JUNE 4 – Posted by FungusWoman
Wow! I can't believe I'm the first to report in! But then again, it shows what a great event it was that either (1) everyone is too tired to get up to report, or (2) smart enough to stay an extra day to search longer for more boxes. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be in the latter group.
What a great day!!! Perfect facilities, perfect hosts, perfect weather, perfect food, perfect raffle prizes, perfectly wonderful time! The boxes were wonderful, those we had time to find. Next time I've got to hook myself up with one of those Power Boxing groups that manage to find like half the boxes before lunch! -- Nah -- I had a blast with the group I was with. I've never been so inky in all my life - multicolor boxes on the trail? Bunch of overachievers in this group!!! Just teasing - the images were all fabulous!! The TESS boxes were a great bonus - nice job, everyone, and thanks to SC for bringing them along. (Who made that logbook? rhetorical question -
don't answer, Mrs.!)
Thanks again to WI Hiker and Martini Man for planning this all and being the best hosts around!
--klk/FungusWoman
PS: Boxer-in-TRAINing reports this morning that his feet are feeling better, and is ready to go out to search for more boxes! Even Papillon admitted she had a good time. Now THAT says a lot!!!
PPS: Papillon did an excellent job of driving all the way home – even WHEN THE DEER RAN IN FRONT OF THE CAR ON THE TOLLWAY!!!!!!!! Yikes! A young doe ran in front of us - paused - turned around and lost her footing inches away from the front passenger-side fender. Fortunately she was not injured, and was able to run away, but Papillon's heartrate sure increased after the experience, as did BIT's and mine!
JUNE 4 – Posted by Bindle Babe
First of all, I'd like to thank our hard-working hosts, WI Hiker and Martini Man for ... well, everything. This was the biggest, most-fun and successful Gathering I've ever attended; so thanks, also, to everyone who contributed. Just uploaded two pics - one of our hosts, and one of Gooble Gobble caught entertaining with his juggling antics and talent.
Seems like every box we found had an amazing carving inside and I was just blown away by the amazing talent shown by the creators of the GLK-region traveling event stamps. What fun to spend time chatting and sharing with other GLK boxers. There's a part of me that finds this part of an event to be the most satisfying of all.
Thanks to Jigsaw and the Christmas Elves for providing transportation to this "live HH'er" ... your hospitality was much appreciated!
Time to board the plane, can't wait to read the rest of the messages later.
Sail on!
---PJ
aka Bindle Babe
JUNE 4 – Posted by Cherokee Rose 2
Hawkeye and I want to thank Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for hosting this flawless event! We had so much fun meeting other letterboxers. Everyone was so welcoming and helpful. I should say that this was our first event. We scored our 100th find during the day which was very exciting! We plan to go back to the park to find the boxes we missed. We were exhausted today but it was a GREAT exhaustion! We can't wait
for the next event!
Cherokee Rose 2
JUNE 4 – Posted by CMoon
Thanks to all for a fantastic gathering, and a very special thanks to Martini Man and Wisconsin Hiker for all their hard work and time. The event was so much fun!
We found all but 3 boxes and so feel quite proud of ourselves - we kept the pace, enjoyed the scenery, and didn't get lost. It amazes me that even on day 2, Kookaburra and Squeek can RUN Roller Coasters and the Gutbuster! Theres youth for you ....
Had a great time with all our boxing partners. We got to know a lot of you a lot better, and it was great. Thanks.
CMoon, Kookaburra, and Squeek.
JUNE 4 – Posted by SpringChick
I just want to add my thanks to WI Hiker and Martini Man for a fabulously organized and orchestrated event! The location was beautiful and whomever ordered the weather was certainly on top of things! Although it was a whirlwind trip in and out of WI for me, I had a great time both at the Friday evening pre-gather party and the gathering itself.
It was exciting to meet and chat with so many new people from all across the region (and even further away), and to catch up with folks that I've not seen in a couple of years. As the masses gathered for the group photo, I couldn't help but feel a little lump in the back of my throat, remembering our cozy little group (all of us relative newbies) at the first GL gathering 4 years ago, and seeing how the hobby has blossomed since then. It is very exciting to be a part of the hobby here in the Great Lakes region.
I was sad when it was time for me to head back to Milwaukee for the ferry back to Michigan, knowing it will be at least a year before I will see some of these wonderful friends again, and disappointed that I didn't ever get out on the trails to find any of the Wonderland boxes!
Thanks to everyone who contributed -- ideas, boxes, food, smiles -- to make this year's event such a great success!
