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)
Friday, September 30, 2005
An Email from a Park Ranger!
The following email was received by Wisconsin Hiker regarding a letterbox planted in a WI park. This email was published on the big talk list and we decided to let our readers take a look at it as well:
Hello:
I am a park ranger, I was patrolling Naga-Waukee Parklooking for evidence of cougars when instead I found your box on the ground. I assume it was supposed to be in the large fallen tree that it was under, so I put it back there. First I took it back to the ranger station to check it out and read the literature. I don't have a home made stamp so I used my ranger logo stamp instead.
You have a neat hobby. It seems to be harmless as long as everyone follows the rules in the instruction sheet. After dealing with drunks, litterbugs, and vandals it is nice to see some positive recreation going on in the parks.
What sort of maintenance is done on these boxes? Does the owner check on them periodically? Do they pick them up after they get old? If they just get left behind I could see that being an issue with a park manager. Has this "letterboxing" really been going on since 1854? What sort of waterproof box did they use back then? I don't think they had Tupperware!
It's almost a done deal. After months of preparation, the Great Urban Plastic Pink Flamingo Caper is about to take place in Leominster, MA on this Saturday, October 1. I've just finished carving 2 stamps that didn't arrive from boxers who promised to carve but we're still in good shape. Deanne, The Lazy Letterboxer, has been running around Leominster like a mad woman this week. In fact, she was even questioned by a few detectives who thought she might be a suspect in the birdnapping of poor, pink, plastic Percival!
Join us if you can - if you cannot, we'll have a full report next week with tons of pictures. Would you expect anything less? Whatever you do, enjoy the beautiful fall weather predicted for this weekend. And if you're planning to visit us at the gather - we can hardly wait!
Just noticed this new box listed in "What's New." It's located in Leominster, MA which is also home to this coming Saturday's The Great Urban Pink Plastic Flamingo Caper. These clues are very cryptic and notice the name of the placers! Click the image above to give the clues a go.
Tony and Veronica are at it again! First they confounded us with their Ribbit's Cube box.This Bytes is their newest offering. Good luck! While we are wishing good luck - we might add congratulations, as well, since they will be married on October 22!We know you join us in wishing the best of luck to this wonderful couple!
While we're all warm and fuzzy, we also want to add our congratulations to Steve and Heidi on the birth yesterday of their first child, a son. Garrett is CT's newest letterboxer. Can't wait to see him on the trails.
Yesterday, the mail revealed our most recent (fourth) order of letterboxing wrist bands. We reordered our traditional green bands but decided to order some pink, limited edition bands for the Flamingo Caper. Look for both colors at this gathering, as well as the Boxtoberfest in Cherry Hill, NJ and a few others.
This past weekend, Sue & I spent time with The Lazy Letterboxer and the Letterboxing Ham - plotting, planning and getting ready for the upcoming October 1st Flamingo Caper. If you haven't responded via Atlas Quest, you will want to do it now - as we need you to pre-register so a clue file is available for you the day of the gathering. Click here to register!
Ryan Carpenter of Atlas Quest has once again shown that he's not just another pretty face! This weekend, Ryan debuted the new Atlas Quest Toolbar which works with Internet Explorer and Firefox. This useful toolbar contains a link to his homepage, the ability to search the web, direct access to your personal AQ page, a link to the letterboxing database, and other items. Notice the links button - this blog is the last link in the list! Thanks to Ryan who developed this great boxing tool. He also has some other innovative ideas in the fire and we'll keep you appraised of them once they are complete. You can check out the visual of the toolbar and download it here.
Please be sure to register for theGreat Urban Pink Plastic Flamingo Caper on October 1 in Leominster, MA. We are limited in space and want to be sure you get your place for this madcap day of fun and letterboxing. Registered attendance is currently close to 120 boxers. Register on Atlas Quest. Check out the specifics to the gathering here.
Also, there will be a limited edition of pink letterboxing bands available that were made specifically for this event! These may become a letterboxing collectible! ;-)
Sue & I took a long weekend in VT. Just got home Tuesday evening. It was a most profitable one as well!
Saturday, Sue & I set out for Penguins at the Falls in VT. This is a wonderful place that must be the best on a warm summer day. Next time you visit VT, you must do this one. While the stamp is commercially bought and I know some of you are disappointed with that - the short hike and the final view are most worth it!
