The Stamps I Earned....

I realized a little while ago that I failed to mention what stamps I earned while at the Candy Land event. So, here they are:

Hansel and Gretel-Event Box
M&M-Event Box
Everlasting Gobstopper-Event Box with Slugworth Bonus Stamp
Candy Land-Official Event Stamp
Vogel Family-Exchange
Hummingbird Family-Exchange
Scoop
Cookies
Gingerbread #1
Candy Land Kids
Mr. Mint
Queen Frostine
Lord Licorice
Grandma Nutt
Princess Lolly
Jolly
Gloppy
King Kandy
Sweet Caroline
Sweet Caroline Bonus Stamp
Silver Spoon and Master Explorer-exchange
The Pinata Box
Santa's Sweet Tooth
A Ssssnake Story
A Sweet Baboo

The Candy Land Event

The day finally arrived for the event that we've been anticipating for the past month or so. Yesterday morning, we got in Blue Butterfly's van at 6:00 a.m. and headed down to Humble for The Candy Land Event.

We estimated it would take us about three and a half hours to get to Mercer Arboretum, then we got on the road. We stopped in Livingston so that I could check on my HANK HILL box and the rest of my crew could stamp into it. This was a nice diversion after having been in the car for a while. The boys got to run around and burn off some energy and I got to see all the wonderful boxers who'd visited my box.

After getting on the highway for a little while longer, we arrived at the designated pavilion and were greeted by Mother of Five, Dewberry, and Sandibox. We presented Dewberry with our popcorn that we brought to share, and she rewarded us with a bonus clue for bringing a treat.

We sat at the "sweet treats" table and discovered there were some LB's hidden right there inside some of the candy boxes, so we got busy! Dewberry also let us know that there were several gingerbread men who'd gotten loose in the park, and if we saw them, there was a letterbox hidden near them.

After finding a few boxes and meeting a few people, it was our turn to start the Candyland game! We were super-excited to get our packet of clues from Gryzzled Gryphon, who also told BB and I about having found our boxes in Breckenridge Park in San Antonio (Thanks GG!). We started our game by collecting the CANDYLAND KIDS, then headed for our life-size game board. The boys had a lot of fun looking for the next colored square, near which we would find another Candyland figure. We earned 8 boxes in the Candyland game.

After finishing our game, we took a little break. We ate some sandwiches and talked and exchanged with other letterboxers. Then, it was time for us to go try to find a couple of more boxes at a different part of the park.

When we drove around to the other side of the arboretum, the first thing Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey noticed was the playground. We told them that if we hurried, we'd have time to play for a while before we left. We hit the trail and discovered the Busybees, RunsforChocolate, and Sandibox stamping into the pinata box. This was when I remembered that RFC was going to hide a box that day, and I hadn't recieved the clue from her yet! So, I asked her for the clue, and she kindly obliged me. When she was telling us where the box was located, I realized that this was going to be a temporary box, and that I wouldn't have time to get it that day. I was a little disappointed, but I understand that I can't get every stamp at every event.

That being said, we offered to let RFC and Sandibox take the images from the stamps we were planning to leave in the PINATA BOX. Then, we joined Batty B and oohed and aahed over all the candy/prizes located in the box. This one was a real treat!

After the PINATA BOX, we headed down the trail to find SANTA'S SWEET TOOTH and SSSSNAKE STORY. We ran into GG again and chatted with him for a moment, then we were on our way. We stamped into both of these boxes. As we were finishing up, a couple came walking down the path, so I told BB to go ahead to the playground while I waited for these non-boxing people to get out of sight. I re-hid that box and when I got to the car, BB was there with RFC. RunsforChocolate was nice enough to come back to the park and let us stamp into her temporary box before she went home. We really appreciated this extra effort that she went to in order to give us her special sweet treat. THANK YOU RFC!

After stamping in, Stinky Monkey and Roarin' Lion FINALLY got to play on the playground. They enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to everyone at the event! We had a great time and enjoyed meeting old friends and new friends!

Today's Event

Blue Butterfly, Roarin' Lion, Stinky Monkey, and I had a rip-roarin' good time at the Candyland event in Humble today! We left at about 6:00 this morning to make our way down there, and finally got back to BB's house at about 9:30. We had a BLAST, and I really want to thank Dewberry, Mother of Five, and Sandibox for showing us a grand time today. I'll definitely add in more details later, but now its bedtime for me!!

Counts

Soooo....I went through my logbooks this evening and took a little inventory...just for fun. Here's what I came up with:

Traditional Finds: 307
Hitch Hikers: 20
Events Attended/Stamps: 7
Unofficial Event Stamps: 15
Exchanges: 62
Postals: 2
Personal Travelers: 43
Cooties: 4

I've also: Planted 26 boxes of my own
Carved 2 stamps that others planted
Planted one box that another 'boxer created
....and I carved two stamps this week that have yet to be planted
I also managed to attend one event and failed to get the Event Stamp for it....I'm sure I'm the only letterboxer in North America who would do something like that!

Flowers and Little People

Today, it was time for me to leave Blue Buttefly's house and head back to my place, but I wasn't going to make that trip without logging a few finds! I wanted to finish out the rest of the TRIBUTE TO JOAN: THE SEVEN DWARVES Series, and pick up a couple of others along the way.

I started out first by finding RAINBOW OF FLOWERS by Purpleintexkim. This one is out in a nice, peaceful, cemetery which is across the road from a beautiful hill-scape where cows graze.
While in New Summerfield and Rusk, I also managed to find HAPPY and GRUMPY. I messed up in the directions for the other Tribute box in New Summerfield and decided to skip Jacksonville today. I'm not too worried, though, because I'll be going back through there later on this week and will hopefully have all seven dwarves with me then! Thanks JB Kokopelli for carving such great stamps for this series!

