100th Find

This morning, I got up a little early...ok, I confess...a LOT early, and headed south to do some boxing along Hwy 59, in The Woodlands, and in Lake Houston State Park. The weather was perfect! I had a good time following in Runs For Chocolate's footsteps as I collected items from her runner's goody bag. I had been anxious to see what her visual aide would be...I had in mind several different things, but the most obvious answer eluded me. It was a nice surprise. I enjoyed finding this series in Northshore Park. As you can see in the picture, it was a quite foggy in the area this morning.

After leaving North Shore Park, I headed down to the Montgomery County Nature Preserve and stamped into Baby Bear's Bedtime Stories. This was a nice trail, although I did have a hard time deciding where I should park. It was quiet and a gentle breeze was blowing. I highly recommend this find, too, as you will enjoy the scenery and get a little chuckle when you see the stamp.

If you were to follow the the routes to the boxes I found, you will see that I didn't find these Montgomery County boxes in the proper geographic order, as I did some "circling" in this unfamiliar territory. That being said...I am proud to say that I did stamp into every box I set out to find today. So, I went to the Alpenhaus Restaurant and stamped into The Pretzel LB. This one was my 100th find! I was thrilled with reaching this land mark before the year was out. I guess I will always have a special place in my heart for my first LB (Gibraltar of the Confederacy) and also my 100th.

After doing my tiny celebration with NUMBER 100, I went to the HEB Market and found Runs for Chocolate's Jacksonville Tomato Festival box. This box was carved by The Frye Team and hidden by RFC in our TX Festival Exchange. Even though I'd gotten a sneak preview (THANKS FRYE TEAM!), I wanted to officially stamp in.

After finishing up with all of these fantastic stamps, I ate lunch and was on the road again by noon. I headed back toward Highway 59 and headed South. I stopped in Splendora and picked up The Frye Team's Katrina Prayer Box. This is a very thoughtful box the Fryes placed in an appropriate location. The Frye's dedicated this box to those who were victims of the hurricane that struck TX/LA this year.

After jumping back in the car, I headed further south to Lake Houston State Park. Don't let the name fool ya...there is no access to the lake at this park. I checked in with the park ranger who told me that the hunting ban was back in full force (apparently they'd allowed a temporary hunt for the past few days), so I was free to hike anywhere in the park. I took the bridge over Peach Creek and headed towards the Polka Dots' Peach Creek Ranch. This was a well done stamp, and as far as I could tell, I was just the second person to stamp into it. As I was leaving the trail, I ran into some Boy Scouts who were entering the trail on their bicycles.

I headed back across the bridge and took the Magnolia trail to Baby Bear's Texas Twilight. This box was placed in April 2003, so it was like a treasure chest when I opened up the log book. It was also a terrific stamp. After I finished up and re-hid the box, I headed back North. I did stop in Livingston to pick up Hoppin' Down 59 by the Frye Team. Again, I had imagined this stamp would look like several different things, but I was surprised by what the picture turned out to be.

Thanks to: Baby Bear, Frye Team, Polka Dots, and Runs for Chocolate for giving me a great letterboxing day. I had a great time and hope to do it again soon!

A Weekend for Boxing

Blue Butterfly and I decided to take Friday afternoon off, drive to the D/FW area and find a few letterboxes. We started out by visiting the Dallas Arboretum, where BB's Flowers, Leaves, Birds & Trees is located. Even though I'd previewed the stamp before it was hidden, it was nice to be able to stamp in to this box. After leaving the arboretum, we went around White Rock Lake to find the one of Celtic Lions' Missing Keys. This search produced a pleasant hike and a great log book. This box has had many visitors and its great to see the personal stamps of other letterboxers. After stamping in here, we decided to help out the Lions again because they'd misplaced another key on another part of the lake. This location was a little more difficult to find, but we enlisted the help of the Dallas Park Services and a nice gentleman directed us to our destination. The boats, the sky, and the water were all beautiful to see and we did successfully find the other Missing Key.

