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| Don't touch the exhibits!! |
On February 8, 2013 two brave girls went out in search of adventure and Letterboxes! What they found changed the course of history and the two became obsessed with the hobby of letterboxing.
On this historic day our brave adventures Courtney Birkes and Tina Shaffer set out into the world in search of Letterboxes. What is a letterbox you ask? A letterbox is a wonderful little box hidden in a special place. These places can be found only by following the clues provided in hours of online research. Once a clue is hand its is followed to the Letterboxes location. The contents of a letterbox is simple, inside there is a log book and a stamp. With these valuable little objects one is compelled to make an impression of the stamp in their own personal log book and vise versa with their own stamp. Thus leaving their mark for the centuries. Repacking and replacing the letterbox is crucial for the continuation of this age old tradition dating back to 1854. Tina and Courtney's lifelong obsession with Letterboxes began on a sunny but cool, Friday morning in beautiful Colorado Springs Colorado. Precisely at ten fifteen not a minute later the two excitedly hopped into Courtney's trusty Subaru wagon and went to the closest location of a letterbox. The East Library. A place both girls have been familiar with since childhood. Tina got her first library card at this very library. (Ahem - so did Courtney) Courtney and Tina have both spent countless hours and days wandering through the isles finding many wonderful and not so wonderful books to read. Neither girl ever suspected there was a hidden box in their favorite library. Entering the library the smell of books encapsulated them both with its delicious aroma. Knowing the library like the back of their hands the girl quickly located the isle and the location the precious box was hidden, as Courtney kneeled down to unearth the box a kind old lady said a friendly hello to them. Courtney paused not wishing to reveal this super secret location to her and though the anticipation was killing the girls they paused and were patient. Both knowing the people you meet and experience you have is far more important than the stamp in the box. A pleasant conversation of mystery books, spooky locations, and local murders bloomed before them. Wisdom gained and knowledge exchanged this kind old lady wished both girls "happy reading" and went on her way to another isle.
Once the coast was clear, Courtney slid a few books out of the way and reached under the shelf. Tina waited on baited breath and then Courtney smiled full of excitement as she produced the valued box. Their first letterbox! Oh the moment was packed with excitement and victory and smiles. They hurried to acquire a table and as Tina set forth on setting up their stamp notebook Courtney dove into the magnetic Altoids tin. Both girls marveled at the stamps of those who came before them. Excitedly they ripped and tore into their brand new ink pads, discarding the plastic cellophane and choosing the pink ink pad they quickly readied their stamp. Their stamp was hand carved by the talented Courtney and fit the girls perfectly. a cute sheep with a bow-tie representing Tina's love for sheep and Courtney's love for the television show Doctor Who? Tina did the honors of stamping their sheep stamp into the Letterboxes logbook while Courtney wrote their handle "sheep doctor" in the little logbook, the date, and noted it was their first box. As she did this Tina was busy stamping the Letterboxes stamp into their fresh new logbook and writing the date and location of the capture. Courtney attended to the little Letterboxes logbook as its string had come unknotted. Then with all the care possible Courtney packed up the little box. Tina and Courtney both cleaned up their table gathering the plastic and making sure to pack all their stuff back in the blue bag.
Together they hurried out of the library exiting through the revolving door and into the sunshine. It was time to change from the heavy coat to the hoodie declared Tina. While Courtney spoke of the history of the blue bag. This pretty bag was sewn by one of the three most amazing seamstresses in all of Colorado, and all around wonderful mother in law to Courtney, Arlette. Sewn from magic fabric with impossible interior depths this bag had been to many concerts and now would become a vital (if not heavy) addition to their letterboxing kit. Tina got the honor of lugging this bag throughout their adventure(Because Courtney was driving! If Tina had been driving, Courtney would have done it.). Coat exchanged for a hoodie, Tina jumped into the car. Both girls celebrated their victory with much excitement. And Courtney dove into the bag and pulled out the Animalia book she had designated as their clue book. This book was so perfect for being their clue book as the book itself contained its own mystery deep in its pages. They read of the next clues location Woodland Park, Colorado.
Courtney drove and pointed out other possible letterbox locations on their way, gaining ever closer to their destination. She drove the winding twisting road that leads to Woodland Park as cool as a cucumber. The drive was indeed beautiful and the scare of the Waldo Canyon fire still visible adding balance to the view before them.
They pulled into the parking lot of the Dinosaur Research Center.
