Frankie Comes Home

Frankie came back home for a visit since he has no hosts lined up. He came home wearing an orange felt "shirt" with "I Don't Do Costumes" printed on the back and a special hole for his tail to stick out of. He also had a small pumpkin treat bucket with a stamp and log book in it...how cute! It was a lot of fun looking thru his log book at all the cool stamps he collected since he left last May and has visited 4 hosts.

Thanks to all who have been willing to host him. Most especially to Teacup for the quick thinking of getting him out of Maine before Moose Hunting season!

If you would like to host Frankie the Moose, let me know.

Slide Show - photos by mudflinginfools

The Pine Tree State

Hello from the Pine Tree State!
I arrived in Maine on Saturday and am staying with Teacup and NBS (non-boxing spouse) near the coast of Maine. It feels like I have come home. Trees everywhere!

Early Sunday morning we struck out for a day of boxing. Between work and grandchildren, Teacup doesn't letterbox alot but she usually makes a full day when she goes. Even though she says she doesn't night box, it was dark when we left home. We stopped at the park and ride to pick up Mudflinginfools (Mff) and we were off.

Our first stop in the capital city of Augusta was for part of a series of cemetery boxes that are fun and informative. Alas, the box was missing. Not a good start to our day.

We made a couple more stops for the Parks and Playground series by Yah Yah. The mist across the water made for a nice photo op. While we were stamping up two and four footed muggles came up behind us. Just about scared the life out of Mff! You would have to wonder what they were thinking about adults and a stuffed moose in the park at 6 a.m.

One of our two destinations for the day was a preserve in Palermo, Maine. Halloween Series 2007 planted by Nizzie was where we were headed. None of us had been to this area or knew of Nizzie's carves so we were looking forward to a new planter and new area. This is a rural area of Maine and a nice drive. Why do the wild turkeys cross the road? We don't know but they do it alot up in this neck of the woods. I feel right at home.

The preserve was a beautiful spot and we took our time enjoying the views on the trail. There was alot of tree damage in the area but that was a mother nature event. Sad though to see the stately giants felled. We took some photos along the rocky stream bed. Teacup thought it should look like I was in the middle of the water so she set up a photo shoot. Usually Mff gets wet so she thought it was funny when the wet shoe was on the Teacup foot! Silly humans. The clues and stamps by Nizzie were good and we had a fine time in this area.

We went back through Augusta for a couple more drive-bys by Yah Yah and headed to Mt. Pisgah for Summer Fun letterbox. We didn't get lost looking for the mountain but did have to ask directions of a most interesting human. Let's just say she gave good directions but wow!

The clues for the letterbox were unclear to us until we got to the mountain. Information at the kiosk put everything into perspetive and so we climbed. It was a bit steep for my hosts but we found the box without any trouble. The stamp was store bought but was planted by a child so we added colorful inks and did some maintainence on the box and we were off. There were some very interesting tree formations in this area. Legend has it there was a curse put on the woods by an indian. You'll have to visit the mountain for the rest of the story.

We made a quick stop in Leeds for a box by The Thompson Twins. They list it as their first carve so is fun to see how much they have improved since then.

We headed to Lewiston to tie up a loose end. Apparently, the last stamp and logbook for a series had eluded my hosts and they were determined to find it today. I led them right to it but didn't stamp in because I didn't have the others in the series.

We headed back home and stopped in Topsham for a series that Teacup had but Mff wanted before it was pulled for the season. It's a nice little trail behind a school and another perfect place to see more of my kind. Where are all the moose in Maine anyway? As we were stamping up in the last book, two ladies were standing down the trail watching us. Couldn't see any logbook in hand but it sure looked like clue sheets from LBNA. We looked at each other warily and one asked " Are you looking for what we're looking for?" We laughed and asked "Which way is North?" They were new to boxing and didn't even have trail names but we did exchanges, traded stories about how fun it is to letterbox and told them about Atlas Quest. A totally good end to our letterboxing day.

I've had alot of fun on my first outing here in Maine. Teacup has a great friend in Mudflinginfools. She loves to laugh and have a good time so hope we get to go out together again. I understand a big event will be held later this month and I'll be going along.

Until next time...
Frankie

"Waterfall Treasure" in Darien, IL

We went boxing again today and it was a beautiful spot! Frankie really enjoyed the view as you can see from the pictures!! It was a box entitled "Waterfall Treasure" in Darien, IL. We found the box but the stamp was missing!! How sad!! We were unable to tell when the last person to stamp in was so we emailed the owner to let them know. It looked like a cool stamp too.


Frankie and the box


Frankie enjoying the view & the view he was enjoying!