Saturday morning, we rose early and headed to Kane Park in Arlington. We found Kantexan's Into the Woods and A-Bear's Pepper. Some rather large dogs who were not leashed happened upon us and jumped up on us, but the owners finally came around and called them off. This made us a little skiddish for a while, but we decided that nothing would scare us from our precious letterboxes! We searched and searched for Butterfly Hello, but we could not find it.

After finishing up with Kane Park, we decided to tackle Kantexan's Jazz Quartet Series. We started off in reverse order with the Piano. This was a nice park and a clean trail. We took note on the sign that all pets must be leashed and breathed a short sigh of relief. We found the Piano with ease, then headed south to find the Bass Guitar. The Bass Guitar was not difficult to find, but we did have a hard time opening the container. We finally got it open and were pleased to find our prize. So, we were off to the Drumset! We got to the park and found it difficult to locate this particular box. We searched the branches of two trees that fit the description in the clues. We could not find this box. Then, I got the idea that it may have fallen out of the tree and onto the ground, so I started searching under the leaves on the ground. EUREKA! I found the box. BB and I were so happy that we'd found the box....especially since we were so close to cutting our losses and going on. So...we open the box and there is a logbook, but no stamp. We were disappointed again. I searched the ground again to make sure the stamp wasn't there, but to no avail. So we stamped in and re-hid the box in the tree, and went off to find the Tenor Saxophone. BB and I found the Tenor Saxophone with little to no trouble and admired our new Jazz Trio.

Was our boxing day complete? No way! Next we went down to Cleburne State Park where we risked life and limb to pick up the Texas Tour Bus. This was also BB's 100th find...CONGRATULATIONS BLUE BUTTERFLY!!

We then drove through Joshua and picked up BB's Screechin' Owls. We also picked up a hitch hiker here. On our "way home", we stopped in Italy to pick up the Texas Passport Series-Italy stamp. By this time, Flopsy was getting anxious and wanted to join us in finding the box. So, we let him out, and as you can see in the picture, he was a great help in locating this box. Continuing back towards East Texas, we dropped in on the East Texas Arboretum (with only about a half hour to spare before the sun went down and the garden closed) and pick up the Texas Passport Series-Athens stamp. I hope to go back to this garden in the spring time when the flowers are blooming, as I'm sure it will be gorgeous.

That was our last stop of the evening. We finally made it back home at about 7:30 p.m. (after having started boxing at about 7:00 this morning). We are tired, but we are thrilled with our finds and our adventures for the past two days.

Merry Christmas and Happy Trails.

Personal Traveler

As a young reader, I was a big fan of Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby series. Her attempts at doing the right thing, and just plain having fun often get her in trouble, but there is always a lesson to be learned. As a tribute to Ramona, I have carved out a personal traveler with her likeness.

If you'd like to get a good impression of Ramona, just ask me, "Did you see Ramona Quimby playing on Klickitat Street today?"

Fun News

I received an e-mail from the Frye Team today saying they found my Land of the Little Angel letterbox. It's always fun to hear from some one who has found and enjoyed your box.

Later this week, Blue Butterfly and I are going to take a trip to the DFW metroplex to do some boxing there. We have been busy mapping out our route and making our big plans. We can hardly wait for our newest adventure!

FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY

There will be a special letterbox at the San Augustine ISD band concert tonight. The box will be disguised as a Christmas present under the first pew of the church. The gift tag will read, TO: MIKE TYSON. Please do not stamp in while inside the church. Re-hiding the box is optional. If time doesn't allow you to stamp in before the concert, return the box to me on another day.

Cradle of Texas

I was finally able to plant my Cradle of Texas box this evening. I've been trying to do this for most of the past couple of weeks, but have been unable to. After getting off work a "little" late tonight, I risked getting frost bite in my fingers to plant the box. I am a little worried about it, because there are Christmas lights on the bush where the cradle is now living, and it might get discovered when the clean up crew comes through. I'll hope for the best and just pray that finders won't get discovered finding or rehiding!

Happy Trails!

Land of the Little Angel

This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to head south to Angelina county and plant the Land of the Little Angel LB. I decided to hide Angelina on the campus of Angelina College, where there is a nice nature trail. This was my first time to visit this trail, and I was not disappointed. There isn't a map of the trail, but there are several options for different loops as you hike the trail. I hope you will enjoy the hike as well as the box.

