Flood Plan - MISSING

9/7/09, Flood Plan has been reported missing which just goes to show you that I picked a terrible spot. It floated away - a lot of good it would have done if I had really needed it. Watch for Flood Plan II to be placed soon - hopefully in a spot safer from flooding!
Location: Reading, PA
Length of Hike: .5 mile round trip
Date Planted: July 30, 2006

We live a half mile from the Schuylkill River. It is a fairly nondescript river. I grew up playing on the mighty Susquehanna River and when I moved to Berks County many years ago, I remember looking at the Schuylkill rather scornfully and snorting to the locals "you think THAT is a river?" For many years it was nothing more than a large stream in my mind.

Then one day in June, 2006, it started raining. And it rained and it rained and it rained. And the paltry little Schuylkill grew and grew and grew. Soon it became a raging monster, flowing over its banks, destroying one of my employer's office buildings which was on its banks, closing roads. Fortunately, that half mile between our home and the river was sufficient enough for us to remain safe and sound, only minorly inconvenienced by the detours that we had to take to bypass the closed roads. But it made an impression and I decided that I had to take some action to prepare for a future similar episode.

I completed my plan and knew that I had to place it away from our house in an easily accessible spot. After all, I may not have the use of a car if something were to happen again. So I remembered a little trail that I had accidentally discovered when I wandered off from a family gathering one spring evening. This path begins in the Madison at Exeter apartment complex off of Lorane Road. Access this trail by walking between apartments 555 and 557 on Dover Court. The trail begins as a wood chip path and meanders a bit along a stream which is really quite pretty when the summer growth dies back. Wander along this path for a little while until the path widens and branches off to the right. If the water level is high enough you will see some pretty little waterfalls here. Continue on the main path until you see this spot (literally!).

Look towards the creek opposite this spot and you will see the perfect hiding spot for my flood plan.

Reported missing: July 13, 2008

Laura's Grown Up Luv - Tiny Treasure

Location: Reading, PA
Hike Length: about 1 mile round trip
Date Planted: July 30, 2006

This is the final box in the Laura's Childhood Luvs series - a series which was a lot of fun for me to plan and plant. This box also replaces the exchange box "Pateke from New Zealand" because the carver of that box has requested that I send it home to her. Tiny Treasure is in the exact location that Pateke was in but you should be able to count it as a new find because it is an entirely different box.

To find this box, go to the Sawmill Parking lot of the forest in Berks County originally owned by a producer of hosiery and get out of your car and admire the dam and little waterfall. Then turn your back on this pretty sight and take the trail which is now to your left. After you pass two sets of park benches, watch for a swatch of green and turn left on the trail after it. Walk up, up, up till you have to make a choice. If you choose the right way you will be on a timber and tree root stepped path. Take this to the loop and go counterclockwise. You will see a wooden platform, ignore it, the box is not there. Go a bit further to a little hill on the right. Go down that to the two trunked tree that is directly in front of you and search for your reward.

While you are in the park be sure to search for the series by Pink Panther and Black Swan as well as by ShredMTB.

Edited 7/6/09. I checked on this box and it is still in good shape. I did slightly move it though. It is now in front of the tree instead of behind it due to a small amount of poison beginning in its old hiding spot.

6/6/10 - box still in good shape.

Piece-a Pizza

Location: Ashland, PA
Length of Hike: Driveby
Date Planted: July 30, 2005Looking for Black Diamonds near Mother? Hungry? Thirsty? Have a piece-a pizza at Devitos. While you are there, have a Guer’s Iced Tea from the cooler.

Say hello to my brother, Tom!
My brother sold this restaurant in 2009 and it is now in foreclosure from the new owners so I presume this box is history.

Last reported find: July 10, 2008

Old Fiddlers Picnic

Location: Hibernia Park, Chester County, PA
Date Planted: June 16, 2005
Length of Hike: .25 mile

This box was placed to honor the 77th Annual Old Fiddlers Picnic held in Hibernia Park, a lovely little park near Coatesville, PA. To obtain more information on the gathering, go to: http://www.chesco.org/ccparks/fiddlers05.html. The 2006 celebration will be held on August 12 from 10 till 6.

To find the box, go to the main entrance and follow the road to the parking area at the Warren Mercer Memorial. Park your car and walk back out to the road, turn right and carefully walk back down the main road about .2 mile to a trail on the left. Take this trail about 30 steps and look to the left for two touching rocks in the woods, about ten feet off the road. Look behind the rocks for your prize.

This letterbox has been planted with the permission of Hibernia Park, please remember to abide by all of the rules of the park.

Pateke from New Zealand

Location: Reading, PA
Hike Length: about 1 mile round trip
Date Planted: April 3, 2005

7/20/2006 This box has been pulled to return to Psychokiwi.

The Pateke box is part of the IALC (International Artgirl Letterboxing Cabal) exchange. The box listed here was created by Team Psychokiwi from New Zealand and is now planted in Nolde Forest by Team Little Dog. Note: At the request of Psychokiwi, this box will be pulled and returned to her at the end of July, 2006. Another box will be placed in the same area but this is your last chance to get a neat stamp from New Zealand.

