WNY’s Lazy Summer 2011 Box Clues
There are three basic areas to find all these
boxes, but they all can be accessed from the main path (straight back from the
road, past the pond, and into the woods by the 18 Mile Creek sign). The first set
starts there, then the second and third sets start just above the ravine on the
blue and yellow paths. If you have the stamina, we recommend doing these in the
order you see them listed. If not (or you come back for these at a later time),
we’ve listed ways to get back to the shelter or the other box sets in the park.
Also, to make life a little easier, all the boxes are ABOVE the ravine. You can definitely go down into the ravine and if you go back up the other side, there’s the old foundation of Belva Lockwood’s home, as well as a beautiful little hidden falls. However, we do NOT recommend going too much further, as we actually DID find a giant hogweed plant on the side of one of the paths. The DEC has been notified, and we didn’t see any on the trails we’ve chosen, but familiarize yourself with this plant before heading out, as touching it can cause SERIOUS medical issues.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, all these boxes are permanent
placements, so don’t worry if you can’t get them all in one weekend…you’ve got
the rest of your life (or until the muggles find
them, whichever comes first!) The box donators’ trailnames
are listed in parentheses right next to them, so be sure to thank these kind
souls for providing you with this summer’s entertainment.
Thankful at Royalton Ravine Series (1 box)
Although there are still a few of these available at the pavilion during this event, this is the only box still planted from the original series at our first gathering. On your way to the main path, you’ll be walking west on the gravel road toward the pond. Once you get near the pond, enter the woods on your right 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).
Sprite’s Leisurely Dilemma Series (10 Boxes)
Note
to early birds: The containers are currently in place for this series, but the
stamps will be added by Saturday morning. These boxes were carved by the Sprite and planted with the
help of BfloAnonChick. The containers are all snack sized Ziploc bags
reinforced with duct tape, except the last one (which is a camo painted Lock
& Lock). The logbook for the series is in the final box, so don’t look for
them in the first 9. Start by heading 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,
which now has a sign about the 18 Mile Creek Watershed. Stop at this sign for a
moment to listen to the sad tale of how the Sprite tried to find ways to relax
this summer:
At the end of her school year and a ton of
other July stuff, August finally came, giving the Sprite time to relax. First,
she sacked out in her…
1. Bean Bag Chair (The Sprite & the
Highlander)—Look
behind the left leg of the 18 Mile Creek Watershed sign.
…but
it was too low to the ground to get comfy in. She decided instead to take over
the Highlander’s…
2.
Big
Comfy Chair (The Sprite & the Highlander)—Continue down the path into the woods. At
the first bend, look to the right about 4 steps to see a big tree with a
diamond tacked to it. Behind it are two relatively smaller trees. Look under a
rock at the base of the tree for this stamp.
…but
since he was still working during the day, she finally had to relinquish this
chair to him as well when he came home. She decided instead to hop into the…
3.
Bathtub
(The Sprite & the Highlander)—Follow the path again until you see a tree
to the right with a giant crevice in it. You’ll want to check the tree BEHIND
it with and under the rock at the base.
Unfortunately,
this wasn’t one of those delightful claw footed jobs, so she could get as
comfortable as she wanted. She’d had offers all summer from a friend to come to
the pool and float on a…
4. Inflatable Water Raft (The Sprite & the
Highlander)—Continue
on the path until it makes a T, then head to the right. Note the large stone on
the right, not too far onto this path. Take twelve steps from that stone and
you should now see a fallen tree on the right that points back toward a twin
trunked tree. Walk back and look between the trunks.
…but
the idea of having to wash chlorine out of her hair was more hassle than it was
worth. Even just sitting in a…
5. Deck Chair (The Sprite & the
Highlander)—Return
to the path you just left and keep following it to the GIANT tree that you
can’t miss right in the path. Check around behind it in the roots under a lot
of leaves, bark and another rock (This one REALLY needs stealth when you find
it and EXCELLENT recovery skills to put it back. Make sure there’s enough
covering this and that it looks as natural as it can when you leave!).
