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!