A Day in the Woods

Yesterday was our first letterboxing trip of ’09.  It was the perfect spring day, so wonderful to be outside watching the kids explore the woods and appreciate the little things they found there.  When I was a kid, I grew up exploring the woods around my house, just like every other kid in the neighborhood.  It’s a different world now, and that’s one of the things that strikes me the most, watching my children and their friends, how tuned in everyone is to the tv, the computer, the video game, the phone, the ipod…whatever it is.  Every spare moment they are entertained by something.  I want my kids to have time to daydream, to think, to explore.  And yes, to be bored.  I’m mean like that.

Did I mention we went letterboxing yesterday?

We picnicked alongside the river, next to an old foundation of what used to be a grist mill.  While the kids were devouring strawberries, watermelon and grapes, my dad picked up a trash bag and started picking up trash along the riverside.  He told me that they have been letterboxing in so many states, in so many beautiful spots, and that they are so sad to see these beautiful places spoiled by thoughtless visitors who scatter their trash…He then told me that he had decided that being angry about it wasn’t productive, and he had added a trash bag to his letterboxing supplies, so he could do something about it.  I am so lucky that my kids have someone who is a living example of the things I try to teach them.

Yikes!  No more tangents.  Here is Priscilla exploring the foundation of the old mill.  I think it’s so cool how a bunch of rocks all stacked up could support a big building with no cement or other modern materials…

Once we had packed up the picnic supplies and returned them (and Dad’s very full trash bag) to the car, all we had to do was call the monkey boy Michael down from his perch and we were off to find waterfalls and letterboxes.

It was a short way to the waterfalls.  McKenna didn’t like how noisy they were, so we backtracked a bit and observed from a little cliff overlooking the falls where it wasn’t quite so noisy.

On our hike to the Bear’s Den and Bear’s Den 2 boxes, Michael got to try some leaves my dad told him tasted like mint.  I was impressed by my picky boy, he tried several different leaves looking for that minty taste before spitting them out and giving up.  “They just taste like leaves,” he said.  

The kids had such a good time that we decided to go find the Quabbin View letterbox as well.  What a neat little spot, tucked away unmarked where you’d never think to look.  It had a nice picnic area (should have gone there first!) and what a view of the Quabbin Reservoir.

 

Ok, one last small tangent…see that vest my dad is wearing?  I think it was meant for fishing, but it is perfect for letterboxing.  The whole back is mesh, so it stays cool, and there are tons of pockets.  I had designed a backpack that I was going to make each of the kids, with a spot for everything they needed…but, sometimes procrastination pays off.  Instead of backpacks, I am going to make them vests instead.

Chief Metacomet

The road we live on dead-ends at the state forest. Well, technically you could drive through to NH, but you wouldn’t want to. Anyhow, there’s a waterfall there, one of three in our little, quiet town. We’ve always hiked in from our road, because…well, it just makes sense. There’s another way in, however. Nick’s been that way, back in his Boy Scout days, but not the rest of us.

My oldest and youngest babies…

Back when Nick was a Boy Scout, he hiked this trail. Ever since then (just recently, even) he’s been telling me he wants to camp out in some shelter on the waterfall trail. Sure enough, we hiked right by it, and let me tell you! I’d like to camp there, too! So.Very.Cool. Check it out:

Inside are four bunks and a loft. Outside someone wrote the GPS coordinates on one of the beams; there’s a firepit with two benches. The whole thing overlooks a brook with a footbridge. I’d be totally creeped out to be there alone in the dark, but it was a really neat place. We could have spent the whole day there, I think.

View from the porch of the cabin. Firepit is lower left, look down the tree with the birdhouse to find the footbridge.

This was a series of four letterboxes, all hand-carved stamps. We also explored an old cemetery, saw two beaver dams, several trees the beavers were working on, some really cool rocks in the river that were shaped by the flow of water. Oh, and the rock that looked like an Indian profile.

I think the thing that struck us the most was the people who had signed the logbooks back in January…they spent the night in that cabin. They said it was eleven degrees at 7:00 in the morning…Crazy!

More Letterboxing Fun

Michael and I attempted to make our own stamps to use letterboxing. Considering the crumbly erasers and my inability to locate the exacto knife, I was reasonably happy with how they turned out. It was more of an experiment to see if I wanted to spend the money on proper stampmaking supplies. It wasn’t hard to do, and was actually fun, so I think we’ll invest in the right tools and keep trying.

We went letterboxing with my parents. My dad really seemed to enjoy it. I think my mother did, too, but she tends to get overwhelmed with the sheer number of people in my family, so sometimes it’s hard to tell.

Even the little ones got in on the action. Here’s Priscilla waiting patiently to have someone help her stamp. Her patience was greatly increased by the fact that she had just woken up and was still a little foggy. You can see the wrap on the rock behind her, she had been sleeping on my back. And, yes, that’s a disposable diaper peeking out of her shorts; my washing machine is broken. *sob*

Kenna takes her stamping very seriously. Note the painted fingernails; I had to do her toes as well. She’s turning into quite the girly-girl. She was quite upset with me when I wouldn’t let her make her own stamp. I’ll have to dig deep to find the patience for that project.

Our hike was a series of three boxes, through some beautiful gardens and around a pond full of geese. An absolutely gorgeous day.

Our First Letterbox

We’ve been wanting to try letterboxing for some time now.   It was originally something I wanted to do with my parents, but I’m sick of waiting for them, so we did it on our own.  So much fun!  This is the first time we’ve hiked in ages that no one has whined, cried, or complained.  We went in search of this letterbox.

If you look very closely across the water you can see the train bridge.  I was so glad it was in our directions to look for it, or we would have missed it.  While I was taking this picture Nick found a turtle and Michael found a snake.

Success!

Nick reading the book and stamping in.  He’s anxious to go looking for more already!