On one of our many adventures in The Great North; my family and I wandered into a little shop that was surrounded by cabins. Barb, an earthy woman, greeted us as we looked around. Upon reading the hand written sign that said Carve A Rubber Stamp and something about Letterboxing I turned to Barb with wild curiosity I asked her how the sign. Her eyes filled with excitement as started to explain while pulling out a big box of supplies.
She went on to explain that that Letterboxing involves a waterproof box hidden in a scenic location containing a rubber stamp and notebook. Pulling out a piece of paper she showed us that a person uses a series of clues to find where the boxes are hidden. Once found, the finder will stamp the box's notebook with his or her personal stamp, and use the box's stamp to mark their own personal notebook. Letterboxers collect the stamps from boxes all over the world. Barb compared it in some ways to geocaching.
A quirkier version of geocaching
As I sat there carving away at my little rubber stamp I asked Barb how she got to this particular lodge. Standing there in her hand knit green sweater she told a tale of after growing up in Duluth and meeting the love of her life in her 20's. Soon after they got married and she followed him up the very lodge that I sat in. 7 kids and 30 years later here she was.
My first real experience with Letterboxing left me (and this little rubber stamp) running along an over grown trail beside Loon Lake just outside the Boundry Waters or BWCA. I tried to read and decode the buzzard and oddly specific clues telling me to go left at the fallen tree and something about a nice picnicking area where I would find the little box all the while wildly swatting at the hundreds of blood thirsty mosquitoes. It took me 4 times longer than it should have to find it but when I finally did I screamed with joy and quickly stamped my stamp in the book and vise versa. I walked away with twice as many mosquito bites as before, totally worth it!
Can't wait for my next letterboxing adventure!
Making my mark on this world one stamp at a time- HALES
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