William Dudley Preserve, Juliana's First Letterbox LbNA #37634 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jan 1, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Guilford |
| County: | New Haven |
| State: | Connecticut |
| Boxes: | 2 |
| Planted by: | jserena  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Flutterby Flew By |
| Last found: | Dec 14, 2010 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Jan 1, 2008 |
These two letterboxes are placed in the William Dudley Preserve, a 147-acre property purchased by the Town of Guilford in December, 2003, after ten generations of Dudley family ownership. The preserve is named for the original owner, William Dudley, who came to Guilford from England in 1639. According to a 2007 report prepared for the Town of Guilford by the Hancock Group, a student group from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, William Dudley purchased the land in 1640 from Shampashuh, a woman of the Menunkatuck band of the Quinnipiac tribe. The property today encompasses mixed forest land, two hayfields, swamplands, and a vernal pool. At this time there are no developed trails in the Preserve, and the property is reserved for gentle forms of recreation, such as hiking and horseback riding.
My daughter Juliana and I began letterboxing just after her fourth birthday. These are her first letterboxes. She drew the designs for the stamps, found the hiding places, and helped to secret the letterboxes away. The walk is about a half mile over easy terrain. There are a number of compass bearings in the directions, so bring your compass if you have one. Remember to check for ticks after your walk.
From Route 80, go north on County Road near the Guilford-North Branford line, and continue approximately one-half mile. The road forks, with West Street going to the left and County Road continuing to the right. Take County Road, and after about one-tenth of a mile take your first right into a short, dirt turnoff. Park here: A cable closes further vehicle access to the Dudley property. Walk south, ducking under or walking around the cable, into the large hayfield. Once in the hayfield, turn left (east) and walk along the edge of the hayfield. After about 130 yards you will reach the northeast corner of the hayfield. Turn right (roughly south) to continue along the edge of the hayfield. After about 85 steps, look for an old tree stand made from a few planks placed about 20 feet off the ground, between two trees in the woods to your left. Continue walking south along the edge of the hayfield, and after about 65 steps look for a second tree stand in an old sugar maple in the woods on your left.
Continue walking in a southerly direction along the edge of the hayfield about 175 steps--I know this is a lot of counting--and look for a large maple, about eight steps into the woods to the left, with a large fissure on its northwest side. There is a small juniper tree on the edge of the woods nearby. Look for the Cardinal Letterbox on a shelf about three feet up inside the tree.
After stamping in and re-hiding the letterbox, go back out to the edge of the hayfield. Walk on a compass bearing of about 315 degrees directly across the hayfield to a low bedrock outcrop near the west side of the hayfield. The outcrop rises up to about 3 feet above the level of the surrounding hayfield. There are three small, wild cherry trees growing out of the outcrop. Walk over or around the outcrop to a point about four steps west of the westernmost of the three cherry trees (the side nearest the woods). From this location, walk about eighteen steps on a compass bearing of about 240 degrees to the edge of the woods, at a point between a brush pile on the right and a tangle of wild multiflora rose on the left. Stop where the ground breaks downhill, and then walk down into the woods about twenty steps along a new bearing of 270 degrees to a modest sugar maple with three trunks of very different sizes. The Bluebird Letterbox is in a hole at the base of the sugar maple, hidden behind a heavy stone flake. Stamp in and re-hide the letterbox. You can wander about this beautiful, historic property, or return to the parking area about 250 yards away on a bearing of approximately 20 degrees.
Enjoy!
Comments about or problems with the letterboxes can be reported to me at jbserena@comcast.net.
Note on 11/18/08: I updated my e-mail address (apologies to anyone who tried to get in touch with the old address). Also, Juliana and I checked the letterboxes based on a report to the webmaster that one might be missing. Both are in place and in good shape. The Cardinal box had, however, been very well hidden by a previous letterboxer. We made it a little more obvious.
My daughter Juliana and I began letterboxing just after her fourth birthday. These are her first letterboxes. She drew the designs for the stamps, found the hiding places, and helped to secret the letterboxes away. The walk is about a half mile over easy terrain. There are a number of compass bearings in the directions, so bring your compass if you have one. Remember to check for ticks after your walk.
From Route 80, go north on County Road near the Guilford-North Branford line, and continue approximately one-half mile. The road forks, with West Street going to the left and County Road continuing to the right. Take County Road, and after about one-tenth of a mile take your first right into a short, dirt turnoff. Park here: A cable closes further vehicle access to the Dudley property. Walk south, ducking under or walking around the cable, into the large hayfield. Once in the hayfield, turn left (east) and walk along the edge of the hayfield. After about 130 yards you will reach the northeast corner of the hayfield. Turn right (roughly south) to continue along the edge of the hayfield. After about 85 steps, look for an old tree stand made from a few planks placed about 20 feet off the ground, between two trees in the woods to your left. Continue walking south along the edge of the hayfield, and after about 65 steps look for a second tree stand in an old sugar maple in the woods on your left.
Continue walking in a southerly direction along the edge of the hayfield about 175 steps--I know this is a lot of counting--and look for a large maple, about eight steps into the woods to the left, with a large fissure on its northwest side. There is a small juniper tree on the edge of the woods nearby. Look for the Cardinal Letterbox on a shelf about three feet up inside the tree.
After stamping in and re-hiding the letterbox, go back out to the edge of the hayfield. Walk on a compass bearing of about 315 degrees directly across the hayfield to a low bedrock outcrop near the west side of the hayfield. The outcrop rises up to about 3 feet above the level of the surrounding hayfield. There are three small, wild cherry trees growing out of the outcrop. Walk over or around the outcrop to a point about four steps west of the westernmost of the three cherry trees (the side nearest the woods). From this location, walk about eighteen steps on a compass bearing of about 240 degrees to the edge of the woods, at a point between a brush pile on the right and a tangle of wild multiflora rose on the left. Stop where the ground breaks downhill, and then walk down into the woods about twenty steps along a new bearing of 270 degrees to a modest sugar maple with three trunks of very different sizes. The Bluebird Letterbox is in a hole at the base of the sugar maple, hidden behind a heavy stone flake. Stamp in and re-hide the letterbox. You can wander about this beautiful, historic property, or return to the parking area about 250 yards away on a bearing of approximately 20 degrees.
Enjoy!
Comments about or problems with the letterboxes can be reported to me at jbserena@comcast.net.
Note on 11/18/08: I updated my e-mail address (apologies to anyone who tried to get in touch with the old address). Also, Juliana and I checked the letterboxes based on a report to the webmaster that one might be missing. Both are in place and in good shape. The Cardinal box had, however, been very well hidden by a previous letterboxer. We made it a little more obvious.