Today John and I went on a quest to nab three of Der Mad Stamper's
letterboxes. We were hoping to get at least one stamp, but actually
managed to get all three we were seeking!!! What an absolute thrill.

First we drove out to Tryon Creek State Park in Lake Oswego, where I've
never been before. We had the old clues for the first letterbox that
originally did not have cryptogram clues and we found it! It was
delightful. A beautifully-carved stamp by Der Mad Stamper. What a way
to start our adventure and what a great park. We may have to figure out
the clues for the other letterboxes hidden there.

Our second attempt was at Council Crest in Portland. We didn't think
there would be many people there since it was cloudy, but we were wrong.
The clues were terrific and we actually found the box! BUT...It was
full of water (in spite of three ziplock freezer bags) and covered with
mud. We were so excited and surprised to be the first ones to stamp in
since it's been there since February. We washed the bags at the
drinking fountain, dried everything off as best we could (log book was
damp, but not destroyed), and replaced two of the faulty ziplocks. They
were doing like zippers when they get broken. We returned the box. I
put it more right side up than I found it and put it toward the less
muddy side of its hiding place.

Next stop and what we were sure would be the most challenging was Elk
Rock Island -- Der Mad Stamper's most recently placed box. What a cool
place! Where do you come up with these wonderful spots, Mitch? This
was a job for a person with a brain, so John was the main seeker of this
one. He did great with his trusty (and more reliable) compass. We
found the box. We thought we would be the first to get this one, but
NAY, NAY! The Zilk family beat us to it, and yes, they do need their
own stamps, that's for sure. They are finding quite a few boxes lately!
We saw they had stamped in at another box we stopped at.

Thanks for a great day of letterboxing, Mitch. That Elk Rock Island is
really awesome and your clues and hiding place are terrific. Not much
chance of anyone haphazardly stumbling onto that puppy! The ivy might
trip you up and break your neck, though. Excellent hand-carved stamp
(like we've come to look forward to from you) and the container was
whimsical and will probably endure quite nicely.
What a excellent weekend. Our F count is up three now! I'll have to
see what our counts are and maybe order some merit patches.

Best regards,

Amanda Briles
aka The Paisley Orca