on frozen ground

It was cold and damp when we woke up on Thursday, March 27 in Michigan. We had plans to do some boxing in the suburbs of Detroit, and we were taking our cousin with us for his first letterboxing outing! Jones had brought some MasterCarve and her gouges, and he carved a signature stamp the night before, naming himself RailRoader.

So donning our coats and boots, and leaving the littlest one behind (don't worry, our aunt was with her,) we set out to find some Michigan letterboxes. The first place we flocked to was Robert Long Park in Walled Lake. It's a lovely little park, complete with ponds and viewing areas perfect for birdwatchers. We saw many geese and ducks. In fact, as one of the ducks was landing, he came upon ice and slid across. The ice on the trail we walked along was up to three or four inches thick in some areas. We trekked on, and found the letterbox, RailRoader's first! He was so excited. Jones and I used the opportunity to teach him about the aspects of letterboxing...be aware of what or who is around you, be stealthy, be careful, do not disturb wildlife unnecessarily, take the box away from the area to stamp in, re-seal baggies and box carefully, replace exactly where you found it, re-hide better than found. He did very well. :) We continued on our quest, which led us to West Bloomfield Nature Preserve.

The walk through the Nature Preserve was absolutely beautiful. The trail became somewhat steep at times, and with the snow and ice still on the ground, we had to be extra careful. This time of year, time of day, during the week, we seemed to have the place to ourselves. We only encountered three other people on the long trail. We found two of the three boxes, but the third one proved to be difficult. We weren't sure if it was us or the clues. We thought we were in the right area, however we just could not find that box!...and then it started to rain. It was time to head back to the house, have some supper and rest up for the next day.