Letterboxing - 1st Adventure - Eva Varga

I’ve been wanting to take the kiddos on a Letterboxing adventure for several months now but the pieces have never seemed to fall into place. This weekend, we finally had an opportunity and what made it even more special is that DH was able to come along with us.
Before we headed out, however, we had an opportunity to see a herd of elk grazing in the meadow in our subdivision. Before development, the area was known for the elk and the local elementary school is even called ‘Elk Meadow’. Growing up on the coast, I have had many opportunities to see wild elk in their habitat (there is a preserve along Hwy 58 near Reedsport where elk are present year round). Yet, their magestic presence never fails to impress me.

For our first adventure, I selected a challenge that I hoped would be anything but challenging. I wanted it to be fun and rewarding… so I hoped we wouldn’t have to work too hard to find the treasure box.

I also wanted to utilize the compass as we’ve learned that the first compass was invented in China. However, Iwas only able to find one challenge with clues that included the cardinal directions (Go East of the Weeping Willow). I was surprised. Perhaps, I’ll check into Geocaching and do similar treasure hunts with our GPS…. but that may prove to be too difficult for the kiddos. We’ll see.

One of the unexpected challenges this time was the time of year – many of the clues related to plants and trees in full foliage. It would be more difficult for one not familiar with plant identification in the winter; as it was, I have had some experience.

It was a great afternoon. We are already looking forward to our next adventure and hope to make our own signature stamps soon. I’ll likely organize a small group of other kids to join us on this endeavor. We’ll see what develops.

How about you? Do you Letterbox or Geocache?