Next, I was off to Palestine. I wanted to find SIGNS OF SPRING during this, the bleak mid-winter. This box is in a great park called Davey Dogwood Park, and I can just imagine what it would look like when spring is here and the dogwoods are blooming. I'm definitely going to try and make a point of going back there when things are in bloom.

Christmas Activities

Today, I celebrated Christmas at Blue Butterfly's house with her, my dad, and my brother's family (including Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey). I got to the house around 10:30 or so. We exchanged our gifts (I came away with some plastic containers and cammo tape!) and ate a wonderful lunch that BB had prepared.

After lunch, the boys played with some of their new remote control cars, then we settled in for a fun game of Candyland. Roarin' Lion somehow managed to win every game! I don't know what his secret is, but I have to find out!

At about 2:00, RL and SM went back to their house with their parents. Then, I started itching...and itching....and itching....I tried to figure out what was wrong...I was itching to find another letterbox! I knew there was at least one not TOO far from BB's house, so she agreed to accompany me to New London so I could stamp into EXPLOSION AT NEW LONDON. While we were out, BB also scouted out a location for a new box that she is going to be planting soon at a historical site.

We came back to BB's place and I settled down and carved a new stamp called OSCAR'S LUNCH. Look for it to be planted sometime in the near future!

A Wish for Letterboxers

Wishing you a rainbow

for sunlight after showers-

Miles and Miles of secret smiles

For happy golden hours-

Clues in your inbox

For ink and logbooks too,

And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!

Annual Christmas Weekend Trip-Part 2

Sunday morning, we got up and were ready to hit the trail! We started out by trying to find the Lonesome Dove box, but realized we would pass by THE LABYRINTH box on our way there, so we stopped there first. There is quite a bit of construction on the church grounds (don't worry, we were there really early and the church worshippers hadn't arrived yet), so we had to carefully follow the signs to the Prayer Labyrinth. We read the sign for the Labyrinth and took the time to walk through this feature. I'm certainly glad that we stopped and took a moment away from our "rush of things" to enjoy the labyrinth.

After we finished, we decided to take the planter's advice and head across the street to CVS pharmacy, and start our actual quest for the box from there. We easily found this box.

Next, we headed on to find the LONESOME DOVE box. This too, was at a cemetery next to a church, and it was getting late in the morning, so we tried to hurry before the worshippers arrived. The stamp image here was certainly appropriate for this location.

For our final box of the morning, we weren't very far from the Bob Jones Park where ROADRUNNER is located. There is a nice dog park here, and there were a few people in that area with their dogs. We found our road runner...then...beep!beep!....we were on our way back to Navarro County.

Luckily for us, it didn't rain a drop while we were letterboxing this weekend. It didn't start raining until we had started on our way back home. I wanted BB to try and get my Pinky & The Brain boxes, but the weather wasn't right for us....but there's always next time!

Annual Christmas Weekend Trip-Part 1

On Saturday morning, Blue Butterfly and I left my house at about 6:30 and headed north to the DFW area, with one thing on our minds....LETTERBOXES!! Our first stop was in Flower Mound on the shores of beautiful Lake Grapevine to find the Moose Series planted by Puddle Splasher. We'd been eyeing this series for quite some time, and were thrilled to FINALLY be able to make the trip to collect our images. They left quite an impression on us! After finishing up with this series, we ate lunch and headed to Murrell Park to find a BLUE-KISSED MOOSE and the bonus stamp that accompanies it. Next, we left the lake and headed to Heritage Park, where we found IN THE CREEK: LAURENS TURTLE, IN THE TREE: MEGHAN'S BIRD, and THE MOOSE-IC MAN. In her clues, the planter tells us that there is a geocache on top of the box in the Meghan's Bird hiding place. So, we took it with us a little ways away to stamp in. Just as we were finishing up, we saw a couple leisurely walking our direction. It turns out, they were geocachers looking for that particular cache! This was a neat experience for us, as we met our first cachers. We handed over their box, then volunteered to replace it for them.

After leaving Heritage Park, it was time to head back to another part of Lake Grapevine to Rockledge Park. The trails at this park were a bit difficult to navigate, as they have forged new trails and blocked off the old trails. We did manage, however, to find all the boxes we were looking for, which were: WHITE SAILS, THE LOST MOOSE, and THREE BLIND MOOSE.

After finding these boxes, we decided it was time to get a good supper, so we made our way to Cozymel's restaurant and had some of the best Veggie Fajitas a person could ask for!

Thrilled, Happy, and Proud

I'm excited to report that a find has been logged for the Cranberry Cruiser box. What makes it even more special is that the first reported find was from the letterboxer for whom this box was created. I hope he found at least half as much pleasure in finding this box as I did in creating it.

This box is located in Mother Neff SP, where I happened to catch a few pictures of some very lovely deer.

Pinky & The Brain

This morning, I got out and planted my Pinky & The Brain boxes in Ennis at Bluebonnet Park. I enjoyed this trail, although there is evidence of a certain kind of bug--litterbugs who have been in this park. The pond was nice and peaceful and I was thrilled to hide my boxes on this woodsy trail.

Now, I need to continue to get ready for our boxing marathon, which will start Saturday morning. I'm super excited about it and can't wait to start tupperware hunting!!!

My Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I know this letter may be a little late, but hopefully you can find room in your list of things to-do to read this letter and grant my humble wishes. The following is my Christmas Wish-list:

1. To be able to carve tiny stamps and find terrific hiding spots like Silver Eagle.
2. To come up with clever and funny boxes like Baby Bear.
3. To be able to solve mystery boxes like Dewberry.
4. To be a great 'boxing partner like Blue Butterfly.
5. To have terrific stories to go along with my boxes like Corazon.
6. To find as many boxes as Gryzzled Gryphon.
7. To have a tip-top letterboxing website like Sea Dove.
8. To be able to do whatever it takes to snag a special box like Puddle Splasher.
9. To be as friendly and accommodating as Mama Cache and Co. to 'boxers that I meet.
10. To be able to create a wonderfully fun series like Batty B.