They picked a close parking space but being unsure of the space for it looked like it wasn't a space, or was a space, perhaps that particular space couldn't make up its mind if it truly wanted to be a parking space. Either way Courtney moved the car to a space that clearly said I'm a parking space please park here. Courtney got out of the car and joined Tina. Together their clue book in hand they followed the clues to the three conifer trees. The far right one held tight to its secrets. Fighting and scratching Tina as she tried to gain the secret of this tree. After a brief fight Tina came out with many scratches on her arm and the letterbox! Treasure in hand they went to a nearby picnic table in the shade. They started to unpack their kit and then Tina shivering from the cool shade and the cool breeze requested to move to the sunny picnic table. Courtney agreed and they hustled over to the sunnier table. Parking their butts on the bench and spreading out their tools of the trade. They poured over the log book oohing and ahhing over the books history and the awesome hand carved stamp. This amazing stamp was recorded in their stamp book and they left their mark/stamp in blue ink. The sheep doctor was in da house! Repacking the letterbox into its weather proof pouch and repacking the magical blue bag. The duty of returning the box fell upon Tina. Another struggle of tree branches and arms a few ouches and grunts and a groan or two and the pouch was safety hidden under the rocks at the base of the tree. Deed done.
The blue bag was returned to the car then Courtney and Tina entered the dinosaur museum. Tina having been through such a trial to secure the letterbox and replace it under that mean tree needed desperately to go to the bathroom. A little while later she returned feeling refreshed. Courtney bought their tickets, they each got their hand stamped with a dinosaur and into the dinosaur museum they did go. The magnificent beasts were on display in their finest bony structures. Hanging over head and in nooks and crannies there was history as far the eye could see. Literature to read and facts to be learned and most likely forgotten. They wandered all over the place. Courtney being quite the shutterbug took many pictures of everything they saw.
She even gained special access to go beyond the rope and take a picture of a dinosaurs head.
Tina turn out to be quite a ham and posed for many silly and not so silly pictures. She even caught the shutterbug herself and took some pictures on her cell phone.
The experience was truly wonderful, they met many nice tour guides and saw a great many neat artifacts from the age of the dinosaurs. All too soon the museum ran out of artifacts and the girls found themselves tooling around the gift shop. Seeing a lot of fun and nifty items they both decided there was only one souvenir worth bringing home from their time at the Dinosaur Research Center. A squish penny. These clever little penny machines are in all the best gift shops. For fifty one cents you receive a penny squished flat with a design representing the location on its now flattened surface. Tina got the triceratops one and Courtney picked out a different dinosaur(It was a Pachycephalosaurus!) for her squish penny. On their way out the door they spied a rack of brochures for other Colorado locations and a free map of Colorado which Tina thought and Courtney agreed would be a perfect addition to their blue bag. They returned to their trusty Subaru and plotted their next stop. The clue of the Green Mountain Falls, Monster in the Mountains stamp. Besides, it was on their drive back to Colorado Springs.
They didn't have to drive far and they turned off the main road and into the quiet sleepy little town of Green Mountain Falls home to the "no parking here hiking only" signs. There must have been dozens of these signs all over the place. Happily the Monster in the Mountain letterbox could be acquired by a drive by. The first drive by stamping! Lol. They turned onto to Belvidere Ave and drove with caution down this quiet road. Supposedly it was to be a dead end road yet it kept going. They found a big yellow sign reading 'narrow road drive with caution' poised by a bend in the road. Courtney though a fearless driver in many situations felt no comfort here.(No I'm not! Everything scares me when it comes to driving!) She turned around and they headed back. Tina was OK with that but not OK with passing up this stamp. So they compromised parking the Subaru by the Marshals office and decided to hoof it to the letterbox. That road was probably near its end anyways. How long could 0.7 miles be?
Together they hiked past quaint log cabins a pretty little A-frame house and a barking labradoodle. They saw pretty and amusing lawn art and a sign warning about bears in the area. They walked and walked talked and walked some more. They thought for sure just past those yellow narrow street signs the letterbox would be. They made it to the yellow street sign and into uncharted territory. Neither girl had ever been here before. The road continued on and on. For a dead end road it sure was long. And with each step they both began to realize they were not as young as they once were. They need to exercise more possible train for this kind of torture. Courtney said her back hurt and her foot hurt. Tina complained that her legs hurt. Both girls decided to return to the car. At least the walk back was downhill. Made it easier.(We wouldn't have seen some of the cute ornaments if we hadn't taken this extra step and hiked it.) Courtney said she wanted to quit she could leave the stamp. Tina on the other hand said the road couldn't be that far from its end now that we scouted it out and know its drivable let's go get the stamp! Courtney said fine but if there's a hike to the stamp your on your own. Finally back at the car both girls sat and drank water and tea and then Courtney loaded Tina up with all the supplies she'd need to go after that elusive mountain monster box. Her pockets full and nearly bursting Tina readied herself for the task of jumping out of the car when the time was right.
