• found 114 letterboxes
• placed 4 letterboxes

Five Cent Christmas Songs by Fiddleheads

Had to figure out a way to get to the library. The main street in front of it was torn up. Parked at the Stone Store lot -- the meters are free for 2 hours.

A well done library series of tiny xmas stamps. Lots of magnet stamps to find all over the library. I like how Fiddleheads makes magnet stamps. These had paper covering the magnet. The nice thing is that there is only one logbook at the end, which saves time and anxiety while trying to be stealthy in the library. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Where's Wendy got to the series before me.

Toronto Island

Two firsts for me - first time I've been to the islands by myself; first time I took my dog with me.

Spent 51/2 hours going from one end of the island to the other end. Found 6 letterboxes and 3 geocaches.

Parked at Queens Quay. Caught the 12:15 ferry over to Hanlan's Point. Small ferry. Mostly a cargo ferry. The pooch did very well. She was hesitant about walking over the metal ramp and then she didn't like the vibrating motor under the deck but all-in-all she handled it very well.

Only a handful of riders on the ferry. Couples were taking photos of each other with the CN Tower in the background. The view of the cityscape really is impressive. After a few minutes we arrived at Hanlan's Point, where the Ned Hanlon statue awaited. I realized that I have never been to this part of the island. I think I've only ever arrived and departed from Centre Island. Watched a few small planes and a helicopter land as I looked for the Babe Ruth box.

I had no idea that Babe Ruth had his start in Toronto. The things you learn while letterboxing. The box was a quick find. It was a WOW moment when I saw the stamp image on the logbook cover. I loved how FH made the 2 part image and the directions so that we could accomplish the same shadow effect. Very very nice all-round experience so far.

Also in the box was a geocaching travelbug. Guess the last finders were also cachers. I took the carabiner tb and moved it along to another cache I found on the island.

Next the nude beach, for the 1st of the Lost Toronto series of 5. I've read about this beach but never knew where it was. Good time of the year to go - too cold to swim so I was probably not going to inadvertently bump into a beachbum. The walkway to the beach was marked by willow twig garden wall and seat. Beautiful way to mark the entrance. The area is also a naturalized area. Walked along the boardwalk in the naturalized area and went too far. Walked back to the obvious sand dune encroaching on the path and walked 30 steps. No tree squishing a spruce but there was a spruce and it did have flattened branches. Aha, there was the hanging box. Inside was a beautiful Eatons-related handcarved stamp.

Carried on to a cache - decent one by the lakeshore. Left the TB in the cache.

Onwards to the lighthouse, the one that I climbed many many years ago in Grade 6 when I spent a week at Island School. Always an impressive visit. First, the cache find. It's further back along the trail where a brick utility building stands. Very nice hide. Surprisingly large cache. I like how out of the way it is, yet you get to visit the lighthouse too.

There was a steady stream of people stopping to photograph the lighthouse but there were breaks between visitors and I was able to retrieve "Sam", move away, stamp up and then wait for a break to return the box.

Next, off to the Pier. It was a long walk but surprisingly didn't feel long. Stopped for a bite (brought a sandwich with me knowing that the islands have few food booths and the food is expensive). Sat at a bench overlooking the pier and lake. As we were walking to "The Flyer" I spotted a couple of frisbee nets. "80" by puppybreath is near pole #5 -- I still had the old directions although "80" doesn't appear to be on LBNA anymore. FH found it somewhat recently so I thought I'd try. I checked out the nearest poles - no 5, so on to 'The Flyer'. Directions were good. The box was well hidden and took a few times around the tree to find it. Fun stamp. Love that PZ Kut - you can get such clean lines and detail with PZ white. (Too bad it's not being made anymore, not until they can come up with an environmentally friendly method of making it.)

Back to those frisbee nets. On the way to Ed Mirvish I figured I'd look for Pole 5. I looked at probably 10 poles but none of them were marked #5. The numbers were scattered, no order to them. Finally I got to a big sign that pointed to Algonquin Island and to Ward Island. I thought I had to be close to Ed Mirvish, so I aborted the hunt for "80". I didn't see a board walk. My GPS unit noted a "street" closer to the lake, it had to be the boardwalk. I found a path that went that way and hoped I could backtrack if I had walked too far. On the boardwalk I saw a bench and a cement bridge but didn't see the low stone foundation (what a cool artifact which I wouldn't have known about if it weren't for letterboxing). So I decided to walk back west towards the pier until I got to another bench. On the way I saw a low foundation wall through the hedges but I wasn't finding the box or landmarks that really matched. Walked on and on and found W69 - aha now I know what I need to look for to confirm my location, I needed to find W68 but was it further west toward the pier or was it further east towards where I started. I decided to walk further west towards the pier. 500m later I came to W70. I needed to walk back east. About 1km later I was back to where I started. This time I looked a little harder and there was the foundation. Steps away from where I gave up. So glad I found Ed - great stamp. Great detail. Stamped up well.

It was 4:30 and the sun was dimming. I was worried that I might not make it to "Maple Leaf Gardens" before the sun set. Turned out it wasn't too far away (and it didn't get dark until much later - 6:30) The directions were really good so I didn't waste time. Really liked the walk past the quaint little wooden cottages. The tiny streets, the tightly packed old cottages, I marvelled at how crowded they were yet they felt private. Enjoyed all the different shapes, sizes and styles. Most of them were quite old, I wouldn't be surprised if a few were built in the early 1900s. Found the box quickly. Another great hand-carved stamp

There was a cache nearby, tried for it but when I got close to it I read the last log that complained that it was across a creek in dense bush - it was supposed to be a girly cache - way too rugged for most girly girls. I aborted the hunt, it was best to get back to the ferry docks because I wasn't sure when the last ferry left Ward Island. Got to the dock 5 minutes for the 5:45 ferry. So I checked my GPS for nearby caches. There was one by the bridge that had a great last log entry. It was close so I decided to go and come back for the 6pm ferry. The cache was a unique visit, a bustling community kiosk. Glad I decided to take the 6pm ferry. Had to run for it but made it with a minute to spare.

A great day at the TO Islands. 5 1/2 hours, 6 wonderful letterboxes, and 3 fun geocaches. A beautiful autumn day - cool and sunny. A terrific ferry ride and I got to share it with my dog. Doesn't get much better than that.

High Park

Friday off. Forecast was for showers but not until noon. Got to High Park by 9:30, found my first letterbox at 11 and left High Park when the rain got heavy, at 12:30.

Looked for 10

Found 4:

#4 Caribana

I was more confident I'd find this since I passed the cobblestone bridge on the way to Bloor and Parkside. I found the directions to be quite accurate and full of landmarks that confirmed I was on the right path. Very nice colourful stamp. Glad I finally found a Gwynlais letterbox.

#5 Woofstock

Again I clicked with the clues/directions except at the last park where I needed to walk 25 paces. Since the word 'steps' had been used in earlier clues, I assumed this time paces meant that I need to do 2 footfalls, so 25x2=50 steps. I found a trail at approximately 50 steps but no log with an elbow. So I backtracked and tried 25 steps. Found the small trail and there was the log with a crook and the letterbox under bark nestled into the crook of the elbow. Very nice stamp. Love that it's Woofstock. Went to one Woofstock event at the Distillery (they are currently held at the St Lawrence Market, haven't been because I dread the lack of parking at the Market, but I digress).

#6 Pride

Yet again I clicked with the directions. The 'Station A' sign was easy to spot. The box was well hidden so it took about 5 minutes of thorough searching to uncover. Great stamp, colourful as I expected since the Pride flag is rainbow coloured. Rain started up. Just a bit of spitting, but I knew my time was becoming short.

#9 Smokin Festivals and Events in TO Series: CHIN Picnic

Directions worked for me again. The landmarks were easy to find. Nice stamp.

Didn't find 6:

I just wasn't connected with the clues/directions. For the most part they were too vague for me. This path, or that path? This tree or that tree? This road or that road?

#1 Ontario Stockyards

Found the "You are leaving a dog off leash area", went through the break in the fence. Walked uphill. Came upon a very large old log in the path. Looked at the paths to the left - no elbow shaped stump, tried the trails to the right. No elbow shaped stump.

Continued walking uphill until I think I got to the right felled tree. It was definitely blocking the path. The clues say have a seat to the right. Their is an abandoned set of wood stairs to the left of the downed tree. Nothing to sit on to the right. I looked at all the paths in the vicinity. No elbow shaped stump.

Went back down to the big log in the path and re-checked the paths. Went back up to the felled tree and re-checked all the paths and a few more. No elbow shaped stump. Aborted the mission because I didn't have much time to waste.

#2 Edith Prickley

Found the Love Baby statue - remember that one from when I was a kid.

The school brought back memories. My sister went to the forest school and brought home a young male racoon that she won. His name was Rocky. Had him for a couple of weeks until he bit us too many times.

Found the yellow discs but there are 2 paved paths that go downhill. One beside the forest school and one away from the forest school. I took the one beside the forest school. The path turned right, not left. It passed another sculpture: Bernard Schottlander November Pyramid High Park 1967 which was not mentioned in the directions. Since I didn't have much time, the skies were dark and heavy, I aborted the mission.