Pancake Aficionado

Nebraska

We're home from vacation! We took Frankie the Moose with us on vacation he had a great time out in the country!! We had one successful letterbox entitled "Gone Fishin'" at Recharge Lake in York, Nebraska! Frankie made an excellent traveling companion and steered clear of my parent's new english springer spaniel, Mollie. He enjoyed late night dinners with wine, good food, and good company! We'll be taking him boxing a few more times locally and then sending him on his way! He's been a delight!! I got a cute picture of him, it was right above where we found our box at Recharge Lake. (I have to say, the lake was nothing to brag about..sheesh..oh well, the box was worth it though, a very nicely hand-carved stamp!)

Jenny B

Pancake Aficionado

Frankie Arrived Aug 13, 2007

Got Frankie the Moose today! Thanks!!
Jenny B
Pancake Aficionado

Photo Slide Show of Frankie's time with NitroCat

July 20, 2007 Another missing post found

Hi, everybody! We had another great letteboxing weekend with Nitrocat and her kittens. Tweeter and Pinky and I are each going to tell a different part of the story. I get to tell about going to Nelson Lake.
Friday morning, we left with Nitrocat's crew to go up to Batavia and try to find some letterboxes. We even took Kirby with us! Stacy only needed seven to reach her goal of 100 by her letterboxing anniversary. The first place we went was the Dick Young forest preserve. It was a really neat place with a huge lake and large areas of prairie land being restored. It was in full bloom and beautiful! There were two boxes in the park and we headed around the lake to look for the first one. We walked and walked and walked and walked. We ended up going completely around the lake and couldn't find the box. Nitrocat found out later that we had walked over three miles, and the kittens had the blisters to prove it. They did really well though. There was a little complaining by the end, but Nitrocat said that they had earned the right. She realized later that we should have gone the other way around the lake and the walk would have been less than a mile, but she made all of us promise not to tell the kittens.
The second box was also missing, and had been for a while we learned later. Nitrocat was a little disappointed, but she told us that the preserve was so awesome that she was glad we came anyway even if we didn't find any letterboxes.
You will have to read the rest of our adventures on Tweeter and Pinky's blogs.
More later!
FtM

The Quest!

We found a great surprise waiting for us when we got up this morning! Nitrocat had costumes all laid out and a wonderful adventure planned for us. I got to be a Knight in Shining Armour! I was Sir Frankalot and I had to rescue Princess Pinky from the Sorcerer, Tweeter the Magnificent. We had lots of fun acting out the story in our costumes.
Since we aren't going to the Faire, Nitrocat decided to take us on a "more local Quest". We had already gone and gotten "The Quest Begins", the first box in the King's Ransom series here in Kendall county. Now we also got to get the images from the other boxes. The whole series has the adventurers defeating a dragon, rescuing a princess and receiving a reward. You have to answer a lot of questions about jewels, royalty, and dragons to find the letterboxes. Nitrocat made us promise that we wouldn't tell the secrets about the series though. She said they are Mystery boxes and they are her "planter's choice" or favorite boxes of all.
What a great ending to a fun stay here in Newark! I'm off to Pancake Aficionado's tomorrow!
I'll write when I arrive.
FtM

The Storm

You should have seen the storm we had this evening! There was so much lightning! One of the strikes was really close and loud. It popped a couple of light bulbs and killed one of the fans here in the house. And it messed up the colors on the TV too!
Nitrocat broke the news to the other two today that they are not going to be able to go to the Ren Faire. I think Pinky was the most disappointed, but then Nitrocat told us that she had a surprise instead. She said it wasn't quite as much fun as the fair, but she thought we'd like it anyway. She said she had a few details to finish after we went to bed. She also told me that if I wanted to stay one more day so that I could enjoy the surprise too, she thought it would be okay. That means that I won't be leaving tomorrow like I planned, but she thought I'd be ready to go on Wednesday for sure.
Good night!
FtM

July 23, 2007 The Missing Post

Hi, Mom!
It has been so busy for the last few days that I have not had a chance to write about our activities. Tweeter, Pinky and I sat down and decided that each one of us would write about a different part of our adventures. I get to tell you about going to Nelson Lake.
On Friday, Stacy wanted to try to get the last boxes she needed to reach her goal of 100. The sitter she had lined up for the kittens was sick, and they ended up getting to come too. We headed up to Batavia to a preserve called Dick Young. There were two boxes there for us to find. Following the clues, we headed off around the lake. It was a beautiful day, there were butterflies everywhere and lots of people were out with their dogs. We had Kirby with us. (Nitrocat says that the stamp that will become his personal traveller is in a postal ring right now. It is almost done, and she hopes it makes it home before we have to leave so that we can have the image.) There was a field of wildflowers in bloom and we saw lots of birds too.

