https://www.pepsicoproductfacts.com/Home/product?gtin=00052000135084

I was wrong, it was Cucumber Lime and APPARENTLY I can still purchase it!!! And there is sugar! I bet that would make a great slushy

Definitely! I have arthritis and fibromyalgia and sometimes I realize I’ve committed to a carve and I’m in so much pain that I have to scrap the idea and do something way simpler so I try to get creative with colors and backings and stuff and just hope that nobody is too offended that it’s not as good as my previous card or my next card.

No matter what I always do my best - sometimes my body just has a different idea of what my best is on a particular day!

That’s what the clues are for.

When you first listed boxes I clicked on the map for some of them
and as far as I can tell there is no way to find the box/s. There is no clue and the map and google view just shows an area of highway.

I see you have found 7 boxes. Did you follow clues to those boxes?

There are some very informative and helpful tutorials on AQ on planting boxes and other aspects of boxing.

It's hard to know why your boxes don't show up without knowing the precise search that you are running. Does your search hide boxes that you've planted or found? Does your search hide boxes without clues listed? These kind of details can make a difference.

Some people suggested that maybe Denison was in the wrong location--and those things can happen, but I checked and the location of Denison is fine so that's not the reason.

Your box listings, however, do have issues that would make it very common for them not to be shown in searches. Some people trip over the fact that AQ might suppress your own boxes if your default settings are to hide your own boxes (you already know where your boxes are, so why would you be trying to search for them, after all?) and that could be the case with you, but you never shared your search so who knows?

Your boxes also don't have clues listed and the default settings on AQ will suppress those because (almost) nobody wants to look for boxes without clues. It is possible to change your default settings, but that's not going to help others find your boxes. You should also include a clue with your box--even if it's nothing more than a GPS coordinate because you want to hide a "geocache-style" type of box.

Listing just the GPS coordinates of your box as the location can also cause your boxes not to show up for some searches. For instance, if someone runs an area search for boxes in Texas, your boxes won't show up at all because you never actually listed that your box is in Texas. If you have a box in Denison and someone runs an area search for boxes that are in (or near) Denison, your box won't show up because AQ doesn't know what town your box is in or near. If you include Denison as the city name, AQ can match it up.

Locations on AQ are largely based on addresses, cross streets, park names, etc. GPS coordinates are for computers, and the people who use this website are human. =) You can still include the GPS coordinates of the starting point in your location as the "name" or "address", but fill out the rest of the location information too. The more you exclude, the fewer searches your box will show up in. It's entirely possible as well that the "name" of your location (the GPS coordinates) don't actually match the GPS location for the box. The "name" can be absolutely anything. I did look at a couple of your boxes and the name and GPS coordinates do match, but I didn't check all of your boxes and if some of them are wrong, it'll display what you might think is the correct coordinate but actually process it for searches using an incorrect coordinate.

But I suspect if you fix the location information (or rather, fill in all the location details) and add clues to your boxes, they'll probably start showing up.

I'll also point out--the location is supposed to be where the person needs to go to start their hunt for the letterbox--it's not the specific location of the letterbox itself. The starting point should be a parking lot, or a trailhead or something that helps people get to where they need to be when they start reading the clues.

There is a spot when listing boxes that you can list the precise GPS coordinates of the letterbox for your own reference in the "Series Details" section of listing a box. It's entirely optional and not something other people can see, but it can be handy if you have trouble remembering precisely where you planted a box or if someone has trouble finding your box and they want to know if they were close to the right area or not or something.

You might also check out your default preferences when it comes to searches to see if there are any other defaults being used that might cause your boxes not to show up as expected.

Anyhow, hope this helps!

-- Ryan

One more thing... New prescription glasses. Work like a charm too. Don't forget your own eyes. ;)

Plus, try holding the rubber at a different angle and look at the sides of it. It helps to see those boogers that are always in the way. Learned that one over the winter with my bad eyes. Doing better now. New script helps a lot!

I recently had all my carving tools sharpened by Kirbert… best letterboxing decision I’ve ever made. For the first time, I feel like I can get micro details carved correctly. It’s definitely been a huge help. They are way sharper now than even when I first bought them!

I’ve noticed that pink stuff does indeed bend away from my gouge. Unfortunately, my hand hurts when I try to carve harder materials. Is there a good compromise material?

Gorgeous carve!!

