Snow day

What better to do on a snow day than organize your letterboxing backpack?!  I've been meaning to do this for ages.  Here goes.  Dumped out all leaves, pine needles, and dirt.  Retired clues for boxes I've already found.  Gathered together and logged into all the hitchhikers I've been dragging around.   And since I have so many right now, I planned a hostel to plant in the Spring.  Double checked that Hot Lava's stamp is indeed missing - and it is.  :(  Reorganized the pens in a more accessible pen holder.  Pitched old icky ink pads, put a few new fresh ones in the bag.  Added some baggies.  Ball for the dog.  Hand sanitizer and handi wipes for you-never-know-what. New logbook for Baseball Buddy.  And made an LB to-do list.

The End

On our way to Ptown for some Black Friday finds, we stopped to find the End of Days.  Again, I didn't have much time to search so we ran the clues a couple of times, coming up empty each time.  There has been a lot of clearing in the area.  I have to say that as we draw nearer to that end date of 12/21/12 the adventure seems more and more interesting.  

New Find, Familiar Place

Every stop in Chatham must come with at least a drive by the light house.  Every trip we must look at the way the break in the barrier beach has changed here at the "elbow" of the Cape.

This time we were delighted to have something to find in addition to looking at the beautiful view.

Stage Harbor is also a lovely spot.  We were not in a position to search but I hopped out thinking I knew right where it was but I was wrong.  I'll have to come back next time.

Safe at Sandy Pond

After being unusually hunted we scrambled over to Sandy Pond.  The kids loved it because there was a playground they could romp on and a field they could tackle on while the Rewstah (with his newly carved stamp), Hydeez Mom, and I set out to retrieve by request and a fascinating and amazing namesake.

Hunting in an Unusual Place

I was looking soooo forward to getting out on Thanksgiving day for a wonderful hike with the bonus of discovering the unusual Cape characters. I had been speculating about what some of them might be for days.  We packed up the extended group, dogs and all, while the turkey was roasting.

The large pickups with gun racks and NRA stickers parked by the entrance was our first indication.  We were a big and not quiet group so even when we saw the hunting sign for coyote, small game, and deer archery we thought we were too obvious to be mistaken.  Not to mention that we figured the hunters wouldn't be so close to the trail.

We made it with no problem to the first box and just as we were retrieving it we heard gunshots very loud and very close.

That was it.  We had to call it a day. We did find a nice HH as a consolation prize. ...sigh...  It looked like such a nice trail and what a beautiful day.  Alas, we'll be back.  When hunting season is over.

A long drive to Osterville

We left south-central Pennsylvania at O dark 30 and arrived in Osterville just after lunchtime.  We had a car full of tired travelers including two doggies who were not welcome here.  But I was successful finding the Winged Deaths Head.

The others will have to wait for another day since I had trouble finding the dirt road past Whitehead.  I didn't have time to search too hard and unfortunately, the two possible nearby paths I took quickly ended up in dead (pun intended) ends.

Neat place.  Thanks MM for recommending it.

The Rebel Base

The Caped Coder, Mip, Zip, Hot Lava, and I went to find the Rebel Base at our favorite place, Nixon Park.  We found Luke Skywalker but Darth Vader had apparently been abducted.

I was lucky enough to find a Woozy, though.  Beware!

Great Island

The cali cousins wanted a nice long hike so we chose Great Island as our destination.  We had never been before.  The letterbox had a high diamond rating so I was anxious to check it out.

We headed out and passed some cool stuff.   Sea pickles were abundant in the beginning of the trek. 

We also came across some tiny crabs and some strange holes that perhaps these crabs had dug and thrown some sandy pellet stuff out.  

As we hiked along the sand got  sandier and the sky got darker.  It is amazing how much longer the hike seems when you're not walking on firm sand.  We passed a number of dead birds and came across two larger decomposing critters.  I saw that the Cape had a bunch of dolphins stranding themselves in the Feb-March timeframe near Herring River which is very close to this area.  That must be what they are.  Such a shame.