We walked and walked and walked and walked and walked. We ended up going all the way around the lake! Both boxes ended up being AWOL, so it was a bit of a disappointment for all of us. Stacy tried to help us look on the bright side and remember all of the neat things we had seen. She said the park was worth visiting even without the letterboxes. Later we found out that the trial around the lake is over 3 miles long! She also told us that we had gone the wrong way around the lake. If we had gone the other direction, we would have only walked about a mile looking for the letterboxes. She made us promise that we wouldn't tell the kittens. Poor J had blisters! I wish I could have carried her.
More later!
FtM

What a time!

Hello, Family!
We had quite a time this weekend! It was very hot and humid, but we spent the day recovering yesterday and feel fine now.
Early Saturday morning, we all left with Nitrocat and headed up to meet some of her friends near Rockford. We had a great day and found 17 letterboxes! That means that we finally got to help Nitrocat reach 100 finds. She also found her first cuckoo clue that day and we were close enough to go and find the letterbox that went with it too. That was exciting!
My favorite place was the Atwood Park and Education Center. They had some Birds of Prey in cages and we saw several large owls, a kestrel and a Bald Eagle. The Eagle was yelling at us and the Great Horned Owl hissed at us. I don't think they liked being disturbed even though we tried to be quiet and move slowly. Nitrocat took our picture by the Eagle. She said it was funny because there is a little poison ivy in the picture too and that was appropriate since we were dodging it all day.
We also went to the Goose Barn, which is a rubber stamping store owned by a letterboxer named Dumpster Diva. She wasn't there, so we didn't get to exchange with her, but we did get the two boxes at the store. We had our picture taken in front of the barn door. Can you see us by the handle?
We saw lots of other great things, and Tweeter and Pinky Poo have written about some of them. It was fun to meet Pastor's Wife and Prairie Dog and see all of the wonderful stamps carved by Krait and a couple of other people.
My time here in Illinois is almost over, I guess. I'm a little sad because I've had so much fun. But Nitrocat said that she won't be letterboxing as much next month because she has to get ready for school, so I guess it is time to move on. It doesn't look like it is going to work out for me to go to the Renaissance Faire with them. Oh, well. Where am I going next?
Frankie

What Boxing Buddies do on rainy days...

Hi, Mom!
Just a quick note to let you know what I'm up to. Yesterday, we got to exchange with Nitrocat's two letterboxing nephews who live next door. Today, it was stormy and yucky out, so we spent some time stamping some of the postals that Stacy has here. She said that they are "in transition" from being postals to being planted as traditionals. My favorite was "The real story of the 3 little pigs" because it has a funny story to go with it. She said the story is also on the clue page on AQ.
We hope to get to go boxing on Thursday if the weather is decent.
FtM

Box Maintenance and Meeting new friends

Hi, Mom!
Well, this has been a maintenance weekend so far. We have gone to check on 7 of Nitrocat's boxes. One, from the King's Ransom series, needed some revision to the clue for the first box. The next four were at Silver Springs where she said lots of people had been looking for a missing lady. She wanted to make sure that they hadn't found her letterboxes in the process. And they hadn't! Then we replanted the Favoritten. It was requested that she find a new hiding spot by the caretakers of the cemetery where it had been planted. There was some vandalism (Nitrocat says Not by letterboxers, though!) and they wanted to eliminate any extra traffic. And last, we rescued the Lake Mermaid because Nitrocat accidentally planted it on private property. We still have to find a new spot for that box though.
It was alot of work, but we got some neat stamps. Some of them were the first ones that Nitrocat ever carved. We got to see a natural spring, meet Combine Kid and Fast Track and see some really freaky looking spiders! Stacy says that they are the ones that spin the huge webs across the trails that we walk through sometimes. She said if my antlers were bigger, she'd let me go first on the trails. Since they aren't big enough though, she showed us how to pick a good walking stick to use instead.
We also got to stamp two fleas that the Yorkshire Tortoise sent from the UK! They are alot like our hitchhikers, but can go in any kind of box.
Well, the other buddies need to use the computer too, so I'd better go. More later!
Hey, did Starling123 get my postcard in time?
Love,
FtM

Boxing in Romeoville

Hi, Mom!
Yesterday was an amazing day! Nitrocat decided to take advantage of the great weather and take all of us letterboxing in Romeoville. We found 5 letterboxes. Three of them were from the Adult Swim Series, and one was from the Monty Python Holy Grail series. That one was in a great location even if there was a really steep and slippery hill to climb. We ate great food at a little hamburger stand for lunch and went back when we were finished boxing for an ice cream snack on the way home. Megan took great care of me and helped me stamp in my logbook. We also stopped at the Post Office so that I could mail my postcard to Robin.
We looked up the dragonfly that we took a picture of and found out that it is an Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly. We saw more of them today. Tweeter kept trying to eat them!
We are resting up today, but we might try to go again tomorrow while the nice weather holds.
Love,
FtM

Carving New Sig Stamp

Hi, Mom!