SpringChick
JUNE 4 – Posted by Wisconsin Hiker & Martini Man
Wow! Thanks to all of you for a fantastic weekend!
We started out with 22 of us at the Delafield Brewhaus on Friday night. Lots of exchanges, some special stamps, and lots of letterboxing chit-chat. We were interested to hear about Gooble Gobble's adventures on his way down from Minnesota, as well as Speedsquare's travel to WI from Indiana, SpringChick's and Azobox's ferry journey and the early arrival of several IL attendees. There was some discussion of tips & tricks and of course many anecdotes were exchanged as well as stamps. Several of us noticed that Dragon had a lovely pair of coconuts that evening!
Saturday morning arrived clear & sunny and it turned out to be a perfect day with temperatures in the low 70s. Gooble Gobble helped us rearrange a few picnic tables when we arrived and he & Speedsquare were the first to officially sign-in. After that there was a steady stream of arrivals throughout the day. Luckily the line never got too long. Final attendee count was 116 boxers, the largest event our region has had so far! The person who came the furthest to attend was SewSowBizzy, who came from Virginia. Fairy Princess Fiona also came from outside our region, coming north from Missouri. The youngest attendee was baby CignaCats, 2+ months old. The oldest was "Dollar Bill", Fairy Princess Fiona's dad, who I heard is 90 years old!
Many people simply hung out in the lodge/picnic area for quite a while, content to do some exchanges and chat. Others hit the trail for a morning hike and letterbox hunt. Attendance at the workshops was light, probably because everyone was focused on boxing and socializing. Gooble Gobble did teach several of the kids some basic juggling techniques and later in the day gave us a demonstration of his skills.
We started the charcoal a bit late, but then the coals were so hot that the hot dogs were quickly cooked (OK, maybe "charred" might be a better description!). Many thanks to Tonto & Drama Momma for pitching in to get the grilling under control. Since the food was ready, we decided that it might be better to eat first, then take the group photo. We also figured we might get more people in the photo, since they were slowly straggling back from the trails. We had a lot of tasty treats for lunch, with several items related to the Alice in Wonderland theme (tarts, tea, brown bread w/jam, small cake with currants, and "Eat Me" cakes.
It just so happened that two of our friends that have heard us talk about letterboxing over the past 3 years showed up to see what it was all about just as we were trying to get the group photo organized. They therefore volunteered to act as the group photographers and later even went out to find a few boxes themselves!
After the photo we awarded a few raffle prizes, then many people went out to hit the trails again. Some stayed nearby for more socializing and to find the numerous boxes hidden in and around the lodge. Many of these were very creative and/or tricky. We especially enjoyed Dragon's box based on a funny Budweiser commercial that many compared to a letterbox search (the stamp & log were inside a beer bottle which was inside a cooler that had a "Drink Me" sign on it) and Singular Girl's "Have You Seen Me?" box in a milk carton, featuring a lost Alice who was "Wandering in Wonderland". Others included a Goldfish cracker box, Lemon Poppyseed (Papeseed) box, Girl Scout cookie box, a Riverside Café box and more. It certainly kept Martini Man & I busy throughout the day, even though we never went out on the trails!
Of course everyone also appreciated the artistry of the boxes out on the trails. Thanks to all of you who contributed boxes for the event!
People started saying their good-byes at various times, depending on other commitments and travel distances. However many stayed until the end of the day and we were very impressed by all the help we received during the clean-up phase!! We REALLY appreciated it and we certainly saw that "many hands make light work". Since the Wisconsin State Parks now have a policy of taking all garbage out yourself, a VERY SPECIAL THANKS go to the boxers who offered to take some of the trash home with them – you guys are great!
We also want to thank all of you for your generous contributions toward the gathering expenses.
Not content to let the fun end, 33 boxers attended the "Post-event" get-together at Marty's Pizza. Local boxer Jigsaw created a special Pizza Man stamp for the occasion AND "make your own pizza" stamps which allowed each of us to draw a circular pizza in our logbook and then stamp it with our favorite toppings. Selections included black olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, green pepper, and pineapple. We sat across from BindleBabe and were amused with her pizza that featured some toppings on the pizza and some to the side. She labeled it "Double Olives, Hold the Peppers", or something to that effect. The stamps made the rounds to the various tables as we enjoyed more stories of the day and some REAL pizza. After 2 hours or so, most of us were ready to head for bed to get ready for another day of boxing. However Jigsaw & Gooble Gobble were talking of heading out at 10:30 pm for some night boxing. Not sure if they made it or not, or what adventures or misadventures they may have encountered….
