Going to the extreme

October 27th 2007 started like most of my Saturday mornings, like I have already said we do our errands and letterboxing is now on the list of errands. :O)

In Travelers Rest this Saturday morning we (Sean and I) found the cutest Wiggle Worm and had a great visit with owner. We then ventured to the park to find a panda bear. We were satisfied with our boxing, finished our errands and headed back to our beloved valley.

When we got home, we learned that my sister-in-laws, Pattie & Myra, and Pattie's 3 boys (Seth, Parker and Levi) had come home to visit for the weekend. I was requested out at my mother-in-laws to help cook. :O) I love to cook, and normally everyone requests me to "help". We were cooking, and I really don't remember how the subject of letterboxing came up, but it did. Pattie and Parker were really interested, Myra thought and still thinks I am off my rocker. :) Parker asked if we could go after dinner. I said SURE TWIST MY ARM !! There is a 'brown trout' that I have to go back for at Jones Gap and it is not too far off the parking area. My first attempt at the brown trout was unsuccessful, to which I later learned he had to swim to another spot - (THANKS Bubba!) So we eat, everyone else offers to clean up so we can go. We "load up" - Pattie, Parker (17) and I. We will be RIGHT BACK I promise everyone this won't take long. Off we go up the mountain. I hand Parker the new and improved clue, and off we go to catch a trout. I stamp in and now they understand how it works.

We make our way back to the car ....................... and .................................Parker looks at me and asks " can we do another one" MUSIC to my ears, I knew I loved this KID ! I said well there is this one, BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT ....................................
it is labeled extreme and while it is not too far up the trail it is kinda getting dark and I did not throw a flashlight in my pack because we were just coming for this trout. I look at my sister-in-law, she says OK with me, I look at Parker - he says come on I have my cell phone, we can use that as light if we need it ! I am in heaven, but also concerned, it is getting dusk. I open the car, feverishly ripping through my book looking for the Carolina Woollybooger clue. GOT IT I yell ! We read it several times just in case it gets dark before we get to the spot. We hustle down the trail, across the bridges, and down the trail. Great ! - campsite 8 has campers (doesn't it always ?). It is dusk but just enough light that we can see, so we read the clue again and see what we have to DO. Now I understand why the threespoiledboxers labeled it extreme. I look at the two of them - Parker says "I will go first and help you both". Parker leaps ! Pattie leaps and Parker grabs her arm. WHEW safe. I tell him to catch my pack NO MATTER WHAT my log book is in it ! I toss it, he catches it. He reaches his hand out tells me to jump - I jump and land safely on the boulder ! The rest is easy. We scramble across and go in search of this Carolina Woollybogger. Pattie announces "we are NOT leaving with out this thing!" How easy it is to get hooked HUH ? We find the box, but it is dark, I can hardly see. Parker grabs his cell phone and by cell phone light, we stamp in! I included them under my trail name since they deserved it as much as I do. We were also the 4th finders and were awarded a shrinky dink with the woolleybogger on it. (THANKS threespoiledboxers!). We rehide the box, and turn to face the river. There is NO WAY we are getting back across, it is dark and the leap from this side of the river is not for the faint of heart. We try and look around to see if there is another way. All 3 of us were scared. We took a few steps up river and down river and there was no use, we were gonna have to leap that same spot to get back. IN THE DARK, well the only saving grace was a full moon so there was a little light ! Parker again says, "I will go first and help you both across". I was scared, he is an excellent wrestler and all I could think was he was gonna hurt himself and not be able to wrestle his senior year in HS and it would be Aunt Holly's fault with this crazy letterboxing stuff she does! He leaps and it was so hard to see where he was. "I'M FINE", he yells, Pattie goes next, she inches to the edge of the boulder, Parker reaches for her, she JUMPS. She turns and yells back to me - it is OK Holly, come on, it is not that bad. I again toss my precious letterboxing gear over to them. OK NOW YOU they say, with both of them reaching for me - I jump. AHHHHHHH solid ground, well as solid as a boulder can be :O) We return to the trail and high tail it back to the car. LAUGHING like a bunch of nutty kids the whole way back. Pattie and Parker thought this was the greatest thing EVER. This is a blast they tell me and with one of my favorite replies, I say "I told you SO!"

We get back in the car and head back down the mountain to the house. On the way back, they ask me about MORE ! We are having a blast, BUT it is DARK with only a full moon. Parker suggests we go home, grab a flashlight and go back out. Ok well I am having a great time and why not? So, I try to think of what we could do, **LIGHT BULB**, what better under a full moon then a cemetery box ! YEAH I yell - there is one in the cemetery in Travelers Rest. LETS GO THEY AGREE. We get to the house, now remember I told everyone we would be RIGHT BACK. We are laughing and acting like a band of drunks as we barge back into the house. "WHERE WERE YOU?" came from several directions! "PAPA", Parker yells, " get us a flashlight we are going back out" My mother-in-law looks at us like we have totally lost our minds , "where have you BEEN ?", she asks. We were laughing and trying to explain to her what we did. She had the DEER in HEADLIGHT look and could not believe what she was hearing! Parker yells" come on I have the flashlight " Everyone looking horrified asks, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" We inform them we are going to the cemetery in TR to get another box. Now everyone thinks we have lost it, we run outside jump in the car and we are off flashlight in hand.

We were in search of the Angels on Assignment. We pull in, follow the clues and YEEHAAA, Parker grabs the box and we dash to the car. I open the box and find a Bed Bug hitching a ride. I explain the HH to them, log in and Parker returns the box. We decide our evening adventure should be over before the rest of the family calls MP (the local mental hospital) and reserves us all a room. On the way home though Parker asks if we could go out in the morning. :O) Like I said I knew I loved this KID !