As you can see, Santa, I'm not asking for much. Thanks for helping me out with this stuff and I can't wait to find all of these things under my tree on Monday.

Your friend,

Lucy Locket

Mother Neff SP and Georgetown Trip

Yesterday, I got up EARLY and drove out to Moody in order to find a few boxes there. I drove into Mother Neff SP with clues in hand. I stopped at the Ranger's station to show them my pass and get a map, then drove around to where I could find the boxes. When I drove around, I saw the Ranger unlocking a gate, so I just presumed that was a "no access" kind of place and turned left instead. WRONG! I realized I was driving out of the park. The gate that Mr. Ranger was unlocking was to the Day Use Area, and that was EXACTLY where I needed to go. So, I turned around and headed to find my treasures.

It was nice and quiet that morning. I think I was the only one out there enjoying the trails for most of the morning. This park is a nice one, and with the Wash Pond and the Indian Cave, there is a great deal of history here. I found HORNED OWL #2, FIRST TX STATE PARK, DADDY LONG LEGS, THE CCC Co. 817 SERIES, and BAT BOX #2-NEFF BAT. I left a HH in one of these boxes, also, and ofcourse planted a new box.

On my way out, I saw a deer cross the road in front of me and noticed that the little deer had a friend waiting for her. I stopped my car and took as many pictures as I could of these beautiful creatures. They certainly stayed near the road for longer than I anticipated! Then, it was on to Georgetown!!

Blue Butterfly and I had visited Georgetown previously, when we came to do the DELICIOUSLY TASTY COOKIE SERIES by Batty B. We're very fond of the parks in Georgetown due to our adventure there. Anyhow, a few more boxes have been planted there by Boots Tex, Baby Bear, Lone Star Quilter, and a few others, so I certainly wanted to treat myself to these boxes!

I started out at Blue Hole Park. On the trail that leads to THREE LEGGED WILLIE, a couple of trees are down across the path, which made it a little more difficult to count paces as you're climbing over. As always, though, Boots Tex made it worth it! A great stamp with a great story is what I found hiding under the rock. I also found GEORGETOWN QUILT BLOCK, and JIMINY CRICKET in this park. I even left a box called NAP TIME for others to enjoy.

After my adventure here, I headed to Berry Springs Park. I was able to see more of this park on this trip than last time, and I certainly enjoyed the hiking trails. It was nice and peaceful, and a man was fishing in the catch-and-release area. I started out by visiting the cemetery and the donkeys, then found TO HELL AND BACK, BERRY BUSY BEAVER, and SQUARE DANCE QUILT BLOCK. By the time I'd found those boxes, it was getting close to dark, so I had to call it quits and head back home. I was lucky that day that the weather was nice enough for boxing, but it kept most people away from the parks. Now, I must start planning my next trip with Blue Butterfly. We're going to take our Second Annual Weekend Before Christmas Letterboxing Run.....who knows where it will take us??

Slimy, yet Satisfied....

...Well, that pretty much describes how I feel right now. Today, it was drizzling most of the day, but I wanted to get out and enjoy letterboxing...so I did! I'll write more details later, but I will say that I planted two new boxes. One is called CRANBERRY CRUISER and is located in Mother Neff Park in Coryell County. The other one is called NAP TIME and is located in Blue Hole Park in Georgetown. I hope the finders will enjoy these boxes!

I'm a Carvin' Fool!

Today was a very nice day as far as weather goes, but I chose to stay inside with all of my windows open and let the breeze blow in. I did manage, however to carve three stamps. Hopefuly, they'll be planted before the year is over. I'm sort of in the stages of planning a little jaunt for tomorrow, where I can find quite a few and plant some, too. Stay tuned!

Sweet Tooth

The last time we saw Dewberry, she mentioned that she and Mother of 5 were putting together a Candyland-Game-Letterboxing Event that Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey would enjoy. Blue Butterfly and I were excited to find out about the final plans for the event! As soon as I saw the event posted on AQ, I signed us up for it and called Blue Butterfly to let her know. We're very excited about attending this unique event and we know our little 'boxing buddies will be thrilled to find all the extra-special clues that day!

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!

LSU Mascot

When I came home from Baton Rouge and told Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey that I saw a tiger named Mike, they didn't believe me! Now, thanks to Mama Cache and Big M, I have a picture to prove it!

Yes, Junior 'boxers, there REALLY IS a Mike!

Logbooks, Tigers, and Stamps...Oh My!

After driving through the Atchafalaya Swamp, I finally made my way to the Greek Theater on the LSU campus. After having worn myself out with driving and looking for LB's, I decided to take a break. I ate lunch, then found a nice area to read while I waited for the appointed hour.

A little before 3:00, I returned to the theater anxiously awaiting the arrival of Mama Cache and the rest of the crew. MC arrived alone, greeted me and let me stamp into the event box. Soon after, many more family members began to arrive. While most of the family members were desperately trying to bust open a pinata to claim the coveted candy prize, I exchanged with a few of their 'boxers and earned a few personal travelers. I'm so thankful for Big M, who sang with me to earn Rubber Chickie and Rubber Chickie Returns. Humiliation is much better if you don't have to go through it alone! Thanks Big M!

MC staged a trick to get a closer look at the pinata festivities and planted a couple of cooties right on me! These cooties were on clothes pins, thus making it easier to just "stick" to the victim.

