Letterboxing

My eldest stepdaughter and her sixteen year old daughter are avid Letterboxers. They've been doing it for a few years now and have an impressive number of stamps in their logbooks. We met up with my stepdaughter's family (her, her husband, and their two youngest kids) on our recent camping trip to Petit Jean Sate Park in Arkansas. They live in nearby Little Rock, and drove up to join us for two days and a night. Melissa, my stepdaughter, had decided it was high time that her dad and I take up the hobby of Letterboxing, since we travel around a bit with our RV. She'd brought us each our own stamps to use. Mine was a flower, and her dad's was a set of footprints, since "he's always on the go". I thought his was quite fitting, for it's quite true about Mr.Studley. The man can't sit still. We all set out on that Sunday afternoon for a day of hiking, sightseeing, and Letterboxing. After visiting the Davies Rock Bridge, we hiked along Cedar Creek. Melissa had printed off clues for a Letterbox that was supposed to be hidden beside the creek, not far from the bridge. This was my first Letterbox hunt, and I was pumped. Melissa's enthusiasm for the hobby was contageous. One of the clues, the paint mark on the above tree, left of the hiking trail. Oh, boy, we're getting warm. An iron grate by some large rocks, to the right of the trail. Bingo! The Letterbox should be beneath the grate. The fam raising the grate. That's Mr.Studley on the right, wearing his Army National Guard Wind Suit. It reads "ARNG" across the back. I harass him when he wears it by calling him "Arng", spoken with a hard G (as in, goat), so it comes out sounding like Arn-guh. He loves when I do that-NOT. After much digging around in the earth, mostly by Melissa (at left in picture up above), this was the result of our search. As you can see, it is not a Letterbox. It is a snake egg. Gasp! My first Letterboxing expedition was not fruitful, at least not in the sense that we located a Letterbox. Melissa was concerned I'd be let down, but I really wasn't disheartened. I know there will be other opportunities to find more Letterboxes that will be in place. Though we didn't find a prize at th end, the hunt was a reward in itself. It was a fun time spent with family members we see far too infrequently, soaking in the beauty of God's creation. And thankfully, no one was snakebitten!So, how about you? Do you, or does anyone you know, go Letterboxing? I'd love to hear your comments on the subject! edit to add:Letterboxing, not to be confused with Geocaching, doesn't require the use of a new-fangled, high-tech gps, of which I are too poor to own. ;-Þ

And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, Who calls you by your name. ~Isaiah 45:3 Amplified Bible