Monday we got up early and did one of the Valley Quest boxes that could not be done on weekends when the final box location is closed. We were able to snag that one. After that stop, we headed to Hillsboro, NH - home of RTRW and Uneksia. We were honored and pleased to have Uneksia as our host for the day as she saved us time, knowing all of the driving shortcuts to get us from location to location. Those are the only shortcuts she gave though! She told us she wouldn't help us unless we asked - which we didn't since we want a find to really be a find. There were times when we were standing on the box and she never said a word. Warning - never play poker with this woman - she's deadly!
Seriously, we so enjoyed the day with her. Uneksia shared her story with us and let us just say that Sue and I were so impressed with the inner strength and determination of this diminutive fighter. She is truly an inspiration on so many levels. We had time before we met up with Uneksia to hide a box so that she'll have something new to hunt. Clues will be out soon.
Tuesday had us heading to Manchester, VT to fight 2 traffic tickets! Long story short - it was well worth it - I ended up paying 1/3 of the amount that was originally given me. Pays to speak up and stand up for yourself ! On the way back from Manchester, Sue spotted the best place for another letterbox and we planted the second box of the weekend - this one in VT.
All in all, 2 plants, 22 finds and a 2/3 savings in our traffic tickets! Not a bad weekend at all!
Our Box of the Week is Peppermint Patti's limited box, We Will Never Forget, located at the current site of the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall in MA. Regardless of your position on war, this is a very moving tribute to those that gave their lives in that war. Sue & I were privileged to visit the traveling wall last summer when it came to New Britain, CT. Like most of us, we lost several friends in that war.
Our Poll of the Week asks if you are planning to make a donation to Katrina victims and which vehicle you might use. While we realize that this has nothing to do with letterboxing besides tracking those fellow boxers from that area, it's the topic of conversation everywhere: How do we help - what can we do?
The following message was posted on the Letterboxing Louisiana board of Atlas Quest.
Hello Everyone,
Just taking a minute to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. As far as I know by reading different lists that all of our LA, MS boxers are ok, but Sunspyder is still unaccounted for. He lives in Hattisburg, MS and doesn't check his email much. I'll keep trying and update yall when I know something.
Ryan, I'm not sure if you did an update on the site sice the last time I logged on or if it is the computer I'm on but it looks great Bro. You had said you would like to help down here but don't think there is a demand for computer geeks. Well I wish they had someone as talented as you down here cause the data bases they have for finding lost families, and disaster relief really sucks. I've been trying all night to apply for FEMA relief and after filling out five pages of forms the website times out due to the number of applicants. They must have only one server trying to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced people "shakinging head."
I think it's great that you are donating prem. membership for the month of Sept. to help out. For anyone donating money, please make sure that it is going to a real charity and also make sure you note on the check or money order "Katrina disaster." If not, they can use the money for what ever they want. If you don't have money to spare, then dig through the closets and donate old clothes, toys, or anything.
Thank you all again,
Boxdn the Boxing Nut of ???????
If this doesn't make you want to join as an Atlas Quest premium member and go through your closets, nothing ever will! Get out there & join Atlas Quest as a premium member by clicking the duck below!!! You'll be helping Boxdn and many other fine people whose lives were destroyed by Katrina.
Ryan Carpenter, the whiz kid behind Atlas Quest, has just announced that all proceeds for the month of September from new premium memberships on Atlas Quest will be donated towards charities aimed at helping Katrina victims.
Your $24 premium membership fee gets you all sorts of extras over and above the free standard membership and allows you the great feeling of helping those in need. The complete fee of $24 is going to the victims so please, join today. Ryan and Atlas Quest have made the arrangements; now we need you to participate!
Click the graphic above to make that much-needed donation and show Katrina victims some letterboxing love!
In keeping with everything coming up pink for the upcoming Great Urban Plastic Pink Flamingo Caper on October 1, we have decided to order a limited amount of Pink Letterboxing Wristbands. These bands are similar to our green boxing bands and bear our letterboxing battlecry: Get Out There & Box!!!
These bands will be available at the gathering only and on a first come; first served basis.
