Why I Letterbox.

Arm of a dragon chair

I don't think people understand the why of letterboxing.  Lots of reasons.  I love the quest.  I love the art.  I love the outdoors.  I love the companionship.  I love the unexpectedness of it all.  Will the box be there?  Will the stamp be cool?  Will the plant be clever?  Will the hike take me someplace astounding?

Letterboxing out of town requires some paring before the trip even begins.  Just ask Phil who was subject to the trip of a thousand clue pages to Connecticut.  (I heartily apologize for every tree that died for that trip).  It's just so hard when you don't have the capacity to print any new ones once you are there.  And who knows how many you can really get in one day.  Although my personal best still less than 30.  So doing the math 30 X # days on the trail should get me there.  But that doesn't account for changes of plans, or whims to travel down the coast and see big ships, or travel gnomes or ANYTHING!

Cats in the ceiling

It is almost impossible to tell from a set of clue pages when a true diamond will fall in your lap.  Today was a lucky day for that reason.  There is no way I would have been in Bremerton, WA if not for letterboxing.  No way I would have driven to a small place there called Elandan Gardens .  I mean who except a local would know about this place?  A place full of cool Buddha heads and abstract rock sculptures outside, dragon chairs

and cats who crawl around in the ceiling inside.

Just the coolest collection of stuff under one roof that I have encountered in quite a while.  And outside?  Whoo-weee!!!  The motherlode of bonsai.  I kept thinking this is all, then would see another section and another and another.  All so elegant and beautiful.  Chunks of trees, pieces of marble, buddhas, small henges, ponds, more bonsai.

Dan Robinson's Art

 I felt like I had stumbled into a place that was holy.  Just the amount of love and care and time in each of the hundreds of tiny trees was overwhelming.  Each surrounded by the flotsam of art so as to make the whole feel as if it were just always there.

Beautiful even without its leaves

To add honey to the experience, I got to meet the artist who created this space and shake his hand.  We spent some time gabbing.  I told him what a wonderful eye he had for space and how he had created something that to me felt powerful and real.  Second only to Stonehenge for something man-made.  He seemed deeply touched by those words the way that artists sometimes are when someone speaks about their work who really sees it for what it is.

As you might guess there were hundreds of photos, but I reigned myself in to just a small smackerel of what was there.  Still they are nothing compared to the real live specimens.  So if you ever find yourself in Bremerton, WA - letterboxing or no - check out Dan Robinson's world.  It will not disappoint in any way.