Just recently I read an article in Family Fun magazine, September 2006, about Letter Boxing. Letter Boxing is a less high tech form of geo-caching, which uses a GPS to locate hidden boxes. It combines hiking with the element of treasure hunting and both are fun for the kids. In letter boxing you follow clues, once you find the hidden box you will find a logbook, an ink pad and a rubber stamp. Once you discover the box you will documnet your discover by "stamping in" by marking the log book with your own stamp and a breif message. You will also stamp your own log book with the box's stamps.
The history of letter boxing is interesting too. It started in the mid-1800's with an Englishman named James Perrott placed a glass jar within a mound of stones at Cranmere Pool in Dartmoor. People would leave their calling card to prove that they had been there. The idea took hold in the area and later spread. The Smithsonian helped to spark the interest in the hobby outside of England in 1998 when it published an article about letter boxing. Now there are thousands of letter boxes around the world with more than 23,000 in the Untied States.
Go online to www.letterboxing.org to get started. It will give you maps that will make it easy for you to locate hunts in your area.
You can also go to www.FamilyFun.com for directions for making a hiking belt, walking stick, and other fun letter boxing gear.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment