Let’s go on a treasure hunt. Yes, where you follow clues, use a compass and actually find a hidden treasure (in a sense). I am talking about Letterboxing. “Letterbox” is the term used for a mail box in England. Modern letterboxing probably has roots in the 1850s, when an English man left cards in a bottle with a note inviting others to do the same. Pretty soon people began leaving messages or letters for other folks passing by to find.
Modern letterboxes are plastic boxes instead of a bottle.
Here’s how it works: Someone hides a box, maybe under a log in the forest or
tucked into a crack in an old stone wall. Inside the box, the hider places a
rubber stamp and a notebook. Letterboxers post clues about how to find the box
on websites like www.letterboxing.org. The boxes are all across the U.S. and in many
other countries.
When you find a box, open the notebook you find inside. Remember to be secretive if other people are nearby; if they don’t know about letterboxing, they might take the box away.
Write your name, hometown, the date, and a short note in the log book. Don’t forget to make your mark with your own rubber stamp. Then take the special stamp from inside the box and make a print it in your own notebook. Collecting as many stamps in your notebook as possible is a big part of the fun. Then wrap the box up carefully and return it to its hiding place for the next letterboxer to find.
This is a great activity for the young and old. And most important you get the kids outside exposed to nature, and learning some new life skills. Ah, the thrill of the hunt.
We are going this weekend to find our first letter box, let me know if you try this!