This morning Martini Man & I were excited to head back to the park and look for some boxes ourselves. Even though we hid 22 boxes for the event, there were amazingly ANOTHER 22 boxes that other people had hidden!! We're happy to report that after a busy 9.5 hours at the park, that we did in fact find 22 boxes and were even the first to complete the "Wasp in a Wig" series by Jigsaw. During the day we met MANY other boxers out on the trails, doing exchanges, sharing a few tips or hints and generally enjoying the day. We were also happy to see some of the dogs out on the trail today. By the way, I just want to note that the boxers really earned their stamps this weekend. Since the majority of the boxes will be permanent, we wanted to spread them throughout the park. This meant that finding all the boxes required many miles, many HILLY miles, of hiking.
Congratulations to all the hardy hikers!
We'll be updating the website with photos in the near future and encourage you to send us some that you may have taken during the festivities. I'll also be emailing the box creators copies of the clues that were used at the gathering if they would like to post them on LBNA and/or other clue sites.
After leaving the park today, we headed out for a celebration dinner (including margaritas). This had been a fantastic weekend for us – totally letterboxing oriented from Friday evening through Sunday evening. Thanks to all of you for your potluck, letterbox and monetary contributions, but most of all for your friendly company!
Wisconsin Hiker & Martini Man
JUNE 4 – Posted by The Cottontails
Wow!! What a great weekend! We would also like to throw in our thanks to WiHi and Martini Man for putting together 3 great events. We had a terrific time at the pre-gathering, a simply amazing time at the gathering, and an exhausted but great time at the post gathering (5 foot pizza anyone?)
Mrs. Cottontails and I were able to get all but three of the boxes listed in the packet, despite hanging out at the lodge until 3:00 on saturday and not starting until after 10:30 sunday. We have not done our final count for exchanges, WOM'S, boxes, PT's, the Tess boxes... but I know that it is the biggest number that I have ever seen for 2 days worth of boxing.
We would also like to thank all of our boxing partners over the two days, you all made the trip that much better!
As for the Griffin box, we found it in what we think was the right spot sometime after 6:30 today. We are pretty sure that we were the last boxers in the park, not leaving until around 8:30. We just got home about 10:45! I can't wait to go the the next gathering and see you all again, and meet even more new faces!
The Cottontails
PS: A very big thank you to Cmoon and Friends for lunch today, without which we never would have been as successful as we were.
JUNE 5 – Posted by B of the BTTLE family
T and I of the BTTLE family would also like to extend our thanks to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man. This was our first gathering and we had a fantastic time! Next time we know not to schedule other activities during the weekend. We would have loved to attend one of the dinners. We are hoping to get T, L , and E up to Lapham Peak Park later in the summer and get some more of the boxes. Seeing the fabulous images we collected over the weekend I cannot wait to get back up there and collect some more. Hope everyone had a safe trip home. See you on the trails!!
B of the BTTLE family
JUNE 5 – Posted by Kimono Girl
Many thanks to all the wonderful boxers (and especially Wisconson Hiker and Martini Man) for another fabulous gathering! Flying Dragon, the dogs, and I had a wonderful time! We had to go back on Sunday, but we managed to find every single box listed in the clue packet. This weekend's haul was 42 boxes (including postal boxes), 2 event stamps, 32 exchanges, and 4 personal travellers. All of us were "dog tired" by the end of the day Sunday. In fact, when we got out of the car to go for the last box the dogs gave us a look that clearly said "you have GOT to be kidding, I thought we were done!" When we figured it up last night, we logged a total of 14 miles (9 on Sat and 5 on Sun)...and boy are we feeling it! About four blocks from home, it dawned on us...oh no! our house has stairs!
A sore (but very happy)
Kimono Girl
JUNE 5 – Posted by Drama Momma
Hi everyone! Have you recovered from this weekend's Gathering yet? LOL! Lots of fun and a lot of hiking! Thanks go out to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for organizing such a great time!
So good to see people I recognized from the last gathering and meeting new people! Big H and Lil' H, my hubby loved the coffeecake!
We may have a new LB'er in my family. My son came with me but didn't want to go look for boxes. That's fine cuz he's a teen and they seem to "poo-poo" their parents' ideas. LOL! He helped with cooking (being a boy scout he has had lots of training) so no complaints from me. But he went out with me, Shooting star, Mr. Conductor and Madame Butterfly in the early evening. He had a great time and even lead the way on a
couple of boxes! On the ride home, he was thinking of trail names and stamp images for himself!
Thanks again for so much fun packed into one day!