Courtney drove down the road past the yellow road signs past the point they had stopped and turned around and further still. For a dead end road it certainly went on forever. Surely it had to have an end? Right? Tina joked about a pine tree way up on a very high hill. "with our lucky that tree way up there is the tree we need." suddenly they were out of road. They'd found the end of the road but where was that pine tree with the broken fence? Could that be it? Yes! Hallelujah! Right outside the passenger side window was just the tree and a fence they'd been searching for. Tina leapt from the car took four steps and under a rock found the letterbox and jumped back in the car. Box in hand victory was short lived.
They couldn't park the car to do their stamping. I should point out to you that both of our brave fearless girls have one terrible flaw, both get motion sick when reading in the car. And since Courtney was driving and trying to drive as slow as possible poor Tina had to do the stamping. Fighting off waves of nausea and motion sickness. Tina was a trooper stamping and writing and repackaging the letterbox. Courtney turned the car around and back to the end of the road they did go. Tina got out of the car a bit more slowly because motion sickness can take the wind out of your sails. She replaced the box hid it well and climbed back into the car. "Yay we did it! We got the stamp!" The girls celebrated with a fist bump and said "now onto the next." If you've ever watched Ghost Hunters you will know that Jason and Grant at the end of their show while driving away from the location give each other a fist bump and say on to the next. Courtney and Tina's victory fist bump was born in that moment. However, the next stamp had to wait until after lunch both girls were famished from the hike through Green Mountain Falls and all that came before it. They were down right starved. And it should be noted that Arby's never tasted so good! Yup they had Arby's for lunch. One Arby's cheddar melt without the bun and one with the bun and fries. Yum yum.
After lunch they returned to the car and opened up their clue book. They had time for just one more letterbox. The Evergreen Cemetery. Yup. Letterboxes can be found in cemeteries. Not Tina's favorite place to go. She finds them terribly creepy. Courtney on the other hand loves cemeteries! She loves the history and the names on the stones and the dates and the monuments. They drove to the cemetery taking a wrong turn along the way and back tracking some but finally arriving in the glow of the late afternoon sun. They pulled into the main office parking lot and Tina hopped out and secured them a map. Together they navigated the way to the location of the letterbox. This cemetery didn't look so big from the road but once inside it yawned out across the landscape. Area 46 was where the box was hidden. There is a monument constructed in that quiet quadrant overlooking a fantastic view. This monument honors pioneers who came to Colorado Springs and their graves which dot the hillside.
Following their clue book they found the tree where the box was hidden at its base. Tina being cold from the blowing wind and creeped out from the cemetery itself wanted to go back and sit in the car. Courtney who was happily taking pictures and saying friendly hellos to the deceased unlocked the car door and Tina got in on the drivers side. Shortly after Courtney joined Tina in the car she just had to see the stamp. The letterbox itself was a pill bottle wrapped in duct tape and kept in a plastic bag. The stamp was a wagon! Very cool. Repacking the letterbox Tina carefully returned it to its hiding place. Courtney on the other hand, continued to make her acquaintance with the deceased. Together they roamed the area taking in the sights and the view before getting back in the car.
Just as the girls were getting ready to leave this place of stamps and monuments another car pulled up. Two women with three kids got out of the grey cat. (lol did u spot the typo?) Could they be Letterboxers? Hmm, Courtney and Tina waited and watched spying on them. Yes! They went right to the tree and pulled out the letterbox. They did their stamping. Courtney wanted to run over and say hello. Tina wished to wait and watch. So they waited and watched. Both women seemed to complete the stamping in record time and got themselves and their kids loaded in the car and on their way they went. Perhaps they weren't fans of cemeteries. They did seem very organized unlike Courtney and Tina who had't quite gotten the knack of the blue bag and all their gear. Still it was neat to see others out there enjoying the same rewarding hobby.
Courtney started up the car but they didn't get far. She had to go see more graves. She was off like a shot going to grave to grave saying friendly hello's and reading names. She found Mary A. Blood.
