Letterboxing Staycation

This week 3 of my 4 kids are out of town.  So the baby and I have been letterboxing like it is 1999.  Well, letterboxing didn't hit my area until 2006 but you know what I mean.  On Monday we went around to several cities around Evansville; we looked for 6 boxes in 6 different cities.  We found 3 and 2 hitchhikers.

Cemetery in Patoka

The first box we looked for was in Princeton.  We had looked for this box before but come to find out we were looking in the wrong cemetery.  But we easily found it this time.

Our second box of the day was in Patoka.  It was supposed to be in a tree on the edge of a cemetery but we couldn't find it.  That was frustrating because someone had just found it in April.  I guess I will have to try again another day.

Covered bridge in Wheeling

The third box was at a covered bridge in Wheeling.  It was up high and hard to get to but I got it.  This box is part of a series of old bridges in our area.  We have looked for 3 of them and found 2 of the boxes.  I plan to try that one we couldn't find again.

For box four, we left Wheeling and got a little lost.  I missed one of our turns and it took us a little longer to get to Petersburgh.  We took the scenic route ;)  The box in Petersburgh was also in a cemetery.  This box was easy to find in a large stump at the back.  But the box was sharing the stump with a geocache and the stamp was missing from the letterbox.  The logbook for the letterbox was clearly marked but the box was not.  By looking at the logbook we could see that it was a beautiful stamp.  We sent a message to the geochachers but I doubt that we will hear back from them :(

Cemetery in Petersburgh

(Now, we were supposed to get another box in Petersburgh but my clues were jumbled and we missed it.  So we went back on Tuesday.  It was also in a cemetery on the way out of town.  It had been there for a few years but only had 2 previous finders.  I was excited to find this one even thought we went out of our way to get it.)   

10 Commandments at St Peters Church in Stendal

The fifth box on Monday was at a church in Stendal.  This box was planted in 2008 and was attempted in 2010.  I didn't plan on finding it but since we were out that way we stopped.  We couldn't find the box but the church was nice to look at.  

Box six was a brand new box planted in Birdseye.  The planter had 3 other boxes here but 2 went missing.  We were lucky and got them last year.  This one had a similar theme as the others.  It was planted inside the local general store and the guy actually knew what we wanted when we asked him for it.  That doesn't usually happen.  The last time we had to ask for a box we were at a restaurant and they looked for 15 minutes before they found it.

When we were done there we stopped at Ferdinand State Forrest.  We planted a 4 part series here for PAL Day.  The first finders sent me a message that one of the trees referenced in the clue had been cut down.  So we went to check it out and ended up moving the box and changing the clue.

Finally we came back to Evansville.  I had planned on plating 2 boxes at our county fair grounds.  We hid the first one with no issues.  This was a stamp that we has gotten thru the GAQLBE2013 (Letterbox Exchange).  Then I wanted to plant the stamp of my niece with the pig at the picnic area near the playground.  But there was guy mowing the grass there.  To pass the time we used the restroom and played for a little bit.  It goes down hill from here!  The guy cutting the grass runs out of gas and another guy brings him more.  And they sit around and talk for what feels like forever.  So we pack up and go home.  

New Harmony, In

Tuesday was a wet day but I was determined to get out and letterbox.  We searched for a box in New Harmony for the 4th time!  I can't find the blooming thing.  I give up, you can't pay me to walk back there again.

Next stop is a rest stop.  I have told you before that someone posted on AQ that they would be traveling around and wanted to plant boxes as they went.  I sent them a stamp and they planted it close to me.  I recently got a message that it was missing.  I went to check and it is really gone. 

Then we went to Petersburgh and got the box that we missed and came back home to plant our fair grounds box in the rain.  Nice thing about planting in the rain is that you don't have to worry about other people being around :)

County Fair Time

This week is our county fair and my niece is active in 4H.  We went out the other night and she has baked goods, a scrapbook, a collection, and several animals.  She shows goats, sheep, and pigs.  The pigs are her favorite.  So when a LTC tracker all about pigs came up I had to make a card for my niece.  And I made a HH too. 

Back to Garden of the Gods

Camel Rock at Garden of the Gods, Ill. 

A few days ago we went back to the Garden of the Gods in southern Ill.  This time my husband was able to go and we took my dad and niece (part of BPWigand and Family).  It was hot but a beautiful day to be out hiking, boxing, and swimming.

At the end of last summer my kids and I came over and letterboxed here.  We  found 4 of the 6 boxes that we looked for.  This time we looked for all of them again so BPWigand and Family could get them.  And this time we were able to find one of the boxes that we couldn't find last time.  We came at it from a different angle and had no problems finding it.  But one of the boxes that we had found before is now missing.

The kids loved climbing on the rocks.  Since it was supposed to be so hot we took our swim suits with us so we could cool off when we were done hiking.  It is free to swim at the lake at Pounds Hollow which is just a few miles from the Garden of the Gods.

After our long day of hiking and swimming we headed back home.  We stopped for supper and an ice cream on the way back.  I'm glad that everyone had fun and it was a safe trip :)

Our crew handing out at Garden of the Gods. 