Drama Momma
JUNE 5 – Posted by Mrs. Doglvrs
Well hey - what a grand time we Doglvrs had at that there gathering in Wisconsin! Thank you, thank you, thank you Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man - You ROCK!
First I must say that I will now have a new appreciation for all cars I see in Michigan that have a Wisconsin license plate - dang that was a long drive!
We were able to hunt up a few more boxes on Sunday morning before heading home. The stamps we hunted were phenomenal! Thank you for letting me add them to my logbook!
Exchanging is my favorite part of gatherings - I love meeting new people and chatting. So - thank you to all the folks that brought along a boy "the skull's" age - you are a blessing to me!!! ; ) I was able to chitty-chat all I wanted!
Also - thank you to all who of you excellent Great Lakes letterboxers! I just love this hobby and the community it creates!
Finally, to everyone who took the time to speak my love language to me - Thank you!!! I feel famous! ; )
~Mrs. Doglvrs
"Keep the praise comin' - I live for that stuff!"
JUNE 5 – Posted by Merlin and Ardea
For a magical weekend in Wonderland, THANK YOU to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for all your creativity, expertise, and attention to every detail. Thanks too, to all who planted all the great boxes holding
especially "Wondrous" stamps.
Merlin and Ardea
JUNE 5 – Posted by Coffee Beans and Atom 118
Hi all,
We had a blast this weekend! It was so great to finally meet the people behind the stamps we've seen around the GLK. Not only were the exchanges fun, we're also happy to report to have found all but 7 of the listed boxes and several other boxes as well (we were second to complete Jigsaw's "Wasp in a Wig" series!) without our legs totally falling off. :) We were impressed with all of the well-carved stamps, and there were several creative logbooks as well (we especially liked the deck of cards).
Big thanks to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for all of their efforts in organizing the event!
Coffee Beans and Atom 118
JUNE 5 – Posted by Fermont
First, if you haven't found my Happy Unbirthday box yet, I must correct the clue. Where it says “southeasternmost intersection," please know I really was referring to the OTHER southeast- commonly known as southwest. To those who managed to find it despite my confused directions, I send you my apologies and kudos.
Next, I must add my appreciation for the mad planning skills of Martini Man and Wisconsin Hiker- everything was just great. I can only imagine how much time and energy you spent organizing this shindig! Many, many thanks from me.
Thanks to Coffee Beans for putting up with two days of nonstop opinionated sibling interactions (to Atom- I was totally correct).
Thanks to everyone who welcomed me to the group. I really enjoyed meeting you all.
Finally, thanks to the fine folks who manufacture the allergy medications that allowed me to make it through the outdoorsy weekend alive.
-Fermont
P.S. How should I count the stamps I found this weekend? I understand exchanges, but what about PTs? The Tess stamps? Cooties? Please, educate me. Thanks in advance.
JUNE 5 – Posted by The CatHerders
We were there briefly - we had a Cat-tastrophe Sat. Morning - we realized, right before we were ready to walk out the door, that we did not know where our Letterboxing bag was! And, of course, the nice, new digital camera was in it! The last solid place I could remember having it was at the Milwaukee zoo a week ago Saturday, just before we were ready to leave, but I know we made a final stop at the carousel....of course, it was not in their lost and found. My daughter says she remembers bringing it into the house, but it certainly is not anywhere to be found.
So, we went long enough to at least get the clues and bought a nice new notebooks from WI Hiker and Martini Man and got the Gathering's main event stamp.
We were very sad that we did not participate in the fun, but Mr. CatHerder was rather disheartened at the loss of the camera (and thus not in any mood to go letterboxing, etc.) and me, well, I was sad about the camera and the logbook!
Anyway, it looked like everyone was having a spectacular time!
The CatHerders
Followup on JUNE 7:
Well, you remember that I mentioned that our Letterboxing bag, with our digital camera in it, was lost at the zoo. My husband called the zoo (while ya'll were having fun in Wonderland, LOL) and the person he talked to did not find it in the lost and found.
Well, while I was folding Mt. Laundry (I cannot believe we had that much laundry, but anyway), I was praying about it. My 7 yr old was sure she brought the bag in and I was praying that God would show me where the bag was. I am telling you now, He told me to call the zoo (several times, because I simply cannot listen properly to anything the 1st time). So, I called the zoo this morning. They dug deeper in the lost and found box - AND IT WAS THERE! AND THE CAMERA WAS STILL THERE. An honest person found the bag and turned it in!