#3 Winterfest

This was the 3rd of the morning and the 3rd no find. I was getting worried that my drive in to Toronto was going to be a bust. I walked from the Sculpture Garden over to Bloor and Parkside. On the way over I noticed the cobblestone foot bridge that I would need for the Caribana box, so that one looked promising.

Walked back from Bloor and Parkside along the path. I thought I found a large oak with a path in front of it. The leaves were about 4 stories up, way up. I squinted and check out the leaves - the looked lobed from where I was standing (this isn't going to be a winter friendly box unless someone really knows their tree bark). The path did go downhill and I did see another large oak with cut up logs at the base. It's possible the box might be there but well hidden. I searched but since I wasn't sure I was at the correct tree and because time was short I abandoned the search.

#7 Canadian International Air Show

Went back to the main trail but didn't see two logs on the trail. So I changed plans and decided to go back to the car (parked at Allotment Lane). When I got to the road, I realized I was very close to Zoo at High Park.

#8 The Zoo at High Park

When I got to the area I went up the long long flight of stairs. I was pretty tired by now so I stopped a couple of times on the way up to rest for a couple of seconds. Got to the spot where I needed to look up for a rotting birch. There was no standing rotting birch. I remember the one winter that I tried to find the box, there was a standing woodpecker damaged birch but I didn't see it this Spring and I didn't see it now. But others have found this box. It even has a blue diamond. There must be something I'm doing wrong. The rain was sprinkling so I went on to see if I could find CHIN.

#10 On the GO in TO series: The Red Rocket

I really wanted to find this one but got stumped right off the bat. Walked over to High Park Blvd and Centre Rd and got confused. Which divided road? Do I take the dirt footpath? the unnamed blocked asphalt path? Centre Rd? High Park Blvd? Looking at google maps I think I needed to be at High Park Blvd and Howard Park Rd not at High Park Blvd and Centre Rd.

The rain was getting heavier and my print out was getting quite wet. I was tired and it was just after 12noon. I had almost a km to walk back to the car so back I went. Got to the car by 12:30. Good thing because the rain was coming down pretty hard.

To take a break and enjoy the ambience of Bloor West I drove a few blocks down Bloor and stopped for a Starbuck's coffee and a visit to the Bumblebee scrapbooking store. I was surprised to see a pink zutter binding machine there. And a good supply of various wire binds. If I lived in Toronto I would have been tempted to buy it. But then again, I don't mind making my logbooks by hand. While at the store I found some interesting patterned paper to make more matchbook notepads for geocache trading swag and found some black chipboard. I've never seen black chipboard before. Not expensive either - 79cents for a square foot. It will come in handy for handcrafted logbooks.

Left Toronto at 2pm to beat the rush hour traffic. It was still a slow crawl (but not much stopping) from just past Eglinton all the way to Erin Mills. Took about an extra half hour to get home. A long day, a challenging day and a good day.

Another Friday to go exploring

My goal today was to visit McV Teams new letterbox in Kitchener - Kitchener's Kettles. On the way I picked up a cache in the Deer Ridge area - a decent cache but the small container had a microlog, deliberately lined and numbered spaces so that about 100 people could leave their trailname. These really bother me. It seems to be the trend. No room for sig stamps/stickers. No room to leave a note. To me the cache owner seems to be stating that they do not want to have to do cache maintenance more then once a year. I was sorely tempted to use my sig stamp but it would have taken up lines 36, 37 and 38. And it's a small sig stamp, about a 1/2" square.

Then I was off to the Natural Area to find Kitchener's Kettles by Meades from Manitoba.
I had been to this park for Sugar Rush last year. I forgot my instructions to Sugar Rush so instead, I started off going the opposite way until I got to the boardwalk and then I followed the directions to the new box. Directions were very good. The scenery and changes in landscape were very nice, especially this time of year with the fall meadow flowers (purple and white asters, golden rod) and the changing colours of the leaves. When I opened the box, inside was a bingo dabber. Very original item to use as a stamp marker. I inked up the stamp and it actually went very well with the stamp. The handcarved stamp made me smile - fit the theme.

After the KK box I did a multi cache in the park. So I ended up having a good long walk throughout much of the park. The cache owner is actually a letterboxer too. He's from England and has found Dartmoor letterboxes. I met up with him on the trails last year. He prefers the geocaching experience and loves to find geocache letterbox hybrids. I hope he plants a letterbox hybrid of his own one of these days. This was his first cache hide.

Found a couple more caches, one I want to copy for a letterbox hide one of these days. It would definitely be a unique find in the letterboxing circles.

Toronto from West to East and Back Again

A day off on another lovely September day so this time my goal was Rattray's Marsh in Mississauga to get studioloo's new letterbox, Normie the Narwhal. Parked on Bexhill Drive next to the Conservation Area entrance. Beautiful homes on Bexhill - nothing too posh but very lovely. Must be expensive though being such a old quiet neighbourhood and so close to the lake. The Rattray Marsh was a treat to visit. Studioloo's directions take you on a nice tour of the boardwalk/marsh area. Not too long, just right. Saw a crane and squirrels, looked for turtles in the marsh but didn't spot any. The marsh itself is well worth the trip.

Next, I spent a bit of time looking for a nearby cache in a small park - very nice cache, disguised as a piece of birch wood. I then decided, since it wasn't even noon yet, I'd continue my letterbox search and headed all the way to the east end of Toronto to Ashbridge's Bay Park. I have tried to get a Fish Below the Ice letterbox in Richmond Hill last year but the stamp was missing. Last I heard FBTI's Johnny Cash was still in Ashbridge's so off I went. Boy oh boy that's a long drive, right to the end of the Gardiner and beyond. Once I got there I had a lovely stroll on the boardwalk. FBTI's instructions were clear. I had been to the park before to find Norasta's letterboxes but I got lost and just couldn't figure the directions out, sometimes one does not click with the writer. I clicked with FBTI. On my way I met up with a woman and her little grey and white poodle, who was dancing for treats. She let me pat the dog and we talked poodles. I noticed she was wearing hearing aids so we also talked hearing loss and aids (and visual losses too). Then off I went to complete my task. The lake was beautiful -- a calm blue-green. Found the trees quickly. The box was hidden well. Great carving of Mr. Cash, the man in black.

After JC, I chose Fiddlehead's letterbox at Casa Loma. On my way over there I passed downtown and figured since I was near I'd try the Gaynor letterbox in the bookstore on McCaul. Also on McCaul was Fiddlehead's letterbox behind the AGO, Toronto By Subway: St. Patrick. That was closer so I tried it first. I lucked out and found a free parking spot on Grange. I checked for no parking signs and didn't see one next to the spot, woohoo. A short walk from the car and I was at the stamp location. Saw the little stamp and non-chalantly reached and grabbed it then moved off to stamp up. Great use of a magnetic stamp. In a busy park it's much easier to hide and retrieve then a box. I sat near the Georgian house enjoying the ambience. The architecture was fantastic. I think the back of AGO (maybe it's the back of the OCAD) is more interesting then the front. First the blue exterior is wonderful, it blends with the sky and provides a blast of colour as a backdrop to the red brick of the old georgian architecture. Then the juxtaposition of the two architectural periods -- it pops. And finally the very surreal staircases that jut out of the AGO then curve back into the building. Very unique. Loved it. See the photo below:

Next, I just couldn't resist a trip to the Art Supply store just a few steps away from where I parked. I hurried up to the 2nd floor where the printmaking supplies were. They have linoleum blocks but they also had a soft linoleum. Stiff but pliable, stiffer then PZ Kut though. The also had softoleum -- same colour as Speedballs Speedy-Cut so it had me concerned. After passing on the carving material I hesitantly hurried out because I was worried that my parking spot might not be free after all. I didn't want to risk a ticket. Next, a short drive down the street to the Gaynor's letterbox in the bookstore on McCaul. Couldn't find any parking (except for expensive downtown parking), so I drove on.

Then on to Casa Loma where I lucked out again and found free parking near Spadina House. There was one spot and I didn't have to parallel park, woo hoo. So I circumvented the stairs from Davenport up to the castle. Found the magnetic stamp quickly - again another good use of a magnetic stamp. Stamped at a bench at the top of the stairs with a view of one of the towers. Beautiful day. Beautiful spot. I enjoyed my find.

Finally my last stop was to be A House in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush by the Fiddleheads. I was looking forward to this visit. What a great story. I wondered if it was one of those houses way up on the hill with at least 20 steps to climb - it was. Boy oh boy what it must have been like on moving day (unless there's a laneway at the back). What a pain for the postman. The new house made me smile, there was a Portuguese flag hanging from the house. Fiddleheads' old home looked decent and quaint, I can see the appeal even with all those stairs - actually, they add to the charm. Once I had a peek at the houses I re-read the clues about spruce trees and started looking. Hmmm. No spruce trees nearby. So I started walking and looking for a place someone might hide a box. I headed north east at Dufferin and Davenport. Nothing there so I headed south, realizing I needed to comb the story more closely. Then I had my first AHA moment. Then another AHA moment. Then I went the wrong way and came back when I had my third AHA moment, then the trees, the pole, and finally the box! A 2 part stamp, yeah. Love those and Fiddleheads does a great job at 2 parters. Stamped up, re-hung the box and back to the car I went. I checked the time -- 3:30!! Oh heck, rush hour! To top things off I listened to my car GPS and it took me the congested way to highway 401. I knew I should have gone down Eglington, instead the GPS took me up Black Creek north to the 401, along with a thousand other cars and trucks. From TO to Milton it was crawl, stop, crawl, stop, crawl, stop. I got home by 5:45, my GPS initially said ETA 4:45. I suppose that's not too bad for 401 rush hour. Oh well, it was well worth it for my full day of letterboxing in T.O.

