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The Great American Pin-Up Series: Joy LbNA #48609 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jun 22, 2009
Location:
City:Boxley
County:Newton
State:Arkansas
Boxes:1
Planted by:Lock, Shock & Barrel
Found by: hikergirl
Last found:Apr 11, 2010
Status:FFFa
Last edited:Jun 22, 2009
Letterbox Name: The Great American Pin-up Series: Joy
Location: Boxley, AR
Distance: Approximately 2.5 miles

Once upon a time, there were eight lovely sisters. They were born in Lake County, Illinois, and were raised in an old farmhouse. They grew tall and strong and, though they loved the home in which they’d been raised, each knew that there would come a time when she would need to go out and find her place in the world.

And so they did. One of the first to set out on her own was Ethel, and Ethel was a young woman who enjoyed adventure and sports. She was a lovely girl, and made friends easily during her years in school. One of these friends was a girl named Joy.

Now Joy was full of wild wonderment, and was always the first to take on a new challenge. Today we’d probably call her an “adrenaline junky”. But back then, she was generally thought of as daring, even “rough-and-tumble”. Over the years, Joy reveled in a seemingly endless string of opportunities to try exciting new things. One weekend might be spent sky-diving. Another might be spent canoeing in the North Woods of Wisconsin. And yet another might be spent indoor, experiencing the thrill of roller derby.

Yes, Joy loved the roller derby, and was on her skates whenever she could manage it. She loved the speed and physical contact, and was always practicing to become a force to be reckoned with in the rink.

And so Joy’s exploits became more and more daring, as she combined skating with almost every other endeavor. She’d skate on busy city streets, on ramps in skate parks, even on mountain trails. She’d even tried to ride a skateboard in roller skates once. (That proved to be rather unsuccessful…)

But it was on a trip to the Buffalo River, near Ponca, Arkansas, that Joy experienced some truly unique thrills, and finally found a place to take a rest.

You see, the ups and downs of Lost Valley called to her, and so off she went, her long black tresses flying in the wind. She set off, rolling down the trail, passing trees marked with years of carved initials and messages. She even passed a tree on her right-hand side with a heart carved into it.

When she reached a split in the trail, she was faced with a decision. Should she head to Eden Falls and the Natural Bridge (to the right), or Eden Falls Cave (up, and to the left)? Well, in true form, Joy’s first question was “Who’s Eden, and who pushed her?” She laughed to herself and, after a moment’s consideration, decided to take the right-hand path toward the Natural Bridge.

She followed the path, noticing the white blazes on the trees. When she reached the third tree with a blaze, she turned back the way she came, and walked 25 steps. On her right, she saw a four foot stump, and to her left was the outer wall of the natural bridge.

She made her way toward the natural bridge, walking toward three flat rocks that looked almost like plates stacked against one another. She rolled behind those rocks and took a look. There was plenty of room for a nap, and she felt like she could surely use a rest.

And so she laid herself down beneath a rather suspicious pile of rocks, and can still be found there, skates, rink rash, and all. Please re-hide her well, and feel free to drop us a note to let us know how she’s doing!

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The Great American Pin-up series is, first and foremost, a celebration of the style, femininity, and fun of pin-up art over the years. While great care was taken to select images that would not offend, it’s worth noting that some letterboxers, including those traveling with younger children, might find the images to be “rated PG”. That said, we hope that you enjoy the images as much as we’ve enjoyed selecting and carving them.

Please note: The stamps are a bit large, and will require a 4”x 6” space for stamping.