Our letterboxing clue led us to the Indianapolis Zoo....
passed the Bison and to the treasure!
This is the Promenade walk in the White River State Park.Letterboxing
Do you enjoy hiking? Do you like modern day treasure hunting? We have found a favorite new family activity that combines both! It is called Letterboxing and is the cousin to the high-tech geocaching. In order to participate you have to go online to get your clues. There are over 23,000 letterboxes in the United States and thousands more around the world. An article in the Smithsonian magazine in 1998 helped spark interest in this hobby outside of England, where it originated in the mid-1800’s.
You follow the clues to the hidden treasure. Some of the clues are in the form of riddles while others are more straightforward. You need to bring a blank notebook (one without lines) to use for a log book, an ink pad, pen and a rubber stamp (hand carved or store bought). Some clues require the use of a compass which is an adventure in itself. The rubber stamp you bring with you should represent you and will be your way of “stamping in” once you find a letterbox. Leave the date and a brief message in the logbook. Then use the stamp that you find in the box to mark your own log book.
We enjoy this activity because we get to explore new terrain that we might not have otherwise and spend lots of time outdoors like pirates searching for buried treasure.
Here are the websites that list the letterboxing clues; letterboxing.org and atlasquest.com
You follow the clues to the hidden treasure. Some of the clues are in the form of riddles while others are more straightforward. You need to bring a blank notebook (one without lines) to use for a log book, an ink pad, pen and a rubber stamp (hand carved or store bought). Some clues require the use of a compass which is an adventure in itself. The rubber stamp you bring with you should represent you and will be your way of “stamping in” once you find a letterbox. Leave the date and a brief message in the logbook. Then use the stamp that you find in the box to mark your own log book.
We enjoy this activity because we get to explore new terrain that we might not have otherwise and spend lots of time outdoors like pirates searching for buried treasure.
Here are the websites that list the letterboxing clues; letterboxing.org and atlasquest.com
2 comments:
I think I need to get into this with my kids. I'm starting to get the hang on needing to entertain and do more things with them. I think this would be great idea for me when Bret is gone working and we need to get out!
I remember you posting about this at CC. It sounds like a lot of fun. Love the pics!
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