Mid Missouri Letterboxers

Treasure Hunting Volunteers

2009-04-09T06:47:00.002-06:00

I've got about 150 people signed up for the Treasure Hunting Event this weekend April 11 fom noon to 4:30 and could definitely use volunteer help (see below). I will have more than 30 boxes hidden in the park, some new, some recyclyed from previous events, and some already established boxes. I am still in the process of planting them all and could use some help.

Volunteers:
In addition, I could use some volunteers anytime that morning starting at 8 a.m. I will have a few items to hide in already designated places, some Easter Eggs and Easter trinkets to "hide-in-plain-sight" for the younger kids, signs to place, help with the registration table, and will definitely need help with parking. I will also experienced letterbixers and geocachers willingto take newbies out for a hunt or two. The event starts at noon so if you show up sometime between 8 a.m. and noon you can fill out a temporary volunteer form so we can record your volunteer hours.
Please RSVP and let me know when you plan to arrive and what you'd be willing to help with.--Fox-fyr aka Kathryn DiFoxfire with Rock Bridge Memorial State Park

"Treasure Hunting with a Twist" Event

2009-01-23T09:50:00.000-06:00

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Rock Bridge Memorial State Park is sponsoring a "Treasure Hunting with a Twist" program April 11, 2009 (Easter weekend) from noon to 4:30 p.m. This event is open to the public and is for all ages.

The park plans to hide a number of letterboxes and geocaches throughout the park (these will be temporary ones, available on the day of the event only). In addition, there will be several hidden-in-plain-sight type of hunts and other activities. Some activities will be easy and designed especially for small children; others will be more elaborate and require more hiking.

I am looking for volunteers wishing to help with the event. Volunteers are needed to make, hide and retrieve boxes, caches and other items (the park has a GPS unit if you'd like to hide a geocache) as well as write appropriate clues. I also need volunteers who wish to greet visitors at the registration table, help hand out clues and coordinates, and provide instructions. Volunteers are also needed to assist with the stamp carving workshop for beginners. If you have ideas for planning or activities you would like to see at this event, I would love your input.

Lastly, because we have limited funding for this event, I am looking for donations of materials and supplies, especially the following: stamp carving material, carving tools (these can be returned), logbooks, containers (these can be returned), trinkets to hide in the geocaches, first finders prizes for the letterboxes, already-carved stamps (to use as temporary signature stamps or to hide in letterboxes--these can also be returned).

I have no idea what kind of turnout we might get, but I have already advertised the event on both atlasquest.net and gecaching.com. We will also be advertising through our regular media channels. There is no registration limit, but if you wish to attend the event, you will need to call the park office at 673-449-7400 between March 11 and April 11 to register.
For more information, please contact me at the park phone number above.

Kathryn DiFoxfire aka Fox-fyr

ME

2009-01-15T10:45:00.001-06:00

Back to Boxing!

2008-10-13T05:41:00.005-06:00

Hi all!

I don't know about you, but this was not our summer for boxing. Too much real life stuff like moving got in the way & our backpack sat restless all summer.

Speaking of backpack, I found something in my backpack - no not a cootie - rather clues. I have been hoarding the Catfish Cuckoo clues! It was not intentional really my apologies to touchtrek who I am sure was wondering what happened to them - I had super intentions of restocking the clues & out the door they go! Rather they moved to the lower regions of the pack.

So, if you're an industrious sort & would like access to these fabulously tough clues, then scroll through the mid-mo boxes to see where we've been recently. I will warn you the mosquitos are nasty!

Where Eagles Dare

2008-10-11T15:46:00.002-06:00

Drebbel wanted me to let everyone know that "Where Eagles Dare" is back in its home. He recommends bug spray for anyone wanting to find it. The mosquitoes were vicious.

Quick Mini Meet

2008-10-10T21:07:00.003-06:00

A few letterboxers who have been traveling back from the Live Breathe event out in Oregon are in town and I am throwing a quick mini-meet for anyone who sees this. It is at the Devil's Icebox parking lot at around 3:30 but might last a little bit if they want to go hunting a few boxes while here. Sorry for the late notice.

