Welcome to the Swinging Bridge

This was a fun one! We did it on the way to the candy store, and had a nice ride out. We'd stopped to get some fried chicken and had a GREAT picnic afterwards as well.

Nater's dad & family was with us and this was their 1st trip for LBing. His dad thought it was really cool- and loved the "ringed rock."



The bridge was really neat as well. I didn't go across it, instead volunteered to stay with the baby as they went for the find.

Gorgeous area though- that's for sure!!!

Sapphire Crystal

It took us a bit to find the right place-- I thought it would be upstairs. Then we found one that we couldn't get too, so I asked *yikes* and the lady said, "what about the phone booth..."

So off we went, and there it was. Turns out she thought it was a lost and found box. HA! Oh well- we got to share our LBing adventures, and now she's excited about doing them too!!


We took Nater's dad with us, and he had a grand time. Though I'm not sure he would admit it. They had never heard of it- but they have now found 2 of them!

Soar with Eagles

Beware of golfer's!! They were out heavy last night and we had to be sneaky! A sad point, who ever had the last find didn't close the box very well and it was wet. But the good news was that it was also full! What fun to look through a book with oodles of stamps!!!

It's a Home

This one made us a little bit worried!! Joe wanted to ask the home owners if we could look even though the clues said the HO's had given permission. We waited till there was no one coming or going- and off the 2 of them went.

What a FUN hiding place!!!!

Black Mountain Fire

This was our 1st box of the day- and a find! What a great way to start out an afternoon & evening of fun! Being pretty new to this, we get very excited when we can find one, and now we're into more finds than attempts- makes the 10yr old very happy too!!

Anyhow-- this was a nice little walk over, not too far, which because it was raining was a bonus. A big non-bonus was the fact that there were SO many mosquito's. We've lived here for 3 yrs now, and have never encountered many mosq's at all- we weren't so lucky last night. I blame 3 weeks of cool weather and rain, rain and more rain! (Which will be great for fire season though!!)

The one part that threw us off was that the clues said to go 115 paces. It should read 115 steps. My husband wanted to give up, but Nator & I were having nothing of it. So we decided to back track and count steps and see where it took us. Bingo!! The same with the 12, should be steps and not paces.

Also saw lots of people playing frolfing! I had never heard of it before - frisbee golf- but Nator has played it in PE before, and Joe had heard of it either. I guess being from Texas I missed that announcement- but now I want to try it out! This being our first hit, I notice a lot of other frolfing courses throughout Missoula! FUN!

The Corps Gets Steamed

We found this one when it was getting dark. We were worried about whether we would get there in time. The rock was HUGE, and it was a short walk to find the letterbox. There were a lot of cool stamps in it.

On the way back down we saw a lot of elk. Joe wished it was hunting season. Mom and I just looked.

Orchard Homes

This was a fun LB to find, and we came across it by sheer luck! We were doing 2 in the same area, and recognized a street name, and boom- we had another box to find added to our list!

We figured out the first part, but no such luck in finding the place where the 2nd part would be.

Ringing Rocks

We passed over the Continental divide (fun times!!) to get to this one. It was a pretty little off road track. I wish we'd been in the truck- but our car made it okay. The last 1/2 mile was the worse- very narrow, curvy and LOTS of rocks. This is where I really wanted the truck!

Bring a hammer, play the rocks and it's a LOT of fun!! We found the box easily and did our thing. Nater hoped the people we passed were LB's as well, but alas, if they were they didn't find the box.

We took a little video of Nater playing the rocks and have uploaded it to YouTube just search "Ringing Rocks" and I'm sure you'll come across it and several others that are much better than ours!!

This one is a GREAT video of it!

Another Mother's Day

This one (and it's creator) was tricky! The clues were riddles/poems or sorts. Made us question if we were even in the right place! We ended up looking around the entire place, in anything it could have been- but no luck.

RBM said that he moved out of the area and no longer can maintain his boxes, so a good chance that it's been kidnapped. We might have to see if there is a place where we can hide our own, and think of some crazy clues to make people scratch their own heads!!!

Homestake

This was a nice & quick little walk. Fresh mountain air, a nice lake right there, and lots of hikers in the area! We had to be a little sneeky, but it made it that much more fun!

One other "fun" moment we had was that the box contained 2 hitch hikers! How cool is that! They are our 1st & 2nd ones- and we have ideas on where we'd like to place them. One should be placed Friday night in Missoula (if we can find the box!) and the other we want to take to Texas with us.

Footsteps of the Past

I love cemeteries- especially the ones with big headstones. Such stories are out there and I could spend hours looking and reading. However, for this trip we were in a bit of a rush to get to Butte on time. So we followed the instructions and found the box!!

A great flyer is inside that tells you a bit of history, and next time we are in the area we'll have to make sure we have time to check it out!!

