Back to School??? NO, NOT YET!!!

There's a crispness in the air. The trees are beginning to blush. And the groan of gargantuan buses splits the morning air. It's back to school time... Well, not really.
We just thought it was, as we started to search for the, "School Days Letterbox Series" in Topsham, Maine.

On a leaf and limb canopied trail just behind the Williams Cone Elementary School. We began our journey. Somehow we'd been here before... Perhaps it was in some letterbox addled dream. An episode of dejavu?

No, we'd visited this trail several weeks ago hoping the "School Days Series" had been replanted for the spring. Alas it had not. But after reporting an attempt to it's authors 4soxsfans, the boxes were replanted and ready for searching.

This six box series was our second trip for the day. The hunt was full or fun and some enjoyable challenges. We recommend it highly.

Finding the first box was a snap! (Because we'd tried it several weeks before... prior to the series replacement for the spring.) Dodging rusty barbed wire (and probably tetanus!) we soldiered on.

Thrills and chills abound on this letterbox trail. You'll find yourself circling pine trees. Don't get too dizzy or you may find yourself plunging headlong over what I might call a, "cliff of death!" (No, I'm not kidding! These woods may look idyllic. But there's a drop out there, like I've never come across on the letterbox trail!

After circling what seemed like a half dozen pine trees we stopped in hopes of ceasing the spinning in our brains. And read the next clue. This one called for us to make our way down the side of the KILLER hill I mentioned before. WHAT!?! We had just turned ourselves inside out & dizzy circling pine trees. :-) Oh well, letterboxing often is an adventure. So we said, "Bring it on!"

I (Tim) took the lead. And my lovely wife crab-walked behind me down the hill. Lending a hand for support, feeling so glad I chose to wear my heavy tread boots, we pressed on. I couldn't help but think of Calvin and Hobbes speeding down deadman's hill in a sled! That was us! The Thompson Twins speeding headlong toward letterboxing immortality. Of course, we made it down the hill alive! (After all you wouldn't be reading this blog if we hadn't!)



The bottom of this mammoth climb led us to the last half of our six box search. One of the boxes in this series was tagged with a most unique clue. Let's just say have your eyes peeled for "numeral shapes" (Thank you Mrs. Thompson Twins for your sharp boxing eyes and clue sleuthing acumen!)



The end of our search led us up a winding hill, as darkness enveloped the dewy woods. Perhaps this darkness led to our missing the 4th box? Perhaps not... Maybe it was a band of nefarious chipmunk thieves who carried it off?!? I guess we won't know until we visit the school house trail again.



School bells are ringing for letterboxers... School days, school days good old golden rules days! Here's to summer vacation! Here's to halcyon days of boxing and hiking! Let them never end!