LetterboxingDay two

After a day to catch back up on housework, we set out again.  This time we went to Priest Point Park, which is a gorgeous park by the Olympia Pier.  Lots of trails and lots of letterboxing boxes. 

We found a quick one called Wedding in the Park.

 

Then we went on a search for Curiouser and Curiouser, an Alice in Wonderland one that had 4 boxes.  Never did find any of them.  But we did see this tree and I told the kids that it would be a perfect place to hide one as it had a nice little shelf (that you can't see in the picture) up high enough to get to but not seen.

Sure enough, the next one The Crow and the Picture was hidden by this exact tree (though not on the shelf).

We set out to find one called Kirby's nature walk that had 12 boxes in a series.  Couldn't find where to begin, but we did find this beautiful flower.

This one made me want to bring markers to do letterboxing with.   Some of the kids were able to huff on the stamp and get the colors that someone else had done... not me, I'm always last to get the stamp.   It was called Home Tweet Home and was near the shore of the sound at Priest Point Park.

 Something we are going to add to the boxes we make....

 Because, yes, we are going to make boxes, it is just a matter of time.  LOL

 Everyone took turns holding the clue paper and reading the clues to everyone.  This was Colby's turn.  He did Father Ricard, a historical one that told about the priest who set up a fort/ trading post for the local tribes of native Americans (Hence the name Priest Point Park).

 There was this cool tree growing out of a old stump.  Couldn't resist a picture.

Another fun day of letterboxing.  Everyone was exhausted. 

But that wasn't all.  In a bid to get Keith as hooked as we all are, after feeding the kids and getting them ready for bed we went of on a date to look by the hospital, St Peter's.

IT was a hard one.  We had to find soemone who knew where a gazebo used to be in order to find it.

 Do you think it worked??  Will he want to go with us again?  I've already printed out some that are in DuPont so he could go with us on a lunch break sometime.

LetterBoxing

Last year we did some GeoCaching and LOVED it. This year we discovered Letterboxing and have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.  Letterboxing is a lot like GeoCaching, but instead of worrying about a treasure to replace and share with 9 kids everyone has their own "Passport Book" in which they put the stamp that we find from each letterbox hunt.

This is everyone making their passport books.  Everyone got very creative.

Then everyone got to pick a "Personal Stamp" (from my stash of stamps that I collected in my stamping days).

All that took up a good day.  So the next day we set out to find our first "Box".  Heading for the Olympia pier.  We followed the clues and found the black rock with a triangular rock underneath but no box could be found.

We did have fun seeing the sites though.  Jelly fish, sea shells, totem poles, boats for sail and.......

Fishermen statues.

Not to be detered, we set of for McLane Trailhead to learn all about gnomes.  Elijah found gnome homes all over the place.  But we were haing no luck finding the boxes (there were three).  Then I found this cool tree.   (If you look closely it looks like ribs)

I had everyone climb on it to take a picture.

Then someone recognized the path as a clue for the middle box and we were only a couple yards away from it.

Here is the stamp.  It took me a while to figure out what it was and so I put it sideways in most everyone's books.  Now they all do their own stamping LOL

After 2 hours of wandering around enjoying the scenery, finding gnome homes, hearing gnomes and not finding any other boxes, we all went home.... happy, but very tired.

All in all a great way to spend a day!

OHOP Village and Pioneer Farm

This is one of my favorite field trips to go on.  Ohop Native American Village and Pioneer Farm.

We started out on the Pioneer side.  We got to go in the cabin where the kids got to do the chores the pioneer children did.

After the brief explanation of all the things that they do, what does Anastasia go to very first??  The shaving station.  She shaved 3 boys' whiskers and then got her own shaved.

Of course I have to notice the crocheting.

Anastasia washing the pioneer clothes.  (The girls used to wash their clothes this way in Ukraine so it wasn't much of a stretch.)

She got her hair curled by a curling iron warmed up over a oil lantern.

She also got to grate cinnamon, grind coffee, chop carrots,  and play with pioneer toys.
(Mara, does this give you any ideas for the jean quilt?)

Milking a cow.  Anastasia and cows go waaaaaaaaay back.   Ask her sometime about her cow story.

One of the boys in our group was obsessed with catching each and everyone of the chickens.

Another boy in our group stripping logs the old fashioned way.

Riding the springboard.

Then we ate lunch (always an important part) and moved on to the Ohop village side.  They have sections set up that tells about the natives activities during each season.

An box drum, decorated in the typical Pacific Northwest motifs.

Making arrowheads.

Cedar bark basket and tanned ermine hide, on loan from the Nisqually tribe.

They had lots of necklaces, hats, and cedar bark skirts/capes for the kids to dress up in.

They got to make a cotton bracelet on the Pioneer side.  Braclets with bones and teeth (really only beans and noodles) and rings out of pounded cedar bark on the Native American side.

Bear grass basket.  (oh to make things like this.....)

Anastasia and her "friendly mark", marks that say you are ok to be among the tribe.

She got to shoot a bow and arrow,  play ring toss games, try to start a fire with a stick, play basket ball with a felted ball, and try to tell an animal by it's fur and tracks.

A very entertaining, educational, and fun (if tiring) field trip!