Several years ago, I wrote about letterboxing (you can read about it here). As a quick summary, it is an activity in which hikers and other adventurers place boxes in hidden locations and then place written clues (sometimes in the form of a poem or riddle) on a website such as Letterboxing.org or Atlas Quest. Letterboxers download the clues and search for the box. We recently decided to hunt down letterboxes with clues posted by the Rhode Island State Parks on letterboxing.org.
We started with the letterbox for Beavertail State Park. Beavertail is one of our favorite spots in Rhode Island. You can read about our previous trips here and here. The park, located in Jamestown, Rhode Island, is home to a lighthouse that sits at the entrance of Narragansett Bay. While the current lighthouse only dates back to 1856, a lighthouse has sat on this spot since 1749. The original lighthouse was the third lighthouse built in our country, according to the Rhode Island State Parks letterboxing clue.
The clues we followed were in the form of a poem. We were a little confused at first and wandered down the wrong trail. We noticed that the number of paces given by the clues did not in fact get us to a fork in the trail. After we realized our mistake, we began again and found the letterbox quite easily. In fact, the girls commented on how accurate the clues were. Once we found the box, we stamped our letterboxing book with the two stamps included in the box. The box also contained a small notebook in which we noted the date on which we located it and included our family stamp.
While we were on the trails around Beavertail, we turned on my Geocaching app and located a cache just a few hundred yards from the letterbox. Double the treasure in one trip!
I will admit that this trip was not without its drama. Meg was ready to give up after our first mistake. I tried to use our misstep as a lesson in perseverance, but she was not convinced. Anne has recently developed an absolute terror of bees and other bugs. So at certain points on the trail, she froze and refused to move in the loudest of voices. I was forced to pick up my six-year-old up and carry her along a narrow trail while also balancing my phone which held our clues. But even with these negatives, Clare and I had a blast. And whether they admit it or not, I'm pretty sure Meg and Anne felt like adventurous treasure hunters.
We started with the letterbox for Beavertail State Park. Beavertail is one of our favorite spots in Rhode Island. You can read about our previous trips here and here. The park, located in Jamestown, Rhode Island, is home to a lighthouse that sits at the entrance of Narragansett Bay. While the current lighthouse only dates back to 1856, a lighthouse has sat on this spot since 1749. The original lighthouse was the third lighthouse built in our country, according to the Rhode Island State Parks letterboxing clue.
The clues we followed were in the form of a poem. We were a little confused at first and wandered down the wrong trail. We noticed that the number of paces given by the clues did not in fact get us to a fork in the trail. After we realized our mistake, we began again and found the letterbox quite easily. In fact, the girls commented on how accurate the clues were. Once we found the box, we stamped our letterboxing book with the two stamps included in the box. The box also contained a small notebook in which we noted the date on which we located it and included our family stamp.
While we were on the trails around Beavertail, we turned on my Geocaching app and located a cache just a few hundred yards from the letterbox. Double the treasure in one trip!
I will admit that this trip was not without its drama. Meg was ready to give up after our first mistake. I tried to use our misstep as a lesson in perseverance, but she was not convinced. Anne has recently developed an absolute terror of bees and other bugs. So at certain points on the trail, she froze and refused to move in the loudest of voices. I was forced to pick up my six-year-old up and carry her along a narrow trail while also balancing my phone which held our clues. But even with these negatives, Clare and I had a blast. And whether they admit it or not, I'm pretty sure Meg and Anne felt like adventurous treasure hunters.
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