3 of my 4 making a sand castle.  

Indy Vacation

The canal. 

The first part of this week we had a mini vacation in Indianapolis.  We went up on Monday and hung out on the canal.  Last summer the kids and I tagged along with my husband to Indy for two days.  He had a meeting and we went letterboxing.  While we were there we saw some cool bikes you could rent to ride around the canal.  But since my husband wasn't around and I had a 6 month old baby we didn't do it.  So this time around we did!

My fam on the bike :)

We rented a six person bike and rode around for two hours.  During the ride we looked for two boxes but couldn't find them.  I have a feeling that we looked for one in the wrong spot.  But the canal was very nice; there are beautiful flowers, paintings, sculptures, etc.  Also that evening we went to a LEGO store.  We had never been to one before and the boys loved it.

Dad & little two digging for artifacts. 

On the second day of our trip we spent the day at the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  They claim that it is the biggest and the best.  They don't say that it is thoroughly exhausting.  It has 5 levels with multiple rooms to play in or check out on every level.  The kids loved it but they were also ready to leave and hang out at the hotel pool.

Playing in the fountains.  

For the last day we went to the zoo.  It was very hot that day but we all enjoyed seeing the animals.  Some of our favorites were the
elephants, lizards, penguins, birds, fish, and dolphins.  With your zoo admission you get to go to the botanic gardens next door and right now they have butterflies.  In the building they are hatching them.  The kids loved seeing the butterflies up close.  Sometimes they land on you.

After checking out the butterflies we explored the gardens.  The baby found a fountain and end up completely soaked.  The other kids liked some of the statues, flowers, and a train going around.

The only letterbox!

 There was supposed to be a letterbox behind the zoo/gardens.  It had just been found a few weeks ago so I was excited that we would find one box on our trip.  I was wanting to get rid of a hitchhiker but the box was too small.  Oh well, we found a box and had a great trip.

All of us on the bike.

I love this sculpture at the children's museum.  

Bigger three goofing off.  

Lego Clone Trooper w/ Bumble Bee.

Me and the princess hiding stuff in the sand.  

Being silly near the birds.

R2-D2 raced a cheetah.

Butterflies & pretty flowers. 

Lil Ewok finds the fountains.  

Boys Cards

The boys have participated in two Kids Only LTC swaps this summer.  Here are the cards for the first one they did.  Lego Clone Trooper (10.5) carved the ring and R2-D2 (8) carved the robot.  The robot originally had antenna but Lil Ewok (1) got a hold of the stamp and ripped them off.

Yesterday we planted the ring in a "Hobbit" hole we found while dropping off some hitchhikers at our hostile.  Lego Clone Trooper did a good job picking the spot and helping with the clue.

Found after 4 long years!

I had planed on staying home today until the children started attacking each other.  We had to get out of the house or I would go crazy.  We went to check on a box that we just planted.  One of our good friends couldn't find it so we looked to make sure it was still there.  It was part of a 12 part series from the stamps we used at Girl Scout Day Camp.  The first finder told us that the stamps in boxes 2 and 3 were in the wrong order so we were going out there any way.  Also, a boxer planted a new box there but we couldn't find it.

Angel Mounds Boat Ramp 

After that we had lunch; we went looking for 2 boxes and it was an adventure :)  The road that I wanted to use was closed so we had to turn around.  Then we missed the turn for boat ramp that we were going to and had to turn around again.  The place had two parking lots and of course we went to the wrong one.  Once we finally got on the right path we had no problems.  We found the first box and went back to the car.

For the second box we drove around again.  I was trying to read the clues and drive at the same time.  The clue was talking about a path in the woods and I thought it was in a different area.  As I am reading I realize that it is talking about the exact same area that we were just in.  The first box was at the beginning of a fence and the second box was in the middle.

We park and go back in the woods where we came from.  This is at the edge of the river which floods every year.  The box was planted in 3/2009 and was last found in 8/2009.  So if we could find it we would be the first people to find it in 4 years!

Kids on the trail. 

It took a while but we did find it and it was in bad shape.  The box was an index card box and we found it laying open on it's side with dirt inside.  The bag was laying outside the box.  The logbook was triple bagged but still completely soaked.  We wiped the stamp off and replaced the fabric.  We took the wet logbook out and added a new one.  Then we replaced the plastic bags and put everything back where it went.  I contacted the planter and I will probably change out the container next month when I plant a box in that area. It was really exciting to find that box that had survived several floods and not washed away.

After that I let the kids play on a playground for a while.  Then we went to replant a box that had gone missing.  I am not sure if it was muggled or washed away.  It was near a creek that often floods but I thought it would be safe in it's hiding spot.  We found another spot where it will not be washed way.

Pretty busy boxing day :)

Princesses First Carve

Daddy's Favorite Princess recently participated in anther kids only LTC swap.  Usually, I carve the stamp and she makes the cards but this time we wanted to carve.  She did a pretty good job for a 4 yo.  I helped with the eyes and cut it out but she did the rest.