Retirement for Pappa Bear's Dutch Oven

I have decided to retire Pappa Bear's Dutch Oven.  I got a note from a finder, 3BOYS4DOGS that yesterday they found the box destroyed and two torn ziploc bags in the vicinity but no logbook or stamp.

It makes me sad to retire such a great box but it seems like the right thing to do under the circumstances.  Pappa Bear's stamps really are neat.  His Woody was my very first find and holds such a special place in my heart.  Many of his are hidden in the beautiful Codorus State Park.  Check 'em out while they're still there!

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.

Taking Charge

Taking charge, The Caped Coder took TNT and me along with Mip and Zip over to the Little Raccoon.  We found some cool stuff that included an animal bone, we ran into Cubed, and I witnessed a hiker wearing all white with a frilly skirt.  Girls!  smh...

Missing Tile

I absolutely love Krap Ytnuoc Noxin. It is one of the best little gems that York has to offer, IMHO.  I gathered up a car-full and headed over to enjoy the beautiful day. I wanted to check out a tile that promised to be awesome. We struggled a bit to find the tree with the baby tree growing out of it.  Seems like a weird thing, why would a tree have another tree growing out of it?  But when we saw it we knew. 

I've had compass problems in the past (aka operator error - sometimes I do better without relying on that thing) so I checked a 9 step radius around the tree with the baby tree.  No luck.  We did find this cool tree with a metal "tongue" sticking out like it was mocking me.  Ha!  We headed back empty handed but thoroughly enjoyed the walk. 

I heard later that the box was missing after all.  Bummer.  I hope Blue Delft replaces it.

Today's Cruzsade

With another beautiful 50 degree winter day, my letterboxing minions and I set out on a Cruzsade.  Fortunately we came prepared with boots because the mud was deep.  The Button came too.  We had a great time on the way to Goblin City.  The big pile of rocks was a big hit.

We also stopped by the Hostile Hostel.  I just love these things.  This one in particular has the most fantastic host carving and a large assortment of hitch hikers from which to choose. Definitely worth the trip.  I counted at least 16 of them in the box.  I left one and took a couple, figured it would be good to get them back into circulation. 



And one last stop at Anime Ice Cream on the way home.  There was no ice cream to be had but beautiful views and the smell of Spring in the air.  What was that groundhog thinking?!

Happy Cake Day to Me!

Yesterday marked my 5th year anniversary of finding my first letterbox.  Today marks my 5th year of being an Atlas Quest member. To commemorate the occasion, we were planning on heading out on some adventures yesterday but then the darkening sky opened up and it rained pretty hard, especially for having only a 20% chance of showers. 

The Caped Coder came through for me today and we headed out despite the cold, windy, and raw conditions.  Our first stop was unexpected.  Thanks to the heads up from idlemoom, we were able to score an amazing box.  It was so impressive, a really awesome carving, a specially appointed box, and a clever and thoughtful gift.  After wishing Fijne Verjaardag! to Blue Delft (and a Gelukkig Jaarfeest to me) we moved on to part two of our outing.

We enjoyed the big open space and the views of the horses.  Even they were wearing coats.  It was great to get out and stretch to grab the boxes.  But then it was so chilly that we ran back to the car just so we could stamp in without our fingers and ink pads freezing.

We gave thanks to the farmers and we met a horse named Belle.  We also came across the soul saver #2 and the empire strikes back.  All in all a very productive day. 


Special thanks to all who made my mini celebration possible and fruitful!  ;)

Mud!

With Spring Fever beginning to set in, we headed out to a nearby and relatively newly planted adventure at the Castle in the Sky. What a great outing! I even found a Vroom Vroom HH waiting for me!

It wasn't too warm or too cold and it was beautiful. But boy, oh boy (and in this case, oh boy) was it muddy! Definitely worth it though!

More Skitchin

The boys wanted more skitchin time so we headed to another spot. While there we checked out the great blue heron.

Unplugged

The wind died down and the temperature wasn't quite as challenging so I packed up the group and headed out of doors for some unplugged time. We took a nice hike around Lake Redman/Williams. Surprisingly, I didn't have any arguments about the hike which pleased me very much. The adventure was great but it was no wonder we weren't prepared enough. TTFN.

P. S. Does anyone know why they are (still) clear-cutting at Lake Redman?

Skitchin

Our first stop today brought us to Lake Redman (or was it Lake Williams - I never can quite tell where one starts and the other stops). It was appropriate that we brought the button since we were visiting all the dogs I've ever loved. I stamped in with one eye on the ice. It seemed pretty solid but I definitely didn't feel like saving anyone's life today.

There were some silver bells waiting for me in the box. I was so pleased for this Christmas goodie. So appropriate.

Stone Crest

It was a beautiful winter day and we wanted to get outside. We headed over to Stone Crest and I decided to plant a temporary letterbox. Although it was always booked, the B&B needed to expand to make a profit but between the township dragging their feet on approvals, the economy going sour, and the banks calling their loans, this establishment had to pack it in. Anyway, the walk was lovely albeit short. Perfect for a cold, clear winter day.