401 Eastbound - Cambridge: Sniff or Quack?

Behind the MacDonald's 401 east-bound rest area between Guelph and Cambridge is a surprise - forest, a large pond and lots of trails. It's part of the Grand River Conservation Authority land. Quiet, mostly dog walkers in the area. Great place for letterboxes and geocaches. Today's prize was Fiddlehead's letterbox. I had a bit of trouble with the directions (which is not a big surprise for me) but I looked around for a dense willow-like bush just a few feet from a trail and found the letterbox. The Fiddleheads diverts from the usual lock n lock and use a small peanut butter type jar instead. I actually think these are the next best thing to lock n locks. I've yet to see a wet peanut butter jar and they last long - 3 years on average. Usually the lid ends up cracking.

401 Westbound - Cambridge: Dawn of the Commute by Fiddleheads

There's a quaint small historical chapel in a rather unusual place - behind the McDonald's next to the 401. You can get to it via the McDonald's highway rest stop or via CR10 in Puslinch. In this area is Fiddlehead's tribute to the early days of the 401 and the beginning of commuting. The stamp as always will please and amuse.

Buds and Blossoms by studioloo

Studioloo gave detailed directions which is good because I'm lousy at lakeshore boulder finds, I don't think I've ever found a letterbox hidden among boulders by the lakeshore (I've 'attempted' several).

Perfect time to visit the little park - beautiful sunny warm September afternoon. Peaceful and scenic.

There other visitors sunning themselves on the slope by the rocks. Lucky for me they were lying on their backs or facing away. I used a lot of stealth and spent about a half hour at the site trying to casually move about the rocks, watch the scenery, sit on boulders, enjoy the lake view, pat my dog. I think I checked every 3 trunked tree among the rocks. Reading the clues more carefully finally got me to the correct tree. Finding the box topped off a lovely visit.

Ducks, geese and swan floated by as I stamped up. A ton of sailboats were bobbing on the horizon. The water was a surprising clear blue green (like what I imagine the bahamas would look like, I could see the sand and rocks at the bottom. Growing up back in the 70s I remember the lake being consistently brown).

The stamp was handcarved on rubber material I had never encountered before. It was not PZKut, or Nasco's Safety Kut, or Nasco's Softoleum or Speedball's pink stuff, or Speedballs awful creamy stuff, or MarsCarve. I'm thinking it might be something from Curry's Art Store. I've asked studioloo and hopefully she'll tell me.

I wish I had time to drive out to Davenport and Dufferin for Fiddlehead's stamp but I had to get back home. Sigh. Hopefully I'll get back to TO very soon to see the Davenport houses story with my own eyes.

Update: studioloo tells me the material is from Utrecht's in the U.S. If I'm ever in the States and near an Utrecht's I'll have to pick up some to try.

Stop and Smell the Flowers by the McV Team

Really beautiful gardens. I've driven past these gardens a few times but never really noticed them. I'm so glad this letterbox gave me a chance to "Stop and Smell the Flowers". I discovered a very unique 7 foot weed near the letterbox and sure would like to know what they are. See my blog for photos.

Spider in the Park by the Nickerson Family LbNA #: 48400

Not knowing KW particularly well, I did a web search for a park in Kitchener that the city considered surplus and wanted to sell to developers. The park that kept coming up was K..... No other park showed. So I drove to K... Park a couple of weeks ago but nothing matched the clues. Today I looked at google maps in satellite view but still didn't seem right. So I emailed the Nickerson Family and got a reply back almost immediately. They gave me the name of the park and location. It was the park I suspected might have the box but I didn't know the name or the location, only that I had visited it a couple of times - once for a letterbox, once for a geocache, so I remembered a pond and a water treatment station. Armed with my newfound knowledge I drove over, the clues worked well. I had a tough time finding the slab perhaps because it's late summer and there's a lot of vegetation. But perserverance paid off and I found it. The box was made by a young girl (I'm guessing about 5 years old). She even handcarved a theme stamp. Lovely to see her work.

Les Miz

Had the day off so decided to take a drive to get Fiddlehead's mystery letterbox (and a few caches along the way). Had the general location confirmed by Fiddlehead's. Once I got there the clues were not immediately obvious to me. I emailed FH via my blackberry in hopes that she might be on AQ to let her know I was in the location but having trouble. No immediate answer so I did a little deducing and wandering and searching, then found part 2 of the clues. Emailed FH again to let her know that I might be close. Then I found part 3 and the final. Success. Emailed Fs again to let her know I got it. Love my blackberry with email access - although I didn't get to connect with Fiddleheads it was still helpful and fun to send messages - kept me thinking and moving and not giving up. The location does require you to go into espionage mode - a quiet approach, stay out of site. The location is actually rather secluded but still best to be quick, quiet and leave no trace. Loved the presentation and the stamp is intricate. The stamp material is PZKut. I found markers don't work well with PZKut, the ink pools. Luckily I had a raised dye ink pad with me and it did the job nicely - a nice smooth ink finish.

Farewell to Guelph: A Salute

Found one of 4Sailors goodbye letterboxes. It's a series that you get by canoing the Speed River but there was one box that from the description looked like it was on the shoreline and it was. Cute stamp carved by the 9 year old son of the 4Sailors team.

Grass Island by the Rothbels

Did some geocaching in the area. Drove down Otterbein on the way to a cache so decided to stop by and check on Grass Island LbNA# 39533 by the Rothbels. Unfortunately it was muggled. Found the lid, the cement dome it was hiding under was empty. Hopefully there were no hitchhikers in the box. I checked LBNA but looks like the Rothbels have left the game - they have a spider web icon on both of their listings and haven't changed the status of the boxes as both have been muggled for quite a while. Good thing LBNA allows people to mark their attempts.

The lid is all that's left of the box.

It had originally been hiding under the concave piece of concrete. The lid was found a couple of feet away. I could not find any other parts of the the letterbox. I sure hope there were no hitchhikers in the box.

Update: Aug 24 - Got a nice email back from the Rothbels letting me know that they've updated their clue to let people know it's gone.

July 28 - went over after work, drove around following objects that matched the clues, in a section of the city that matched the clues, but just couldn't put it together in order to get to the starting point, "where power and people converge". So I headed back home (and found a couple of caches on my way back - thank gosh for geocaches otherwise I don't think the frugal side of me would spend gasoline to drive 45 minutes without a very good idea of where the start of the hunt is. At least when I find a couple of caches it's not a wasted trip - and they were decent caches too).

When I got home I emailed the Harrison's. I made a personalized map in Google Maps to share with the Harrisons, to pinpoint my stops. Well, within hours I got an email back. Very gracious, very happy to hear from me and to hear about my experience and where I had travelled. My suspicions about what I was looking for and the general location were confirmed and I was told what to look for on google maps, lo and behold I found the likely spot on the online satellite map.

Went back today and once I found parking it was a breeze. When you see the tree you know you've found the spot. The hide was a good one - a lock & lock box (the best) and it was uniquely fashioned to hide in the tree. Inside the box: a lovely unlined logbook - probably made in India, the kind of book you would find in the fair trade stores; a hand-carved stamp made with the pink stuff, but not only was it hand-carved but the art was original too - designed to match the location - not something you'd find in clipart. Unique and fun hide. Very good letterbox hiders, although, I found finding the parking spot/location to be too obtuse for me - maybe OK for someone who knows the area. I think if I drove around the area for a few days I might stumble upon it. Yesterday I was about 1 kilometre from the area. So I was close, but didn't realize it.

Valleyone letterboxes

Valleyone posts letterboxes on geocaching.com. I look forward to his contributions. This month he has posted 2 more letterboxes - Poison Ivy Trail and Swamp Trail

Poison Ivy Trail is in the Arboretum, in a spot that I thought was longing for a letterbox or cache - the boardwalk. Just about every distinct section of the arboretum has been highlighted with a cache or letterbox but not the boardwalk. Finally it has one. Valleyone is great at providing a lesson along with the hide. He has a keen knowledge of Guelph ecology. Today's lesson is - what does poison ivy look like. As a letterbox however, I was disappointed in the choice of stamp -- it was not related to poison ivy or the boardwalk or the bog. A rather typical commercial stamp. I realized it was going to be a commercial stamp but I was really hoping for a poison ivy stamp.

