Things We're Thankful For Box Clues
These
are the boxes that the Sprite & the Highlander placed for the gathering,
but not all of them belong to us (creators are in parentheses). All those boxes
that were meant to disappear in a month are now gone…this is the PERMANENT
list!
Thankful at Royalton Ravine Series
(19 boxes)
Begin by heading to Royalton
Ravine Park for this whole series. Once you get there, park and walk west into
the park itself on the gravel road toward the pond.
1. Once you get near the
pond, enter the woods near the memorial to young Renee. From the first tree on
the right, take about 20 steps. Look under the roots of the large tree on your
right for Migration (The Sprite & The Highlander).
2. Leave the woods the way you
came in and head west straight back until you reach the bench and treeline at
the back of the park, (almost directly west of where you parked). Two paths
enter the woods...take the one to the right of the bench. Only a few paces in
will get you to twin sister trees with a red mark. Head north to the mass of
upturned tree roots. Look between the pair of trees just in front of it under
the bark with the rock on top for our favorite little winged one, Petra (The Sprite & The Highlander).
3. Get back on the path (marked
with red trees) and keep heading the same direction you were going until you
reach a T in the path. Two fallen logs lay in front of you. Check where they
meet for our Family Tree (The I.A.P.)
4 & 5. Continue to the right
on the path (still marked with mostly red paint on trees) until you find the
arboreal monument to SH & NN '98 a little off the path to the right. Check
the roots under a large rock for some of our favorite Seasons
(The Sprite & The Highlander). Before you leave, step to the left
into the little dip in the ground where Seasons is hidden and look back south.
Take 13 steps to the larger tree in front of you and check its roots, too for
what Bear was thankful for this year...Halloween
(Bear).
6. Continue in
the direction you were heading originally on the path. At the "T",
head left and curve down into the ravine using what we're liberally terming
"steps"...take extra care if it's muddy! 25 paces past the tree with
the blue arrow pointing down and up the trial, you'll see two logs on the
ground. Look in the hole of the one closest to the ravine for what the Sprite
is most thankful for, Love O' The Irish (The Sprite
and the Highlander).
7. Continue down
into the S-curve of exposed roots and wood ties that serve as the path, keeping
the ravine on your right. until you get to the bridge. Go past the bridge about
20 paces to the fallen log on the right. Check its roots to find Mare Bear (Mare Bear with Auntie Sprite!), the
creator of Halloween. This was her second personal stamp creating attempt, so
we decided to make it a Thankful box (other nieces are further on!)
8. Cross the
bridge and turn left. You'll cross over the fallen tree and pass a tangle of
thick vines before you reach another fallen log whose roots stick out on the
right side of you. Follow this log back to the tree standing upright near it.
Look in the curve of the large root of this tree for Good
Books (The Sprite & The Highlander).
Note: All boxes from
this point will take you in a loop back to this general area, which will
require you to essentially mudslide down the hill to your right or backtrack
the way you came, so keep your bearings!
9. Our oldest
niece Meghan loves reading, so it made sense to keep her close to Good Books.
Unfortunately, this is where you need to have those boots and pants you don't
care about. This area is low lying, so it has some puddles and some mud (but
let's face it, you're a letterboxer and you LIVE for this stuff!). The path is
a little obscured here because of the leaves and puddles, but try to follow the
faint tire ruts on the ground to the west, keeping the water to your left.
We've also marked a few trees with the letters "LB" so you'll know
you're going the right way. At some point, you'll see these tire ruts heading
uphill and you should follow. You'll know you're in the right place when you
start to see pale blue marks on the trees to your left. Head uphill to the 3rd
blue tree (larger than the first blue trees), which has a twin just behind it
about the same size. Look between these two for Meg
(The Sprite & The Highlander), who is NOT about silly trailnames!
10. Climb to the top of the hill
to find a tree with a base wider than its trunk on the left. Put your back to
it, then head 300 degrees for 16 paces to the fallen log. Check under it closer
to the roots for our middle niece (and synchronized swimming champ), the Beeler (The Sprite and the Highlander).
11. Keep
heading up the path and maneuver around the first of a few large puddles. Just
past this puddle on the left is a tree with the letters "FORME" spray
painted on the trunk. With this tree at your back, look west (270 degrees) for
triplets of the same variety of tree. They almost form a little chair and right
in the seat is where you'll find Friends (The Sprite
& the Highlander).
