Event #2195

Rochester Rendezvous

Ellison Park - Orchard Grove Shelter, Rochester, NY

Registered Boxes: All Traditional HH/Cootie/Flea Postal LTC Event Box Traveler Other

Starts	Sat June 30, 2012 10:30am
Ends	Sat June 30, 2012 5:00pm
Owner	jackbear
Admins	jackbear joystar
Signups	83/∞
Location	Ellison Park - Orchard Grove Shelter, Rochester, NY View Map
Add to Calendar	Google calendar ICS file (e.g. Outlook, iCal, etc.)

Description

Jackbear, Joystar, Wyvern, and LostGirl would like to invite you to explore Ellison Park at the Rochester Rendezvous! We have reserved the Orchard Grove Shelter (see map) for a day of letterboxing fun in this park full of history and natural beauty. This event will be a good old fashioned letterbox gathering.... boxes, potluck, exchanging, etc.! We really are making it family focused, with a little bit of everything, for young an old. We hope you will make a day of it. We hope you come and box, but also enjoy some of the other great outdoor pastimes this park has to offer.

The Park:At 447 acres, Ellison Park has the beauty of natural woodlands combined with steep slopes and the level flood plain of the Irondequoit Creek. Activities allowed in the park include hiking trails, playgrounds, canoeing, fishing, tennis, horseback riding, disc golf (there is a course), and dog walking (a new dog park also). On my last visit here, I saw ALL of the above things occurring! Here is where we will be located in the park, where to park, and a few other landmarks: http://goo.gl/maps/zgWV

History:Officially the first Monroe County Park, Ellison Park came into being in December of 1926. Ellison Park has been the hub of many historical events and locations. Indian Landing which was located on Irondequoit Creek, for many years was used by the indigenous Iroquois as the beginning of the portage route which stretched along Ellison Park. The Lost City of Tryon, originally founded in hopes of creating a commercial settlement, used the Irondequoit Creek for trade. Soldiers hid out here, trading schooners docked nearby, and mills were built for industry.

Letterboxes: We are pleased to announce that we are planning at least five trails based on the members of our letterboxing family. There will be a trail for Jackbear with images of historical aspects of Ellison Park. There will be a series of driveby’s for Joystar with iconic images of Rochester. Another trail will be carved by Wyvern, with an adventure story for clues for the kids. Lostgirl's trail will have a series based on Gamewright card games!. And we don't want to leave Lyla Bean out (who is now 3 yrs old), so she gets a trail with images from her favorite books. Fun for the whole family! Trails will have varying levels of difficulty. Some hiking for the adventuresome, and easy short trails for the little tykes. We'll even have that "easter egg" hunt style around the lodge as well as part of the event stamp. Traveling event boxes, HIPS, etc are all welcome. Clue books will be available as well as a map. Boxes will be listed the night before for those who prefer to use an "app" and save paper.

Swap Box: A new idea came up from the AQ forums (credit to: aMAZEing adventure frog) I would like to try out! Tentatively called a "Swap Box", this will be a box that you can drop off unwanted carving supplies, letterbox containers, logbooks, whatever letterboxing related gear you want. The idea then is that if you drop something in the box, you can take something from the box. SWAP! No, it isn't geocaching, it is a way for unwanted stuff to find a home for someone else who can come up with a creative use for it, or someone who is just getting started out, or a chance for you to try out a different carving material....the sky is the limit! So bring some unwanted letterboxing stuff! Of course I will carve a stamp for it so you can get a stamp for your contribution. Whatever is left in the box at the end of the day I'll send along to someone else who is having a gathering and they can do the same.

Other:
-No raffle. We will be taking monetary donations. Donors receive special stamp (http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gBoxId=200573). THANKS!
-I will have NY Challenge Patches for sale at the event: http://www.atlasquest.com/gallery/viewphoto.html?gPhotoId=67545
-Letterpod patches also available: http://letterpod.podbean.com/patch/
-Some trails are/can be muddy. Avoid flip-flops.
-There is poison ivy, bugs, ticks, etc. You've been warned.
-Some trails are steep. If you like a walking stick, bring it.

Other Activities
-Dogs are welcome. There is a dog park a few steps away from our shelter. Please keep your dogs leashed near our shelter, and on trails per City and County rules, and for the comfort of small children and wary adults.
-Horses are welcome. Maybe not at the potluck table, but the park has suitable trails. If you want to ride but don't have a horse on hand, you might try these guys (I have never done this, just sayin' you could): http://www.heberlestables.com/staticpages/index.php/Trail_Rides
- Canoe/Kayak's welcome. Yes, the creek is great for this. If you want to rent to check these guys out (see Ellison Park Shuttle section): http://www.baycreek.com/index.php?page=rentals-and-shuttles
- Fishing is allowed in the park. Bring your poles. Trout are stocked upstream in spring, and Irondequoit Creek is connected the Lake Ontario.
- There are many geocaches in this park. If you are into that (or have a family member/friend who is) you can have a peak here: http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?ll=43.14781,-77.51534
- We just learned (6/24/12) that a large festival will be taking place in the park boundaries at the same time as our gathering. It is free and open to the public, so you are welcome to buy food there, explore their kids zone, listen to music, etc. If you arrive late, and are having trouble finding a place to park, the Dog Park parking lot is very close to our shelter also, and you can park there too. Here's a link to that event: http://www.dykepicnic.org/#!dykepicnicwomynsfestival/mainPage

Accommodations: I have had several requests about places to stay. Here are some ideas. I am not making any official recommendations, but these are places close by:
Campgrounds
Webster Park Campground: http://www.monroecounty.gov/parks-webster.php Camping Reservations can be made by calling 585 872-5326 (about 20 minutes from Ellison Park)
KOA in Canandaigua: http://koa.com/campgrounds/canandaigua/ (about 30 minutes from Ellison Park)
Hotels
Holiday Inn Express: http://www.hiexpress.com/hotels/us/en/rochester/rocma/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=mdpr-_-googlemaps-_-ex-_-rocma (about 10 minutes from Ellison Park)
Comfort Inn: http://www.comfortinn.com/hotel-rochester-new_york-NY357?source=gglocaljn (about 10 minutes from Ellison Park)
Super 8: http://www.super8.com/hotels/new-york/webster/super-8-webster-rochester/hotel-overview?cid=IP_Local&reg=Local-_-all-_-S8-_-all&wid=local: (about 12 minutes from Ellison Park)

We hope this event will become a biennial event, alternating with the Northern NY Gathering at the end of each June.

Signups

Total signups:83