I checked on this box 7/5/2006. It is in excellent condition but the logbook was full. I had planned on keeping the full log book in the box for others to enjoy (it is unique) but I couldn't fit it in with the new log book.

This picture is the reason that I checked on this box today. We have just had a tremendous amount of rain and a lot of local flooding and I was afraid that this box would have floated away. The creek here has been dry more often than it has had water in it on my trips to this park. Fortunately, the water was flowing nicely and the box was dry as a bone.

To find this box, go to the Sawmill Parking lot of the forest in Berks County originally owned by a producer of hosiery and get out of your car and admire the dam and little waterfall. Then turn your back on this pretty sight and take the trail which is now to your left. After you pass two sets of park benches, watch for a swatch of green and turn left on the trail after it. Walk up, up, up till you have to make a choice. If you choose the right way you will be on a timber and tree root stepped path. Take this to the loop and go counterclockwise. You will see a wooden platform, ignore it, the box is not there. Go a bit further to a little hill on the right. Go down that to the two trunked tree that is directly in front of you and search for your reward.

While you are in the park be sure to search for the ShredMTB's Series.

Please let me know when you find this box so that both Team Psychokiwi and Team Little Dog can share in your excitement!

Laura's Childhood Luvs - Scooby Doo

This is one of a series of boxes based on my daughter’s childhood luvs. Laura is the mother of my beloved grandson, Nicholas, and when she was pregnant with him, we did some shopping in the toy departments to see what toys were the latest rage for today’s infants. We were totally surprised to find that many of the toys that Laura played with as a child are still available and popular today. These boxes began as a series of postal letterboxes and as they returned home, I planted them permanently. While reminiscing, we remembered several other favorites and created new boxes to memorialize them. Because Laura has a physical challenge (she is blind) and also enjoys letterboxing, I am placing these boxes in areas that are mainly handicapped accessible.

This box was placed in a park on Lloyd Avenue in Downingtown, Chester County. Every time I go past this park, I see people getting their dogs in and out of the car and I found out from some local people that it is known as the Dog Park so I thought that Scooby Doo would be happy here. This is an open grassy field which tends to have a lot of wet swampy areas because it is right next to the Brandywine Creek. The parking lot is at a little creek, if the water is low, you can almost hop across it. There is a solid ground way to get onto the field up the road a little bit. Be careful of walking through the creek though, I tried it and it sucked the sandal right off of my foot. Anyway, follow the Brandywine around the edge of the field. There are many little alcoves in the trees to get a better view of the pretty stream banks here. At the very end of the field, it begins to curve around to the north. Continue to follow the perimeter of the field. You will pass a path coming in from the cornfield on your right. Soon, you will pass an extremely straight trunked tree in the form of a V. A little further along is a many (and I mean many) trunked tree on a little rise. It is kind of eerie looking. Beside it is a metal pole. The box is nestled in the many trunks. It may be better to go back to the cornfield to stamp in because this park is extremely busy with a lot of dogs who run freely.
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Comment recevied from the Clueless Crew on 9/5/06
Hello! Just wanted to know we found your letterbox on 9/4/06 called Scooby Doo! We also enjoyed watching all the real dogs jumping into the stream and running around playing with each other. Your box was well hidden and has some really nice stamps in it! Just to let you know... the stream there is called "Beaver Creek" not the Brandywine. It runs into the Brandywine. We know this because our son goes to school at Beaver Creek Elementary which borders this stream. We have lived in Downingtown for 30 years and are 99.99% sure of that name. We look forward to discovering some more of your letterboxes when we get over 25 finds - so far we're nubbies with only 3 but we look forward to many autumn hikes and plan to try Berks County when we get braver since there are so many hidden there. Thanks again for making such a kid-friendly letterbox. The Clueless Crew

Too Hot to Hike in Berks County - Swan Lake - Missing

Location: Reading, PA
Hike Length: None, this is a driveby
Elevation Gain: 0 feet
Date Planted: October 23, 2005



Kachel Blvd First right to see the swans.
Head to the south building.
Practice parallel parking on east side of southern building.
Walk up the hill towards the road.
Three trunked tree growing against a three trunked tree.
Swans in the tree.

Last found: July 13, 2008

After the -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . Box

Placement date: Apr 3 2005
State: Pennsylvania
County: Berks
Nearest city: .-. . .- -.. .. -. --. --..--

Clues:
8/2007 - This box is totally overgrown by multiflora roses. It is not able to be reached at this time. I will go back after some of the summer growth has died back to see if it is still available.

After solving the -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . box, go back out to the main road and head east. Drive 1.6 miles till you see some Shades of Green. Make a left hand turn here and follow this road around the curve. Park at the yellow sign which describes the place you are visiting and begins with the letter “A”. Walk up the hill behind the sign and across the bridge with the metal railing. Walk along the path to the fallen tree on the right. Here is what you have been searching for.