Go Green Gardening

In our city there is a great little community garden. This is where we have our plot of green goodness. There is NOTHING better than fresh grown fruit, veggies and herbs- unless it’s stuff you’ve grown yourself! Please make sure you leave all the plots alone while looking for the 2 boxes. Look & drool, but do not trample or pluck!

Clues:

#1
Find Daly Elementary and park in front of the school. DO NOT go during school hours during the school year!! Go towards the playground and pass the half buried tires. Walk northeast to the far corner. Here you will find the garden entrance. Stand in front of a wooden place to sit and look behind the birds farthest to the east.

#2
Nater’s favorite veggie can be found by facing east of where #1 was at. Walk toward a big & brightly colored painted structure. Face NW and walk towards a stick structure that needs a covering to live in. Face SW and walk towards the covered sitting area. Stand in the center behind it, take 9 steps NW. At the post under the big rock in the pile is his favorite veggie!

School Spirit- GO BRONCS

Take Fairground road- headed East- to the home of THE BRONCS. Park in the North parking lot. (During school there most likely will be no spots, but you can park across the street at the church.)

Walk East to the road that should make you cold. Turn South and walk to the creek crossing. Continue walking straight until you hit a red sign and turn West. Walk towards the house that had a wooden fence. Make a North facing turn on the road before you reach the house. Walk towards a place to swim. Face Northwest and walk to a red sign. Face directly north and walk 28 paces. You will see a rock pile to your left at the base of a shrub. Under the long rock is the box you seek!

Quarter of a Letterbox

This is located at Longhorn Caverns State Park. Hanging from a tree do you see it? When you open the bag there is a small, round, quarter size coin holder with a round logbook. CUTE. Lots of boxes here, most under rocks. Spend 2 hours walking the trail and got about 10 boxes found!

Hyalite Adventure

Bozeman Letterboxing Meetup

July 26 & 27th

We are hoping to go- we'll see what our schedule allows for!

Hidden Peace

This was the 2nd one in this spot (first we tried was below) and we found it! I thought the name was perfect. We saw lots of wildlife and it was indeed peaceful as we watched the river and birds. I loved the big rock- it was gorgeous!

Buffalo Rock

We looked, but didn't find this one- though we did find a perfect spot where it probably was!!

Montana Symbols - Bitterroot

We went to the wrong spot first- not realizing that the overlook was up the road more- you can see it from the picture. However, we enjoyed reading all the markers & information. Nater has learned about Lewis & Clark in great detail this year so it was fun to see stuff front and center. For us both!!

It was cold, windy, rainy and even some snow here and there- and people out in boats and jet ski's- INSANE!! But it was still a beautiful placing!

Montana Crossing Microbox

We went on a road trip, and printed out letterboxes along the way. This was the first one- which brought a surprise- SNOW! The temp was around the low 40's, maybe upper 30's when we left town, so the pass- Brrrrr!! But no matter, we found it and crossed one off our list for the day!

Letterbox Placed: Fishermen @ Angler's Roost (Montana)

Placed By: FrogiNater
Placement date: June 7, 2009
State: Montana
County: Ravalli
Nearest city: Hamilton
Number of boxes: 1

CLUES:
Park at the Angler’s Roost station. There is a place to fill up, to camp, and even cabins to rest. A beautiful little spot right on the Bitterroot River. Walk behind the building and you will see an angler. Go up close and admire the way he was constructed- it is a site! Walk back up to the road and cross over the Bitterroot river. The path is narrow- watch out for cars. Once you are across the river, cross over the road to the east side of the bridge. You will see a “Betterroot River” sign. Stand in front of the sign, facing it. Turn to the east and take 42 steps in a southeast direction, this will take you to a mass of tangled wood. The container is on your right at the base of the stump.

Letterbox Placed: Water Drop Falls (Montana)

Placed By: FrogiNater
Placement date: June 7 2009
State: Montana
County: Ravalli
Nearest city: Hamilton
Number of boxes: 1

Clues:
From Hamilton drive up Skalkaho highway towards the falls. This road will be CLOSED during the winter, but usually reopens at by Memorial Day weekend.

If you have never been to the falls it is a great photo op, so you will want your camera with you. Check out the LB list also, as there is another LB at the falls!

When you get to the falls, get out of your vehicle and look up, down, and also for the other box. Get back in your vehicle and go back the way you came- towards Hamilton. You could walk it- it’s not that far- but if you do, keep to the sides as this is a winding and narrow mountain road.

Back track 0.7 miles from the falls. You will come to a turn out on the left side of the road. Pull in and park. Walk towards the hillside 15 paces. Then cross the road. Stand on top of where water crosses the road. From here you can look up and watch the water come down. It’s a simple, but beautiful, fall. Turn 45 to your left and take 5 paces to a rock pile. A flat rock tops it. Here you will find your water drop falls- down in the center of the 3 biggest rocks.

Skalkaho Falls Photo Op

Can you believe it snowed on us? Mom couldn't. Next time when she tells me to wear jeans I am going to listen to her. It was very cold.