Look for a box to be planted in San Augustine, TX sometime this week. Happy trails!

Black Friday

Today was the traditional holiday shopping frenzy known as "Black Friday". However, my profits today were not in gifts, but in Letterboxes! Since I've been laying on the couch due to illness for the past week or so, I was finally able to get out and box! It was quite a profitable day. I drove out to Fairfield Lake State Park in Fairfield, TX and searched for three boxes. I found Oh Deer! and Horton which were planted by Barefoot Lucy and Silver Eagle, respectively. After searching the tree stump and the ground all around it, I was still unable to locate Baby Bear's Texas Tour. I was disappointed, but that's part of the game sometimes.

I ran into a few families on the trail and saw a group of men and boys fishing on the lake's shore. One man said, "Good morning....oh..is it still morning? I haven't been paying much attention to the clock today." I told him that losing track of time was a good thing to do today.

After hiking back around to the trail head with my secret treasures, I packed up my things and shuffled south to Buffalo. I visited Harriman Park to find Shuffle Off to Buffalo, which is a finely detailed stamp. I also picked up two stamps in the Branding Iron Series: Pate Ranch and Lipsey Ranch. It was a great day for hiking, boxing, and just losing track of time. My Black Friday wasn't a shopping marathon, but a letterboxing mini-marathon and I can't wait to do it again soon!

Angelina

Angelina County is the only county in the state of Texas which is named after a woman. It is located in East Texas and is named after a Native American Woman who served as an interpreter for French explorers and converted to Christianity through Spanish Missionaries. She even traveled to Mexico with these priests, then returned to her village to help keep Christianity alive.

I have created a box in honor of this "Little Angel". I want to plant it this week in her county, if time (and my health) will allow. I hope others will enjoy this meaningful tribute to one of Texas' founding mothers.

A Great Day for Boxing

Today, I met up with Blue Butterfly and we drove to Tyler State Park. There were two boxes in the park that I had yet to find, so BB accompanied me even though she'd found these particular boxes already herself. We had a nice, cool breeze as we walked around the lake in pursuit of two boxes: Camp Fire and Tyler State Park. The sky was over cast, making for a beautiful cloudscape. There were boy scouts hiking, families biking, fathers and sons fishing, and multiple pairs of people navigating the lake with paddle boats and canoes. The stamps I collected are quite impressive. This was my first experience finding stamps by Northstars, and I hope to find more of their boxes soon.

25 from 100th Find

When I counted all of my finds after the Terrors of Telge Gathering, I realized that I'm about 25 boxes away from my mile stone 100th box. I'm generally not into talking about how many I've found, since I'm in it for the adventure rather than the accounting portion of the game, but it does excite me. I will have the whole week of Thanksgiving off, so perhaps I will be able to get closer to that short term goal and do a little celebration dance! I guess I'll just have to "get out there and box!"

SFA Forest Still Has Roadblocks

While we were out and about in Nacogdoches yesterday, we drove out to the SFA Experimental Forest to see if it was open yet. Unfortunately, Vivaldi's Winter is still behind a locked gate and is inaccessible. However, Blue Butterfly did manage to get a little ways down the trail and took a few pictures of the damage that was done.

The Zoo Crew

Yesterday, I tagged along with Blue Butterfly, Stinky Monkey, and Roarin' Lion as they found some of my boxes. When we looked through the logbook of Vivaldi's Summer, I found two new signature stamps I 'd never seen before, so that was a pleasant surprise!

I'd also gotten a notice that my Recycle box was missing. However, I checked on it and it was safe and sound. It survived the downtown Christmas decorating crew, so I'm confident that, if future finders re-hide well, it should be in dowtown Nacogdoches for some time to come.

Terrors of Telge

Blue Butterfly and I attended our first letterboxing event this weekend....and we were not disappointed! We left my house early on Saturday and headed south to Cypress, TX and hunted for boxes in Telge Park. We were delighted to find boxes and stamps from people whose work we don't normally get to see. We found all the pieces to Mr. Bones, and put him back together quite nicely. Although, I have to admit that I stamped his torso upside-down, so poor Mr. Bones is basically dancing on his head in my log book. We also found Park Angel, Puppy Love (which was no easy find), and I Love Bananas, but I'll Settle for Some Bugs. After this, we took a lunch break and then came back to the park for more.