And she found a Bessie. "How often do you see a Bessie?" she asked Tina who had to admit the name was quite rare. However, Tina had a very different approach to cemeteries. She tip toes over graves apologizing profoundly for stepping on the deceased and tries to take as few steps as possible. Courtney couldn't figure out Tina's behavior "cemeteries are so beautiful and calming, we want them to remember they won't be forgotten." Tina's reply is simple "that's fine but I feel I'm being watched and I rarely go to cemeteries. They're just not places I'm suppose to be in." regardless of Tina's view Courtney found many more places to stop and many more deceased to visit. Tina found a squirrel on a tombstone. She also snacked some. When Tina gets hungry she must snack. Courtney says Tina's like a goldfish must be fed every ten minutes. As the afternoon wore on to early evening the girls, one reluctant to leave the other more then ready, got into the car and navigated their way out of the cemetery.
Upon leaving they did their victory fist bump saying on to the next. But the next would have to wait for another day. It was time for these two happy adventures to head home. And that's just what they did!
Once the coast was clear, Courtney slid a few books out of the way and reached under the shelf. Tina waited on baited breath and then Courtney smiled full of excitement as she produced the valued box. Their first letterbox! Oh the moment was packed with excitement and victory and smiles. They hurried to acquire a table and as Tina set forth on setting up their stamp notebook Courtney dove into the magnetic Altoids tin. Both girls marveled at the stamps of those who came before them. Excitedly they ripped and tore into their brand new ink pads, discarding the plastic cellophane and choosing the pink ink pad they quickly readied their stamp. Their stamp was hand carved by the talented Courtney and fit the girls perfectly. a cute sheep with a bow-tie representing Tina's love for sheep and Courtney's love for the television show Doctor Who? Tina did the honors of stamping their sheep stamp into the Letterboxes logbook while Courtney wrote their handle "sheep doctor" in the little logbook, the date, and noted it was their first box. As she did this Tina was busy stamping the Letterboxes stamp into their fresh new logbook and writing the date and location of the capture. Courtney attended to the little Letterboxes logbook as its string had come unknotted. Then with all the care possible Courtney packed up the little box. Tina and Courtney both cleaned up their table gathering the plastic and making sure to pack all their stuff back in the blue bag.
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| Bag is quite heavy when full |
Courtney drove and pointed out other possible letterbox locations on their way, gaining ever closer to their destination. She drove the winding twisting road that leads to Woodland Park as cool as a cucumber. The drive was indeed beautiful and the scare of the Waldo Canyon fire still visible adding balance to the view before them.
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| Picture of the burn scar - taken not too long after the fire was finally put out by our brave firefighters. |
They pulled into the parking lot of the Dinosaur Research Center.
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| Do dinosaurs eat snow? |
The blue bag was returned to the car then Courtney and Tina entered the dinosaur museum. Tina having been through such a trial to secure the letterbox and replace it under that mean tree needed desperately to go to the bathroom. A little while later she returned feeling refreshed. Courtney bought their tickets, they each got their hand stamped with a dinosaur and into the dinosaur museum they did go. The magnificent beasts were on display in their finest bony structures. Hanging over head and in nooks and crannies there was history as far the eye could see. Literature to read and facts to be learned and most likely forgotten. They wandered all over the place. Courtney being quite the shutterbug took many pictures of everything they saw.
She even gained special access to go beyond the rope and take a picture of a dinosaurs head.
 |
| Here's the head! I'll have a whole post with more pictures. |
The experience was truly wonderful, they met many nice tour guides and saw a great many neat artifacts from the age of the dinosaurs. All too soon the museum ran out of artifacts and the girls found themselves tooling around the gift shop. Seeing a lot of fun and nifty items they both decided there was only one souvenir worth bringing home from their time at the Dinosaur Research Center. A squish penny. These clever little penny machines are in all the best gift shops. For fifty one cents you receive a penny squished flat with a design representing the location on its now flattened surface. Tina got the triceratops one and Courtney picked out a different dinosaur(It was a Pachycephalosaurus!) for her squish penny. On their way out the door they spied a rack of brochures for other Colorado locations and a free map of Colorado which Tina thought and Courtney agreed would be a perfect addition to their blue bag. They returned to their trusty Subaru and plotted their next stop. The clue of the Green Mountain Falls, Monster in the Mountains stamp. Besides, it was on their drive back to Colorado Springs.