I hope to see you there.

ahistory

Mid-Mo Halloween Gathering

2008-09-25T06:33:00.002-06:00

Dustoff your broomsticks and fly in for a All Hallows Gathering at my house on October 25, 2008. This will be a family-friendly event. Please bring your favorite dish to share. I'll provide the rootbeer. Costumes are encouraged, and there will be a prize for best costume. I live on 2.5 acres and will be hiding boxes on the property for your letterboxing pleasure. You are also welcome to bring a box to plant for the event, either outside with clues or as a Hidden-in-Plain-Sight (HIPS) box somewhere in the house or on the grounds. There will also be a pumpkin carving contest. You may carve pumpkins on site (I'll provide the carving tools and candles, you bring your own pumpkin) or you may bring a pumpkin already-carved at home. For those of you with pet allergies, please be aware that I have numerous cats.

Doors open at 2 p.m., and festivities will continue into the wee hours of the night. Evening festivities will include a bonfire, glowsticks, and night 'boxing. Adult beverages permitted after sunset. You may drop in at any time and even camp in the backyard if you want to stay all weekend. Parking is limited. There will be some space in the driveway, and on the front lawn, but I live on a narrow gravel road so you may have to park one street away and walk.

If you wish to hunt for boxes the following day as well, you are welcome to do so.

Please contact me if you need directions or more information: difoxfire@gmail.com
I hope you can come sit for a spell--Kat

Living and Breathing Letterboxing

2008-09-03T21:08:00.003-06:00

I will be leaving for a very special letterboxing event where I will get to spend a glorious three days doing nothing but boxing. Of course, I could not go without being an emissary for the Mid-MO LB community. So, I am asking for any hidden in plain sight boxes or hitchhikers, cooties, or fleas that you would like to have visit the great Pacific NW for a real letterboxing bash. This is a unique opportunity with letterboxers from all over the country so feel free to send HH with specific instructions (i.e. travel to New York, visit 10 or more sates) be creative, with nearly 300+ letterboxers the possibilities are endless.

I want to really show our talent so if anyone has some great hidden in plain sight boxes, I promise to keep them safe and return them with a bunch of new stamps and entries. So that is my primary reason for such a request, but I must confess that a secondary reason is that I have been so busy with work, family and other non-LB obligations that I haven't been able to cretae any stuff to bring. So if you have the time please help a brother out. I promise it will be worth your trouble. Oh and did I say the event is Sept 14 and I would need everything by next Thursday (the 11th). Sorry for the late warning but I wasn't 100% sure I was going until this week. Thanks in advance for all your help.

P.S. I will be flying out of K.C. so if any folks up there want to provide something for me to transport to the gathering, let me know and we can coordinate a pick up prior to departure.

Thanks,
ahistory

DI WCT

2008-09-03T17:34:00.002-06:00

This is just a reminder that I've set aside Friday, Sept. 26 from 5 p.m. to a little past midnight as a Devil's Icebox Wild Cave Tour at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park for letterboxers and other friends. If you are interested in attending, please contact me directly through LBNA.

Please refer to www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge.htm for details about the tour itself.
--Fox-fyr

We have been Welcomed!

2008-08-17T16:56:00.003-06:00

Saturday August 16th was a beautiful day in Kansas. Couldn't ask for better weather. We gathered at West Flanders Park in Shawnee,KS for some fun. We met some new LBers including DS from Memphis. She brought an 11 box series for us to see that will now be planted in her hometown in Tennessee. Beautiful Stamps with a really cool "passport" for each of us. Elvis was amazing! Great carve.
The Outdoor Girls were perfect hosts with lots of fun and activities for us all. We exchanged stamps and got a SUPER event stamp. It was SO appropriate. Monkeys and Sunflowers! Lizzard had four boxes with a special theme that were ready to plant. This time instead of hunting boxes we were planting them. She even had a crate of hiding supplies including different colors of spray paint, gorilla glue, fake moss, etc. Each box was ready to go with a stamp and logbook. After a "proper hideation" spiel, we split into teams and scouted out hiding spots. We wrote clues and then hunted each others boxes. Great fun! Craw and Joey team wrote a very clever clue that was my personal favorite. They also introduced 8 month old "Lucky Little 13" who was a most agreeable boxer and darn cute to boot. It was wonderful to see Lnd-Crzr and son. Even Mr Monkey made a rare appearance! Some very new boxers were also present. It was neat to meet those new to our favorite hobby. You can view some pictures here. I was too busy having fun to take many photos. If you have some of your own please share! A grand time was had by all. I hear that the party continued at KC LBers favorite restaurant, Fritz's. Unfortunately, I had to go to work so others will have to post those tales. Thanks again for all the hard work for this gathering. I REALLY enjoyed it and am looking forward to spending time with my new Kansas friends!