After lunch, we searched for and successfully found The Great Pumpkin. By the time we got back to the playground area, it was about 10 minutes before 3:00, so we decided to see if there were any other boxers around. We met up with TeamKing and helped her set up her things. She showed us the traveling event stamps, so we got right to work! As we were stamping in, others arrived including Birds of a Feather, Baby Bear, Silver Eagle, Mother of Five, The Frye's, Runs for Chocolate, and Asterisk. We had a great time exchanging and talking about boxes we'd found and other letterboxing adventures. We were, of course, a little star struck when we met Silver Eagle and Baby Bear, but we tried to keep ourselves together.

After everyone had finished with the stamping, Sea Dove passed out some clues to a box that he'd planted that very day. Everyone went their seperate ways to find the various boxes. We happened to be the first to find Sea Dove's CFBL. We stamped in and shared our find with others. We then got back on the trail to find A True Goblin and Wanted: A Few People with a Good Neck on Their Shoulders. We exited the park and said goodbye to the Frye Team, and decided to try one more box in town. Unfortunately, it was getting too dark by the time we got to the other park, so we called it quits and headed back north.

Our first event was truly a great experience. We enjoyed meeting other boxers, exchanging with them, stamping into the various event boxes, and finding the boxes in the park. We can't wait to do it again soon!

The Blood Center of East Texas

Even though I haven't been able to find any boxes lately, I was able to plant one today. I carved this stamp a few weeks ago, but was unable to plant it until today. This stamp is the logo of The Blood Center of East Texas. Although I chose to plant this box on the La Nana Creek trail rather than on the grounds of the center itself, it's not very far from the center. I hope those who find this box will enjoy the walk.

I also drove out to the SFA Experimental Forest to check on Vivaldi's Winter. Unfortunately, the forest is still closed. They are still cleaning up after Rita.

No Finds This Week

Due to cirumstances beyond my control, I have not been able to go boxing for the past couple of weeks. I also don't see myself finding any boxes next weekend, either. However, I hope to make up for lost time on October 29 when Blue Butterfly and I attend the Terrors of Telge Gathering in Cypress, TX. We plan to find a few boxes on the way down to the Houston area, then of course find all of the stamps hidden in the park when we are there. I'm awfully excited as this will be my first event to attend. Meanwhile, I'll have to occupy myself with other tasks....

You Found It!

I opened my e-mail yesterday to find a pleasant surprise from a new letterboxer. A Chicago-area boxer stamped into my Winter box over the weekend. It's always nice to hear from someone who appreciates your efforts, but it's even a little more special when the boxer has come such a long way. Thanks to this boxer from Chi-Town for checking in with us here in East Texas.

Ellen Trout Zoo

This morning, I got up bright and early and made arrangements to go find some boxes with Blue Butterfly and Roarin' Lion. We drove out to the SFA Arboretum, where BB and RL followed the clues to the Texas Blueberry Festival LB. Then, we hopped in the car and drove to Lufkin to visit the Ellen Trout Zoo. Some parts of the zoo were still closed due to damage incurred by Hurricane Rita, but we still had a great time. As soon as we got there, BB hopped out of the car and snagged the Ellen Trout Zoo LB. This was a big relief to me, as I was being spied upon when I tried to stamp into this box on a previous visit to the zoo. After stamping in, we rode the train around the zoo and over the lake. This was quite a fun ride, and I have to say, the train ride was more extensive than I anticipated. It goes around the zoo, across the lake, through the woods, and back again. After disembarking the train, we headed into the zoo itself. We marveled over the giant snakes, the swimming hippos, and the gorgeous giraffes. BB and RL were able to sneak in a stamping session with Hippi and they oohed and aahed over this delightful stamp. We had a fantastic time today while out letterboxing. I can't wait to do it again soon!