For L&BXXX - we will be having a LTC class and would like to showcase your best of the best LTCs from all around during the class. If you are willing to send me one LTC you've made that you think you've mastered a technique - or just love it overall - consider joining this tracker.

LTC Donation tracker

thanks in advance ;)
the L&BXXX Planning Committee

Oooh wow! <me deep diving this new tidbit of info.>
Definitely need to keep an eye out for that! - thanks.

Thank you, Rocklun, I appreciate your kind words. 😊


I've gotten to where my hands hurt more than they used to, as well. When I'm carving Tan-Z, I use my palm gouge so the palm pushes more than my fingers. I also warm up the carving medium with a blow dryer. It makes it a bit easier to push through.


I'm not sure if I understand correctly, but if it's to better see where you've cut, I always stamp my transfer with sunflower yellow before starting to better see what's been carved and what hasn't. I can't imagine trying to carve thin lines without it.

If you use FB, this man tells stories about NH.
Lots of inspiration for planting, maybe?
His voice alone was enough to lure me in.

https://www.facebook.com/GraniteWhispers/reels/

The Alice C. Sabatini Gallery in the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library will be hosting an exhibition called "You Are Here" about maps and travel this Fall. I immediately thought of letterboxing and would love to host a program about letterboxing as part of the exhibit. Can anyone connect me with someone from NE Kansas who would be interested in teaching others about letterboxing?

Damn - the story about a group actually rejecting a boxers carves as "not good enough". I mean, I get it in some situations. Like going for a certification as a Master Craftsman but in letterboxing? Something meant to be a fun pass time?

Saddest words and I hear people say them all the time.... "I could never do that", "I don't have the talent for that", "I'm not good enough to do that". So they never do it and miss out on all of the enjoyment to be had right at the level they're at. Just who are you performing for?

Just because you can't climb Mt. Everest (or to be frank, even want to) doesn't mean you should let anyone stop you from taking fantastic walks. Carve your carve and know it's the best you can do THAT DAY and be proud of it!

I’m moving to north Chicago closer to Evanston in a couple weeks and wanted to see if there’s any kind of active scene or any letterboxes folks think would be fun to do once I’m a little more settled. The neighborhood I’m moving to doesn’t seem to have any (most are in Evanston) but there’s a smattering of parks and cemeteries nearby that don't seem to have any boxes and I plan to stash at least a few if I can find good enough hiding spots haha. Otherwise excited to be headed back to the Midwest!

I love this. Yes. Yes. Yes.

But interesting.

The audio is weird. For some unknown reason (see comments) the original language chosen is Dutch, but he's an American journalist speaking English. Choose Dutch (three dots upper right corner) in order to hear the speaker in his normal voice, in English. If you don't do that it sounds like it's fake. But it's totally worth it to hear Claude's response.

Sometimes it sounds normal without doing the above. :::shrug::::

"Journalist Shane Harris asked Claude how it felt about its use in the Maven Smart System for intelligence analysis and target selection."

This is how Claude "feels". He is troubled.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ahV6nQ-TATk

not positive but i think he lives in bedford, n.h.
he has some really interesting stories to tell. and that beard is wild!
smile

I plan to seek and hopefully find when I return from vacation. What say you fellow Texas letterboxers?

Fantastic carve. This would make a great tracker theme.

Looking for a recommendation for the best lightweight walking stick chair combo please!

I had it last summer. It had a very strong flavor.

GTO, I have the one seat with a corner cut out from my attempt and a coffin shaped pen stain on one side. I'm happy to send it to you if you are still interested?

Google “walking stick with chair”. You’ll see a ton of them, on Amazon and a bunch of different sites.

I WATCH HIM ALL THE TIME. HE IS GREAT.

While having the cane or walking assistance in such a product is useful, sitting on the seat can be tricky. The tripod legs require you to be precise with settling evenly. I can’t image it would be useful on a trail.

I saw someone using one once. It seemed pretty easy. I suppose it would depend on the ground they have available. From what I see online, many are designed specifically for trails.

K. Hopefully, someone can give you real world experience with a trail designed one.

May I ask a question?
(I'll assume you said, "Yes".)

Looking at five of your boxes, 389998, 389999, 390000, 390001 and 390002, I see you've given slightly different coordinates to the same general area and scant clues for each box.

Also, you have them marked as Word of Mouth.
Does that mean you'll give further information for each box?

my problem with those chairs, the seat is too low for me.

the overall length is too short for a walking stick or even a cane.

I'm not that tall but it's too short for me