We had some trouble with the map.  We probably would have done better without it.  We struggled to find the old Tavern site.  But finally we did stumble across it and the view was breathtaking.  We found the treasure with no problem once we found the Tavern site.  

The hike back was faster since now we knew where we were going.  Although still slower than firm ground.  The darkening sky gave way to rain right as we reached our last half mile or so.  It is definitely a hike I will remember for a long time.  Sometimes those challenging ones are the ones you remember better than the simpler ones.  

Larry Lobster

Cubed and I found ourselves with a couple of free moments so we decided it was time to meet Larry  Lobster.  Looks like we were the first to meet him.  Got to check out Captain Elmer too.  Looks like a nice "ship" he's got.  Outside dining is always nice.

Wellfleet Hippie Swamp

The Atlantic White Cedar Swamp trail is where we found but a single greenhead.  Perhaps we didn't see more because the swamp was pretty dried up.

We really enjoyed the walk after our delish lunch at Moby Dick's.  In fact, we enjoyed it so well that we did the boardwalk loop two times!

Some folks in our party were getting squirrel-ly,   running off ahead, and causing havoc.  We had to scurry out of there pretty fast to keep them in tow.


Quote of the day, as Johnny Law would say:  "We don't be knowin' dem like dat!"

After leaving the swamp, by happenstance we drove by Cemetery Road and decided to stop and check out the hippie brick.  We enjoyed looking around this old cemetery.

Uncle Tim's Butterfly

The adventures continued as we headed over to Wellfleet to see Uncle Tim's Butterfly.  It was a nice brief walk on a hot day.  We had to dodge some folks, lovers on the bench and someone telecommuting from the area of the butterfly.  But that added to the fun.

Penniman and Fort Hill

We began our day's adventure at the Penniman House in Eastham.  Cool place to walk around and check out.  From there we set out to see the sights of the Fort Hill Trail, exploring and avoiding poison ivy.  We loved the views from Skiff Hill and the Indian Rock was pretty cool too.  Unfortunately, the "old" adventure eluded us but we enjoyed the poem and the trek anyway.

Bearberry Hill

Finally! After years of trying to work it into our schedule, today the family was agreeable to tackling the Bearberry Hill hike.

The vistas were amazing.  A nice reward for hiking the sometimes sandy windy and hilly trail.

We took a little side trail to the beach with beautiful cliffs and sprawling sand.  Hot Lava and TNT cooled off in the waves.

We finally made it to the bog house.  No sight of anyone.  We wondered who the bike belonged to...

Picked up a hitch hiker along the way, adding to the perfection of the day.

I highly recommend this hike!  I think it will have   to fit into my favorite top 10 of all time!

Checking on the Transients

Photo is upside down.  I'm posting this remotely and will fix
 it once I can use a real computer.

Today I took my buddies to check on my Wizard.  I had something to drop off and I wanted to make sure things were coming along ok.  I also updated the clues as they didn't make good sense to me now that the vegetation has really grown in.

Strong Island

Ever since we found out that Chatham put walking paths on Strong Island we've been so anxious to go.  Today we finally got the chance and I left a little something behind.

It was very cool.  We saw a white egret nesting, a horse wandering around, and some beautiful overlooks.  We were prepared with bug spray and were able to stay away from the poison ivy which was everywhere off trail.

We can't wait to return to explore some more.

Yum

Thanks to Yumgirl who recently planted a wind tamer right in town, an easy stop in between the Cottage Street Bakery (dirt bombs) and the Nauset Surf Shop (a new pair of Toms).

I had been here a time or two before but it was such a beautiful day and nice to stop by again and enjoy the beauty of this vantage point.  Yumgirl also left behind a couple of yummy goodies for us first finders as well as a really cool flea.

Evidence of Fathers Day

It was Fathers Day, time for the annual family bike ride on the Heritage Rail Trail.  Such a fun thing to do!

I looked for the evidence and found it with no problem.  I had a recent report of troubles but alas, all seems to be in order.