Reflection

Letterboxing has become a great pastime for me and for my family to do together. We have a fun time looking up the clues, deciphering them, and then FINALLY opening up this gift that a stranger has left for us. We've also discovered the fun of leaving a gift for others to find and it's hard for us sometimes to decide which is more rewarding...the discovery of the letterbox and the new location, or planting a new letterbox and eagerly awaiting a notification that someone has found your little treasure. We've only been disappointed a couple of times when the letterbox we are searching for seemed to have eluded us, but we are still out there on the trail to discovery. It's too late to stop us now! Which box is hiding and just waiting for me to come visit it? I hope to find out soon!

Blueberries!

I was finally able to find a suitable hiding place for The Frye Team's Texas Blueberry Festival LB. I hid this amongst the plantlife of Stephen F. Austin's Arboretum. This arboretum has several acres of plants to visit, including an azalea garden which is nice in the spring. You can find the clue to this box on the LBNA or Atlasquest websites.

On another note....I checked on my Spring LB today. I was really worried about this particular box because it is very susceptible to being washed down a hill during a major wind/rain storm. However, it was fully in tact and in its safe hiding place. I opened it up and guess who had stamped in? Of course! The infamous P-Quest. The mystery continues!

Mystery Boxer

In the spirit of Maxwell Smart (aka Agent 86), I am on a mission to find the identity of a potential mystery letterboxer. This boxer, who claims to be from the Denton area, stamped into one of my boxes in Nacogdoches, TX. This wouldn't seem so strange EXCEPT that he/she stamped in the day after a very bad storm passed through our area. This means, that as everyone else was fleeing to go North, Mystery Boxer headed SOUTH! The Mystery Boxer even mentions how he/she "cleaned up" some of the debris that was on top of my box post-Rita. I will go to the edge of the Earth to find this boxer! ......Would you believe...to the edge of Texas? .....Would you believe... to the edge of East Texas?

Cherokee Nation

Cherokee Nation is a fantastic stamp planted by the Celtic Lions. Blue Butterfly and I traveled to Rusk in Cherokee County, TX to retrieve this box. It is located in the Footbridge Park, where you can also find Catpawz's Gephyrophobia. We were very impressed with the artistry and detailing of this stamp and both of us agree this is our best stamp thus far. We were also surprised to be the first finders and gladly claimed our special certificate and medallion. Special thanks to the Celtic Lions for doing such an outstanding job on this stamp.

Killough Monument

The weather took an unexpected turn for the better in Eastern Texas today, so I WAS able to actually go out and find a box. Blue Butterfly and I ventured out to the small town of Mt. Selman, TX and visited the site of the Killough Family Massacre. The Killough Family, who were early Texas settlers, were gathering their crops one day when they were suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by Native Americans. Many were killed, some were kidnapped, and even fewer were able to hide. The survivors who hid were rescued by a friendly Native American a few days later. This monument is a tribute to these early settlers.

The box was planted here by Barefoot Lucy. Even though I lived in this area for many years, I have never visited Killough Monument, so I thank her leading me to this historical place. It was a fascinating and educational experience.

Rita

As Rita hurled through East Texas yesterday, I took refuge at Blue Butterfly's home, about an hour north of where I live. Even though we did get a lot of rain and wind here, we were lucky enough to have our power stay on without interruption during the storm. I hope to make it back to my home later on today to survey the damage to my city. To those of you who were severely struck by this storm, I wish you a speedy recovery.

Withdrawal

From the way the weather is looking to shape up this weekend in East Texas, it doesn't look like I'll be able to do any boxing this weekend. We are supposed to be highly affected by Hurricane Rita and it looks like the rain storms and 75 mph wind will keep me indoors this weekend. I guess this means I'll just have to do some extra-hard boxing next weekend. See you out on the trail!

See Ya Later, Alligator!

This morning, Blue Butterfly, Roarin' Lion, Stinky Monkey and I drove a couple of hours to Powhaten, Louisiana to Alligator Park. We set out to find the Mission Impossible at Alligator Park LB. This is a great park with friendly people. They have scheduled feeding times during which there is always a narrator giving you fun and interesting information about the life of alligators. They also have birds, turtles, goats, and other animals. After we finished the questionnaire, we turned it into the gift shop for our prize. We were lucky enough to be the first finders and proudly claimed the FF prize, an alligator necklace. Thanks to The Boxalots for a fun adventure and a great stamp to add to our collection.

