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)
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
New LbNE Logo Contest!
At a recent gathering, Pine Tree and Wolfy asked me who owned the rights to the LBNA logo that we see so prominently on the Letterboxing.org website. They asked because Wolfy was buying a new computerized embroidery system for clothing and thought that the Northeast community might like some personalized logo letterboxing ware like hats, t shirts, sweatshirts, backpacks and vests.
I thought it was a great idea since many other parts of the country have "regionalized" the LBNA logo for their own section of the US. After making a few inquiries, I received word from Mitch Klink, Der Mad Stamper, who was the original designer of the logo back in the day. Mitch said this logo is public domain, as long as there isn't a huge profit being made on it.
Thus, we are now in the process of being the beneficiaries of our own regional letterboxing clothing for the Northeast! But before we get to that point - we need a logo. After consulting with Brian of TeamGreenDragon, who along with Lori, are owners of the LbNE talk list, this contest has come about. Wolfy has asked that we host the contest on this website. Eventually, there will be a separate page at which you can view and vote on the entries. Once the contest is over and a winner is chosen by you, the readers, the new logo will not only appear on the LbNE talk list but on clothing that can be ordered and even personalized with your trail name!
Once Wolfy gets production going on these clothing items, we have offered her a webpage where you may go and order the clothing directly from this homepage.Talk about one stop letterboxing and shopping!
So - here are the rules:
* All entries must be emailed to us - mjpepe1@comcast.net - in either jpg or bmp format.
* Colors cannot exceed 6 - which include black and white.
* Entry deadline is December 18, 2004, with voting commencing on December 19.
* Winning entry as of midnight EST on December 23, 2004 will be declared the winner.
* The winning entry is subject to final approval by a panel of judges.
That's it - hope you all enter and may the best logo win!
It looks like our favorite piggy, Funhog, has begun a venture with Birder, in placing some joint letterboxes in that great Pacific Northwest letterboxing territory on the left coast. Seems they left behind 2 Tupperware containers in a remote section of the desert.
We wish them luck in this new collaboration called Flying Pig Productions and look forward to more to come. Wonder if the flying pig we placed on this website months back influenced the name of this new letterboxing duo? Knowing that the Hog is involved, the boxes will be great and the locations breathtaking!
Back from a wonderful holiday weekend in Vermont! Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving! By the way, the above picture came from the web - not our kitchen in Vermont! Sue made me write this disclaimer!!! ;-)
Our Box of the Week is The Coffee Series by rtrw and the Anti-Boxer. Those of you who know me well, know my addiction to coffee - both plain and flavored. This series of 10 boxes takes you on a virtual history of coffee, filled with fun facts and interesting stories. Knowing rtrw and her carving prowess - you can be sure that these stamps are also first rate! In our humble opinion, Rebecca is one of the premier carvers in the land.
Our Poll of the Week asks for the number of times you might have received Word of Mouth clues from another letterboxer. For those of you that are not sure of its meaning - Word of Mouth clues are those not located on any website or database but are handed or mailed boxer to boxer - most of the time by the placer.
In our opinion, no one depicted the essence of American life like Norman Rockwell. We hope you enjoy these famous paintings as you ready yourself for your own traditional holiday. Have a great one! We'll be back on Sunday.
We've decided tooffer a webpage to some of our letterboxing friends. Our first effort was The Dynamic Duo's page and there will be more to follow. Keep up with the latest on Other Boxers' Sites. You'll find a permanent link in the right hand column of this page.
In an effort to make Hartford County THE mecca for CT letterboxers, a group of this county's best planters have just completed a huge planting frenzy. Check out the "What's New" list on the Letterboxing.org site for further details!
We'd like to highlight several, in no particular order:
There are plenty more new ones out there - why don't you plan a weekend here in Hartford County - the new Mecca of the Letterboxing Capital of the World! ;-)
Stealthboxxer has emailed us the next chapter in his ongoing mysterious saga. Please visit the Enigma Stealthboxer PI page for the latest - Chapter 4. Also in our most recent email, this hard-working, hard-drinking detective has offered his wishes to all of his readers for a Happy Thanksgiving. He appreciates your approval of his mystery and wishes tothank you for your continued interest.