They didn't have to drive far and they turned off the main road and into the quiet sleepy little town of Green Mountain Falls home to the "no parking here hiking only" signs. There must have been dozens of these signs all over the place. Happily the Monster in the Mountain letterbox could be acquired by a drive by. The first drive by stamping! Lol. They turned onto to Belvidere Ave and drove with caution down this quiet road. Supposedly it was to be a dead end road yet it kept going. They found a big yellow sign reading 'narrow road drive with caution' poised by a bend in the road. Courtney though a fearless driver in many situations felt no comfort here.(No I'm not! Everything scares me when it comes to driving!) She turned around and they headed back. Tina was OK with that but not OK with passing up this stamp. So they compromised parking the Subaru by the Marshals office and decided to hoof it to the letterbox. That road was probably near its end anyways. How long could 0.7 miles be?
Together they hiked past quaint log cabins a pretty little A-frame house and a barking labradoodle. They saw pretty and amusing lawn art and a sign warning about bears in the area. They walked and walked talked and walked some more. They thought for sure just past those yellow narrow street signs the letterbox would be. They made it to the yellow street sign and into uncharted territory. Neither girl had ever been here before. The road continued on and on. For a dead end road it sure was long. And with each step they both began to realize they were not as young as they once were. They need to exercise more possible train for this kind of torture. Courtney said her back hurt and her foot hurt. Tina complained that her legs hurt. Both girls decided to return to the car. At least the walk back was downhill. Made it easier.(We wouldn't have seen some of the cute ornaments if we hadn't taken this extra step and hiked it.) Courtney said she wanted to quit she could leave the stamp. Tina on the other hand said the road couldn't be that far from its end now that we scouted it out and know its drivable let's go get the stamp! Courtney said fine but if there's a hike to the stamp your on your own. Finally back at the car both girls sat and drank water and tea and then Courtney loaded Tina up with all the supplies she'd need to go after that elusive mountain monster box. Her pockets full and nearly bursting Tina readied herself for the task of jumping out of the car when the time was right.
Courtney drove down the road past the yellow road signs past the point they had stopped and turned around and further still. For a dead end road it certainly went on forever. Surely it had to have an end? Right? Tina joked about a pine tree way up on a very high hill. "with our lucky that tree way up there is the tree we need." suddenly they were out of road. They'd found the end of the road but where was that pine tree with the broken fence? Could that be it? Yes! Hallelujah! Right outside the passenger side window was just the tree and a fence they'd been searching for. Tina leapt from the car took four steps and under a rock found the letterbox and jumped back in the car. Box in hand victory was short lived.
They couldn't park the car to do their stamping. I should point out to you that both of our brave fearless girls have one terrible flaw, both get motion sick when reading in the car. And since Courtney was driving and trying to drive as slow as possible poor Tina had to do the stamping. Fighting off waves of nausea and motion sickness. Tina was a trooper stamping and writing and repackaging the letterbox. Courtney turned the car around and back to the end of the road they did go. Tina got out of the car a bit more slowly because motion sickness can take the wind out of your sails. She replaced the box hid it well and climbed back into the car. "Yay we did it! We got the stamp!" The girls celebrated with a fist bump and said "now onto the next." If you've ever watched Ghost Hunters you will know that Jason and Grant at the end of their show while driving away from the location give each other a fist bump and say on to the next. Courtney and Tina's victory fist bump was born in that moment. However, the next stamp had to wait until after lunch both girls were famished from the hike through Green Mountain Falls and all that came before it. They were down right starved. And it should be noted that Arby's never tasted so good! Yup they had Arby's for lunch. One Arby's cheddar melt without the bun and one with the bun and fries. Yum yum.
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| Quite a view! |
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| To the pioneers of Colorado Springs. |
Just as the girls were getting ready to leave this place of stamps and monuments another car pulled up. Two women with three kids got out of the grey cat. (lol did u spot the typo?) Could they be Letterboxers? Hmm, Courtney and Tina waited and watched spying on them. Yes! They went right to the tree and pulled out the letterbox. They did their stamping. Courtney wanted to run over and say hello. Tina wished to wait and watch. So they waited and watched. Both women seemed to complete the stamping in record time and got themselves and their kids loaded in the car and on their way they went. Perhaps they weren't fans of cemeteries. They did seem very organized unlike Courtney and Tina who had't quite gotten the knack of the blue bag and all their gear. Still it was neat to see others out there enjoying the same rewarding hobby.
Courtney started up the car but they didn't get far. She had to go see more graves. She was off like a shot going to grave to grave saying friendly hello's and reading names. She found Mary A. Blood.
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| Yup - I did! |
Upon leaving they did their victory fist bump saying on to the next. But the next would have to wait for another day. It was time for these two happy adventures to head home. And that's just what they did!
How exciting!
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