Box Exchange

I recently signed up to particpate in a Letterbox Exchange with other Texas Letterboxers. This was started so that letterboxers who wouldn't normally see carvings of certain letterboxers could be exposed to them. I was fortunate enough to recieve a box from The Frye Team. The Frye Team used the Nacogdoches Blueberry Festival as their choice to fit into the "Texas Festival" theme. The carving is outstanding and I can't wait to hide this box in the Nacogdoches area. Kudos to the Fryes!

King of the Wild Frontier

This morning, I made another drive to Houston County and checked in there with Davy Crockett. This is a box that was placed by Baby Bear in the county seat of Crockett as a part of his Texas History series. Baby Bear does a fantastic job with his stamps and I'm proud to say that I've now stamped into two of his TX History series and am looking forward to stamping into more.

Vivaldi's Four Seasons-Concerto No. 4: Winter

I was lucky enough to get out this afternoon to the SFA Experimental Forest and plant Winter. This is a nice little forest with a paved hiking trail and several benches along the way that you can rest on. I believe this trail loop is less than one mile long. You can find the clues to winter on the LBNA website.

Snow is Falling

I FINALLY put the finishing touches on Winter from my Vivaldi series. I should be placing this box by the time the weekend is here. Look for it soon!

New Blog

Blue Butterfly now has her own blog and you can find the link to it in my side bar. Good luck Blue Butterfly!

In The Jungle

Since today was a holiday, I was able to get out and do a little letterboxing this morning. I woke up bright and early to discover that the Frye Team had planted new boxes in Lufkin, Diboll, and Livingston. I decided to go hunting for the boxes in Lufkin and Diboll and save Livingston for another day. I visited the Ellen Trout Zoo in the hopes of discovering the Hippi and Ellen Trout Zoo letterboxes. I've never visited this particular zoo before, but found it quite enjoyable and took a few nice photographs. I stamped in at Hippi and claimed the First Finder's certificate. As I exited the zoo, I swung back in to find the other letterbox. I climbed out of my car and pretended to take a few pictures as I spotted the place where the box should be hidden. The next thing I know, a truck with what might be two maintenance workers (maybe not, but definitely some sort of zoo employee) pull up and park at the entrance. They are watching me. So, I take a few pictures, both real and fake, hoping they'll get bored with me. This didn't happen. So, in order to protect the integrity of the box, I had to leave, stampless.

I got back on Highway 59 and headed into the town of Diboll. I pulled into the History Museum, but much to my dismay, it was closed on this Labor Day holiday. I successfully found Crawlin' Down 59 and replaced it with no spies watching me.

All in all, it was a good day for letterboxing. The boxes I've mentioned can all be found on the LBNA website. This family does a great job with their stamps and I've thoroughly enjoyed finding their boxes.

Tag Along

Today, I was a tag-along as Blue Butterfly and Stinky Monkey went on a boxing adventure. They stamped into some boxes that I had either already found, or had planted myself. I had a good time with this dynamic duo. We took a walk through the La Nana Creek Trail. We heard a rooster crowing while stamping in, so Stinky Monkey and I turned into roosters ourselves :-) Needless to say, we had a fun and silly time today while out in the world of letterboxing.

Three Day Weekend

I hope that all of you out there in letterboxing land have a safe, happy, and productive Labor Day holiday. I hope to get out there and find a few boxes myself!

First Gear

It's no secret that since school started and I've gone back to work that my letterboxing activities have slowed down significantly. I am having some withdrawals, but hopefully I'll get a shot at it over the three day weekend coming up over the Labor Day Holiday.

Of Interest: Mark and Sue have a website on which they list the first finds of letterboxers. This is to note the first LB adventure of boxers all over the US. You can visit the page here: http://firstfinds.blogspot.com/ They will also be happy to log the first box that you found if you contact them via e-mail.

