What exactly is letterboxing? Does it involve a pile of junkmail and a big pair of red gloves? No, but that could be fun, too.
Letterboxing is an excuse to take a walk ... with a big ol' twist of adventure. It's part treasure hunt, part stamp collecting, and a whole lot of fun! You're intrigued now, aren't you?
Letterboxes are small, weatherproof boxes hidden in publicly-accessible places (like parks). There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America, and clues are posted online at several different websites.
What's in the box? Well, that's where the you'll find the treasure, of course! Each letterbox contains a log book, a rubber stamp, and sometimes an ink pad. You see the real goal of letterboxing is to let others know you found it - it's all about bragging rights. When you find the box, you make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp in your own log book and leave an imprint of your own personal stamp on the letterbox's log book.
Now that you have the basic idea, come back next week to find out how to make your own signature stamp. Once you've got your stamp, we'll talk about finding a letterbox as well as hiding your own!