Needless to say, The CatHerders are doing a Happy Dance and saying thankful prayers today! All of our images restored and the camera, too! Guess what we will be doing in Delafield this Sunday after church!!!
The CatHerders
JUNE 5 – Posted by Wormy Wanderers
First of all, I must say THANK YOU to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for putting together such a great event. This was our first large gathering and we enjoyed it so much! We can't wait for the next one!
Between Saturday and Sunday, we managed to add over 90 images to our logbook (which includes 42 exchanges, 35 letterboxes, 7 personal travellers and 10 "other"). But more importantly, we really enjoyed meeting everyone and putting some faces with the names we see out on the trails and on the message boards. Although as I now look through the list of attendees, there are still so many of you that we just didn't get the opportunity to meet. Guess we'll have to find ya next year :)
I wanted to add a special thanks to everyone we partnered with along the way. Usually it is just the two of us out there boxing and it was a lot of fun experiencing the "large group" dynamic.
Thanks again to everyone for the wonderful stamps, food, conversation, and everything. We truly enjoyed ourselves!!
Julie (Wormy Wanderers)
JUNE 5 – Posted by Wisconsin Hiker & Martini Man
We're pleased to report that we found Gooble Gobble's "Through the Looking Glass" safe & sound tonight when we went to collect two of the other temporary boxes. It was in the exact spot we originally hid it and was well covered. No need for G.G. to be sad any longer- we will be mailing his box to him in the next day or two.
I forgot a few other thank-you's in my first message. We really appreciated the special tea box created by FungusWoman and logged into by the rest of you. A great memento of the weekend!
Many thanks also to mom (Tabby Tales) who brought several handy things to the event. The extra trash receptacles definitely came in handy and the chafing dishes helped rescue some of those hot dogs from becoming total cinders!
Lost & Found Department
Lost: Tiptoe - a pair of reading glasses
Found: Pair of sunglasses with turquoisy-blue upper rims.
Another pair of glasses that I think Leapin'Lizards found
Sharp knife
We're still waiting to hear if Gooble Gobble & Jigsaw did go out for some night boxing....
Wisconsin Hiker & Martini Man
JUNE 5 – Posted by speedsquare
I am thoroughly exhausted still, but I want to extend my gratitude to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man before it gets too late.
I was overwhelmed by everything. I thought I came prepared to take advantage of every aspect of the event. I won't whine that I missed getting all the planted boxes, missed the opportunity to solve the WOM clues, not finding the time to log into the TESS boxes and other strategically located boxes, meeting and exchanging with Every Boxer, not carrying enough water to finish the last leg of the day for another box. And not placing some boxes to increase my Out-of-State p-count.
I will rejoice in the the fact that I was finally able to get to my first Great Lakes gathering. I pushed myself to find and bring the lovely coconuts. My heart was pounding as I walked alone along the unfamiliar trail at 7:30AM (I wasn't supposed to break that rule.) The evening mini-meets felt like family reunions and I didn't feel like an outsider as I thought I might. It felt great to be goofy and know that everyone else understands.
And speaking of love languages, thanks to everyone who complimented me for the Rose Gardeners. You have no idea how that makes me feel.
I saw a few new tricks and products I can't wait to try (ex. smaller ink pads and the felt envelopes!)
Sorry Gooble Gobble, but I'll never be connordinated enough to get your personal traveller(s). Your Alice Through The Looking Glass was my favorite, and my silent boxing partner was ROTHFLHAO when I showed him. He agreed to return to the park to find more boxes with me. Thank You!
I was so pleased to meet my "friends" in person on Saturday, and only wished we had more time to visit. I plan to return once our regular life gets back on track. And I would love to see a gathering come to Indiana or Ohio next year. I am not making any plans to organize one yet, but I will keep it in the back of my mind. I will see who I can recruit around here to help. I'll keep you posted.
I did manage to take 1 photo (and I carried that camera on me all day!). Check the photo album.
Well, I must get some sleep.
speedsquare
JUNE 5 – Posted by Big H Little h
We just wanted to thank you all very much for welcoming us into the world of Letterboxing this past weekend. We were a little aprehensive of
attending an event so early in our Letterboxing career, but I can't tell you how much fun we had. We learned more about this hobby in one day, than we could learn in a year doing it on our own relying on internet FAQ's.
We had a great time pairing up with Sophie & Me + Toenail + Singular Girl.
We also really enjoyed doing some bartering with Drama Mama in regards to some coffee cake and a delicious jar of jam! Little h is tickled that your husband liked the cake, and Big H (me) has already enjoyed a breakfast with your jam.