I Found Your Box

I read a blog on another site concerning e-mailing the planter. This blogger stated that he doesn't respond to finders' e-mails when they contact him concerning finding his box in good or bad condition. As a finder, I like to get a response from the planter, at least just to know that I e-mailed the right person. Just a simple, "Glad you found my box" will do for me. If I get a response, then in the future if I have a question about another box from the same planter, I won't have to worry about whether or not I have the right address to contact them. I don't get offended if the planter doesn't respond, it just makes me wonder if something has gone hay-wire out there in cyber world.

Concerto No. 3

I was lucky enough to get out yesterday afternoon to Lake Striker, which is outside of Henderson to plant Autumn from the Vivaldi series. Lake Striker provides swimming, fishing, and camping and also has a lakeside restaurant. The clue to this box is listed on the LBNA website.

Some Day....

Some day, this will all be under water. This is what Blue Butterfly and I were thinking yesterday as we stamped in at Barefoot Lucy's Flying Again. BFL cleverly carved out a stamp of a space shuttle and hid it where Lake Columbia will be located in just a couple of years. The lake will be named after the space shuttle that tragically broke up over East Texas in the spring of 2004. As construction begins on the lake, the placer will be moving the box, so be sure to check out this "out of this world" letterbox.

Playground Fun

Today, I decided to get out and box with Stinky Monkey and Roarin' Lion. We visited Barefoot Lucy's Catchin' Any? which is located in a nice community park in Henderson, TX. The park has a small lake and lots of playground equipment including a giant snail to climb on. After we stamped in, we decided to play on the playground for a while. We had a great time together today and I got a few good pictures of my two favorite letterboxers.

Urban Nature

The La Nana Creek Trail is located in Nacogdoches, TX. It runs through the Stephen F. Austin State University campus, including their arboretum, a city park, and into the woods. This is a nice quiet walk which I've enjoyed several times through the past year. I have also hidden two letterboxes along this trail, both of which are fairly easy to find. Naturally Musical and Summer from the Vivaldi series are hidden amongst the piney woods of the La Nana Creek Trail. I hope you can take the time to enjoy this piece of serenity. You can find these boxes listed on the LBNA and Atlas Quest websites.

What's That Sound?

Blue Butterfly planted a new box this weekend in Joshua, TX which is located in Johnson County. She has named her new box Screechin' Owls and it is listed on the LBNA website.

I have not had the opportunity yet to plant Autumn, but I will make an effort to do that tomorrow. I'm very excited about completing the Vivaldi series and the people who will discover it. I'm also working on an idea for a box in Angelina County, TX. I'll give more details about the mysterious Angelina later.

The Falling Leaves....Drift by the Window....

I'm happy to report that I finished carving Autumn for the Vivaldi series today. I have it packed and ready to go, so hopefully I will be able to plant it before the week is over. I'm trying a new type of container (just because that's what I happen to have laying around the house), so hopefully it will stand up to the elements well.

Blue Butterfly reported that she stamped in at Catpawz2004's Texas Passport Series #3-Italy today. Blue Butterfly is quite impressed with the stamp and is ready to find the others in this series. I must admit, I'm ready to get out there and find these "foreign" Texas stamps myself!
Why must I report to work?!?! I'd rather be boxing!

Sowing and Reaping

Yesterday, I got out early to find The Frye's Chillin' at Tonkawa Box. This family did a great job with their stamp and I will eagerly await their future boxes. I was not able to visit the actual camp itself and take a dip in the pool, but I plan to make the trip again for that purpose fairly soon. As I was leaving the area, I spotted a family of deer inside the Camp's fence. I slowly got out of my car and gingerly stepped toward them as they watched me. They didn't run away until I got about 3 feet from them. I tried to get some pictures, but was not successful. I felt very honored to have shared that brief experience with the deer family.

Yesterday evening, I finished up Summer of the Four Seasons Series. I decided to get out and plant the box on the La Nana Creek Trail in Nacogdoches, TX. I feel that the hiding place I found is perfect for it. You can visit the clue to Summer here: http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?boxnum=17543&boxname=Vivaldi's_Four_Seasons-Concerto_No._2:_Summer

Spring Has Arrived!

I am happy to report that I completed and planted my first box in the Vivaldi-Four Seasons series. I found a scenic overlook in East Texas to plant Spring and I'm sure the view here will be gorgeous as fall arrives. You can visit my clue here: http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?boxnum=17514&boxname=Vivaldi

Now, I'm off to get ready to do a little box hunting of my own!