Sue & I would like to wish you and yours the safest, best Thanksgiving ever - filled with family, friends, good health and delicious food! We are so blessed with not only the normal every day items but with great readers and letterboxing friends like you! We'll be away until Sunday but until then - Peace.
Our Thanksgiving Box of the Week is JBean'sDry Bones Series. This series of 6 boxes takes you across a scenic route to cemeteries from Cobalt to Lyme, CT. Approximately 2 hours are needed to complete this series, including stamping time. All boxes are drive-bys but the route passes many box-rich state parks like Hurd, Gillette Castle and Devil's Hopyard. Sounds like a great all day drive!
Our Poll of the Week deals with the frequency in which you find HH's on an average. Thanks to PineTree for this week's poll question. Email us if you have a suggestion of a future poll.
Sue and I spent a great, relaxing weekend with the rest of The Schmoopies during our annual trek to Windsor, VT. We spent the weekend letterboxing and Valley Questing in Vermont and New Hampshire. As usual, our hunts took us to some wonderful spots, like the Blow Me Down Mill in Cornish, NH that is pictured above. Even had time to hide a new box!
Have you noticed the "What's New" section on the letterboxing.org website? Seems our fellow Hartford county-ites have had some kind of planting frenzy prior to the coming winter! I think the Farmers Letterboxing Almanac states that when an event such as this occurs, we're in for many great new letterboxes for the spring!
Just received the above image via email from our newest celebrity. [Ain't email the best??? ;-)] Your response to Stealthboxxer's saga has been tremendous. Our website has received double the hits it normally does in a given day! Stay tuned - there's plenty more where this came from!
Just to set the record straight -I am not Stealthboxxer, even though I've received quite a few emails from readers convinced I am he. But honestly, this is the fine work of another letterboxer. Don't worry who it is for right now, just sit back and enjoy this great unfolding mystery.
Box of the Week is Lord & Ladybug'sThings that Go Bump in the Night, located in Lenox, MA. This clue is listed as a driveby, which is perfect for those of you visiting this area during the coming Thanksgiving holiday!
Poll of the Week deals with how you plan to spend your winter free time. Vote now!
We know that you've read the email from Stealthboxxer by now; but have you ventured further down the page? Located there are the first 2 chapters of The Case of the Vanished Lover! Hope you enjoy this great read. There will be more to come from Stealthboxxer over the coming months. Check back often for updated chapters.
Received an urgent email from a private detective from the West Coast - a Mr. Enigma Stealthboxxer. Seems he's taken on a special client and need the help of our readers. Please be informed that this investigation is not for the faint of heart. Please click the image above for his explanation and appeal.
Click on the Bridge to be taken to a special gathering photo album!
It was crisp, cool and very box-filled - a gathering that seemed to be enjoyed by all! The fire was crackling, the beef stew and chowder were hot and hearty and the day was filled with blue skies that had letterboxing excitement in the air! Bluebird and Fish-or-Man pulled off a very quaint and fun gather in a gem of a location, Chatfield Hollow State Park. Sue and I ended up with 20 great boxes and 5 exchanges.
Interesting locations for some of the event-only boxes included Waterfall's special one day Waterfalls 13,Bluebird'sBoard Walk Mystery Series and Music Woman'sPicnic box. There was even a special box hidden in the firewood by Sunshine & Swamp Yankee and a box hidden in the pavillion rafters to celebrate the End of the Curse of the Bambino! This was a nice way to officially end the letterboxing gathering season. Looks like we'll just have to start planning the spring events! Bluebird & Lou - what a wonderful job and thanks for everything!!!
Just heard from Bluebird. She and Fish-or-Man have decided to postphone the Chatfield Hollow Gather until Sunday, November 14 from 10am to 4pm ~ See you there!
Good friends, Tony & Veronica, have done it! Click the above graphicto be transported to their newest innovation - a letterboxing puzzle clue built around the Rubik's Cube idea! Great instructions and a novel approach to clues. Keep up the good work!
