This general idea gets tossed around periodically. I like the suggestion of
a "last found" rather than a missing or not found, but I agree it should be
up to the placer to determine if they want to include that info on the clues
(Many of the local placers around here do, especially after they do
maintenance)

I understand the frustrations of a missing box--as I often am dragging 2 or
3 young children along, it can be a less than optimal experience, especially
if the box is not there. Yet, I have learned how to use this to teach a few
of life's little lessons--to my children and to myself.

The adventure, for us, has morphed from a "let's get the box" to "lets see
how many bunnies we count today!" Or "Let's find three oak trees today!"
We count frogs, plop rocks, try to identify birds and butterflies, sing
silly songs, practice counting and compass reading. I also pick parks with
good play sets or near cool things like beaches or ice cream. And,
sometimes I email the placer in advance to check on the status of the box.

I had a rather nice experience the other day--I was surfing the clues page
and discovered someone had placed a series of boxes practically in my back
yard less than a week before. As noone around here had mentioned them, I
figured I had "first finder" written allover me and zipped out EARLY
Saturday morning, feeling awfully smug. Imagine my surprise when I
discovered that I was the third and even fourth finder, lol. To add to the
irony, one of the first finders was from several hours away. Yeesh! I had
to laugh at myself. Served me right for being greedy!

Had there been a ;last found notification on the boxes, I probably would not
have hurried out to find them--I probably would not have gotten out so early
in he day and experienced the gorgeous fog rising off the lake, or seen the
waterlillies slowly become visible as the fog lifted. I would not have seen
the dozens of rabbits playing in the meadow, or seen the baby ducks
learning how to swim. Instead, I would have waited for a cooler day and
taken the kids along. It wouldn't have been the Zen like 90 minutes of
rejuvenation I so desperately needed.

And, sometimes, there is something to be said for not making this too
"easy"; for not having clues spoon fed to us, for not knowing exactly where
a box is, or if it still exists. I think some of the allure of
letterboxing, for me, is in the pirate treasure hunt aspect. The
"underground" nature of it. While there is nothing intrinsically wrong
about a "last found feature", I am not in need of it either. I appreciate
having to work just a bit harder for some things these days. And
discovering, that while the pot of gold might be missing, the slide down the
rainbow was one heck of a ride!!

Mama Stork
aka Pam in Cinci
>
> > Hi fellow boxers - I have been discouraged lately as the last 4
> boxes
> > I have searched for (in two different states) have been MIA - is
> the
> > updated site going to contain a last found area so that we can post
> > that info - its sad to spend all tht time following clues to not
> find
> > the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. the honeebee
>
>