Planted Boxes

It's always a great feeling to hear from a fellow letterboxer who has stamped in at one of your boxes. For me, it's just as exciting to know someone has found my boxes as it is for me to find others' boxes. Knowing the time and effort I put forth to plant a box that has been enjoyed by a fellow boxer leaves me with a great feeling of pride in my work and appreciation of my fellow boxers. Thanks to all of you who take the time to find my boxes AND to those of you who plant boxes for ME to find.

Yellow Rose

If you are ever driving from Shreveport, LA into TX, be sure to stop at the Texas Welcome Center, rest your weary body, and find Blue Butterfly's Yellow Rose. The hand carved stamp will be a good addition to your log book. This welcome center and rest stop boasts fine facilities and friendly people to help navigate your way through Texas. Visit the clue here: www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?boxnum=16728&boxname=Yellow_Rose

Gibraltar of the Confederacy

Blue Butterfly and I started letterboxing after she saw a piece about it on the CBS Morning Show. We were very curious and excited about the prospect of finding these little plastic boxes with their treasures of stamps inside. In June of 2005, we were in Vicksburg, MS on family business and we took along a clue to a local LB in the hopes that we might have time to find our first LB.

On our way out of Vicksburg that evening, we decided to take on the challenge even though we were physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. We stopped at the river side park, enjoyed the beautiful view of the river and the setting sun, and set out to decipher the clues.

We read and discussed, and finally got up the nerve to go through the bushes to this box. We were so excited to find it that all of our previous exhaustion went away for the next few minutes. Not only was this OUR first find, but we were the first finders of this box. The excitement of seeing that first hand-carved stamp was incredible. We stamped in, left our mark, and took the image of Gibraltar of the Confederacy with us.

Now we are hooked. Every time either of us are going out of town, the first thing on our agenda is to see if there are any letterboxes in the area. So far, I have collected over 40 stamps, and I hope to see that number grow. I enjoy finding them whether they are hikes, drive-bys, hand carved, or manufactured stamps. The thrill of the hunt and the feeling of victory as I decipher the clues and enjoy the treasure I've discovered is well worth it.

First LB in San Augustine County

Several weeks ago, I planted what I believe to be the first letterbox planted in San Augustine County, TX. It is a drive-by placed at a historical marker on the Old San Antonio Road. The marker was placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution.



Placement date: Jul 13 2005

State: Texas

County: San Augustine

Nearest city: San Augustine
Number of boxes: 1
Clues:
The Zits LB is a tribute to the comic strip by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman. It is located on TX Hwy 21 in San Augustine, TX. Early settlers came into San Augustine County on the Old San Antonio Road, also known as “El Camino Real de los Tejas”, now a designated National Historic Trail. San Augustine is the home of the first university, churches of all denominations, and the first American settlement in Texas. The abundant history in our area is evident in over 50 recorded Texas Historical Landmark homes and sites. San Augustine is located equal distances between Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn Reservoirs.

From Hwy 96 in San Augustine: Travel West on Hwy 21 for 4.1 miles. You will see a place to pull off the road on your right hand side.

From Nacogdoches: Travel East on Hwy 21. When you cross under Loop 224, you will travel 27.4 miles. You will see a place to pull off the road on your left hand side.

To the Box: You will see the sign facing the road that reads THE OLD SAN ANTONIO ROAD with a stone marker in front of it. Go behind the marker. In the middle of the marker under the gravel is the box. Please replace as found and post a comment to let me know the status of this box.

New Series

I am working on a new series of four based on Vivaldi's Four Seasons. I'm not sure when the first box will be planted, but I will keep you posted.

Houston County Letterboxes

Stinky Monkey, Blue Butterfly, and I took a trip out to Houston County yesterday to track down two letterboxes in Mission Tejas State Park. The park has a beautiful pond where one can fish or just sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery. The boxes we found combined with the serenity of this park made the drive worthwhile. We stamped in at Silver Eagle's Spanish Flag and at Baby Bear's Tejas, both of which are works of art.