Bluebird has posted that with the expected inclement weather for Saturday, the gathering may move to this Sunday - its rain/snow date. Watch the talklists and this website for the decision tonight! I'm doing our snow dance as I type this message since Sue & I have a wedding Saturday but have unexpectedly freed up for Sunday!
Without our vets, websites like this might not exist! Sue & I thank our veterans of all of the armed forces for their contributions over the years in keeping us free and allowing us to partake of those individual freedoms that we take for granted!
One of our great letterboxing friends, Koyote of The End Gang, has just published clues for their new letterbox, The North Wind. Located in Colebrook, CT, this one hour hike is located in the Kitchel Wilderness Preserve. I'm sure it will be a very beautiful hike, since Koyote and The DawnLanders are responsible for the exciting new Four Directions series. This new letterbox is just perfect for today where there is a December feeling to the weather.
There is a very exciting development that is currently underway and almost ready for publication! Keep a close eye on the talk list and this web page. Sue & I are not responsible for this; but a letterboxing friend is. This new innovation may turn letterboxing on its ear!
Bluebird has posted some new info on the upcoming Chatfield Hollow Gathering that she and Hiker Lou have planned for this coming Saturday, November 13 from 10 am to 4pm. Please visit our Gatherings page for details! There are some 50 letterboxes available between the gather and the Killington area! Also - I understand Sadie & Russ have some mischief planned as usual! Sue and I cannot attend due to a wedding but we encourage you all to attend!
Spent an overnight in VT and what a difference a day makes! Back rested, relaxed, recuperated and we even had time to do some needed maintenence on our VT boxes. Great fun checking the logbooks. We found entries for letterboxers from Arkansas, Ohio and even a couple from Ontario, Canada! Our boxes are now ready for their large VT winter blanket that should be covering our boxes sometime soon.
Heard from the new mystery person, Mr. Sang Froid from Maine. Seems he and his wife are first finders on our new Blue Light Special box that we planted in Downeast Maine a few weekends ago. The clues for this box are hidden somewhere on this website and are exclusively found here.We ask that you not discuss this box on any of the talk lists or place your find on any database. Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Sang Froid - we are now even since the Dynamic Duo and Sue & I were first finders on his, then new, Map House box several weeks ago!
Mansfield Pinecone by Sojourner from CT
Thanks to Sojourner for taking and emailing us the above picture. She took it while out either hunting or helping Chuck take in some of the Monster Mash boxes. You'll be seeing a lot more of this picture since it's truly one of the nicest pinecone pictures we've seen yet. Thanks Sojourner!
We assume that you've noticed by now that our new Weekly Goodies are up on the site. We chose In Respect of Christopher Reeve as our new Box of the Week. Placed by Donutz716, it's located in Marlborough. Our Poll of the Week asks for the number of days you typically letterbox in the average week. Please place your vote now!
Thanks to all who sent an email or ecard our way. I'm back on my feet and ready for mischief! The above image is one of my travelers that Sewsobizzy from VA carved for me after I started a "flame" with a remark in an email to our Baker's Dozen, in preparation for the trip. Not only did she carve a great stamp, on our anniversary in Dartmoor that night we met Godfrey Swinscow, she surprised us with an antique Pepsi bottle with a red candle in it that she set aflame before Sue and I! By the way, if you ever want this traveler, call me Pepsi! This all started when we interviewed President Bush and he just couldn't get our last name correct!
I have had a request by the MysteryBoxer tohide an image on our site that will help you with one of his boxes. The original clue is located on our Guest Map and leads you to a special place for this box. The image helps you achieve your goal. Have a good hunt!
Just a quick post to let our readers know that I've been ill the past few days with bronchitis. Once I get back on my feet, I will begin to update our page on a more frequent basis although not much happening out there anyway.
Please vote from the following ballot for your letterboxing choice!
Box of the Week:
Election '04 Series by Lucky Charms. Located in Middleville, MI this is a series of 3 boxes. Place your vote now!
Poll of the Week:
Vote now with your opinion on the Mansfield Monster Mash, now that the monsters have been pulled and are on their way back to their creators.
Please cast your vote!
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.
bravenet.com
