Letterboxing

Letterboxing is a fun family activity.  It is really similar to geocaching except you are given clues to find the hidden item instead of GPS coordinates. 

Also, letterboxing is about collecting stamps--like the kind you use ink and notepad.  Each letterbox has clues that lead to a hidden container that should contain a stamp and a little notepad.

{A letterbox we found.}

 The idea is that once you find a letterbox you leave your stamp in the letterbox book (indicating that you actually found it) and then use the letterbox stamp in your own stamp book for you to keep and remember.  (If you're a little confused by my explanation, visit the links below for more detailed instructions.)  

To start letterboxing, you will first need a stamp book.  This is for collecting the stamps that you will find at each letterbox.  You can have one stamp book for the whole family or you can have one for each child, whatever works best for you.  I like to use sketch pads (the stamps look really nice on the blank paper) and then cut them in half so I really get two stamp books from each sketch pad.

Next, you will need to buy or make a stamp.  This stamp is going to be your "signature" that you use when you find a letterbox.  Here again you can either have a family stamp or individual stamps.  There are los of tutorials available online that show how to make your own stamp.  This can be fun because then you're stamp will truly be unique and one of a kind.  

You will also need to buy an ink pad so that you actually use the stamps (most letterboxes don't include an ink pad, plus you don't know how used the ink will be once you find it).

Once you have those three things--stamp book, stamp, and ink pad--you ready to find your first letterbox!

You will find the clues for the letterboxes on these websites:

www.letterboxing.org  

and

atlasquest.com.

 When you go to these websites, simply enter where you live or where you are going to see if there are letterboxes in that area.

Once you pick a letterbox and have the clues, you are ready for the search!

I love letterboxing because sometimes they are hidden in locations you've never explored before.

{A beautiful waterfall we found while letterboxing}

Plus, it feels like a treasure hunt as you try to decipher the clues. 

If you like geocaching or outdoor activities, then you are sure to love letterboxing!

Campfire Chocolate Orange Muffins

Last week was National Park Week (to coincide with earth day/week), which meant free entrance to many national parks! {Checkout the U.S. National Park Service website to mark other free entrance days on your calendar.} So my family planned a little trip to visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks near Moab, Utah. We had a blast! 

We stayed in a little cabin for 2 nights, which was easier than worrying about sleeping in a tent with our 10 month old baby. During our stay we tried a new camping recipe:  

Campfire Chocolate Orange Muffins. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and yummy this campfire treat was, and we'll definitely be doing it again!

I found this recipe idea from this blog post. It provides a great tutorial, but I'd like to share my version here as well. First, here is everything that you'll need.

Ingredients:

Jiffy chocolate muffin mix

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

oranges

Other supplies:

knife

spoon

mixing bowl

measuring cup

aluminum foil

campfire/coals

{Step 1} Cut the top off the orange and set aside. Save the tops, you'll need them again later.

{Step 2} Remove the insides of the orange leaving only the orange rind. I used a spoon to dig out the orange and placed the leftovers on a paper plate. The orange was very easy to remove, just a little messy because I didn't squeeze the juice out first. We ate the orange bits with our breakfast so they weren't wasted.

{Step 3} - Mix the Jiffy chocolate muffins following the directions on the box. I chose Jiffy because it was the smallest muffin mix at the store. I only planned to make 3 oranges and I didn't want to have lots of leftover batter go to waste.

{Step 4} Spoon the muffin batter into the empty orange rinds. Fill oranges 1/2 - 3/4 with muffin batter. I filled our oranges too full, so the muffin spilled out over the edge when it cooked. But the aluminum foil kept it from getting too messy or spilling onto the coals.

{Step 5} Replace the top on the orange and rap the entire orange in aluminum foil.

{Step 6} Cook the oranges. Follow the directions from the muffin mix for cooking time.  We used charcoals and placed the oranges directly on them. We turned the oranges upside-down halfway through their cook time to make sure the muffins cooked all the way through. We also improvised and placed an aluminum pan on top of the oranges as a makeshift dome while they were cooking.

{Step 7} Unwrap oranges and eat when the muffin is cooked! Our muffins baked for 10-20 minutes. That's a broad estimate because I wasn't watching the clock too closely. 

When our muffins were done, I served them with some chocolate snack puddings so they wouldn't be as dry. Personally, I don't like eating dry cake/muffins and I didn't want to deal with frosting. Plus the snack puddings were easy because they didn't have to be refrigerated and they were already 1 person serving sizes. The combination was super chocolatey with a hint of orange. Yum!

This is a quick campfire recipe that you can enjoy while camping or in your backyard fire pit!