Off the Beaten Path

We love to travel and see new places. Most of our travels are local and sometimes the best things are right under your nose. We have found some of these places unintentionally, but I believe that God has the Master Plan, so it was always "meant" to be. Other times I have intentionally planned out our adventures.

Exquisite hand carved stamp in the Smokey Mountains

For these planned adventures, we Letterbox or "Treasure Hunt" as my children call it. We follow directions to find a hidden box with a stamp in it, many of the stamps have been exquisitely hand carved. We use the stamp to make an impression in our book, then we date it, put the name of the box and where we found it. Letterboxing is a more kid friendly version of geocaching, the boxes are placed all over the globe. We have been to several all over the US and it has been an incredible way to learn more about each State (not what you will find in a State Fact Book). Anyone of any age can do it, you don't need to sign up for anything, it is totally free, all you need is a drive to experience something new. . . and believe me folks, we have plenty of drive!

How do you find out where the Letterboxes are, you ask, we use ATLAS QUEST. AtlasQuest has tons of info on the history of Letterboxing, how to get started, and the most important where to find a letterbox. I advise you to start locally, especially within the city you have lived in for 20 years, you still may find something new. Have fun!

Pictures were taken on our trip to Sevierville & Gatlinburg, TN.

Z Man says he's making Wudu (washing) for Prayer

This is why we go, Magnificent!