Swamp Trail is difficult to get to but Valleyone provides good directions - there's really one one good approach - you have to read Trimble Trek's log -- you will be laughing out loud and the poor man's determined efforts to get to it from the wrong direction. I took the trail via Terraview Crescent. The trail was somewhat muddy but that's to be expected - as the title says, it's a swamp. The new boardwalk is lovely. The volunteers did a fantastic job. So much boardwalk, so well made. The hide is nice.This time Valleyone is experimenting with a true hybrid and is allowing trades - I will "watch" the box to see if anyone takes the stamp. Great cache. Good experience. But again, as a letterbox it was disappointing. This stamp had no connection with it's environment. The flower depicted on the stamp doesn't even grow in a forest, let alone a swamp. Why plant a letterbox if the stamp is not affiliated with the theme/environment? Why not make it a regular cache?

Great after-work evening of letterboxing.

First stop Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp to pick up Water Lily's letterbox Quilt Block #9. No one was in the office, but a minute later a young man showed up and radioed other staff for help. I went back to the car to get my email to get the name of my contact person. When I returned to the office, the young man was gone but there was a young lady who didn't know what I wanted either so I explained and looked around the office. Then another young lady showed up, I thought she was Maryanne but she said she was cleaning staff. She radioed someone and asked about the box. While she was on the walkie talkie I spotted the box on the window sill. Everyone was very helpful, even though they didn't know what I wanted. I appreciated that they let me look around the office. I emailed WL and Maryanne to let them know I got the box. While I was in the car, a man came by to check to see that I got the box. Very helpful people.

Off I went to 10000 Villages. I drove around the shop and decided the best spot to hide the box was the big globe yew at the side of the building. It looked somewhat secluded and it was a driveby location (like the original spot). I emailed WL the coordinates and let her know it was back in business. I remembered to stamp it in my logbook before planting it. I've officially completed the Mennonites of Ontario series. Woo hoo!

Then I decided that since it was still early, I'd drive to Paris for the Early Telephone box by Fiddleheads. I was correct about the park I needed to go to. FHs instructions were great - accurate and plenty of landmarks along the way. Close to the trail but well-hidden in her trademark hiding style. The stamp was excellent - she's the Kirbert of the North -- such fine detail in even her small stamps. But little did I know that I would be even more impressed at my next stop.

While in this park, I walked another 300 meters to find the "Jewels of the Nith" cache. A good cache but can't beat FHs letterbox.

Next stop, Brantford to get the accompanying stamp to go with Early Telephone, Calling Long Distance. The homes on Tutela Heights Road were most impressive, a beautiful street.

The Bell homestead was so well preserved and the grounds were lovely.

First, I went off to find the box -- not too far from the parking lot. Good directions. Found the box quickly, opened it and was thoroughly impressed. The stamp is a little work of art. The kind of stamp, that if I carved it, I couldn't bear to risk in the wild. Fiddleheads is one generous craftswoman. A nice touch was how the 2 images are connected with a 3rd stamp that was part of the Early box.

After an excellent letterboxing experience I sauntered on over to the homestead. It was after closing hours so I checked out the outside of the buildings and peaked in windows that were accessible. Beautiful farm home. I must come back someday to have a tour of the inside of the house and the office. There's a cafe on site - very pretty. The kind of place to have ladies' tea.

Back at the car, I knew my next stop was going to be the Gretzky box but I wasn't sure I had the correct park. Google maps and Mapsource were confusing for me. I couldn't tell where the end of the parkway was. But the map on the kiosk at the homestead showed all the waterfront parks in Brantford and the map was simple with a clear view of what park was at the end of the roadway. So off I went. A very lovely family park, big - lots of acres, numerous playgrounds for the kids, lots of parking, lots of trees for shade, forests, a lake, picnic pavillions. Very decent park. The directions were good and finding the box was quick work. Good hide. The stamp was great - as it should be for "The Great One".

Wonderful evening for letterboxing and the great thing is that I could letterbox until 8:30pm and it was still bright outside. Gotta love the summer months.

Happy Canada Day. Planted the new letterbox for the BBT Birthday Challenge. It's: Oh my stars, are we on Mars?

I walked around for about a half hour but I just wasn't satisfied with the hiding opportunities. So I went back to the parking area and found an alright spot. Perhaps a little muggly but in some ways a good spot. It's not environmentally sensitive. Can be reached pretty much anytime, although if there's snow people will have to dig for it. But the clues are easy enough one may be able to get it even if they have to dig through snow. I feel a bit embarassed about the crude work on the stamp - but hey, I'm no artist (sure wish I was). It's my "folk art" attempt of a depiction of the location.

I almost always go letterboxing with my dog. I've been thinking lately that she should have her own trail name. So today I crown her with the moniker...Thunder Paws. I have a severe hearing loss and even I can hear her paws thunder across a wooden footbridge or up and down the stairs.

I gave her a profile on AQ, but I won't log finds on her account - not sure how hiders would feel about having a dog count finds on their letterboxes (I suppose it would be somewhat similar to a Boxing Buddy). I already use a personal sig stamp once in awhile when I'm out letterboxing with her. Used it recently at "Love Them Now". Seemed especially appropriate to mark her visit there.

Had to drive over to KW for an oil change. Afterwards, since I was closer to Stratford I took the newly serviced car for a spin out West. I have been meaning to go to "Taste Like Pu-erh" for months but the timing has never been good. I have to admit that I had my reservations. I know very little about tea. I feel like a country bumpkin with regards to fine teas. So I worried I would feel out of place in this shop. Well how wrong I was to feel apprehensive. The owner is welcoming, gracious, generous and knowledgeable. She poured me a lovely cup of chai (I forget what type of chai). It was smooth, exotic and flavourful. I bought a small bag of chamomile and before bagging it she let me smell the aroma of the flowers - beautiful. She was even going to pour me a cup if I wanted but I couldn't stay long. She opened can after can at my request so I could enjoy the aroma. I ended up buying 2 more small bags of tea (hot cinnamon spice and white pear). I also had a look at her collection of japanese teapots. Then she brought me a sampling of cold herbal tea. Between the sampling and ordering of teas I confessed that I was also there for the letterbox. I told her I didn't mention the letterbox until then because I wanted the visit to be more about the tea experience. She was most enthusiastic about Sprite's letterbox and the visitors. She opened the logbook for me to see the latest visitor - someone from Michigan, sig stamp was a lovely rose. The letterbox stamp was perfect for the shop/B&B. After I finished stamping she came over to have a look at my sig stamp.

What a wonderful experience. I am definitely going back. I want to take my sister asap. I know she would enjoy sitting on the couches and sampling fresh blends of exotic teas.

Tea Leaves
Wednesday to Saturday,
noon to 5pm, or by appointment

433 Erie Street, Stratford,
Ontario, Canada N5A 2N3

1-800-733-0376 (toll-free)
519-273-1201 (local)

On the way back I stopped off at #9 Mennonite Quilt by 10,000 Villages. It was after hours so the parking lot was empty. Well much to my shock and surprise the blue juniper bush was gone! No evidence that it ever existed. I took photos and posted them for Water Lily to see. She'll be able to tell me if that was the bush the box was under. UPDATE: It was the correct bush and it was removed because the construction crew damaged a sign that was on the corner. The bush and sign were removed. The box was discovered and Water Lily was contacted. It is safe and sound and will be replanted as soon as Water Lily can get back to the area.

Also did a lot of caching while in Stratford. All of them were drive-by micros. Most were quite nice because of the scenic locations near the lake or a stream. A couple I couldn't find. All in all a very good treasure hunting day.

A long hot day of letterboxing in the Newmarket area.

First stop Bradford, Scanlon Creek Conservation Area for Fables of the Green Forest Series by Trailfeathers. I stopped off at the Nature Centre to see if I could get a trail map but the building was closed. Next to the trailhead was a large trailmap. The map showed where the footbridges were in the forest and where the pond was, to the west. The trail was clearly and nicely marked at the beginning of the trail and then again about 100 meters in. The Kingfisher trail was marked with the image of a Kingfisher. After the 100 meter mark, nothing. No indication if I was on the right trail. There were several crisscrossing trails that I encountered. After about 500 meters I came to a shelter with 2 hanging iron cauldrons. Still no signage. This was going to be a long hike and an even longer hike without trail signs since I wasn't sure which way to go to find the first bridge. So I hiked out of the forest and ended up at a gravel road for cars. At the road I saw trail signs again. But I still wasn't comfortable not having signs inside the forest. I hiked up a bit to see if I might see a footbridge along this gravel road. Nope. Got to a picnic area with a brick shelter. Saw another Kingfisher sign and took it. It lead to a platform lookout with a view of a deep valley with train tracks below - didn't see a pond. No indication I was on the right track so back I went to the car (720 meters). There was a GC letterbox in the CA but unfortunately it was a long multi and I really don't enjoy long multis - there's always a very good chance that something will be missing or too difficult to find. Plus it was HOT, humid and buggy. My poor dog looked quite beat by the heat and sun.