After meeting and exchanging with a few more folks, it was time to go attempt three boxes that are located on the LSU campus. We were losing daylight, so we had to hurry. I hitched a ride with Big M and we easily found TAKING ORDERS-ONE FROM COLUMN C. This box has been in place for over two years and had a great log book.

The next order of business was to find TAKING ORDERS-ONE FROM COLUMN A. We all hopped back into the vehicles and made our way to Atkinson Hall. By this time, it was dark and most of these boxers were smart enough to bring flashlights (unlike me). Unfortunately, this box eluded us. We think it may have gone the way of the landscapers.

There was one more box to find, and Mr. Cache took us to visit Mike V, the LSU mascot. We marveled at Mike for a little while, then it was time to get down to business. Again, this box eluded us, but we managed a few more exchanges and PT's while outside Mike V's domain.

When it was time for us to go our seperate ways, I was rewarded with the monkey leg from the pinata. I've been rolling a few ideas around in my head concerning a PT in honor of this leg.....if it works out, I may have it ready to go at the next event.

At about 7:00, I got back on the interstate and headed West. I decided to go just as far as Blue Butterfly's house, where I pulled in at about 1:30 a.m. It was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of my new Louisiana friends! I want to say THANKS to the whole crew for the fun I had with them!!!

Stamps I earned at the TALKK Event:

T.A.L.K.K. Event Stamp

Mama Cache-Exchange
The Carver Carved PT
Rubber Chickie PT
Rubber Chickie Returns PT
Triple Sister PT

Ampersand Son-Exchange
Big M-exchange
Duckie D-exchange
Mike V (the person, not the Tiger)-exchange
Chippy-Exchange
Mr. Monster Jr. - Exchange
Head Hunter-Exchange
Cottontail-Exchange
Dizzy Monkey-Exchange
Babadge-exchange

Moody Cootie
Tootie Cootie

Taking Orders-One from Column C

LaFayette

After spending the night in LaFayette, I got up and headed to Acadian Village to hunt down three boxes there. This is a historical village in which you take a self-guided tour. You can learn a great deal about this part of Louisiana by going through this village. They even have a nice little chapel and the very friendly lady who sold me my ticket said they'd had a wedding there the evening before. Unfortunately for me, there were certain parts of the village that were blocked off due to the Christmas decorations on the grounds. I think I was being closely watched as I tried going under ropes, so I had to abort the LB'ing mission.

In the picture, you can see woven blanket that was on display in one of the houses. They also had a school, a blacksmith shop, a music display, and lots of other things in the village.


Next, I went to try and find THE MIGHTY OAK. I marveled at this tree. I took a couple of pictures, but film will not do it justice. I wasn't able to find the box, but I think that I was still a little paranoid from my Acadien Village experience AND I was sort of in a hurry to make it to the T.A.L.K.K. event in time. The next time I drive through, I'll definitely be looking for it again!

Road Trip!

I decided on Tuesday or Wednesday this week that I'd try to attend the T.A.L.K.K. Event on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, LA. After the events from Thursday, I slept late on Friday, then left BB's house and headed South. I'd gotten a report that my LAND OF THE LITTLE ANGEL LB had a full logbook, so I wanted to replace it. I stopped in Lufkin and did a little box maintenance. Then, I kept going south to hit Beaumont. There are three boxes in the Botanical Gardens there. I attempted the MYRTLE TYRTLE box, but there were people taking portraits near the box, so that didn't pan out for me. I also attempted Silver Eagle's box, but couldn't find it. There are quite a few trees down on the trail there, so I'm not sure that the clues are still accurate...or maybe I was just lost! I tried to figure out where the SECRET GARDEN box might be. I went this way and that, and was just about to give up and be on my way headed East when I saw something that sparked my interest....it was the location of the secret garden! I was pleased to stamp into this special box.

After logging my find, I headed toward Rayne, LA. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to nab this box, since it was already dark by the time I got about an hour into LA. When I pulled into the park, though, the place was well lit by the Christmas lights and finding the box was no problem.

My final stop for the night was in Lafayette, where I found a place to rest for the night so I'd have plenty of energy for the next day's events!

A Thanksgiving Treat

This afternoon, after the Thanksgiving meal was over and most people had gone their seperate ways, Blue Butterfly and I decided to get out and find some new boxes in our area! JB Kokopelli had recently planted a series of the 7 dwarfs, and there are also two boxes by PurpleinTexKim that we wanted to hit.

We drove out to New Summerfield first, because I wanted to get the TRIBUTE TO CROCODILE HUNTER box. BB had already logged this find with Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey, so it was just my turn today.

After this, we headed to find DOC. We made our way to the cemetery and discovered we were the first finders! We claimed our prize-a figurine of Doc, and moved on to the next box. Our next goal was to find SLEEPY. After making a wrong turn, we found the cemetery and noticed there was two cars there. BB and I decided to get out and take a look at the headstones until it was clear. As we got closer to the gate, a man asked us if we were letterboxers and we struck up a conversation with him. BB put things together and figured out that this was PurpleinTexKim's family. We were thrilled to meet this fun family. This was also the first time we'd ever met another boxer on the trail, so it was a double treat. We were able to exchange with PurpleinTexKim as well as Tex, so that made the meeting complete. It turns out they were trying to find most of the DWARF series, also.

After we said our goodbyes, BB and I found SLEEPY resting peacefully under his tree, and then we headed back to Medford cemetery to find BASHFUL. We were the first finders on this one, too.

We wanted to try and find PurpleinTexKim's boxes, so we headed to New Summerfield. By this time, it was after 5:30 and getting dark. We tried to find COME GROW WITH US, but I think we were just missing it due to the daylight being gone....and of course we had no flashlight! We'll be trying for her boxes again soon, though.

We had a great day. The biggest treat was meeting Kim, Tex, and their family while out letterboxing. Hopefully we'll see them again soon!!!