Oh and I can't finish without thanking Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for making this all possible. Without your efforts and an event like this, we might not have been as hooked to Letterboxing as we are now.
Sincerely,
Big H Little h
JUNE 5 – Posted by Gooble Gobble
Thank you so much Wisconsin Hiker. I can't believe I couldn't find my box. I thought I turned over any and every piece of forest debris that was moveable. What a relief! Please let me know if I can send you money to pay for the return shipment. I have a serious boxing hangover, I'm sad the Gathering was over so soon. I can't wait till next year, hopefully we can get you all to Minnesota. I've started a conversation with RedCat about hosting the event here in MN. Consider this the first formal request to have the Gathering here in 2007. If SpringChick doesn't see this email will someone please let her know.
As far as the night boxing escapade with Jigsaw, it didn't happen. When we drove up to the entrance to the HH site there was a cop who had someone pulled over right in the entrance! We kept driving for a ways to give the nice officer time to finish what he was doing and then went back to give it another try. When we returned the coast was clear so we turned in. I saw a sign that said the park closes at 10 p.m. I know that if you're camping in some parks you can come and go as you please. Since we didn't have a pass for camping we decided to not try it. Last thing I needed on my vacation was a ticket or a tow. As we turned around and left we passed a cop going very slowly by us on the little side street. It appeared someone was having a party at one of the houses and they were probably there to check it out. I'm glad I made the right decision to leave because I know that he saw me pull into the HH site. I have no doubts had we gone in he would have been right behind us. Oh well, what can you do? I was ready to go though, I wanted to get those boxes!!!
Some other reflections on the Gathering. I agree with what Speedsquare said about Fri. and Sat. night. You all do seem like family to me now. When I arrived at the Brewhaus There was no one there yet, I was a little anxious so I got there about 45 mins. early. It was really cool to see faces roll in I had only seen in the pictures section of our Yahoo group. It was very easy to say hello and strike up conversations with anyone, you're all a very nice group of people. I'm glad to be part of such a warm, inviting crew. Even though we all live far apart from each other I feel like you're just down the road and I just might run into you on the trail sometime.
The next gathering I attend I will be doing a few things different. 1. I probably won't teach a workshop, don't get me wrong, teaching the kids to juggle was ALOT of fun. I love to teach people how to juggle I get such a joy from it and I like to try to pass that on to others. 2. I need to box more! I only got 12 of the 40 boxes. Although being my first gathering I had alot of exchanges to do. I wish that I would have made more time to actually get out there and go boxing. I don't regret anything about this weekend, I had such a good time. Thank you again to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for a superb gathering. Thank you to all my new "boxing family" for welcoming me into your circle of fun and friends. I have a feeling that I'll know you all for a very long time.
So, in closing, a little favorite of mine to you all
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again my friend
Until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
I'll see you soon.
Gooble Gobble
JUNE 5 – Posted by jacks
Well, my legs are just starting to recover and the car is finally emptied....
Great food, great company and great boxing was the name of the day. My kids had a wonderful time learning to juggle (thanks Gooble Gobble!!), boxing and basically running around with the other young boxers in attendance. I had a wonderful time seeing old friends, meeting new ones and stamping, stamping, stamping! My husband enjoyed his first gathering playing with the kids, hiking the challenging trails and napping the afternoon away in the shade.
I too want to add my many thanks to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for everything they did to make this gathering the fantastic outing it was. Just reading the clue sheets gives you a hint of how much time and energy they put into this endeavor. They prepared our donated boxes with such care and obvious love for this hobby. I am in awe.
I also can't thank them enough for adding the Project Linus PLB information to not just the web site but the postings preceding the gathering. This box is so near and dear to me and was received with such enthusiasm by this group I was truly touched.
Coming home with all your wonderful log-ins were two huge pieces of fleece, nine skeins of yarn, a bag full of over 40 granny squares, a beautifully quilted blanket by Kimono Girl and Flying Dragon and amazing crocheted blankets by Kiddy Writer and Mrs. Doglvrs. I am truly humbled by this group's generosity. The fleece will be made into blankets for donation by my daughter and I. Any yarn I haven't had a chance to crochet into blankets before the next blanketeer meeting in July will be taken to the meeting and snatched up faster than a new letterbox in northern Illinois. Most will be made into blankets that day. Thank you all once again for your generosity.
I too will be adding pictures to the photo section, including pictures of the wonderful donations made to Project Linus. Thanks again!!!
jacks
JUNE 6 – Posted by Shutterfly
Wow…I can't speak for everyone else (though I have a feeling I am…), but I am still recovering from the weekend! How WI Hiker and Martini Man ever pulled off such a great gathering is beyond me. Thank you guys for putting so much effort into this great event!
