Geogeorgia's April Fools Letterbox LbNA #14466 (ARCHIVED)

This was Geogeorgia's box, but it is long since gone now. I only adopted the listing to guarantee this is preserved for posterity: the best letterboxing prank ever!

Kelsung
---------------------------

Geogeorgia’s April Fools Mystery Letterbox
Started 3/4/2005

I want to thank the following Letterboxers for they’re unknowing help in the production of this spoof letterbox. It was only meant in good fun, and apologies for anyone that would take exception to having a little fun poked at them or at the chatlists. There were quite a few letterboxers that figured something was afoot. Now can you figure out if there really is a letterbox?

Boxdn the Boxing Nut of Metairie
Star: W+S=DRR
Don of Don & Gwen
~speedsquare
Homeschoolmommy
c-bear
pippy
pezpam
Funhog
Ramdelt
Eli
Q
Alarch
dvn2rckr
Geogeorgia


________________________________________________________________________
Hi I just found out about this. I've been Geocaching for almost oneyear now, and I accidently found a letterbox. Can you give me anytips?Geogeorgia

Welcome Geogeorgia,

There is a "getting started page" at www.letterboxing.org that will
answer all your questions and the ones you didn't know to ask. In
the links section, to the left of this page, is a link to a newbie
talk list where senior boxers help the freshmen boxers. There's
also hundreds of links and files for your rainy day reading
pleasures.
Taking a wild guess by your trail name, your in Georgia. If so I'll
welcome you to come on over to the Southeast list and sit a spell
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox-southeast/

Boxdn the Boxing Nut of Metairie

_______________________________________________________________________
I assume us checked letterboxing.org?

It will answer most of what you need to kow.

Then just go out and box, and you will be hooked.

STAR:W+S=DRR

______________________________________________________________________
I'm not sure what you mean by 'getting started page', but I have
been reeding a lot of stuff. The senior boxer and freshmen boxer
thing is not clear. Do you need to complete a school course, and
where can I find the newbie talk list? My name is Georgia and I
Geocached, so i'm Geogeorgia.
Geogeorgia
_______________________________________________________________________

Hi Geogeorgia,
If you go to WWW.letterboxing.org you will find a FAQS page that
will help you over the hurdles. If you go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newboxers you will find a very
receptive group that will help you with any questions you may have.
What Boxdn said about the senior and freshmen were figures of
speech, and you will not need any school course. What he meant was
the senior letterboxers (old timers) will help out the new folks
(you) at that list.

Don
_______________________________________________________________________

Thanks Don, for the translation.
Georgia sorry about the schooling scare.;-) I posted this link on
my original post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox-southeast/
It is where all the boxers in the Southeast US go to keep up with
local happenings; most of whom live in the Atlanta,GA area.

Boxdn
Which letterbox did you find?
_____________________________________________________________________

Hi ,
I went through the FAS page and i'm a little confused about what a
hitchiker is. Is it a box in a box and you take it with you. Also I
want to know how you carve a stamp,and does anyone sell them?

Geogeorgia

_____________________________________________________________________

Hi Geogeorgia,
Well I guess you mean the FAQS page at LBNA. I'm glad you looked
there as it is a great help to new letterboxers. A hitch hiker is a
stamp, log, usually in it's own baggie, or small box that hitches a
ride with the box it is planted in and yes you do take it with you.
Carving a stamp can be fun even though it is very intimidating at
first. You can go to a local store like a Micheals or if you go to
the bottom of the FAQS page of information and find a supplier for
carving supplies that you can order on line. If this seems like too
much trouble for you to start off then you can use a store bought
stamp for your personal stamp and for any boxes you want to hide
yourself. Maybe someone else could jump in and give some advice.

Don
_______________________________________________________________________


Hi again, I keep seeing the baggy rules listed. Where are the rules?

Geogeorgia
_______________________________________________________________________
Hey Geogeorgia,

Try this link to Atlas Quest, http://atlasquest.com/aboutlb/
another site containing clues and other info. Check out the FAQ
page and the glossary page, alot of the terms we use may sound
criptic themselves. Another great way to learn about planting is to
go out and find 'different' peoples boxes to get an idea how others
do it, then add your own little twist. I suggest finding 5-10 boxes
before planting to all new boxers. Unfortunately I didn't have that
opption back when I started and my first few suffered. Which box
did you find by accident? (A few of us would like to know)

The baggie rule isn't a rule but is being disscused more as a
proceedure. Most boxes leak water so putting your log in a good
ziplock is a must but then we noticed double bagging them helps
elminate user error. Putting the stamp in a bag is nice, so that
the ink from it doesn't get all over everything. Once all of that
is in it's tupperware then some people stick their box in a larger
Ziplock. I personally don't use outer bags anymore because once it
gets a little hole in it it's useless. To each his own right.