So on to the second stop, Hollidge Tract, York Regional Forest in Stouffville. It was too hot to do Ondine's 4km trek to Salamander's Meander, so I choose the shorter "The Poole" letterbox by Ondine. Got to the first culvert, which really wasn't a culvert but I thought it was buried by dirt - there was a small stream on both sides of this "culvert-like" spot on the trail. Of course the clues sorta almost matched if I used my imagination so I spent about 10 minutes examining the area and then thought that maybe there's a culvert up ahead. Yes indeed there was, and an obvious metal culvert. Then the trees really matched the clues. Found the box quickly. It was well covered. The contents were in great shape. What a beauty of a stamp - original artwork by Ondine. It's so exciting to get an image that is original, created by the letterbox artist. A real treasure. Ondine has her own Etsy shop where she sells her prints.

Next stop, Secord Forest and Wildlife Area and Pet Cemetery on Secord Road in Uxbridge for Ondine's Love Them Now. What an interesting place to be introducted to. Not somewhere you would normally go and it's part of a wildlife area. So unique. Too bad Steven King made Pet Cemeteries macabre. Despite that feeling it was still cool to be here. The poochster of course was not bothered by it one bit. I found the box quickly. Well hidden. No stinging ant problems for me. I took the box up near the monument to stamp under the shade of a tree. There was a pungent smell but I went about getting ready to stamp up. I checked to see where the pooch was and found her tugging at the leg bone of a dead (for awhile) coyote (maybe a fox). Ugghhhh. That dog is such a cannibal. I called her away and leashed her up to my backpack. Still, I found it rather poignant that the coyote would end its days near the monument of this pet cemetery.

Another beautiful stamp and perfect for the cemetery - really special. After putting the box back, we took a quick stroll around the tombstones. The grass was really high - the cemetery isn't maintained - but I could still see most of the stones. It was surprising to see that many of the dates on the stones were from the 1960s - this cemetery has been around for a very long time. I took a photo of the beautiful monument at the top of the hill overlooking the cemetery:

Off to Stouffville Reservoir for the 4th stop of the day. Tried to find A Dog and His Bone, The Dog but couldn't find a large boulder to the right of the trail. So I continued on to find The Bone part of this series. Half way there I realized what boulder they meant - it was the obvious one to the left by the playground. Doh. I would pick up it on the way back. Got to the bridge and found the box quickly. Very neat and tidy box with tidy colourful instruction notes. Nice spot on the trail to hide the box. The pooch drank from the stream - I hope she doesn't get giardia. On the way back to the playground I decided to try the path that cut across the top of the reservoir. I was hoping to get Hog's Hollow, on the east side of the reservoir, without having to move the car. The path was long and overgrown and muddy so about half way I turned back. Got back to the playground and found the grove of trees that seemed to be right according to the instructions. If the box was at the base of these trees I can see how the box could end up missing. I didn't find it.

Onwards to Hog's Hollow. I drove over and parked just passed the tracks. Those tracks are definitely active. A GO train passed as I was hiking up the path. Got to where 2 gravel paths crossed. To the left about 30 meters, I saw a post with a blue top. But I didn't see any other posts and no indication that one of these trails was the gold trail, but the description seemed like this junction was appropriate since the box was near the GO fenceline. According to the directions I was to go back the way I came from i.e. I needed to head South on the Blue trail and then East towards the fence, the box would be in the hollow of a dead tree. Didn't see a dead tree. Looked in ever widening areas for the dead tree but didn't see it. Oh well, off to find another letterbox.

5th stop of the day, Troll Dungeon II - Hitchhiker Hostel
A quick find. It was quiet the whole time I was searching then stamping up (I walked over the bridge to stamp up on the other side in case anyone showed up). But when I went to return the box, 3 boys on skateboards showed up to use the area to play - the asphalt ramps were fun for them. After they left I quickly placed it back and covered it with stones/rocks. Then about a minute later someone else passed through and stopped to view the creek. Then another minute and a couple more people came by. Definitely can be a muggly spot at times. Hopefully the hostel will do fine. It's hidden nicely. I took a little butterfly stamp by the 3stouffville seekers and left "Hinterland Who's Who: White Tailed Deer" Flea - it's a combo hitchhiker and cootie. I hope it doesn't confuse people. It's meant to do more travelling, box to box or person to person.

Back to the car and I check my GPS for nearby letterboxes. Well I'll be darned, there's another one just feet away from where I was. I leash up the dog and we go back in. More muggles at the bridge but this time it's OK because I'm walking into the woods. The big tree isn't a maple but that doesn't really matter, found Cats Meow at Ratcliff quickly. Nicely hidden. Nice spot in the woods. Nice handcarved stamp.

Finally just one more stop before heading home - Roxbury Valentine Hearts
Liked the windmill, a reminder how not long ago (maybe 10 years) this was agricultural land. Good directions. Found it quickly and was able to reach it. Nice valentine theme handcarved stamp.

One thing I noticed today with regards to letterboxes on geocaching.com, the gc letterboxes in this area (Newmarket/Bradford/Uxbridge/Stouffville/Markham) are extremely tough. Those that hide them take the traditional aspect of letterboxing - being very cryptic and writing stories around the clues - seriously. They make my head pound -- all that extra work. Not the kind of thing you can do on the fly when you're just passing through. There are some on the letterboxing lists (especially old timers) that poo-poo the gc letterboxes but I think some would be surprised at just how "traditional" these boxes are - the kind the old-timers (silverbacks) lament were all the rage in the good ole days. They make you really work for the find.

A hot day today but for the most part my dog and I travelled through cool shady forests. It was a day of letterboxing and caches. 4 letterboxes and 6 caches.

First stop - Oakville
TPNN's first letterbox hide. They have learned a lot from there finds. Nice trail (nice place to walk the dog, push a baggie stroller, bike, jog, etc.), nice hide, good container (lock n lock), accurate and clear clues, a handcarved stamp.

Found a few caches in the area and then off I went to Mount Nemo Conservation Area

Satyr was well hidden. Took some time to uncover it. Started to doubt I had the right tree but after walking away and taking a fresh look at the area I was pretty sure I was correct. And indeed I was. A detailed stamp, Fiddleheads fine lines are something to be admired.

Dionysis
I found a felled tree near the path that for the most part matched the clues.It was chopped into a chair shape. I looked and looked and poked and looked and poked some more. Then I gave up and started walking again. I shortly came to another outcrop and a tree that fight the description much better then the first one. Ta da, found it. It pays to keep alert even if you think you missed out on finding the box. This was to happen again to me when searching for Maenad.

Maenad
" you'll arrive at a vista overlooking the land below. Logs form a low fence around the area about a foot off the ground. Natural Regeneration signs ask you to go no farther. Follow the log on your right. Two cedars grow very close to this log. At its sawed-off tip, about 10 feet from the drop-off, is a large lump of limestone on the other side of the log. There is a naturally occurring SPOR. " So I get to a spot that matches this description, well almost, I didn't think the vista overlook was all that great because the trees obscured the view. I looked and looked and poked and climbed on boulders. I stepped back and surveyed then I looked and poked some more. After about 20 minutes I gave up. Oh well, on to the next one. Oh wait, that was the last one, the one with the logbook. So I looked one more time. Disheartened I gave up and walked to the parking lot. I got a few meters down the trail and realized I wasn't following the orange trail back to the lot so I back tracked looking for orange markers. Then what do I see but a beautiful vista. Is this the spot I'm supposed to go to? How did I miss it the first time? I see the regen sign and a low barrier fence of log. There are 2 joined cedar trees and a more obvious SPOR behind it. And yes, under the spor is the box! What a beautiful spot for the final. The view was magnificent - it was a clear afternoon so the view was clear. The log barrier was the perfect spot to sit for stamping and landscape viewing.

I was so looking forward to today. I was going to go to the Toronto Islands and spend the day walking from one end to the other, just me and my dog. I was going to find about 7 letterboxes and 7 caches. I hadn't been to the Toronto Islands in years. This was going to be the first time I ever went over with a dog. I mustered up the courage to drive in downtown Toronto. I even spent about an extra half hour in stop and go traffic on the 401 determined to make this work. Finally got to the Queens Quay area and decided to try the lot by the boat that serves seafood (Captain John's) - it's about a block walk from the ferry docks. The parking lot had a big sign advertising parking for $15. When I got to the kiosk the attendant asks for $20. Turns out the $15 is if you park before 10am. It was about 11am. Hmmm. You think they'd put away the portable sign after 10am. Oh well, $20 was reasonable enough for a whole day on the island.

Off to the ferry docks. Get to the ticket windows where there's a security guard. Should have figured something was wrong when there was no one but me around. He tells me there's a strike. Says that I might catch a ride at York and Queens Quay. So I walk a couple of blocks west. Harbour Tours apparently is providing rides but then I realize I would probably have to come back to Hanlon from Wards Island essentially walking 10+ kilometers round trip - I just didn't think I would enjoy that much walking. Plus it looked like the fees were high - from what I could see on flyers, I might be paying $25. So I didn't bother. Turns out, after reading an online article when I got home, Harbour Tours were charging the usual city ferry fee: $6.50 but only taking island residents to and from Hanlon Point.

