Will You Live & Breathe Letterboxing History?

That huge buzz that you might have heard the past several weeks humming around the letterboxing community most likely was centered around the upcoming September gather in Oregon appropriately penned "We Live and Breathe Letterboxing."

This joint effort of a committee of dedicated local boxers is spearheaded by Der Mad Stamper, one of the original US letterboxers, and is set for the weekend of September 12 through 14th in Colton, OR. This gathering name was penned as an homage to the name of the original Smithsonian Magazine article that appeared some 10 years ago. This article is widely credited to introducing letterboxing to the masses of the new world. And what a proper tribute since the first US letterbox in the US, Prayer Rock, and thus letterboxing, is celebrating it's 10 year anniversary this year!

This past Saturday at noon PST was the hour that many letterboxers across the country sat with bated breath in front of the computer monitors; awaiting for the registration form to appear on the official gathering website. Manned by some of the committee members, the online registration form has been one of the most awaited events in recent memory and Sue & I would be out of town - and possibly on the road in our car!

Sue & I were invited with 8 other letterboxers to the home of Deanne (the lazy letterboxer) and Dave (the letterboxing ham) in MA to spend an evening playing the dice game, Bunko, with a group of letterboxers. While Sue & I planned to arrive earlier than the group, we gave specific instructions to Deanne that if for some reason we didn't arrive at their home by 3:00 pm, that she should go ahead and reserve a deluxe room for us or face the wrath of the Pinecone Pair!

The letterboxing gods shined down on us and we arrived at their home in plenty of time to make the online registration debut. After unpacking and getting settled, Sue asked Deanne if she would mind setting her cooking timer for 2:55 so we wouldn't get distracted talking and miss the beginning of registration. And you all thought I was the obsessed one, right?

At the appointed time, we all convened around the lazy monitor and waited as the magic hour approached . . . and nothing happened! And then, at 3:02 by Deanne's computer, the registration form was there! Deanne, with nimble fingers, clicked on the registration form and entered our 4 names and the other requisite information that would enable us to attend this memorable event.

After two tries at her PayPal login (I contemplated throwing her out of her chair and taking over if her second try at her password didn't work,) we were in and received a notice via email that our rooms were confirmed. Luckily we registered at the very beginning as it seems that in 10 minutes time all of the deluxe rooms had sold out. But as of this posting, there are still some beds available.

This is going to be an event that you really don't want to miss. The creativity of Mitch and his group is known nationally. Sue & I, along with Dave & Deanne, had the pleasure to visit OR several years ago and experience the talent of that local letterboxing community. Twists and turns were around every corner and we are sure that this special weekend will offer more of the same.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank the committee for all they have done thus far and for what they will do in the ensuing 7 months until letterboxers from around the country convene at Coulton, OR and celebrate the 10th anniversary of letterboxing. It will be one amazing weekend chocked full of letterboxing memories to last a lifetime. And don't you want to meet all of those boxers you've seen post on the talk lists?

We hope that you, too, will reserve your space soon before you are locked out. Attendance is limited due to the size of the location. More details including the schedule of events, some photos and FAQ's can be found on the official website.

Please register soon. You can read about the fun on this blog but wouldn't you really rather be there and experience it yourself???