…beside
the pool is no fun when you have really dark skin that skips the sunburn phase
and goes STRAIGHT to heat rash. Plus, the Sprite had a nagging feeling that she
was forgetting something very important in August. About that time,
BfloAnonChick called on the…
6.
Rotary
Phone (Sojourner)—Continue on this path until you dead end at the intersection
of a few more paths. (Note: This intersection also where you’ll start for
both the WNY’s Lazy Summer Essentials and Lazy Summer Donations series)
Stand in the middle of this intersection, then look back over your right
shoulder. Right next to the path you came in on is a tree with extremely
twisted roots stretching out toward you. One of those roots is NOT an actual
root, but a large piece of log covering the next stamp.
…and
said “You’ve come up with a theme for this year’s WNY event, right? We’re still
HAVING it, right?” (okay, it wasn’t a rotary phone, but it’s a nice carving,
right?). Anyway, the Sprite PANICKED! She’d SORTA remembered the event, but had
hoped everyone else had forgotten, seeing as how she hadn’t come up with
ANYTHING! Realizing that she needed something more serious to help her relax
now, the Highlander stepped in and gave her shoulders a little…
7. Massage (The Sprite & the Highlander)—Now turn and head back up the path you just
came down. Notice the tree right in the middle of the path. Walk to the right
side of it and look forward. If you head about 20 steps in that same direction,
you’ll see the path bends to the left, but in front of you is a tree with “SS
Family 7” carved into it. To the right of you is a small tree with three rocks
at its base. Two of them move and the other doesn’t. Move the two that do for
the next stamp.
“Don’t
worry,” he said soothingly. “You always work best under pressure. I KNOW you’ll
come up with something great for this event.” The Sprite was not convinced, but
after trying a little…
8. Meditation (The Sprite & the
Highlander)—Keep on
the path again until you reach a rock in the path along the right that’s about
2 feet long. Look into the woods on the right to see the nearly rotted away
fallen tree. There’s a broken sapling bent over another larger rock about 2
steps in here. When you get closer, you’ll see the smaller rock just on the
other side of it hiding the stamp.
…(otherwise
known as “thinking” to come up with a good theme, she realized it just wasn’t
happening. She was listening to “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” on the radio by
then and when she heard the words, “Why don’t we both just…
9. Sleep (The Sprite & the Highlander)—Continue up the path
to the big tree in the path where you found your 5th stamp in this series.
Look to your right, a little further up and off the path and you’ll see another
tree that’s up a little higher and has mossy roots (almost look like a little
broken down wall instead of roots). Walk over and step up into these roots to the left and look under leaves and a rock
for this stamp.
…on it
tonight/and I believe in the morning you’ll begin to see the light”, she
decided it was time to do just that. She went to bed and, sure enough, the next
morning, she realized she’d had an idea all along for the…
10. Letterboxing (The Sprite & the
Highlander)—Continue
on the path until you reach the fallen tree that’s spiked right down in the
middle of the path again. To your right, at least 15 steps or more into the
woods, you’ll see a huge fallen tree with a ton of deadfall that ends near a
set of very large twins. Go around to the back of the left one and lift the two
rocks for this next stamp
…event!
“Letterboxing is my leisure activity of choice, which is why I haven’t been
able to relax. Maybe the whole thing should about RELAXING!” The Highlander and
BfloAnonChick loved it and Sprite had learned a valuable lesson about waiting
until the last minute to do something. “Now that I have this great idea, I will
never fall prey to procrastination again. I'm going to get started on this…soon
as I finish this…
11. Hammock Nap (The Sprite & the
Highlander)—Return
to the path and get to the spot where the path makes a T again and look for a
big green flat rock to the right. Instead of going to the left to head back
where you came from, continue straight ahead about 20 paces from this rock.
