Day No. 1,825

That's how many days since we started this interesting and addicting hobby called letterboxing...well, actually that's a guess. Our first day of actual 'boxing was July 5, 2004, so you can figure out how many days that would be!

Yesterday, Padawan and I ran away for a day of letterboxing. It was gloriously sunny, albeit a little on the chilly side. Equipped with cameras, snacks and a longer list of hidden gems than we could ever hope to snag, we set out for Vancouver...Washington, that is.

We decided to tackle a park that seemed to hold the highest number of 'boxes for maximum efficiency. Vancouver Lake Park is a beautifully manicured and maintained park on the edge of the serene Vancouver Lake. We had never had the pleasure of exploring it before, so this was a real treat. The colors of the trees, the freshly mowed grass and the blue, blue, blue of the sky mimicked in the water was breathtaking. In the distance we caught glimpses of Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens and, we think, Mt. Rainier. Absolutely stunning.


After striking out on our first attempt, we managed to add another 9 boxes to our find count; a pretty good day for us! We are not die-hard letterboxers anymore; we mostly just like to use it as an excuse to get out, take some pictures and see new places around our state.

Y'think? Haha! We thought this was a pretty funny sign to post on the border of a farm. Perhaps they have a pretty good sense of humor? Nah, I think there is a river on the other side of the trees in the distance. *smile*

As I was grabbing one of the boxes, a woman had been apparently watching me while getting back in her vehicle with her dog after their walk along the trail. The box I was after was hidden inside a group of tree trunks about eye level. It was obvious to me that I wasn't as discreet as I was thinking I was when the woman rolled down her car window to speak to me.

"Is that a bag of dog crap?" she asked.

What?? "Uh...er...no, actually it's a container!" I laughingly replied, producing the small round letterbox container from my pocket. What in the world...?? She was laughing as she drove away, but I'm sure she was thinking that was a little strange. I have to admit, that had never happened to me before! As we got to thinking about it, perhaps that could be a new hobby, similar to rock stashing, or bookcrossing...hey, crap-crossing! Hiding bags of...well, you know...in places for others to find.

Perhaps not, eh? lol!


Here's a little guy we found hiding with his buddy on one of the 'boxes - isn't he cute?

We had a great time exploring this part of Vancouver. In the fields just adjacent to the park, very large flocks of Canada Geese were massing. To watch them all take flight was magical - there must have been hundreds of them!

We also could see far in the distance the biggest herons I have ever seen - at least they looked like herons. I'm not sure the species, however.


Forgive the blurry pic...it's really zoomed. It almost looks like there is a red mark on their heads.

Then, we saw this little sweetie crossing the road - most certainly a female pheasant. She'd better watch out...there were quite a few hunters out there bird hunting!


As we ran out of daylight, we decided to end the day with a Coke and onion rings at a quaint little 50's diner and a really fun indoor letterbox that lives there. What a nice way to end a wonderful day of runnin' away. *smile*