I have spent the last couple of days helping Nitrocat get caught up on postals. She calls it playing! There was a really neat one from the Dr. Seuss ring that she let me stamp into my logbook. She also helped me carve a mini sig stamp.

Tweeter arrived yesterday, so I got to exchange with him. Pinky Poo should arrive today or tomorrow. We hope to go up to Batavia and North Aurora on Thursday to look for about 10 boxes. In the meantime, Nitrocat says we will be pretty busy with "Life", or things like swimming lessons and grocery shopping. I don't think she likes those things as much. She says not everyone has their priorities straight though, so we have to pretend that they are important to us. Last night we stayed up and watched Jaws while we snapped beans (green, yellow and purple!).

Later,

FtM

Mather Woods

Hi, Mom!
I went letterboxing with Nitrocat this morning! We left about 5:20am to beat the heat and found four out of five letterboxes. My favorite was at Mather Woods in Plainfield. There was so much wildlife, I almost forgot that we were there to box! We saw two kinds of Herons, a blue jay, an indigo bunting, chipmunks, rabbits everywhere, and a deer! We also saw lots of really cool plants, butterflies and dragonflies.
We are watching for the mailman today, because they are expecting two more buddies. Then Nitrocat says we will have a big Exchange party with the other buddies and her two letterboxing nephews who live next door. The first thing I am going to do it cootie one of them with the pawprint cootie that one of the kittens stuck on me while I was napping yesterday! I should have known I was in trouble when I saw the Cootie Crew t-shirts in the laundry.
Nitrocat also wants to know if it is okay if she helps me carve a mini sig stamp? She says that there are lots of micro boxes in this area and the logbooks are really small. If I had a mini sig, then the whole image would fit instead of just my nostrils.
We are going to try to go again on Monday morning.
Love,
FtM

Meeting Nitrocat and Kittens

Hi, Mom!
I just wanted to let you know that I have arrived in Illinois safely. It was very hot and stuffy in my envelope, but Nitrocat and her kittens got me out as soon as I arrived (I think they were watching for the mailman!) and let me get some fresh air on the porch. You should see this plant that Nitrocat has! It looks like it has fuzzy pink caterpillars all over it!




She says that it is too hot to box today, but that we can exchange stamps and I can get their personal travellers. The weather looks a little better on Monday and hopefully we can go out and pick up a few boxes. Nitrocat also said that it is her 1year letterboxing birthday on the 19th and she wants to have 100 finds by then. She says I can help her get the last sixteen she needs! You should also see the pile of boxes that she wants to plant! This should be a busy month!
More later!
Frankie

A Postcard Home

Here is the first postcard Frankie sent home from his travels. He even stamped part of his big sig stamp on it! Sorry it took so long to update this blog of his travels.
So nice to hear from our little buddies, hope this is the first of many postcards from the buddies we have sent out to travel the globe.

A note from TeamBearCat:

A note from TeamBearCat:

Mr. Bear-Cat's birthday was earlier this week and he wanted to do somewaterfall hiking, so we set out today and logged the Back to Basics letterbox, at Jackson Branch, along the Natchez Trace, in Smarden,Tennessee. Frankie had a great time and seemed to enjoy playing bythe falls. Mostly a trickle-falls at the point but very lush andlovely -- he wanted to munch the ferns!

Alabama Adventures

Frankie relaxing with one of the resident cats -- this one is from Mexico!

Back in TN after a fun Memorial Day weekend in Alabama. The other two were taken at the Tannehill Historic State Park; one at the Alabama Museum of Iron and Steel and one at the lovely little historic church. Frankie was able to get 6 of the 'Treasures of Tannehill' LB series: http://www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=2178

Frankie Update

TeamBearCat reported: Frankie the Moose arrived safely in Brentwood TN a couple of days ago. We're busy packing up for a weekend in Alabama! We will be offline until Monday -- hunting boxes in Birmingham and Tannehill State Park!Details and photos to follow!

Becoming a Boxing Buddy

Hello! My name is Frankie The Moose. I am a boxing buddy getting ready to visit some letterboxers and make new friends and have lots of fun new adventures. Check back here to see where I have traveled and what sorts of fun I am having.