Boxdn,
______________________________________________________________________



It occurred to me that this topic, should it continue, ought to move to regional
lists as
climates vary widely and change with the seasons. It seems like it has been
beaten to
death here.

~speedsquare
_______________________________________________________________________


I'm so excited i found 3 letterboxes this weekend and i even carved
a stamp.I did see that there were baggies in the letterbox so i took
them out after reeding all of the letters on this chatlist. This is
such great fun. This so much more fun than geocaching. I love it.
Thanks for all the help i have been getting.I have a question about
the count thing and i think the f is for finds, and the p is for
placed? is the x for former, like in x husbands? or does it stand
for something else? Wher do you keep tract of your finds? Is there
many others letterboers in LA?
Geogeorgia

_______________________________________________________________________
I think if I am reading your post right, did you remove the baggies from IN
the box? Those are good. In my opinion you should not alter some ones box
unless asked to. The baggies on the inside keep logbooks and stamps dry, it
is the outside bags that everyone is talking about. I outside bag my boxes
and would appreciate it if they were left that way. X means exchange, when
you meet another boxer and exchange your sig stamps.
Homeschoolmommy
_______________________________________________________________________
I just reread my last post, it didn't come out sounding very nice did it.
Just meant it to be informative. Not mean, sorry.
__________________________________________________________________________
georgia---c-bear and Koko are in LA-and there are many more.. We're going to
plant a series of WLA boxes--working on it now...c-bear
_________________________________________________________________________

If the bags were *inside* the box, protecting the logbook and protecting the
stamp, they were definitely likely meant to be there. I always double-bag the
logbook in each of our placed boxes, single-bag the stamp separately, and
then if I include an inkpad (which I haven't been doing lately) that's also in
it's own separate baggie. So my boxes will actually contain 4 bags.

And some placers *do* bag the box itself and want it that way.

A good rule of thumb might be, rather than change anything drastically, when
you get home go to the letterboxing.org website and click on "contact placer"
on that particular box's page and let the placer know when you found the box
and what condition it was in. Then they can decide if there's a problem or
not.

I used to think it might be better to just put it at the end of the clues as
to how the box should be put together. I know sometimes after stamping in
it's hard to remember exactly how the placer might have had something, and one
never knows if the boxer before them put it back together properly or not
anyway. So I thought it might be better to put it on the clue sheet. But when
I
did that, a lot of folks didn't seem to pay much attention to it anyway.

Pippi

I label the bags themselves with a Sharpie marker. I found a box that
was done that way and it was so helpful in getting the right bits back
into the right bags that I picked up the habit.

pezpam





Ø I'm so excited i found 3 letterboxes this weekend and i even carved
> a stamp.I did see that there were baggies in the letterbox so i took
> them out after reeding all of the letters on this chatlist.
Eek! Those little baggies need to get back to their homes right away, before the
next
storm. They were certainly meant to be there to protect the logbooks.

>I have a question about
> the count thing and i think the f is for finds, and the p is for
> placed? is the x for former, like in x husbands?
When you meet another letterboxer, it's customary to exchange the image of each
of
your signature stamps. I, for one, have never kept count and don't have a clue
how
many I have but some folks keep a runnung tally of these exchanges and call them

their X count.

> or does it stand for something else? Wher do you keep tract of your finds?
Once again, this is optional. If do you choose to keep a record of the boxes
you've
found, you can officially log them on Atlas Quest. Only boxes which are posted
on
that site will show up in your count. Otherwise, it's up to you to keep the
count in
your own logbook.

Be sure to have a look at the FAQs on several of the excellent sites to be found
on the
web regarding letterboxing, such as: www.letterboxinging.info ,
www.atlasquest.com
, www.letterboxing.org Good luck, Funhog




Hi Geogeorgia,
Congratulations on your F count. Hopefully you didn't remove the inside baggies.
You might want to keep the box the way you found it, at least until you get
more experienced. If you mean Los Angeles, and not Louisiana when you mentioned
LA, then the answer is yes there are other letterboxers around Los Angeles.
There is a regional chat list also just for SoCal
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterboxing-socal
There is a northern California gathering in Sacramento on April 30, and a
gathering in SoCal in the planing stages for May 22, in the LA area. I realize
that you are new to letterboxing and this chat list, and I want to be as
positive as possible, but some of your questions could be answered on the
Newboxer chat list. I have seen your posts at that list so I know you understand
how to post there. I just wish to tell you where you can go. For information.
Also the SoCal list can help you with local letterbox information.

