Finding family adventures can be like hunting for hidden treasure 

Like all good military wives, I spend my weekends doing projects, taking day trips with my children and making care packages in an attempt to keep time moving when my husband is deployed. Recently, when Dad was down range again, I found myself facing a Friday with nothing planned. The dreaded weekend had crept around the corner again and like usual I racked my brain trying to fill it. I was tired of the old stand-bys—Camelot Park and Chic-Fil-A— I was up for some adventure.  So I jumped on the trusty computer and did a little surfing. With a few quick key strokes, the answer to curing that weekend's and hopefully many more came into view – Letterboxing.

In a nutshell, letterboxing combines hiking and treasure hunting. Someone hides a small plastic box containing a rubber stamp and logbook in a safe place somewhere out in the world. The hider then posts a set of clues or a “treasure map” pointing to the box's location online. The form of the clues vary from straightforward directions to clever riddles puzzles. The clues in hand, the seekers then set about finding the box, carrying with them a set of supplies including a rubber stamp, inkpad, logbook, pencil, and snacks for the journey (you can't be caught hungry when there's treasure to be found!). Once the box is discovered, the hunters mark the box’s logbook with their stamp and a simple message to any future Indiana Jones' that may stumble across it. Then they take the stamp from the box and mark their own logbook with it. Pretty soon, you've got a book full of all the hidden corners you've visited.

Clicking around the net, I finally came across a clue right here in Southern Pines. The girls and I packed a backpack with the needed stores—don't forget a camera—and off we went to track down the box.  Our clues down took us down “king’s highway XXII”, past “Russell the fishmonger” and into the “king’s reservoir”. The best part about of the journey was the final steps, a beautiful walk through Reservoir Park. When we came to the location of the box, the girls searched everywhere. Where was the treasure?

After a while, the truth became clear—the box we had spent all day looking for was no where to be found. Their little spirits were understandably shattered, and I could see it was time for a pep talk. I explained to the girls that the real “treasure” was the memory we had made together that day. Our adventure didn’t have to end with the last clue. We had found a gem hidden in our own backyard, a new place to explore where we can go on nature walks and have picnics. When their father returned, I told them, we could bring the canoe and paddle around the lake. Even the family dog could join in the fun. It didn't take long before my disappointed daughters saw the bright side of the day. We decided to spend the rest of the day exploring Reservoir Park.

Before it was time to leave, we took a break for a snack and recorded our trip. We printed our own stamps in the logbook and made a journal entry about the day so we could share it with Dad when he came home. After a few pictures, I loaded them up and headed home. They were tired but happy.

Since that first trip, we’ve introduced my husband to our new-found hobby and we've  kept following clued to those hidden letterboxes.  Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t, but it’s always something we can do as a family and it’s always an adventure. It’s like searching for the end of a rainbow: you never know if you’ll find the pot of gold, but you're sure to find many hidden gems along the way.

For more information on Letterboxing and Geocaching, visit the following websites:

Letterboxing with Atlasquest - www.atlasquest.com

Letterboxing North America - www.letterboxing.org

The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site - www.geocaching.com