Meese Hunt

Saturday was the Many Meese Mini-Meet on Lake Grapevine in Flower

Mound, TX. Blue Butterfly and I had been looking foward to attending this gathering for the past few weeks.

After I'd gotten home at about 1:00 a.m. from work on Friday night, we got up and left my home at about 8:00 a.m. We stopped and got some breakfast, and some cookies for the potluck, then made our way north.

We arrived at our destination and easily spotted our fellow 'boxers. We stamped into the event stamp, carved by the very talented Queen Beeloved. We also met a few new boxers while stamping in, and Ruby Tuesday gave us our complimentary Moose Charms to help commemorate the event.

Dewberry reminded us that if we wanted to find Batrick (Eye-man's) new box, that we'd have to sing for it. Blue Butterfly and I ...and a few others...sang his special song and he gave us the clues to this fun box.

We talked with a few more people, then I told BB that RL and I would go find the Mickey Moose box...and she wanted to join us. So, we made our way down to the beach and stamped in. We were the second finders. After this, we decided to hit the trail and find a few more. We found THE BLUES AND THE ABSTRACT MOOSE, and RATHER BE PADDLIN'. Then, we headed back to the group site in order to partake in the delicious lunch. My favorite dish was a Southwest BlackBean and Corn salad by Queen Beeloved...DELISH! We also found ZEUS AND ARTEMOOSE during lunch...what a fun box!

After lunch, we decided it was time to go find Silver Eagle's box, which he'd planted that very day. I copied down the clues and we hit the trail. As we drove into the designated parking lot, we spotted Dewberry there, who was already stamping in. We decided to let her finish up, then we'd look for it.

We had a couple of more that we wanted to check into before leaving town....one of which was Gryzzled Gryphon's box. We drove to the appropriate (we think) part of the lake, but we had no luck. We'll have to try again another day when we'll have a bit more daylight left.

It was a great event, with of course, great people. I had a great time visiting with my fellow letterboxers and can't wait to do this again soon!

Stamps I earned this time around:

Meese Hunt Event Stamp

Moose Tracks Event Stamp

Beneficus Rex-Exchange

Texas LB Event Stamp-I missed this one at the book gathering, so I was thrilled to catch up with it this time!

The Blues and the Abstract Moose

Rather Be Paddlin'

Mickey Moose

Just Married: Mr. and Mrs. Zeus Moose-thanks for the bubbles! Roarin' Lion really enjoyed them!

Happy Birthday Event Box

Pom Pom Bear Exchange-what a polite, enthusiastic young lady!

Monarch B-Exchange

Kantexan-Exchange

If You Give a Moose a Muffin....

Countdown to Moose Gathering!

Saturday is the big "mini" event in Flower Mound, hosted by the Celtic Lions! I'm very excited to be able to attend this event. The box I'm looking most forward to stamping into is the Moose-ic Man box, as this is one of my favorite movies.

Blue Butterfly and Roarin' Lion are going to come into town on Friday evening and spend the night with me, then we'll head north on Saturday morning. I'll have a nice, new, clean logbook and a new set of marvy markers to take with me to the gathering. I haven't looked at the weather forecast yet, but I'm hoping it won't rain!

2 New Boxes in Kilgore

Today, I was in Rusk County with Blue Butterfly. I wanted to find her MERRY GO ROUND box, since this is a newer box that I hadn't yet had the opportunity to stamp into. We made our way to the park and I was able to stamp into this fun box.

A few weeks ago, BB had prepared a couple of boxes to be placed in Synergy Park, located outside of Kilgore. As we pulled into the parking lot, I decided to stay warm in the van while BB hid her boxes. I kicked back in the passenger seat and pulled my jacket over my eyes. I took a little nap, then finally forced myself to get out of the vehicle...after all...there were boxes to find! As I started down the trail, I met BB, and she gave me the clue to the first box she'd planted....KILGORE OIL. I went down the trail and found the box while she went off to hide her second box.

After I finished up with the box, I walked around the lake to the pavilion. I saw BB there, and she was putting some finishing touches on her clues. I saw the fire going in the fireplace and wanted to take a moment to get warm while I waited for her. After she finished up, I headed down the trail and stamped into the ELDER HOUSE FIREPLACE box. The clues to both of these boxes should soon be available on LbNA and Atlasquest.

Synergy Park is a great new park, that I believe will be kept up nicely by the city of Kilgore. As of now, though, the bathrooms are still under construction, but there is a port-a-potty. They do have fishing available from the banks or the pier.

Moose Likely to Attend

There is another gathering coming up on November 18, which will be hosted by the Celtic Lions. The MANY MEESE MINI MEET will be held in Flower Mound, TX, and will surely be a lot of fun. I'm hoping to be able to attend, but I won't find out if I'm working that particular Saturday until the Monday or Tuesday before the event. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll have to work on Friday night rather than Saturday so I can attend!

Snap, Crackle, and Clues

On October 22, BB and I got up and headed to Memorial Park to participate in the SNAP, CRACKLE, AND CLUES Event. As we arrived, we saw that the fun had already begun and we were super-excited to join in the stamping frenzy. Dewberry had plenty of cereal for everyone, as this event was "powered by sugar". She even passed out key chains with that motto on them.

We stamped into the event stamp and made a few exchanges as well as earning one more LT from Batty B. Then, we looked over Dewberry's clues for her day-only boxes and, of course, had a puzzle to solve. Blue Butterfly and I solved the puzzle, then hit the trail. As we were about 32 steps from our first mystery box, we saw the BusyBees family and Severalsons family sitting and stamping in. All of a sudden, then children run down to us and start telling us knock-knock jokes. They'd been sent by their parents to distract us while Batty B re-hid the mystery box.....good thinking parents! We enjoyed exchanging knock-knock jokes, then found our prize as their gang headed on down the trail to find some more sugary goodness.