12. Continue on
the path, which should get a little rocky after a while. Once it does, the path
splits very slightly to curve to the left. As you go around, step off the path
about 3 paces from the middle of the curve to see the ravine below. For a cold
bath, jump down into the ravine, but for Hot Baths
(The Sprite & the Highlander), look under the mossy flat rock by 3
saplings bunched together.
13. Follow the
path back to the main path (barely 4 steps away) until it splits off again,
this time in a much more obvious way. Take the one that bears left (heading a
bit more straight than the one to the right). You'll come across the foundation
for an old house. Right inside the corner closest to you, look under the leaves
and wood for Anime Babes (to make him think the
wrong thing!) (The Sprite & the Highlander).
14. Just across
the path toward the ravine from Anime Babes is a mossy rock wall. Check under a
large flat rock near the top for the Sprite's hairdresser and new best friend, Ivy (The Sprite & the Highlander).
15. Take the path
that crosses in front of the stone house. Bear left away and head down, then up
a little incline. On your left off the path is a HUGE tree. Check the flat rock
at its base for National Public Radio (The Sprite
& the Highlander).
Unfortunately,
there WERE 4 other boxes out here that have been stolen. Only one was recovered
and should soon be back out on the trail. So from here, you'll need
head straight to the white bucket on the ground at the bottom of the little
incline near you. At this point, you can
shortcut to the beginning. You can head toward the LB on the tree on the slight
incline near you and head across the woods. You'll follow the painted marks on
the trees until you get to the hill overlooking the ravine again (bridge is
below and to the left). However, taking this path means basically sitting on
the steep incline and crab walking/sliding down (not a great plan with VERY
little ones, but we adults and big kids kinda had fun!). Slide at your OWN
RISK...we don't want anyone to misunderstand the potential danger, so check the
hill out first...you will NOT be able to stand up and walk down it unless you
walk down sideways and cut diagonally down the hillside, NOT straight down.
The other option is to back track
the way you came by turning back toward the NPR tree, heading back to the stone
house and going left back down the hill the way you came up. Either way, you
want to make it back to the bridge, back up the ravine on the opposite side,
turn right at the top and head straight out of the woods following the red
trees.
Thankful For Donations
Series (6 boxes) (last update on 8/21/05)
These boxes are at
Rotary Park in Middleport, NY. It's behind the Holy Cross Lutheran Church on
Route 31 (actual address for the church is 133 Telegraph Road, Middleport, NY
Heading West to
Lockport, Tonawanda & Niagara Falls: Keeping Up the PACE, Lockport Air Sprite, Squirrel's Treat, Lonesome Train, Drew the Cary Tree, Fishin' Woes, Erie Passage, BOND-ing Time, Goat Island, Love Canal--Toxin #4 Mystery, Food Lion
Heading East to Medina, Albion, Holley & Brockport: Sprilander Hitchhiker Hostel, Choo Choo Ch'Boogie, The Letterbook, Medina Water Sprite, Culvert Earth Sprite, Mt. Albion, Mr. Bojangles, Box of Rain, Towpath, Diaz Chemical (Toxin #3), Fuschia Fish, Golden Eagle, Amanda's Gold
Heading South/Southwest to Alabama, Oakfield, Bergen, Elba & Batavia: Highlander Series (Iroquois Goose & Tonawanda Widgeon), Lancer, Onion At Home, Woodland Flower Sprite, Oak Orchard Black Duck, Bergen Swamp Series, Northern Confederate, Little Ruth's LB, Still Standing, Richland Memorial
Heading North to (and along) Lake Ontario: OOOTL, Picnic Place, Jolly Roger, Point Breeze, Braddock Duck, Oak of 1812
Heading Southeast to Buffalo: Faith, Hope & Patience, Buffalo Wings, Sinking Ponds, Eternal Flame, Every Day Is Earth Day
Mystery Boxes: Check Western NY region on the LBNA
site for these!
Personal Travelers
Sprite & the
Highlander: Ask them if they have theirs and they'll give it to you, no special
words or anything! You also might want to mention "merrymaking" to
receive An American Haggis!