Seaside Cemetery

Since the Zip fell asleep in the car we decided to press our luck and punch out one more.  I've been to the Seaside Cemetery before but never turn down the opportunity to explore a cemetery, especially one in this area.

The Off-Season

The off-season on the Cape is wonderful, especially for letterboxing.  You can grab great boxes at spots that are teaming with people in season. Getting to the point was a breeze today.  We could almost hear the band playing.  Summer is just around the corner.

After Easter brunch

After Easter brunch, we needed a break so off to yet another cemetery we did go.  This time we met Betsey and learned about her hobby.

From there we headed over to Ridgevale Beach where we were not successful.


Then the Caped Coder wanted to check out the lighthouse.  Unfortunately, the whole area around the memorial rock has been recently landscaped.

Unda where?

I never tire of checking out cemeteries in this area.  This time it was an old cemetery in Orleans.  A wicked cool spot, we dove right in and were thrilled with what we found.

Moon Walk

We definitely didn't have the moon beaming overhead as we went on our moon walk, but instead there was a trifecta of ospreys screeching and circling.  Perhaps they were seeking lunch, we did find a squirrel tail and a bunny tail left behind from someone's meal.  We also saw a bunch of fiddler crabs peeking in and out of their holes.

Sopping Wet

After lunch in Yarmouth Port, we searched for a little peace and quiet.  I've never seen anything wetter, moldier, and rustier.  I'm not really one to infringe on someone else's box but this one needed so much help, I didn't see any other option.  There were three logbooks in it and the first two (full ones) were in terrible shape. I left the third which was dry.  I brought them home to dry them out and will either mail them to the owner or return them to the box soon.

Peace Day Logbooks after drying

Thwarted

This morning Hydeezmom and I set out for a little shopping and boxing.  We hit two of my favorite places, the PB Boulangerie in Wellfleet and the Atlantic Spice Company in Truro.  I highly recommend both places.  Perhaps I should've had a clue when the Boulangerie sold out of what we came for when the people right behind us ordered and their waiter was quicker to fill their order than our waiter filled ours.  Didn't seem right since we were in line first but c'est la vie, I guess.  Anyway, we stopped by the Truro Vineyards only to find new landscaping and new construction going on in the area of the box.  Darn.

On our way back we swung by Uncle Tim's Bridge in hopes of catching the butterfly but the road was closed off, people were everywhere, and there seemed to be an egg hunt going on.

Not a good letterboxing start to the day...

Pond Wizard

Since I had so many hitch hikers, I decided to create a place where these transients could rest before moving on.  This is my first HHH and I'm anxious to see how it goes.  I thought the area was cool because it sits up on the hill and it looks like evidence of great battles all around, as if the Wizard has been providing protection from interlopers.

BTW, if you are familiar with E man's Merlin, this Wizard came from the same inspiration.

Hoppy Easter 2012

Today I created a burrow for an Easter adventure.  We've created several Thanksgiving memories, it seemed fitting that we should create some Easter ones too.  Mip created one as well.

During the workout

I had some time to kill during a workout while I enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Maintenance Loop

After dropping off the self-portrait, we decided to loop around and check in on some other adventures.  We passed by the missing tile and stuck our tongue out at the tree again, and made our way to the 3rd on the 6th.  I took a look through the logbook and thought it funny that so many finders commented on the missing crude bench.  When Eman and I originally wrote the clues in 2007 the bench was very crude then, no surprise it didn't last more than a couple more years.  Anyway, I took care of a few things, removed a useless and filthy outer bag (where did that come from anyway) and hid it much better as it was practically out in the open.  

We also ran into a couple of salamanders in the area of the box.  We enjoyed looking at them but left them alone.  

From there I headed over to check in on Nixon.  I took some bearings to help with the clues since it seemed that some finders were having trouble.  Again, I removed the outer bag and rehid better. All the while, I got a strange feeling that I was being watched.  Perhaps I was.  After all, the woods have eyes.