After stamping in to SILLY RABBIT!, we headed for the monster loop where we met Wanda and Pete. These two are really nice people and I enjoyed visiting with them on the trail. As we got to the end of our monster loop, BB noticed that we were very close to LLAWNMOWER LLOOKOUT. This is a box that she really highly suggested I try to get today. As we got closer, we saw that Wanda and Pete were already stamping in, so we waited until they were finished and headed in for the kill. At the lookout, we were fortunate enough to see a Shetlin pony and a beautiful llama in the homeowner's back yard.

Our trail took us to the TWO CRAZY BIRDS, KINGS AND CAPTAINS, AND COLORFUL CHARACTERS. We had a great deal of fun with all this sugary goodness. By the time we were finished with the breakfast loops, we were hungry and decided to take a break for lunch. We went back to the picnic tables, where we said goodbye to Batty B, and enjoyed our sack lunch.

Next, it was time for us to head out again and find some mystery boxes.....but I can't tell you which ones!!

Stamps I earned today:

The Busy Bees LT-we found the answer online that very morning before leaving the hotel!

SandiBox-Exchange

Ahab's Quest-Event Box

Snap, Crackle, and Clues Event Box

Armadillo Girl-exchanged with her new stamp...thanks AG!

The Great Gatsby-Event Stamp

Severalsons and Cowabunga Kid-exchange

Silly Rabbit!

Llawnmower Llookout-met Wanda and Pete on the trail BEFORE we stamped into this one, then met Dewberry, Eyeman, Mother of 5, and Armadillo Girl on the trail as we were finishing up!

Eyeman-Exchange
Eyeman's LT

Monster Cereal Loop-Count Chocula, Frankenberry, BooBerry

Those Crazy Birds-Sonny and Toucan Sam

The Trail of Colorful Characters-Quisp and Lucky the Leprachaun

Kings and Captain-King Vitaman and Cap'n Crunch

Two mystery boxes and one mystery bonus box-Thanks to BB for finding the yellow trail to lead us to our first mystery of the day!

Boxin' in Nac

I didn't get to go out and box today, but Blue Butterfly took Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey out to Nacogdoches to find a box or two and to meet up with Ashby and her gang. A couple of weeks ago, Ashby had written me saying that my EAST TEXAS BLOOD CENTER box was dangerously close to some new trail construction. She was nice enough to rescue my box and hand it over to Blue Butterfly.

Blue Butterfly also checked on my VIVALDI: SPRING box and my VIVA! MOZART box. Both of these boxes are officially missing now. I'm a little disappointed, but that's part of the game.

Chicken Fried Chatter

After leaving Burroughs Park, Blue Butterfly and I decided to head to the hotel and check in. After such a long day, we decided to get showers and rest for a few minutes before heading over to Goodson's for the Chicken Fried Chatter Event. On the way over, we had an extra-long delay as we waited for a train to pass by, so we got there at about 6:30. We arrived to meet some more 'boxers that we hadn't met face to face. We FINALLY met Boots Texas, LSQ, Blooming Flowers, and The Peas. We were the last to arrive, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. The stamps I earned at this event were:

Blooming Flowers-Exchange

The Peas-Exchange
Peas #3 Literary Traveler
The Littlest Peas' LT
Peas #2 LT
Peas Literary Traveler

We enjoyed the good food and company at Goodson's, but then it was time to call it a day. We'd been just like the energizer bunny that day....and now it was time to head back to the hotel...figure out a few more LT's before the next day....and get some rest.

The Great Book Adventure!

After leaving my work obligations at about 10:30 Saturday morning, I rushed down to Tomball for the GBA event. I arrived at Burroughs Park at about 2 and the stamping frenzy began! I stamped into the event poster, then started making my way around to meet and greet new and old friends. It was also very important that I mention their personal and literary travelers so that I could also get those stamps.

After having exchanged with a few folks and passing secret greetings, I wanted to get a few boxes. Many of the boxers recommended the storybook walk, which had great stamps and was also full of day-only boxes. I started out my eye-spy game by opening the bird cage, then continued down the trail. This walk was intended for the children, but I don't mind saying I enjoyed it, too! I can only imagine what some of the non-boxers thought when they saw the rather large pair of undewear hanging from the tree that contained a Captain Underpants LB provided by Mother of Five!

Stamps I earned at the GBA include:

The Great Book Adventure Event Stamp

Queen Beeloved-exchange
I Speak for the Trees LT
Pleasantness and Peace LT

Butterfly B-exchange
Butterfly B is a young member of the Busy Bee's family. She designed and created her own signature stamp! She did a great job of it and I was very proud of her carving. I even made Blue Butterfly jealous that evening by showing her this stamp. Blue Butterfly made a point of exchanging with the young Butterfly B the next day so her collection would be complete.

The Bible Event Stamp

Daisy and Onslow-exchange
Osnlow's PT
Daisy's LT
Daisy's PT-This pair of boxers has introduced me to an intriguing British TV show that I feel is a must watch. I just have to figure out where I can rent it to watch it at home!

Lionsmane63-exchange
Lionsmane63 PT
Lionsmane63 LT-I really enjoyed visiting with this boxer, who came all the way from Santa Fe, NM to attend our Gathering. He gave me some new carving tips, which (hopefully), I'll be able to try out soon. His LT was one of my favorites as it has to do with a novel that was turned into a fabulous musical.

Marley the Frog-This was a box that Barefoot Lucy created for her grand-frog, Marley!

Baby Bear's LT-another amazing work of art by this long-time TX boxer

A Gryzzled LT-How can I NOT take advantage of the Gryzzled One's LT? I only regret that I didn't have the opportunity to find the box he planted during the gathering.