Welcome to KS Gathering for McMonkey Mom

2008-07-23T07:58:00.003-06:00

Check out the Atlasquest event board, August 16th, Shawnee, KS. Hope to see some of you again, soon!

~Goddess~

(yes, she's returned to the fray!)

July 9th St. Louis Pool Party

2008-07-07T09:23:00.000-06:00

I'm driving up to St. Louis for the 'Pool Party' mini-meet

http://www.atlasquest.com/events/event.html?gEventId=801

and have two seats empty if anyone wants to tag along. We'll be leaving from Fulton/Kingdom City about 5:15 ish and returning late that night.

C'mon! It's a pool party!

Lnd-Crzr

Callaway Mini Meet-n-Greet

2008-06-25T09:39:00.000-06:00

A hastily and utterly shortly publicized meet and greet for a LB from out of town. Come, chat, browse logbooks and get sneek peeks into future projects from Lnd-Crzr and friends. Small turn out expected. The location is the Callaway county Library. Nice indoor, AC location.

Lnd-Crzr

Letterboxing 101 Help Wanted

2008-06-24T17:56:00.003-06:00

I am conducting a Letterboxing 101 program for Girls Scouts at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park Saturday and am looking for a couple of volunteers willing to help. The current agenda is to provide a lesson on letterboxing, then have them carve their own stamps and go hunting for several temporary boxes which I will have hidden around the park, all within easy walking distance of Hickam Cabin. Since we will be breaking into small groups, and I can't supervise all of them at the same time, I am looking for volunteers willing to go along with the small groups and help them with interpreting the clues, being discreet, how to properly re-hide the boxes, etc.
There will be a lot of people in the park that day so being discreet is paramount.
Please let me know if you'd be willing to assist. You can post a comment here or contact me via LBNA or AQ. The program will be from 9 to noon on Saturday, June 28. You will, of course, also have the opportunity to stamp into all of the boxes.
Fox-fyr

Comments on AQ

2008-06-22T20:41:00.003-06:00

Looks like AQ has added a new feature that lets you post the comments people send you about your box (with options to not post them also). I received several such comments and notice an "Approve" or Deny" post feature at the bottom of the e-mail.
Fox-fyr

Where Eagles Dare

2008-06-17T10:58:00.005-06:00

"Where Eagles Dare" is temporarily unavailable. Drebbel went to check on it and was able to retrieve it from the floodwaters, apparently it was about four feet under water at one point in time. But thanks to the Lock N Lock box it was completely dry! While we wait out the flooding, the box and a couple friends are going to make a short trip to Maine.

Here are a few pictures for those of you who have found the box.

Letterboxing Road Trip

2008-06-13T15:13:00.002-06:00

I just saw the new poll and was delighted to find I was the first to vote, although my answer was a bit tongue-in-cheek. :)

Seems like a good time to ask if there's any possibility of a NE gathering of the Mid-MO letterboxers this summer?

With gas prices what they are, I would be happy to provide room and board (which, depending on the number of people, might be an air mattress on the back porch or a tent in the yard...but the nights are cool here so that should be pleasant).

The trip is 1500 miles...round trip gas at 25/mpg would run around $500. Carpooling would help reduce that, and there are some great sites to see on the way...Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Niagara Falls....plus I guarantee your delight in the sites to see around here!

I'll keep the light on for you!

Weekend In Indiana, drowning letterboxes

2008-06-10T22:31:00.002-06:00

We just returned home from 5 days in Indiana. We met my sister's family (Jesemiaud) for a weekend of letterboxing in southwest Indiana. What we did not know is that they received 14 inches of rain during the week. 2 more on Thursday night when we got there. 7 more on Friday night. 1 on Saturday. 2 on Monday. Boxes were washed away. Heck, entire covered bridges were washed away. Roads to letterboxes were washed away. The plan was to get 30 during the trip. We ended up with 13 boxes, 1 exchange, 1 postal, 2 personals, and 1 hitchhiker. They have a small community of boxers but they have several good boxes. We met one couple from there. They were very nice. They helped us out several times, with boxes and with weather reports. It was a bad camping trip BUT we are planning to go back again next year. It will be better ( IT WILL HAVE TO BE. IT CAN'T GET ANY WORSE) and we will get the rest of the boxes in the area.

Mongolia man

2008-06-05T18:47:00.003-06:00

Hi folks! I am in Ulaanbaatar, but leaving this morning for three days in the Mongolian countryside. We are taking a convoy of Russian 4WD minivans and staying in traditional gers with some herders.

I have a box along with me to plant in some remote place.

