Campin' and Stampin'

It's been a long time, several years now, since we had a Campin' and Stampin' Gathering.  They were always a great time too, hiking, singing around the camp fire, finding lots of boxes, a "little" bit of drinking, just generally a fun time.

A group of us with a reporter from Games Magazine in 2006 at Camping and Stamping

In that tradition I decided it was time to get the gathering going again.  It will remain in Maryland, but I decided to move it a bit west, to Thurmont at Cunningham Falls State Park.  I think this will be a great new location, still an easy drive from Philly, Baltimore and DC, but further west to entice our western letterboxing friends as well.

It is also close to virgin letterbox territory.  There are a few drive-by boxes, one short hike, and a long hike next door in Catoctin Mountain Park.

The gathering will be the weekend of September 7-9.  I wanted to have it in the spring or early summer, but there is just too much to do, both for the gathering and in my life itself, to be able to do that, so I pushed it to September.  I will return to the spring in 2013 to even it out with Boxtoberfest.

As for camping, I have chosen the Deer Spring Branch loop in the campground.  Camp HQ will be Site 107.  There are still plenty of sites left around, and one cabin left as well (The Red Hat Boxers have already grabbed two of them).

The site for the daytime gathering has not yet been determined, I'll keep folks posted.

I plan on having it as a great traditional gathering, with teaming up to hike for boxes being the focus.

You can sign-up for camping and stamping here, and I'll be using this blog to keep folks posted, as well as post a few special clues.

A Strange Encounter

So a week ago Schizokeet and I pull up to a small, solitary cemetery near Anneville, PA.  There were two boxes planted next to this small plot of land.  Much to our surprise we find a car already parked in front of the cemetery.

Wanda and Pete had stayed the night in the Harrisburg area as well.  Wanda was off in the woods somewhere, Pete was sitting on one of the low stone walls fiddling with his phone.  We decided to sit tight and wait for Wanda to finish her stamping and struck up a conversation with Pete, who looked very tired.

Wanda continued to bob head head up and down over a log until she finally came bounding out of the woods, rounding up Pete with nothing more then an "OK, lets go," and she bustled off with him in tow.

I am not really surprised, she and I don't really see eye to eye, and we never will.  Even in "retirement" she still seems more concerned with getting every stamp image possible.  It is all about the numbers to her, and, you know, I have come to the conclusion that, hey, that is just fine.  I think she is probably missing a lot of what really makes the hobby great, the people and the places, the clues and the mysteries, but that is one her.

I don't see it as much of an accomplishment to have found what ever it is, 30k+ boxes, I see it more as an accomplishment to have the adventure of finding just one box.