Itchy I Cootie-I don't know who planted this on me, but now I have hives....THANKS A LOT!

The Polka Dots-Exchange-I enjoyed visiting with this family. They were more than happy to tell me the clues to their travelers, since I couldn't find my clues at the time. Thimble Cat also told me that she thinks about my PT when she is volunteering at the library where her child attends school.....what an honor!
Thimble Cat Exchange
E-Bug Exchange
6foot9 Exchange
Thimble Cat LT-I really enjoyed this LT, as I fan of the books AND the television show.
6foot9 LT-Now I have a micro-box and an LT of the same name!
E-Bug LT

TeamKing's PT-A Scoutdog Dachsund
This is a lovely memorial to a beloved pet.

TeamKing's Agatha Raisin LT

TeamKing's Outlander LT

Will's World-Exchange

Cattitude-Exchange

Wanda and Pete-Exchange I FINALLY was able to exchange with the famous Wanda and Pete from Rhode Island! I didn't get to visit with them much that day, but BB and I ended up stamping into a few boxes with them the next day at the Snap Crackle and Clues event. I was trying not to seem star struck every time I talked to them...I hope it worked!

Storybook Walk Stamps
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
The Phantom Tollbooth
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Charlotte's Web-This stamp looks JUST like the cover artwork!
Captain Underpants
Amelia Badelia
Junie B. Jones, Toothless Wonder - this stamp was securely tucked inside a pillow!
Island of the Blue Dolphin

Lightning's LT-Thanks Lightning for sharing your stamp with me! It's a fun stamp that I'm THRILLED I got!

Arrenurus Water Mite of the Microscopic Cooties-Mother of 5 suddenly and unexpectedly planted this one on me as I was leaving.....revenge is mine!!!!

Strawberry Shortcake Fan of the Atoy Adventurers-She'd just carved her Signature stamp the night before and did a good job of it.

As you can see, even though I was only at this gathering for a couple of hours, I used my time wisely! This was a great deal of fun, but it was only the first of THREE events I'd attend over the next 24 hours. Thanks to all who shared their stamps, letterboxing stories, and carving tips with me.

3 Events....2 Days...1 Happy Camper

I'm happy to report that I made it to the Great Book Adventure at about 2:00 on Saturday, then had a lot of fun at the Chicken Fried Chatter Gathering, and finally...got powered by sugar at the Snap, Crackle, and Clues Event. I'm a bit worn out from all the excitement, secret words, clue deciphering, driving, stamping, and logging, but I'll definitely update with more details later!

On the Road....

In a few more days, it will be time for the Letterboxing Social Events of the Fall...three in one weekend! Blue Butterfly is going down to Tomball early Saturday morning to participate in the Great Book Adventure. I'm hoping to be finished with work obligations by about noon, so that I can make it down for at least the last hour or so of festivities. For the evening, we'll be joining the Chicken Fried Chatter Gathering at a local restaurant. I'm very excited about the possibility of meeting some famous boxers, including the legendary Wanda & Pete. I'll also finally get to meet some that I have corresponded with, such as BootsTex, LoneStarQuilter, Ashby, and many others who have found my boxes and vice versa. If I don't get to meet and reunite with everyone on Saturday, I'll be ready to go for the Snap, Crackle, and Clues Event on Sunday morning.....talk about a full weekend.....but it's all in good fun and I can't hardly wait!!

Cleburne and Joshua

Blue Butterfly and I took another weekend mini-excursion last weekend. We had some things to take care of in Burleson, but we left the afternoon open for a little letterboxing.

We started out by checking on BB's SCREECHIN' OWLS box. As we combed through the log book, we realized that this box has been in place for over a year! I don't think BB expected it to last that long...especially in such a high traffic area! Anyway, BB replaced the container and re-hid it back in it's place.

Next, we went to an historic cemetery that is part of the Chisholm Trail and logged into THE JEWEL OF JOSHUA. We even got an extra little surprise here as we picked up a hitch hiker.

Next, we made our way to Cleburne State Park, where two of our favorite carver/planters had placed boxes in December. We started out by looking for Baby Bear's Box, but somehow missed one of the land marks and ended up right where we needed to be to stamp into Silver Eagle's CLEBURNE CATFISH. We made our way back out, put the clues and the landmarks together, and found NORTHERN EXPOSURE. We had a great laugh as we opened up this stamp. I'm once again enjoying Baby Bear's sense of humor.

That was our boxing day on Saturday. I have obligations this coming weekend, so nothing for me....but hopefully I'll get to do some heavy boxing at the SNAP, CRACKLE, AND CLUES Event. I'm almost too excited to sleep!

Back into Boxing!

This weekend, Blue Butterfly and I decided to go for a letterboxing jaunt. We met in Fairfield SP. Even though I'd already found the three boxes there, I wanted to check on the one I'd planted, Click and Clack. BB hadn't had a chance to find any of them, so it would be a great opportunity for her to knock 'em all out.

When we started looking for them, however, we found all of them to be missing. It was quite sad, but I was glad that I'd found them all so that I could confirm that they were missing.

After we'd mourned the losses of the boxes, BB and I were on the trail again. We headed to find the BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON box in Wortham. When we got there, a man was parked in the middle of the driveway and he was doing some sort of work at the gate. We passed the gate, turned around, and waited just far enough away for him to disappear so that he couldn't see us. When it looked like he was packing up, we went for it. We made our way to the grave site, honored Jefferson, and found the box. This was a great stamp and the weather was perfect! We were both glad that our Texas summer is over!

Next, we headed to a state historical site to snatch Baby Bear's VAL VERDE CANNON. We only had about an hour before the campground closed, so we didn't get to enjoy the site too much, but OFCOURSE we loved the box.