As of August 31, the contest involved with this series has ended. If you are one of those that completed this series by that date and have emailed proof of the stamps, please email The Engraver with your snail mail address so that she can mail out your prize. All those that have shown proof by August 31 are eligible for a special, engraved gift.
Leader of the Pack has been a letterboxing icon for years. We credit her with almost single-handedly developing the Mansfield, CT for letterboxing in the late 1990's and early 2000. She has been experiencing some health problems as of late. Pine Tree emailed me several weeks ago with an idea. As a result and with Leader of the Pack's permission, we will have a Mansfield Maintenance Day.
While the date is still uncertain, it will be in early November. Check out the link above to read further details. We are asking anyone who has done one or more of Leader of the Pack's boxes recently to email Pine Tree or us with the boxes name and any problems that box or boxes had. And plan to be there to visit and help this letterboxing icon!
Let's give a little help to someone who has given us so much!
Dropping a quick note to let yall know that I am fine ten fingers and ten toes. I was sheltered just north of Pearl River Louisiana with my brother at his store. We have been doing far better than the 1,000's that were stuck in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The neighbors have all come together to help one another out and to watch each others back.
James Dillon (n0wka) lives just up the road from here and I would think he is ok too; maybe some tree damage. Wednesday I plan to go back to my home to see what is left and retrieve anything that is salvagable. I know my Suburban was flooded but it has full coverage and as long as the roof didn't blow off my apartment my things should be fine (unless I was looted). I have read alot of the messages posted on the Lb talk lists and want to thank everyone for their prayers and concerns. Please keep praying for the rest of the other displaced people. If your local areas are doing water, food, clothes, etc... drives please donate what you can, every little bit helps when you have nothing. If you donate money make sure it goes to the Katrina Huricane funds. I will post later when I have the time to tell more.
Thank you all again and God Bless.
Boxdn,The (camping) cajun Nut
ATTENTION!!! Mark Pepe. Please post this message to Lb talklists. I believe you are a member of all of them. I will take the blame for cross posting ;o)
We may come from different socio and economic backgrounds; from different parts of the country and of different letterboxing abililities - but the message came through this weekend after our story about a fund being talked about for helping Boxdn after his encounter with Katrina.
We received a ton of email - all in support of a fund to not only help Boxdn - but names of other letterboxers who are enduring the same problems but may not be as well known have come forward. It's great to see the boxing community rally around this effort.Ryan Carpenter from Atlas Quest is working on a way we can funnel our funds to an account. Turtle McQ is working in the background as well. The offers of help, both physical and financial, help prove that not only are we a community but a community of caring individuals.I've said it before - letterboxers are the nicest people we've ever met.
Boxdn is a well known boxer from LA, in the area through which Katrina plowed. He contacted bzmom this morning and left a voice mail that he is fine and camping out somewhere. They were hit pretty hard by the storm but they are doing okay and trying to survive. He asked that anyone who has his cell phone number not to call as they are trying to preserve the batteries.
In an effort to unite behind and aid Boxdn, once contact can be made, there is a group of us that will attempt to set up a fund or a central method by which we can collect donations from the letterboxing community. Earlier this week we encouraged you to donate to the Red Cross. We are now hoping you will help a fellow boxer. We feel it will be so much more rewarding, knowing to whom and where your money has gone.
Turtle McQ, Ryan Carpenter and myself will be joining forces to start this fund. Keep your eyes peeled to both Atlas Quest and this blog for developments
Let's show Boxdn some of that world famous letterboxing love!
Whatever you do this holiday weekend, we ask that you keep safe. We'll be in VT with the Schmoopies. Hope you find some time to hunt for some Tupperware or is it Dougerware?
The end of summer is here! Ah . . . . bring on the cool fall temperatures and the colors of it's season!
Our friends, Phyto & Isoceles, are hosting a gathering in the Maine style this Sunday, September 4, 2005 from 10am to 3pm. The location is Belfast City Park in Belfast, ME.
More details as far as where to stay, what to bring, etc, are located on their website. Click the image above to check out what promises to be a wonderful event. Several new boxes will be featured at the event. There's something about letterboxing in the salt air in a picturesque Maine seaside village.Mmmmmm - lobsta!
For those of you heading down east, check this out to help your F count on your way!
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