Again, look for the path to bend a little to the left, but keep your eyes
forward toward the large twin trees in the woods on the right. Walk toward
them, then in between them. Look at the base of the right one under the flat
rock for the last stamp.
Getting
back to the pavilion or other box series:
To
Pavillion: The
pavilion is straight ahead, past the pond.
To
WNY’s Lazy Summer Essentials Series or Lazy Summer Donations Series: Go back on the path you were just on until
you get back to the intersection for the sixth stamp, where we mentioned these
series began. Head to the left for WNY’s Lazy Summer Essentials or to the right
for Lazy Summer Donations (Note: the right has two paths, but do NOT take the
one heading downhill).
WNY’s Lazy Summer Essentials Series (8 boxes)
These boxes are all on the blue trail. If you were already doing Sprite’s Leisurely Dilemma, simply head left until you see the rope railing that begins the walk down into the ravine. If you’re starting from the pavilion or parking lot, you can either follow the clues into the woods for the Sprite series, or take the path to the LEFT of the path with the 18 Mile Creek sign to enter the woods. Head straight back to the three way intersection and take the path to the left to see that rope railing. Clues start from this point.
1.
Campfires
to Enjoy (Celtic Quinn)—Once
you see the top of the steps down into the ravine, look to the left for the
beginning of the blue trail. If you turn to face
this trail, you’ll see a larger twin trunked tree on the left. Check the base
of this tree under some bark.
2.
Water
to Canoe (Celtic Quinn)—Continue
on the path and look to the right for a smooth barked tree that looks like it
has two large eyes staring in different directions. There should be roots on
the path at this point. Take 18 steps up the path from this point and you’ll
see a REALLY big tree on the right, about 6 steps from the path. Check the
roots around behind it under some leaves, park and a rock.
3.
Stars
to Sleep Under (Celtic Quinn)—Continue
on the path and it will curve around until you reach a tree across the path
that points to a tree on the right. Check around the back of this one in the
roots under a rock.
4.
Shells
to Collect (Celtic Quinn)—Keep
walking and you’ll find an upended tree with the gigantic root system almost
fully intact on the left. Walk around to face these roots and you’ll find a
flat rock stuck into them at about head height. Move it and the smaller rock
behind it for this stamp.
5.
Trails
to Hike (Celtic Quinn)—Continue
on the path until you see two logs on the right that were cut some time ago
(this is right before the path bends sharply to the left and you can see a
fallen tree off the path right in front of you). Check the space between these
two cut logs, almost under the 2nd one (the one closer to the fallen
tree).
6.
Fish
to Catch (Celtic Quinn)—Still
see that big fallen tree in the woods? Don’t walk over to it, but continue on
the path, following the path of this monster with your eyes. You’ll it actually
leads to a fallen log right over your path. Climb over this, then look to the
left under the same tree you stepped over. You’ll find a small pile of very
evenly placed rotting wood to look under for the stamp.
7.
Sand
Castles to Build (Celtic Quinn)—Continue on the path again and you’ll find a HUGE tree almost
in the path itself. Walk around the left side until you see the smaller arm
sized tree growing out of the roots of the big one. Look in the crevice where
these two trees meet for the next stamp.
8.
Ice
Cream To Devour (Celtic Quinn)—The
path gets a little murky in this area, but if you continue generally straight
and to the left, you’ll find where it continues. At the time of this planting,
there was a light blue paint blaze on a tree in that direction, plus a stripped
tree on the right of the path that nearly looks white. This will lead you out
of the woods, but as you start to see the exit, you’ll notice a big mound of
dirt to your left. There’s some larger moss covered stones in this hill, but
only one has enough space to have two smaller rocks underneath it. Move these
smaller rocks for the last stamp.
To the pavilion: The big field you’re in is the one that has the pavilion in it. Just walk across it past the pond to get back.