There's another nearby letterbox at the CN Tower, about a 1/2 km away. It was formerly PAWCA's but Gwynlais adopted it - CN Tower. So off we walk to Olympic Park. Well I get to the base of the CN Tower between the Skydome and the Convention Center. I ask several people - mostly kiosk people and tour guides where Olympic Park is. No one knows. Roundhouse Park was apparently across the street but it looked nothing like a park - there was construction and the whole place was torn up - not a spec of grass - looked nothing like a park used to be there. There was a tiny park at the base of the CN Tower but it had a nautical theme and 'green' theme, nothing olympic about it. There was a garden/green space by the giant woodpecker but nothing olympic about it either. The most frustrating thing was there was no signage at any of the parks. The garden by the convention center was round with benches and the bricks had what looked like donor names on them. There were thousands of names, in small etched print. There was nothing that said lacrosse team - did I have to know the individual names of each of the lacrosse players? I had no idea how I was supposed to find the names mentioned in the clue in the sea of bricks. If this was Olympic Park then it was way too frustrating for me to search names among thousands and a tiny matchstick container somewhere in the bushes in this space.

It was getting hot. The traffic was heavy and noisy. The place was crowded with people. I was starting to get a headache. I was getting aggravated, frustrated and annoyed. I looked at the other nearby letterboxes on my GPS screen (the GPS unit couldn't find Olympic Park either) - Coras, Lush, Subway: Union, etc but I couldn't be bothered. It's not easy looking for boxes (or caches) in downtown Toronto - you can't drive up to them (parking is too expensive and there isn't enough), you can't easily get around with a dog in tow - she was getting hot and thirsty. It was going to be at least another 4 kilometers of walking.

So back to the parking lot we walk. I was downtown for about an hour so I was hoping I would get something back from the lot attendant. Nope. It's $20 flat - now I know what "flat" means. It means you don't get any money back even you if you spend 2 minutes in the parking lot. What a lousy morning.

-------------------

So, with hopes of salvaging the rest of the day, I drive over to High Park, in the west end of Toronto. I stopped near the entrance by the food "cafe", figuring since it serves food there's probably a public washroom in the building/shelter. There are at least 100 people around - mostly families, lots of kids, another sure sign that washrooms are nearby. Nope. No such luck. One lady says there are washrooms in an old building near Bloor. I jog over - the doors are locked. Good thing I'm not desperate, just figured I'd use one before starting my letterboxing expedition. So my dog and I walk on to find Fiddlehead's subway series 'High Park'. We were here in February but I couldn't find it then. This time the trails to the left were obvious and I found the C-shaped trail quickly. The box was well camouflaged and well hidden. I enjoyed the subway themed stamp. As always a nice job by Fiddleheads.

Back to the car and over to Grenadier Restaurant to park and look for Venemous Tentacula. While at the restaurant I checked on my stamp-only letterbox. It was there. The magnet tape had fallen off the sides of the stamp but the primary magnet on the back of the stamp was still there. I might consider retrieving and retiring it in the Fall if I can come back for it then (hopefully I can make it the Fall gathering). Next, down the hill we go to Grenadier Pond. At first I go to the wrong cement ledge - it's under water and the metal post is brown, not black. I walk back and threw the naturalized area and see that unmistakeable old yew. I have never seen a yew as old and big as this one - very cool. The cement ledge is not covered in water but there's lots around. I'm thinking that this container better be water tight. The part of the ledge that the box is likely under is under a large cotoneaster bush. Cotoneaster is tightly packed with small thorns. In order to get to the box I need to push my head through the thorny branches. I grab my cap for protection and like an obsessed letterboxer risk bleeding for the box. And it was there, half submerged in water. But it's a geniune lock n lock, so maybe it's OK. I take it to dry land, open the lid (all 4 tabs are locked down, that's good.). It's full of water. The logbook is in a baggie and even though there is some water in the baggie the logbook is 90% dry, that's lucky. Inside the box is also a large chinese coin - no stamp. Sigh - thorns, a box that has been literally placed in a pond, so much water even a sealed lock n lock can't handle it, and finally no stamp. I gave it a newish baggie I had in my backpack and cleaned up the box as best as i could.

Because I also geocache I knew that this box is a few feet away from first stage of a multi. However that first stage is a micro film canister cache attached to the underside of the top railing of the fencing towards the yew tree. Why a geocacher would decided to get a face full of thorns to see if something is hidden in the water under the ledge would be a head scratcher. The last log in the book was in writing only - no stamp. (I didn't bother stamping in - just wrote also since I didn't trust that the box would stay dry). Maybe the last finders made the exchange, but they do not write about the coin or an exchange in their log.. They don't appear to be geocachers. I checked the GC logs and there's no indication that someone found the letterbox and left the chinese coin (or took the stamp).

Oh, and the clues for Tentacula mention the washroom near the box. I tried it - you guessed it - it was locked. Back up the hill. This time there's a bathroom west of the restaurant and it's open. Wow. Messy in there but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Afterwards I was parched after the walk up the hill in the heat so I stopped off at the restaurant kiosk for a pop and water. No one there. I see a 'ring bell for service'. I do, nothing. I ring again. No one comes. I wait. Then ring twice again. Nothing. Well this just confirms that I'm having a bad day. I walk away thirsty. A lady runs up to me and says "There's a button you need to ring". I tell her I did, 4 times.

Next, over to Dog Hill and the Stage to look for Dream in High Park. We had a nice walk through the off leash area and on to the box. Found it relatively quickly. Good instructions, and I had been there before for the first Dream box. As I leaned over to get the box I got stung in the neck. Yow! I see a bumblebee about a foot away. I'm thinking that it just figures, the way my day is going it's not a surprise that this would happen. So far I've been stung twice in my life with no severe reaction but I've never been stung in the neck. So I'm thinking I have to work fast because I have to get this stamp image before I go into anaphylactic shock. Well the stamp is a beauty - I am definitely getting this stamp image in my book, to heck with my possible demise. Also the box is big enough for a hitchhiker and this is a great spot to hitch a ride to the United States - about 1/3 of the visitors are from the US. I get everything stamped up and packed away. When I go to put the box back I realize that I have not been stung by a bee but rather by Stinging Nettle - there's a tall plant right next to the crotch of the fallen tree. It hurt but it was a relief that it wasn't an insect.

Next off I go to Fiddlehead's The Zoo At High Park. Since I tried it in February with no luck, I knew where it generally was, I found a shortcut to the box. I saw a large decaying birch on the ground (I remember it from February's visit) and examined it from top to botton and side to side but no luck. In February I remember seeing a 4 foot birch stump on the hill with many woodpecker holes, I didn't see it this time. There was a lot of growth so it could be that it was covered up or maybe it fell over. I think I had the right birch but maybe not.

I found one cache while I was in High Park - Golf Nut. It was OK but not well cared for and not in a picturesque part of the park but it was alright, it introduced me to the shortcut.

Since it was still light out I decided to try for one more letterbox. This one was posted on geocaching.com - Fire In The Hole at Sunnybrook Park. What a pain it was to find the parking area even with coordinates provided by the planter. My GPS took me to the wrong side of the river - it was an interesting drive through the Beverley Hills of Toronto - mansions that only movie stars could afford. Most of them probably go for 10 million dollars. Driving around some more my GPS then took me onto the grounds of Sunnybrook hospital. Turns out that there's a road through the hospital that goes into the park, and ends next to the off leash area. I found the object that the Fire In The Hole coords took me too. This was going to be a tricky hide. I looked all over the life ring station - it was next to a deep fast moving river (you could see eddies in the river as the water rushed through). I really didn't feel comfortable tampering with the station but I did lift the life ring and examined it closely. I also looked closely at the hook and then at the pole that these things were hanging from, as well as the 2 signs attached to the pole.. I finally read the hint: "Are you having bad luck today?"...Aha, that must be referring to the number 13 on the metal pole that makes up the station that the the ring, rope and hook are hanging on. Hmmm, what kind of a clue is that? It's pretty obvious it's the station, the coords zero in on it. It's hardly a clue at all. After spending 20 minutes closely examining the pole for something that would be big enough to hold a stamp kit I can't find anything. I walk away and see another rescue station. Number 12. It looks exactly the same - I can see no difference. I walk back to number 13 and look again. Frustrating. I like a good hide but I don't like being stumped and given a lousy hint. When it's about a 100km one way drive from my house to the letterbox I like a better chance at it and I don't like when it's on equipment that should not be tampered with. Tampering with rescue equipment can result in a fine, and it's just not right. I was looking for another sneaky find recently where the hint is "Think outside the box? I think not." The only box at the site is a little telephone box covering the wire connections. That's where the coords zero out. The hide is apparently very devious. I wonder how many people have tinkered with the box? I wouldn't do it because it is Bell property and it could be dangerous. Then again I could be wrong about the box but does it matter? Wouldn't others assume as I did that the logbook is inside the Bell box?

Mennonites in Ontario #5

After a nice afternoon in Elora with my sister I drove up to Drayton for a quick letterboxing fix. All of Water Lily's driving directions are easy to follow. I have had no trouble so far getting to each location. Found the box quickly and stamped up in the car.