Don
_______________________________________________________________________




Wait, you didn't really remove the bags from the inside did you?! Yikes! I
never change anyone's boxes but you do relize that the bags that everyone is
talking about are outside of the box, not inside. The inside ones are much
safer and are needed.

Ramdelt


Sorry, I will put all of the baggies back.

Geogeorgia


Hey, Geogeorgia. I was assuming you were from Georgia because of your
name, but you said LA. I may have missed a post where you said where
yo u are from, but is that LA the state, or the city?

Eli
_______________________________________________________________________


Posts on the SoCal list

Hi I just started letterboxing and I just got information from
another list that this one was for LA area. Also I herd that there
was going to be a gathering, can anyone tell me about that? Where is
going to be and what is going to be doing.

GEOgeorgia

Welcome to letterboxing! The gathering is scheduled for May 22, most
likely in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, but is still in the planning
stages. Basically we will meet other SoCal letterboxers and exchange
stamps, eat food, and possibly hunt some boxes planted especially for
the gathering. Check back here for further details early in April.
Hope to see you there! :) -Q

Goegeorgia--you have a reply-wanted to let you know that we are so glad you're part of this..KOKO and I are new to letterboxing also...so good to have you aboard..the gathering looks like super fun...we can't wait..I posted something to you on the main board..Koko and I are going to plant a series of boxes on the West side of LA--in honor of Venices 100th--Abbott Kenny--Ballona Wetlands..El Poto ..etc..so we'll keep you posted...c-bear...

--- In letterboxing-socal@yahoogroups.com, "Q"
wrote:
>
> Which letterbox did you accidentally find that got you into
> letterboxing? And which ones have you found since then? Thanks! -Q

I'm not sure about the first one, but sence that one i messed up and
read the messages wrong at the first chat room i went to. I have to
go back and replace some baggies. Thank you for helping me.I will
keep checking here for information on the park.
GEOgeorgia

I think that eli asked me about where i live and it is los Angeles
and i think it was Q that asked about the first letterbox i found
and i have been trying to find it on the letterboxing sight and i
can't find it.The letterbox was located under the of a- -
at the intersection of - and - road. The name was something mystery and i can't find it
at the letterbox listing. I told Q that i could show the letterbox
at the los Angeles picnic so maybe then somebody can figure out the
name. I have collected some more finds too . This is sure fun.
GEOgeorgia



Replies from the SoCal chatlist

Hi Geogeorgia,
I think the box you found was a different kind of letterbox called a
mystery box, and the locations of those letterboxes should remain a
secret. Please be careful what you post on this chatlist or any
other chatlists for that matter. From what you wrote in the post it
sounded like you have that letterbox in your possession? If you do
have the box in your possession that is a big no no. You are not
supposed to keep the letterbox, just get a print off of the stamp
for your logbook. I think that you should take some time and read
the info on the LBNA web site before you do more letterboxing. Could
you tell me what other letterboxes you have found and did you pick
those up also?

Don

a reply to Geogeorgia--if you have woolly--put it back please...c-bear...


Hello
I got off work this last week and i was able to return the stamps i
collected. I hope i got them all back right and they all have baggies
in the boxes.I had some extra time so i visited my aunty in portland
and got some boxes there too. I didn't take any of the stamps or
anything. Does anyone gecache as well as letterbox. How come nobody
likes the new colors i think they are pretty. I have not tried to tell
people about there neat lettrboxes should i do that here or
not.GEOgeorgia

We letterbox & geocache but I've got an extra-special place in my heart
for letterboxing. We geocache (sans GPS) in parts of the world that
don't have letterboxes.

dvn2r ckr





Well i like letterboxing better because i don't need to go with my
friend that has the direction box.and i don't have to keep reading him
numbers. I found a direction compass and it works good for the
letterboxes that i have found. I don't know if i am working it right
but it is good to just go where the pointer goes.geogeorgia >
> dvn2r ckr


I don't think i saw the wooly mamoth one.GEOgeorgia





Remember to always replace the letterbox better than you found it. Never put baggies on the outside of the box, unless you found it in that condition. Never remove the box, stamp, baggies(inside), or log book. If the letterbox needs repair then do what you can in the field, and contact the placer(except with this letterbox). Always be nice on the chatlist as you never know where your notes end up. Personal communication to Geogeorgia’s address were not used as they are considered private, but they certainly were interesting! Again if anyone takes offense, sorry. Do not use the contact the placer function with this letterbox . While many letterboxers figured that some rungs were missing from Geogeorgia’s ladder the real reason not to use the contact the placer function is “The Light is on, but Nobody is home!”.