To
Lazy Summer Donations series: Head
to your left and stay on the edge of the woods in the field. For the Lazy
Summer Donations series, take the next path you come to into the woods and follow
it back until you dead end at the three way intersection. Head to the right,
but do NOT go down the hill! Follow the box clues from here.
To the Sprite’s Leisurely Dilemma series: Head to your left and stay on the edge of the woods in the field until you reach the path that has the 18 Mile Creek Watershed sign. Follow the box clues from here.
Lazy Summer Donations Series (10 boxes)
These
boxes were all donated either specifically for this event or just in general. Normally,
we try to stick with a certain theme, but since laziness IS our theme, you’ll
understand if we were too lazy to make that happen!
1. Zebra (???)—As you start the path, you’ll see a tree on the left with initials carved into it. Check around the back of this tree and move some bark near the roots for a stamp that’s…well, okay, TOTALLY unrelated to the theme, but an AMAZINGLY good carve by someone in the Rockies whose trailname we’ve forgotten! ;-)
2. Grinning Goatee Guy (Team Awesome Pants)—Continue on the path to where a tree has
fallen at an angle on the path toward the left. Follow this fallen tree as it
passes a 15 foot stump, then check around underneath it (the fallen tree) under
some bark.
5.
Those
Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer aka Nat King Cole (Nana C and the Seedlings)—Continue on the path to the fallen tree on
the right that forks and meets an upright tree. Look behind the upright tree
and this stamp is held up near the base with some bark.
6.
Castles
in the Sand (Nana C and the Seedlings)—Continue over more mounds and roots to see
the rotting stump about 15 steps on the right. To get to it, you have to pass a
triple trunked tree, the roots of which hide this stamp.
7.
Summer
Reading (Great Big Seabres)—Continue
on the path over even more roots until you see a fallen tree on the left with a
blaze still tacked to it. Go to the roots of this tree, then look behind it to
where 2 other fallen trees cross. In between them is the stamp you seek.
8.
Under
the Sea (Nana C and the Seedlings)—Follow the path again until you pass directly between two
skinny trees (the right one has a blaze tacked to it). Look to the right and
another fallen tree is here. Check under the roots for this stamp.
9.
Mirth
Man (Team Awesome Pants)—Follow
the path again as it bends to the right. You can see a huge fallen tree near
you that actually sticks out over the path. Stop here and look for a fallen log
on the right at this point for this stamp.
10.
Seedy
Something (Mrs.
LAFS)—The path gives you the chance to
head uphill and out of the woods near this point, so take this opportunity to
do so. On your way out, though, look to your left for a tree with a REALLY deep
crevice. Facing this tree, look inside the curve of the right side at the base
and a little seedy something is leaning up against the sides covered with bark.
Getting
back to the shelter or other box series:
To
the pavilion: Cross
the open field toward the pond. The pavilion is to your right.
To Sprite’s Leisurely Dilemma and WNY’s Lazy Summer Essentials series: Cross the field toward the pond, but head to the right. The main path with the 18 Mile Creek Watershed sign is right in the middle of the treeline and is where the Sprite series starts. You can follow the clues for this to the intersection where you started the Donations series, but this time, turn to the LEFT for the WNY series.
Other Year Round Local Boxes
Within the park: Think Inside the
Box
Heading East to Medina: Woody, Phases, Dances With Fire,
Strong Sad, LBNY At the Movies,
Sprilander Hitchhiker Hostel, Choo Choo Ch'Boogie, The Letterbook, Hallowed Grounds
Tour 2007 boxes
Heading South/Southwest to
Alabama, Oakfield, Bergen, Elba & Batavia: Highlander Series (Iroquois Goose & Tonawanda
Widgeon), Woodland Flower Sprite, Oak Orchard Black Duck,
Mystery Boxes: Check Western NY region on the
LBNA site for
these!
And the “WNY Blue Ribbon
Event Stamp” – earned for doing specific things, courtesy of The Sprite
& the Highlander