You can see my photos and read about the trip at my Heard From Afar blog. (that's me trying to look like Lenin).

Clyde
C2B2

Devil's icebox Wild Cave Tour

2008-06-03T17:23:00.002-06:00

Some of you may have already received an e-mail about the following.
Once again, I am trying to organize a trip for letterboxers to visit Devil's Icebox Cave in Rock Bridge State Park. Because this is a leader request trip, it cannot be on a Saturday or a Sunday (those dates are reserved for the tours for the general public). Since most people work during the week, Fridays seem to be best. August 29 and Sept 26 are our options. If you are interested in going I need to know by June 10.

Details: $25 per person
It includes an orientation, hiking and carrying boats to the cave, about 5.5 hours in the cave, hiking and portaging back and clean up. The whole thing takes about 8 hours, and covers about 3.5 miles mostly over uneven rocky or muddy ground and in and out of water. You must be at least 14 and able to carry a 65-poun 1/4 mile over uneven terrain and up or down stairs. Participants provide three sources of light (at least one headlamp and two other headlamps or flashlights), sufficient non-cotton clothes to stay warm in a wet 56 degree environment, and shoes with excellent traction and ankle support. You must also have food, drink and a small packet to carry everything.
The park provides boats, lifejackets, paddles and helmets.
Details available at www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge.cave.htm

This is our 4th attempt (we've been rained out the first three times).
I need a minimum of four and a maximum of 10 participants in order to make the trip happen.

Fox-fyr

Retiring the stamp -- Go find it

2008-05-30T20:03:00.004-06:00

June 17 is our 36th wedding anniversary. That means it is time to retire the special-edition 35th C2B2 running whippet stamp.

So I've made a box and plan to plant it sometime the week before our anniversary. I'll post some clues and I'm really hoping one of you will be first finder.

But go before October. Winter in Mongolia is colder than you can imagine.

I leave Saturday for a two-week study tour of Mongolia with six other MU folk and some professors from other universities. We are studying the legacy of Genghis Khan, who the Mongolians call Chingaas Khaan and the 13th century Europeans called the devil incarnate. The guy on the short-legged horse wasn't as bad as his PR folks made you think. He outlawed torture, instituted freedom of religion and set up a postal service that had no peers for 500 years or more.

I'll blog about my travels at http://heardfromafar.blogspot.com. I get back July 16 -- but Cecile heads off on a trip the same time so we will celebrate the anniversary over the phone.

Clyde

letterboxing.org

2008-05-30T19:56:00.002-06:00

I went to the Lbna website today and found myself a little flustered by all the St. Louis area boxes that are out of my family's regular stomping grounds...not that I resent those boxes, because when we happen to the eastern side of the state, I'm the first to suggest finding them. However, I wanted to suggest that the mid-MO-ers petition Mr./Ms. Lbna to add a fifth (Central MO) region to the Missouri map. This could perhaps include from north to Moberly/Macon, south to Camdenton, east to Warrenton, and west to Sedalia?

I only offer this as as an idea -- I know that the Lbna is administered by volunteers...and I don't want to take their work or time for granted -- does anyone know if we could provide some support in making such a change? Any thoughts?

Saying Hello in the Bizarro World

2008-05-30T15:06:00.001-06:00

It looks like McMonkeyMom is following in the sad footsteps of Grace to You in moving away from the best community of letterboxers in existence. I hope she recovers from the loss better than I have.

In the meantime, the folks in Mid-Missouri have a little over a week left to find the letterbox placed in honor of her birthday last summer and write a greeting in it for her before she leaves. Looks like this weekend is shaping up to be a nice one…wouldn’t a little jaunt downtown be just the ticket?

You don’t have to be a Seinfeld aficionado to find this box…you only have to know two things about McMonkeyMom: her first name, and where she works (until June 5th, that is). To help you on your quest, I’ve updated the clue to narrow your search down to one block, and I added a hint that is a sure give-away.

If that’s not enough, send me your name on the back of a twenty dollar bill (Click and Clack are practically my neighbors up here) and I’ll give you another hint. :)

Group Pictures of Hogwarts

2008-05-22T12:39:00.003-06:00

Pictures!

2008-05-20T19:16:00.005-06:00

Finally some pictures from the Hogwarts Spring Event! I had a superb time and wish that I could have camped overnight. The day started out chilly but ended up perfect. It was nice to visit with some familiar faces and meet some new boxers as well. Many kudos to Fox-Fyr for all of her energy and hard work.