It was so fun to finally meet everyone whose stamps I have seen on the trail or in emails. What a great group of people too! I didn't meet anyone during the weekend who wasn't a kind, enthusiastic letterboxer. If you are a newbie reading this, do not hesitate to go to a gathering, you could learn more in one day than you could in a year of solo letterboxing.
I didn't really live up to my name this weekend. I took just under 50 pictures because I was so focused on meeting everyone and getting all those wonderful letterboxes (still didn't quite get them all…man, there were a lot!). I have posted a few of the photos in the 2006 GL Gathering file (click the photo link to the left) and the rest I have posted on my Photobucket page which can be found here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/angi0105/Great%20Lakes%20Gathering%202006/
Be sure to check out the photo of Jigsaw getting his 100th find and Raqs Enigma waltzing with a very drunken man outside our hotel Saturday night...lol. :)
I'd like to thank everyone for getting my letterboxing spirits back up. After losing nearly all my boxes to the WFP people last summer, I was a little anti-letterboxing for a while. Now I can't wait to get back out there! I even have ideas for a few new series of boxes. So come all ye to Rockford! Hopefully we can start replacing all the lost boxes and start building up the area some more.
A huge public thank you must go out to Speedsquare for taking Raqs Enigma and I in for the night on Saturday. She had a hotel room all to herself, but she volunteered to let us stay with her that night and split the cost of the room. This saved us from searching for a room, which I heard were pretty scarce in the area.
A few favorite memories and moments:
* Finding not only Acorn's White Rabbit #1 box Sunday morning, but also WI Hiker and Martini Man behind the same tree, waiting to see if we could find the box for ourselves…lol.
* Secret Agent Mr. E running into the woods to retrieve Alice in Weatherland for us while we were recovering on the "treasure" bench. For that, he has now earned the title of my favorite letterboxer. :)
* Actually making it up the Gut Buster…which I didn't think was as bad as it sounded…though we did stop halfway up to stamp into a hitchhiker, figuring that it was a better time than any to get it out of the way. ;)
* Having lots of people come up to me and (many times) yelling one of my favorite phrases from the SoT series in order to get my personal traveler. To parents with children who may have picked up this phrase…I greatly apologize…lol.
* Searching for Humpty Dumpty in the same spot for over 20 minutes while others started to catch up with us, and then watching Lightchaser casually walk into the woods and find it like it was the easiest task in the world. We did get a good photo (see photo section) at the spot and we got to continue on our journey with some
really great letterboxers.
* Laughing harder than any other part of the day while Jigsaw went over his idea for TFA at Marty's.
* (everyone will be able to relate to this one) Feeling famous for a few minutes when a person would come up and say…so you're Shutterfly? I've always wanted to meet you! Who doesn't feel even the slightest bit special when one of the kids would say, "Mom/Dad…that's [insert your trail name here]!"
* Getting to meet so many wonderful people and find a bunch of great boxes.
And before I end this, I have to ask if anyone else found the clue to the "treasure" on the bench near Alice in Weatherland. We were told about it by Papeseed and Triclops when we met up, but when we found the box we didn't see any other familiar stamps. After stamping in to the box and leaving, Raqs Enigma and I decided that due to the clue placement, we should have boycotted the box completely, but at that moment we were on such a letterboxing high that we would have stamped into anything. And as Raqs said, "hindsight is always 20/20." I do have to wonder what others will think of the hobby when they see the bench and find the letterbox. I almost want to go as far as saying that someone should remove the box (and maybe get some sand paper to erase the message) lest we get a bad reputation as letterboxers for defacing public property.
Well, to end the message on a good note, I can't wait for the next gathering! I hope I will get to meet some of those I missed at this one on the trail or elsewhere. :) I had a blast and I can't thank Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man enough for putting together such a great event and being such great hosts.
Shutterfly (who could still use 24 hours of sleep)
JUNE 6 – Posted by Acorn
A big thank you to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for their indefatigable efforts to give us all a day of fun. The preparation and the communication before the event was top drawer. I couldn't believe WH & MM were there to welcome us as we straggled in late on the day of the gathering. I had a chance to seek a few boxes this morning and was mightly amused by some very clever box placement.
I so enjoyed talking with old friends and new that we did very little boxing on Saturday. I returned this morning but didn't do as many boxes as I wanted—I love to walk in the rain, but I hate to try to keep logbooks dry. I'll be going back on Friday.
