Nail Family Fun and Games Letterboxes (3)
Placed: 12-26-02
Location: Priest Point Park in Olympia, WA, Thurston County
Difficulty:
Trek: Easy walk on mostly level well maintained trails, a few
steps but nothing rough. Good location for kids and dogs.
Clues: Easy with some compass use.


Directions to Priest Point Park: From I-5 Northbound or
Southbound take Exit #105 to Port of Olympia. This exit will put
you onto Plum St. headed northward. Continue on Plum St to
intersection with State St. Cross State and Plum becomes East
Bay Drive. Follow East Bay Drive appx 1 1/2 miles and there will
be an entrance road on the right to Priest Point Park. If possible
park on the East side of the park at the first parking lot (a bridge
is provided over East Bay Drive to the other parking lot).

About the Park: Priest Point Park is the site of a former catholic
mission that was given to the city of Olympia many years ago.
There is a nice playground for the kids, several covered picnic
shelters, lots and lots of outdoor picnic tables, beach access, a
very nice rose garden and miles of walking trails. Being less
than 4 miles from the state capitol grounds, this park gets lots of
visitors throughout the year. Best to visit on a weekday or earlier
in the day on any weekend in the peak summer season.

Other letterboxes in the park: There are a total of 3 other
letterboxes hidden at Priest Point Park listed on the LBNA site.
The Lost Loon Series by Trial and Error and the First Annual
Thanksgiving Day Letterbox ( we are not certain of the owner of
this box). These were the first boxes that our family ever went out
to find. We started with the Thanksgiving Day box but was
unsuccessful in finding this box. We were rather discouraged
and decided after about an half hour of searching to give up and
try the Lost Loons. We were further discouraged by the
non-specific clues to these boxes but after much `trial and error'
we did finally find the boxes. We were immediately hooked. We
then decided that we would place our own boxes in this beautiful
park. However, family activities, the lure of other letterboxes, and
fatigue kept us away from this park until now.

The Letterboxes:
We have named these boxes the "Nail Family Fun and Games
Series" because they are all based on games our family plays at
family gatherings. We made these stamps to be placed in
Oregon this last Thanksgiving but were too stuffed to make it out
to a hiding location that holiday. Boxing Day afforded us another
reason to plant boxes (as well as find some others recently
placed in our area). Hence, there are now 3 new letterboxes at
Priest Point Park for enthusiasts to enjoy.

Clues:
42 Letterbox
42 is a dominoes game that our parents and grandparents have
been playing at family gatherings like Christmas and
Thanksgiving for over 30 years. It is a fun game that anyone who
can count to five can play. If you find the box, email us and we
will send you the rules for this family favorite.

Start at the upper parking lot (on the east side of East Bay Drive).
Locate the Rose Garden. Walk to the center of the pavilion and
take time to enjoy the flowers. (We originally visited in August
and the roses were very beautiful and fragrant) Move under the
atrium and continue past the memorials. Pass some large logs
on your right and cross the wooden bridge. Take the trail
between the shelter and the knobby tree and continue to the road
ahead. Cross the road and hit the trail. At the Y take 190
(magnetic, of course). At the large fir, dont pass the divided log
and go down the slippery slope, but rather walk to the right along
the fallen log 7 steps. 42 rests beneath holly and huckleberry on
the opposite side of the log. Rehide well as the color of this box
is very easy to see in the greenery. After you rehide the box,
return up the trail to the Y.

Farkle!
Farkle is a dice game that can be lots of fun. We have heard
people call it Farkle, Zilch, 5,000, 10,000, and other names we
dont let our children say. It is a very simple game and can be
played by any number of players. Find the box and we will email
you the rules.

Start at the Y and take the trail you have not seen yet. See the
knobby 12 ft dead tree on the left? This is the tree that stumped
us on the 1st Annual Thanksgiving letterbox (never did find that
box). Continue on the trail to the next Y. Stay right and go up the
incline. There will be a large nurse stump on the right with a
toppled sapling. You are on the right path. Next find a giant fir
with a couple of smaller cedar friends in front on your left. Turn
right on the side trail going 80 degrees. Go 16 steps on this
path over the small logs and on to the next Y. Right then 20
paces and a log will block the path. Slide over the log and move
on to the Big Leaf Maple on the left that is covered with ivy. Farkle
hides at its base behind some ferns in a little cubby that faces
the trail. Hide it well as this box is brightly colored too. If you
want the rules to Farkle please email us.

Nail'em!
Nail'em! is a card game that our patriarch, Robert Nail invented
for us to play at our family gatherings. Robert was the most
intense gamesman I and most everyone else has ever met. He
loved to play fun and competitive games. For the rules to this
great game for 3-8 players, email us after you have found the
box.