Crisp autumn days are just around the corner!

What a great time to be outdoors. Ah, a brisk walk in the woods, leaves crunching underfoot. Sunlight filtering through a riot of colored leaves.  Warm cider when you return home.

Why not kick it up a notch by adding letterboxing to the adventure?                            

Letterboxing is a hobby that combines hiking with treasure hunting.  It started on the moors of Dartmoor, England, a hundred years ago and is now becoming a popular sport in the USA.

The basics are this: each hiker has their own journal and a rubber stamp. They follow clues to find hidden boxes that also contain rubber stamps and journals.  When a hiker finds a letterbox, they stamp their own journal with the hidden stamp to prove they found it and stamp the journal in the box with their own "signature" stamp to indicate they were there.

Okay, it's simple, straightforward fun. As easy as a walk in the woods. But you can get as crazy-creative as you want. Traditionally, stamps are hand carved. They can be made in just a few minutes by cutting and arranging adhesive craft foam or take days of painstaking, inticate detail.

And then there are the clues. Same thing. As simple as "turn right at the red house and walk 10 paces" or so obscure, you'll have to call in the CIA!

This is some serious fun!

To get started, check out:

http://www.letterboxing.org    The Site to know!  

http://www.geocities.com/rscarpen/Lb/Docs/GreatBoxes   A letterboxer shares ideas and insights      

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/PeoplePlaces/Letterboxing  By and for kids- from our friends at NG

www.Shelfari.com    Literary social networking groups, including one for people who love reading and letterboxing!