue and I have noticed that the activity has kind of slowed on those visitors signing our Guest Map, which is located in the lower righthand column. We would love to have you sign in and place your pin where you live - unless it's in the Northeast and then you may want to get a little exotic - very crowed up North here! Thanks - we have the best readers in all of Letterboxingdom!
Casco Bay Painter has planted 2 new letterboxes this past weekend, both located in Portland, ME:
A Garden for All and Pizza Pie. While I like flowers and gardens, the pizza letterbox really strikes a chord with me ~ especially a white clam and bacon pizza!
Funhog has planted Phoebe's Cabin, a 5 mile hike with many opportunities to view various breeds of birds. This box is located in Newbury Park, CA. As you may remember from our interview, birding is another one of the Hog's passions besides letterboxing.
Just noticed this new box by The Weathergleams from Maine, called The Name Game box. Check this out. Looks like that Maine creativity is still in force. Props go to Mark and his family for a wonderfully original letterbox!
Yo - don't bother me tonight, youse guys. I'll be watchin' the last episode of the current season of The Soprano's. Wonder who gets wacked tonight!?
Website of the Week honors go to Chuck and Mollie - find the link in the left column. Box of the Week is Keepin' Fit and the Letterboxing Poll is ready for your feedback - you can see that the vacation glow is still with me!!
After a wonderful vacation in NC, Sue, Steve and I are back, ready to face the world and all of it's letterboxes! We're tanned and rested and ready to go. We have upped our F count by 22 - NC is not like CT! After hearing about an accident on I-95 on our way down, we ended up avoiding this interstate so cannot tell about our boxing adventures down the coast! As far as we know, those boxes are still there and intact. See our I-95 page for a series of letterboxes along the I-95 corridor. We loved Atlantic Beach, NC and have brought back a souvenir for you. Please read our webpage over the next few days as we unpack our duffle bags to reveal what we brought you! Didn't spend a lot but it's the thought that counts, right?
BethR, of The Buckeye Bunch, has planted the New London County letterbox to complete this Series. The first letterboxer to get all 8 boxes and mail or email the complete image to us will get a personalized gift from The Engraver, the brains and carver behind this series. I think it was her idea to make the Hartford County box a HH at first - yeah, that's it, it was HER idea!! ;-) [Only kidding ~ I'm the one behind that idea!]
Letterboxing enthusiasts hide and hunt weatherproof containers in remote or scenic places. Each container holds a logbook, a rubber stamp and stamp pad. The planter of the letterbox distributes clues to it's location via the internet, Word of Mouth, on websites or via other means. Clues can be easy to difficult. Finding a letterbox may require a combination of skills such as mapreading, orienteering, and puzzle-solving.
Letterboxers carry their own logbook and personal stamp when hunting for hidden boxes. Upon finding a letterbox, they will imprint their own logbook using the found stamp, and leave their own stamping or personalization in the letterbox's logbook. Some artistic letterboxers carve and even design their own stamps and logbooks. Letterboxes are hidden in various locations throughout the world.
Letterboxing has its beginnings in Dartmoor National Park in England, where the first letterbox at Cranmere Pool was placed in 1854 by a Dartmoor guide named James Perrott, who left his calling card in a container there while guiding tourists through Dartmoor.
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