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Metro Richmond Boxes
Letterboxing in Richmond, Virginia and Beyond

All boxes accounted for as of December 2, 2002 except the following boxes: Boxes 1, 3, & 4 in the Forest Hill Park series.

FOREST HILL PARK LETTERBOXES
All boxes were planted on September 4, 2002, and all are located in the City of Richmond's Southside

Box #1: The Sled

THIS IS A MICRO BOX. YOU WILL NEED A MICRO STAMP TO STAMP INTO ITS LOGBOOK. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN A PENCIL. Park on Stonewall Avenue near the Holden Rhodes House. In the early 1800s, Holden Rhodes owned the land that we now call Forest Hill Park. Stand with your back to the house door that opens onto Forest Hill Avenue. Begin walking toward the playground. On your right as you walk across the open area, you will see a large, twisted tree whose bark is falling off. The first box is in this tree -- just don't get "strung out" finding it! From this tree, you can see the hills that Richmonders love to sled down on the rare occasions when it snows in Richmond.

Box #2: The Trolley

Walk down these hills until you reach the paved walkway that winds through Forest Hill Park. At the stone steps on your left, go off the walkway. Walk straight ahead to the two mountain bike trails at the edge of the woods. Take the trail that forks to the left. At another fork, you will see a large, uprooted tree across from a stone wall. A smooth, fallen tree lies under and behind the uprooted tree. The box is hidden underneath leaves and bark beside the smooth fallen tree. This stamp represents the fact that Forest Hill Park was the last stop on the Forest Hill trolley line over 100 years ago. Please recover the box very well.

Box #3: The Amusement Park

THIS IS A MICRO BOX HIDDEN UNDERWATER. YOU WILL NEED A MICRO STAMP TO STAMP INTO ITS LOGBOOK. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN A PENCIL. Get back on the trail and take the left fork. Watch your step over the tree roots that cross the trail beside a steep drop-off. Go to your right onto the paved path down the hill. Go to your left onto the paved walkway that you were on briefly after you stamped into Box #1. Walk straight through the stone gazebo out its back arch. Begin walking toward the bench and the lamp post at the back of the pond. You will see a tree on your right before you get to the back of the pond. The box is floating in the pond behind the tree. Look for the orange string going down into the pond. It is attached to a hook stuck in the ground beside the pond. Pull the jar out of the pond with the string and stamp in. Reassemble everything and lower the jar back into the pond. This box commemorates that Forest Hill Park was an amusement park in the early 1900s.

Box #4: The Mountain Bike

THIS IS A MICRO BOX. YOU WILL NEED A MICRO STAMP TO STAMP INTO ITS LOGBOOK. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN A PENCIL. Go to your right onto the paved walkway. Cross the stone bridge. Take the paved path up the hill. Take the right fork. At the end of the path, you will come to the shelters area. Go to your right until you come to the end of the parking lot. You will see an area of several fallen trees, and in between the fallen trees are two standing pine trees. The box is hidden under one of the fallen trees. The stamp represents one of the many mountain bike trails in this park. Forest Hill Park is the site of one of the Xterra contests every year.

To get back to your car, you can either retrace your steps or you can walk through the shelter parking lot toward the residential area that surrounds Forest Hill Park. Leave the parking lot at Shelter 1 and cut through the park toward the Holden Rhodes House and Stonewall Avenue.



GROUND PINE PATH LETTERBOX
A letterbox was planted on September 20, 2002, at Pocahontas State Park. Pocahontas is located in Chesterfield County.

Once you enter the park, stay straight on the main road. Follow the signs toward the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum. Park in the CCC museum lot. Go to the trailhead behind the museum. Take the Beaver Lake Trail in the direction of the Ground Pine Path. At the second sign, go in the direction of the Ground Pine Path. At the next sign, take the Ground Pine Path. You will eventually see a large tree with a huge cavity in it on your left. The box is coming up on your right. The box is hidden in a hollow log on your right. If you go as far as the wooden bench, you've gone too far. Please push the box far enough back inside the log so that it is completely hidden from view because this log is not far from the path. Also cover the box with pieces of bark inside the log because non-letterboxers might be able to see the box from certain points on the path.


THE HERON AND THE TURTLE LETTERBOXES
Two letterboxes were placed on October 21, 2002, at Three Lakes Park. Three Lakes Park is in Henrico County. Admission is free. There is a charming aquarium in the park and you can fish from one of the lakes. There is a nice playground area, too.

Park as close as you can to the aquarium. Take the paved path behind the aquarium past the Enabling Garden. The paved path eventually becomes a gravel path. Cross the bridge after the "Uneven Footpath" sign. Take the right fork. The Heron Box is under the third bridge that you cross from where you began on the paved path near the aquarium. It contains a pencil. Please rehide completely from view.

Get back on the path going in the opposite direction from whence you came. Take the left fork. Take the trail around the lakes. Watch out for sections covered in tree roots. Take the right fork. At the "No Fishing on This Lake" sign, go right. Take the right fork through the wooded area at another "No Fishing on This Lake" sign. At the top of the hill, go left on the gravel path. Go right on the paved path. Take the gravel path to your left. The Turtle Box is on your left very shortly after the fishing pier. It is in a cavity in a thin pine tree. It is a microbox and does not contain a pencil. Please rehide completely from view. To get back to your car, retrace your steps back to the paved path. Continue on the paved path to the parking lot.


UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND LETTERBOX
Placed August 2002

1) Stand with your back to the center door of the building in Lora Robins Court.
2) Take the path that forks to the left.
3) Stay straight.
4) Walk up the steps.
5) Cross the parking lot in a westward direction.
6) Take the "trail" off the sidewalk.
7) Find the wooden steps and take them to their end.
8) Cross the bridge.
9) The box is hidden 46 paces from the light pole on your right.


UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LETTERBOX
A letterbox was planted at Union Theological Seminary on October 21, 2002. UTS is in the city of Richmond's Northside.

THIS IS A MICROBOX. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN A PENCIL. The box is hidden in a hole in a tree in front of Watts Chapel. Please place the box back in its plastic bag and roll the plastic bag around the film canister. Push the entire package down into the bottom of the hole as far as it will go in order to completely hide the box from view. Because this is a college campus, the UTS box is in a rather busy area. But I just couldn't pass up such a neat hiding place!