White Rabbit #3 is missing from his hidey hole; Oryctolagus cuniculus is a very elusive fellow. 8-< [Note: White Rabbit #3 was later found]
Acorn
JUNE 6 – Posted by BindleBum
Hello. Mr Bindle Babe here, also known as Bindle Bum, of Team Bindlestiff. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped make my wife so happy this weekend. She came home with over a hundred new pictures in her logbook. Man, some of those are REALLY good too!
She gets pretty down when she has one of her exacerbations and can't do much walking. I know she had fun teaching the kids to make logbooks last time, but she was dissapointed not to be able to get out on the trails.
I know she said she spent the money she was saving for my anniversary present and I wouldn't be getting something as nice as she had planned, but seeing her this happy is the greatest gift I could have gotten.
She's off taking my Grandmother to lunch getting her involved at the Sr Center in Traverse today, so don't tell her I sent this, ok?
Thanks again from a happy husband.
Bindle Bum
JUNE 7 – Posted by The Waltzing Pigs
We add our heartfelt thanks to Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man for all their hard work in hosting an awesome gathering!! We truly appreciated their organization, the Web site, the clever clues and hiding spots, the post event pizza party, etc. Thank you to everyone who carved such great stamps--they are definitely works of art. The Traveling Event Stamp Showcase stamps were a delight as well. I knew that IL had some great carvers--I can't wait until we go to Michigan this summer to see some more of the great Michigan carvers.
I couldn't convince my not-as-obsessed family to come back on Sunday to look for more stamps. Even so, I logged in 70+ stamps between letterboxes, all those event stamps, and exchanges. No wonder my ink pads were drying up! Even though I would have liked to hunt more boxes on Sunday, it was nice to put our feet up at our campsite and start recovering from all of Saturday's hiking and other busyness. Since so many of the boxes are permanent, we'll just have to make another trip up to Wisconsin.
I really enjoyed meeting so many fellow letterboxers--putting faces to postings or to stamps I've seen in logbooks. I couldn't believe(well, really I could) how pleasant everyone was and how easy people were to talk to. Boxers are a great group of people. I wish we could have stayed longer at the post event pizza party--I know there were some people we didn't have a chance to meet--but our camp site was half an hour away and we didn't want to get locked out (in case the DNR were overly punctual about closing the gates). We got back with a little bit of time to spare and crawled into our tent for a good night's sleep.
The best part of the event for me was meeting so many people--and logging my 200th find! The last box of the day was #200, which I didn't realize until Monday. The kid's hightlight--in a morbid sense--was stumbling upon a severed deer head on the path on the way to White Rabbit #3. To each his own. Can't wait until the next
gathering!!
BirdWoman/Waltzing Pigs
JUNE 7 – Posted by Tiptoe & Tonto
We too are relishing and recuperating from the gathering....and replacing all the things Tiptoe lost...too bad we didn't win the BINGO booty, we could use it! As for the fascinating "fawn head" - we saw it as well, but with a twist. As we were approaching that area, we spooked a "four-legged coyote" by the kill and it ran off into the fields to the south. This was the first time we'd ever seen a coyote while letterboxing, but the twist is that we were boxing with the "two-legged howling coyote" who calmly claimed that she sees a coyote just about every time she's out boxing!
We ran her ragged around that park in order to keep her pre-occupied from thinking about biting our heads off! We reminded her that she now gets to go into the T&T Hall of Fame for surviving a letterboxing outing with Tiptoe & Tonto....Dragon also qualifies for bravely accompanying us in the morning round!
Speaking of Dragon, he did it again this gathering by coming up with the most clever "Drink Me" box...We still are talking about his "Mo'Mustang" box from the 2005 gathering..What will he think of next?
A big thanks to all you incredible GLK carvers - the quality is reaching an all-time artistic high. You can stand proud in the world of letterboxing!
Oh, and before we forget,to whomever made that incredible log book for the Great Lakes Traveling showcase...WOW, Awesome, You the Girl! You are the best!...Need we go on? Is that enough words of
affirmation? Ruff..Ruff!
We echo the kudos lavished on Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man - you two are incredible! Thanks just doesn't do your deeds justice, but will have to suffice until we can come up with a way to crown you the Letterboxing King and Queen of Gatherings! If we're not mistaken, that would make Tabby Tales the Queen Mother of Letterboxing. Right?
It was a pleasure seeing former boxing mates and meeting new ones!
A great way to kick off the letterboxing season!
Be safe & box responsibly!
Tiptoe & Tonto