Mennonites in Ontario #8, #2 and #4
A beautiful after-work drive in lovely mennonite country. Visited the Yatton/Wallenstein area north of Elmira. Many Mennonites on the roads in their buggies. Ladies in their cotton dresses in their gardens. A young mennonite girl in pigtails wearing a blue cotton dress and pink crocs while cutting the front lawn on a riding mower. Young men on their bikes on the farm roads. Older men working on farm equipment by the school. Most of Water Lily's quilt block letterboxes are drive-bys making the finds relatively quick and easy. The one that took the longest today was in Macton - well hidden.

A beautiful late Spring day. The rains have stopped and the sun is out. Today's adventure was a Riverside Park in Cambridge. I went searching for Little Houses in the Woods

I had a little trouble finding the pedestrian path and drove around the park about 3 times but the clues are actually pretty accurate. Once I found the path I saw how it matched the clues.

Fiddleheads skills as a carver have excelled this year. She is very good at detailed work. These tiny stamps were surprisingly detailed. The boxes are sooo creative. Not what I expected. A 'blue diamond' letterbox series in every way. Great park. Fun use of bird terms in the clues. Lovely boardwalk and marsh to walk through. And a surprise at the box locations. Finally a couple of wonderful hand carved stamps. You get the whole package with these letterboxes. Highly recommended.

It rained again today. More than yesterday, but that wasn't going to stop me - I'm on vacation and dag-nab-it I'm going to go do what I love to do - letterbox. Plus experience showed that many of Water Lily's boxes are drive-ups, where the stamping can be done in the car, out of the rain.

Quilt #12
Generous Water Lily helped me out with the box at Petsmart that I couldn't find. Turned out the spot I spent the least time at was the spot it was in. I didn't see a t-bar there but today, with fresh eyes, there it was - it was definitely short. When I got to Petsmart there was a van near the location and the driver was in his seat. So I took the pooch and off we went for liver treats in Petsmart. Well wouldn't you know $87 later we leave the store. Didn't even buy liver treats. Got a box of milkbone biscuits instead, and a life jacket (I hope to take her in the boat when we go bass fishing this summer), and a Cool Bed III (I never saw this before but I'm so glad someone came up with it - I'll use it in the car and in the boat during those hot summer days).

Quilt #10
Got to this after a rainstorm had passed. Of course the tree was coated in water but it was worth getting wet for this find. The church looked very much like a school. I double checked the sign on the building to be sure I was at the right place. There was one car in the parking lot and a purolator truck on the road. No people in the vehicles, so off I went to the tree. Took about a minute of lifting branches to find it.

Quilt #11
This was a hidden church behind a daycare centre. Water Lily provided good driving instructions otherwise I'm sure I would have missed it because you can't see the church from the street. There was a vehicle at the back of the church door unloading right where the box was, so I waited and read my email via my cell phone. Then waited a couple more minutes after he left to be sure the coast was clear. Did a quick dash to the box. Found it in about 30 seconds and stamped up in the car. A quick dash back and off I went. I liked the detail in the little squares that WL cut into the block.

Quilt #18
It was interesting to see the building where Water Lily once worked. She unfortunately lost her job this year with the Mennonite Camp. The box was in the front garden. I was as careful as possible not to step on the plants. Found the box quickly and headed back to the car to stamp up. When I was finished I started to head back but looked over the road to house #43. There was a guy there at the open side door smiling at me, in a 'what are you up to' kind of smile. Dang. I walked over to the parking lot but I saw him go into the house and then appear at the front window, looking over at me. Dang. So I went back to the car with the box and headed over to the Tim Horton's about a couple of blocks away. Had a lovely tomato soup and biscuit - I was getting pretty hungry after a long afternoon of letterboxing. After eating I went back. Parked in a different spot and checked #43. No guy there. I placed the box back quickly but tucked nicely under the cotoneaster. I sure hope this box survives and that I'm not the cause of its demise.

Found 3 more Water Lily quilt block letterboxes:

#3 (Pioneer Tower) #19 (Rockway Golf Course) and #16 (cemetery off of King). I always enjoy a visit to the tower - it has now been engulfed by expensive housing. I was there a few years ago for a geocache when construction in the area was just beginning. Tricky hide - the camo'd box blended in well. The letterbox at Rockway was a quick find - right by the parking lot, which turned out to be most fortunate because it started raining, so I stamped in the car. I left Ondine's Falling Leaves Maple hitchhiker in the box. The cemetery was interesting - all the local surnames - Weber, Shantz, Eby. There's a section of the cemetery with Asian (Thai mostly) deceased - that was interesting to see in a Mennonite cemetery. Also in the park was a beautiful statue of a forlorn woman.

Couldn't find #12 - it may be nestled into the ground. I have contacted Water Lily for followup info. If it was black and nestled I may have missed it. If it was on top of the ground, then I think it's gone.

My inky fingers after an afternoon of letterboxing and geocaching.

A very full day of letterboxing. I can't believe I finished the whole Secret Stashe series (7 boxes). Not knowing Waterloo very well, I was sure I was going to get stumped on box 2. The story is full of cryptic clues. But while searching for one of the other boxes there was something about a landmark down the one street that made me wonder if maybe...

Star Hexen gets top marks for writing creative clues. S/he also gets top marks for using lock n lock containers. And again, top marks for fun stamps (simple designs but perfect for the comic book nuance of the series) with matching logbooks that work with a make-you-smile theme. All very creative. But marks are reduced for hides. Many of them had guys with shopping carts nearby (if you know what I mean). Not the most attractive parts of town. Not terrible, but not pretty. I'm guessing the hider is a guy in his late teens, early 20s. Someone who wouldn't think twice about the locations and may even find them intriguing.

I loved some of those clues. It wasn't until I got to the location that I had that AHA! moment about what his/her clues were referring to.

There were at least 8 sig stamps before mine. They were in each and every logbook so I'm wondering if they stamped in during a gathering/party of some sort. I don't recall any of the sig stamps in other logbooks.Interesting.

Also found 2 of Water Lily's quilt blocks.

#6 - Nice old church - old yellow brick and grey stone - so old it has a coating of soot on the older part of the church (reminds me of some of the old scottish landmarks I saw years ago). Getting the box was easy. Putting it back was tough. Every time I tried to walk back to re-hide, a car or two would pull into the lot, 2 actually parked next to the hiding place. Finally I had my chance and just as soon as I stepped away from the bush another car pulls in. Wasn't even a Sunday.

#7 - Brubacher house. I missed the south entrance so I drove all the way around to the north entrance. The house is surrounded by all the new high tech industry buildings. But right by the house is a scenic location - lots of green grass and Columbia Lake. After finding the box by the lake and tucking it back then covering it up, I walked back over to the house to have a closer look. It wasn't open today. I went up the back porch and peered in the windows. Very pioneer-like inside. Beautiful home.

I was first finder on both of Water Lily's boxes. The quilt boxes are wonderful and I find the Menno history really interesting. I had no idea there were so many divisions to the Menno culture/religion.

Old Oakie - a most impressive oak tree (oldest in London) in the Westminster Ponds. The stamp is commercial, the clues were vague and I absolutely needed the help of a local dog owner who walked me to it (I had walked a kilometre east but I still needed to walk another kilometre north). 4257.265 8112.949

I turned on my GPS unit after re-hiding the letterbox to see if there was a nearby cache. There was. It was actually in a spot I thought we make a good hiding spot (but didn't match the hiding spot described for Old Oakie).

Waterworks Park - whoever the landscape architect is, he/she/they did a great job of putting this park together. The small lily ponds and footbridges are so picturesque - reminded me somewhat of a japanese garden. The trees were in blossom. At the entrance is a beautiful yellow magnolia - I have never seen a yellow-blossom magnolia. Very striking. Next to the small ponds is a large, deep, murky pond. As I was looking at it I thought it was the perfect place for turtles and then floating just ahead near the shore I spotted a medium sized painted turtle. Further down by the north end of the pond I had the pleasure of viewing 5 sunning turtles and a couple more floating nearby in the pond.

The nearby letterbox was hidden very well. Easy to find if you know it's there but well hidden from the public eye.

'The Lass that loved a Sailor' Event

A very full day of boxing. More letterboxes then I could do in a day. It was great to meet letterboxers that were at last years event (Jiggs, Fiddleheads, Landmark Leapsters, Gwynlais) , there was a new letterboxer - Tiny Toon.

The Big Blue Team did an amazing job of hiding letterboxes. There were loads to find in the park. I found 6 (of 11 in Pinafore Park, I believe) before heading downtown to find 7 more, before weariness and hunger set in and I had to call it a day.

The BBT must have put out 25 letterboxes for this event - urban, rural, park settings - they covered a lot of bases.

I arrived at about 11:30. Everyone was out in the woods and by the pond searching for boxes, so P of BBT and I had a really nice chat while I stamped in all of the event stamps. Being HOH It was actually great for me to have this quiet time to chat and get to know the hostess of the event.

Found the following:

Godspell, The Sailor, Peace Tree, Hand Reaching Out, On The Stage, Evita

Ready Aim...Letterbox, Grand Piano, The Art Centre, Maestro Music, Mrs Gundy's Music School, Meet Mitchell Hepburn, At The Opera

A Looong Way Home by angel treads

It was a cool grey morning but the prospect of a letterbox find brightened up the day. I enjoyed a nice stroll in the park. The instructions and landmarks made for a quick find. Fun hand-carved stamp. I took the coveted FTF spot in the logbook. Thanks angel treads. :)

I always find it interesting that 80% of KW boxes are wrapped in plastic. It's the opposite everywhere else in Ontario, perhaps even less - maybe 10% are wrapped in plastic.

I found Topsy Turvy today. Although the interior of the box was damp (I wiped it dry), the ziplock bag kept the contents in great shape. It was great to see a hand-carved stamp and such a fun stamp too. You've had lots of visitors. I liked the burnt edged logbook - unique. It was great re-visiting the wonky boardwalk (I was here last year and didn't find it -- I didn't look hard enough - and there's a slight descrepancy with the count). It really is a sight to behold.

Maintenance morning

Beautiful Spring morning for a walk on the Silver Creek Trail to check on the Box ON Riverwalk event boxes. Everything was there - what a relief. Everything was in good shape, except Royal Dog (frozen in) and Queen Victoria.

Unfortunately Queen Victoria has a largish ziploc bag that needs to be carefully squeezed back into the lock n lock container. When I found it, it had the corner of the ziploc caught between the lid and the bottom part of the container, thus rendering the seal useless. The box was filled with icy water. The beautiful logbook soaked despite being double bagged, i.e. the logbook was in it's own baggie and then the bagged logbook and stamp where in a double-zip freezer baggie but both baggies were filled with water.

I took the logbook home to dry and salvage. Luckily the cover of the logbook had magical powers and did not get damaged by the soaking - Dixie must have used a waterproof ink.The faux leather cover looks good as new. The pages however are more fragile and will hopefully dry up nicely. I'm using the freezer technique, so fingers crossed that all will be fine. I started a discussion on AQ about lock n locks and baggies.

While there I waymarked the Pondview access point to the trail. Also found 2 hitchhikers: Trumpeting Angel and re-found: Summer Vacation 2008: CJs Star

Update: using the freezing technique, followed by blow-drying and then pressing in my flower press the logbook is ready to go back in the container. The pages are still rippled and stained a little but generally it's in OK shape.

A disappointing letterboxing day today. I drove 55km east to look for a letterboxing hybrid, GC1C3BR Carleton Park Letterbox. When it first popped up in May of last year I chose to ignore it because the description states that the owner put in a stamp for the stamp collectors. That usually spells trouble - just any old, usually dollar store, non-theme stamp. Well I read some of the latest logs and those that commented on the stamp really liked it. So I figure maybe it's a nice unique commercial stamp. (I should have re-read the cache description because the owner kindly tells what the stamp image is - I don't remember seeing that last year, maybe it's a new addition). Well after driving for an hour, I get to my destination. Lo and behold it is as I expected - a dollar store foam-backed stamp of shooting stars, non-related to the park. <sigh>

Since I'm already an hour from home, I decide to try for a (I assumed) real carved stamp in Richmond Hill - Giant Nuclear Fireball. That would help cheer me up and not feel like a wasted trip. I tried looking for GNF last Fall using the letterboxing clues but couldn't find it (turns out I was close but not quite at the spot). This time I solved the mystery puzzle on GC and got the lat/long coords. So another 40 minutes to drive further east to Richmond Hill and I find the letterbox - but no stamp. There's a engraved rock in the cache with the word FAITH in it - I hope that wasn't supposed to be the stamp. <sigh> Well a lousy letterbox day because I had my heart set on at least one good letterbox experience. But I can't complain about the geocache part of the experience. The parks were decent. The boxes in good shape. My dog and I got a walk outdoors and enjoyed the sunny vernal equinox. On the way back I stopped off at a few more caches and those turned out to be pleasant experiences. Plus I remembered my Hiking and Walking Trailheads Waymarking category and waymarked the Heart Lake Rd trailhead of the Trans Canada trail.

Update: April 2 - Fish Below the Ice emailed me to tell me that the stamp was taken as well as the logbook. His first stamp even. Poor guy. He's going to replace it.

Another beautiful Spring day and lucky for me I could get out with my dog for a few hours this afternoon, so I headed into Kitchener and found a caches by the Grand River. While in the area I checked on 2 letterboxes that I found last year: Grass Island and Carrying a Load by the Rothbels. Grass Island was still there. Nicely hidden and in good shape except the ziploc bag around the box had holes in it - wrapping containers in plastic bags really doesn't help protect the box and holes quickly get warn into the bag. Better to buy a good container like a Lock and Lock or a Rubbermaid to protect the contents. Unfortunately Carrying a Load is gone - just an empty indent in the earth. The rock that covered it pushed aside.

Autopsy! Scully by Fiddleheads

Thanks for getting me out on this lovely sunny February day. This has been a record breaker for me - this is my 4th letterbox find this month. 2009 is the first year I've ever found a letterbox in February (and not just one but four - woo hoo). Loved the stamp! Really well done. And it was great to see all the postal ring stamps. Great work Fiddleheads.

Dropped off Force of Five's 'Nativity: Shepherd' hitchhiker (carved by Water Lily)

Keeping Canada Clean by Travel n Turtle (placed by ukusa)

Beautiful sunny day. High Park was busy with people enjoying the weather. The paths were icy - my hiking stick helped keep me upright (I must buy some yak trax asap). Saw a couple of people ice fishing on the pond. I was so thankful that the letterbox was not frozen in. In fact is was not icy at all, easy to retrieve. Fun stamp. The box is in great condition. Since you are from out of the country I thought you might like to see the logbook. I photographed the pages and put them on my blog -- password protected. I'll email you with the web address and password. Thanks for the winter fun.

Dropped off Ondine's 'Summers End' hitchhiker.

While at High Park I checked on my Grenadier Pond letterbox - still there and in good shape. I also tried to find 3 of Fiddleheads but had no luck - not winter friendly. Next stop: Etobicoke Valley Park.

An Anglo-Saxon Riddle by Ellesche GC!GCQQ

It's so great when a geocacher that plants letterbox hybrids plants them just like a seasoned letterboxer would - lock n lock, handmade logbook, hand-carved stamp. Ellesche does a very nice job with her letterbox hybrids. This one is planted next to the Etobicoke Creek - lovely view all year round. You've got to be tall to get this one or look around for some help - I found just the right thing nearby.

Mennonites of Waterloo County ~ #1 Log Cabin Quilt Block by Water Lily

Beautiful Ground Hog Day (sunny, that means 12 more weeks of winter, right?) for a walk on the Mill Race Trail. There was this most interesting hand plow at the trail entrance - it's there for the community to use. Seemed so appropriate for mennonite country (a human rather than motor-driven snow plow). Someone recently used it to clear the trail so it made the walk extra pleasant. (Wish I had taken a photo of the device - but my camera battery died before I got back to the plow <sigh>. I did however manage to take a photo of a photo of a family pushing/pulling the plow along the trail - see below)

Instructions to the letterbox were excellent so finding the it was not a problem. Snow was knee-deep by the trees but the winds kept the roots exposed. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the hitchhiker (Nativity: Shepherd) was still there which also meant that I was the first to find. Too bad the owner of the HH doesn't allow public comments I was going to leave a message remarking on the nice presentation (round tin, round logbook with screw post) and well-carved stamp image. I'm looking forward to the rest of the quilt squares in this series. I tucked the box way back into the roots (where I found it). To disguise my steps I kicked snow back down the hill and then trampled all over the area by the bench to make it look like a herd of hikers were hanging out in the area. Otherwise the trail I left would have led to the box. So now I hope it will be safe and sound. Thanks Water Lily!

Photos from the trail:

Photo posted on a trail pole, demonstrating the use of the hand snow plow

Sap bucket hold seeds for the birds

Snowman by the bridges, greets hikers on the Mill Race Trail

This is letterbox marks my first February letterbox ever.

Four Calling Birds by Fiddleheads

A box planted specifically for the winter.

A wonderful winter walk in the woods. Lots of hovering ice formations, some have formed teeth around the edges as the ice slowly melts in the sun. About 3 weeks ago we had a significant winter melt. Most of the hovering ice is at least a foot off the ground. You can see an example on the FCB clue page.

These woods are a great place to walk the dog. And there are lovely views of the river along the trail.

The Guelph Hiking Trail Club has done some great work here in 2008. Lots of signage at the trailhead, fresh new trail markers and they're nicely spaced out, not too far apart. They also laid chicken wire on the boardwalks for traction. What a caring group of volunteers.

I wore my snowmobile boots and they came in handy when trudging through the calf high snow to get to the box. Hard not to make tracks to the location. On the way back I tried diversion techniques and now it looks like a herd of cattle went through that area.

The box is well done - camo'd lock n lock, handmade logbook, handmade velvet bag for the stamp, gorgeous intricate handmade stamp. My first impression came out beautifully. I had a great overall letterboxing experience.

Currently reading It's a treasure hunt: geocaching & letterboxing distributed by CQ Products (oddly it doesn't have an author).

Inexpensive book with some good information about the 2 hobbies. Includes logbook pages for your personal journal. Also includes instructions about carving your own stamp and a few stamp images to try.