After this, on the way home, we stopped in Jacksonville and stamped into Barefoot Lucy's GIRL SCOUT SERIES. Another job well done by the Barefooted one!

The Great Book Adventure

I'm so excited and I'm starting to gear up for THE GREAT BOOK ADVENTURE! Dewberry and Teamking are hosting this event in Tomball on October 21....just barely a month away! Blue Butterfly and I are planning on attending this event, but we'll have to leave Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey at home with their parents.

Even though I moved...well....in July, I still have several boxes that are lying around my home. I need to figure out where I hid my Ramona Quimby personal traveler so I can take it with me to the event. I certainly don't want to disappoint any of Ramona's friends who might be searching for her on Klickitat Street!

The Gryzzled One Strikes Again!

Last weekend, BB planted a new box in a little garden which is between where I work and where I live. I tried several times to stamp into the Go Bobcats! box, but always there was a hindrance. One time, there was a man who was doing some work in the garden, another day there were several cars in the lot, so I just passed by...things of that nature. So, this morning I left a little early hoping I'd be the only early bird around. I managed to snag the box and was admiring the artwork, then I looked in the logbook. The Gryzzled Gryphon had stamped into the box already! He got there before I did and I've been trying for that box almost every day this week! Boy is he clever. Unfortunately, I probably took a little too much time being stunned by the Gryzzled One because by the time I finished stamping in, a man came and sat down at another one of the picnic tables in the small park. I was forced to take the box with me and replace it AFTER work. What a day!

Back in the Saddle

I was able to get out and do a little boxing yesterday for the first time in a few weeks. As you may recall, I moved to a new home in the middle of July, so I haven't been out in the "boxing ring" lately. However, yesterday, Blue Butterfly and Roarin' Lion came out to visit me. They found a couple of boxes here in the area, then BB planted one close to my home. RL and I played on the nearby playground while she did the hiding, then we sought out her treasure afterwards. This new box is called Pitch In! This one will be a nice one to take younger boxers to find since the playground is very near it.

BB also planted one in another town in Navarro County called Go Bobcats! I hope to find this one later in the week.

As I was getting caught up on my e-mails this morning, I discovered that a few people of stamped into some of my boxes...including Click & Clack and Just Duck-y. It's always exciting to hear that someone out there is finding your boxes!

It's Time to Move...

Within the next couple of weeks, I will no longer be "Lucy Locket of Nacogdoches", but will be Lucy Locket of Navarro County. I accepted a new job a couple of weeks ago and will be moving soon. This will be a new opportunity for me to help "seed" Navarro County with boxes, since I believe there are only perhaps two in that county.

Since I'm moving, I should be packing up my things. However, procrastination seems to be the rule of the day. Actually, I did some sorting of things yesterday and found quite a bit of stuff that can go in the dumpster. Because of the holiday weekend, however, the dumpster here in my apartment complex is quite full, so I'm waiting for the trash collectors to come and haul it away so I can begin to fill it up again. Once I can do that, I'll get back on the packing bandwagon.

I also took the time this morning to carve a new signature stamp for Roarin' Lion. I'm hoping that he will like using this new stamp and I'm hoping to enlist the help of PS Guru to mount it for us.

Happy Independence Day

Today, Americans celebrated their independence from outside governments. It is marked by people who take the day off from work and barbecue, go to the local lake or beach, attend outdoor concerts, and of course, watch fireworks. After it'd gotten dark this evening, I went outside on my small "balcony" hoping I could see the downtown fireworks display. The paper said the festivities would begin at "dark-thirty" (only in Texas, I'm guessing, would that be an acceptable time for anything to start). After I realized it'd been dark for a while, I prepared for myself a cold coffee beverage, took my chair outside and waited. It was good to get away from the radio, tv, computer, and the list of things that I should be doing and just breathe for a little while.

When the clock struck dark-thirty, the firworks began. As I sat there and watched the display, my mind went to Independence Days past.

When we were younger, we spent a few July 4th's at our aunt and uncle's house. They have a clear view of the fireworks display in their city. I would guess we spent four or five July 4th's there with them.

When I was in Junior College, I worked at a local grocery store. As you can guess, grocery stores are DEAD after dark on Independence Day. I spent my first July 4 as my first day in the cash office--which is a lot more than just cashing checks! I didn't get out of work that night until 1:00 a.m. or so--the manager wasn't too thrilled. The next year, I was a bit more experienced, so when the store lost all its customers to the fireworks, I got to go outside with everyone else and watch the fireworks until it was time to close up shop.

I spent two Independence days with my friend Sara, who lives in New Hampshire. I'd told her one time that it was my dream to go see Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops on July 4. She invited me to come to her house....she lives about an hour from Boston...and we'd make the trip! I spent a week with her both times and we had a great deal of fun both times. After the concert was over, we hurried to catch a train back to the parking garage instead of staying for the fireworks. In 2003 when we did this, we happen to be riding over the Charles River while the fireworks were still going....it was a beautiful scene with the colors reflecting off the water and the boats.

Last year, I didn't do anything special on July 4, but I did go boxing over the holiday weekend. Blue Butterfly and I, escorted by PS Guru, went to Martin Dies Jr. State Park and collected a few images there. This park was heavily damaged by Rita last fall, and I believe some parts of it are still closed.

Now, on July 4, 2006, the fireworks are over...the reminiscing is over....and the blogging is almost finished up. On this Independence Day, I'm appreciative of being able to have the freedom of following my dreams.....all of them...no matter how grand or small they may be.

BOXING ANNIVERSARY!

I just about can't believe it! I have now been letterboxing for over a year now. Blue Butterfly and I found our first box on June 18, 2005. It was Corazon's Gibraltar of the Confederacy in Vicksburg, MS. Finding that one box really got us hooked....we officially became addicted! Now, suddenly we're finding reasons to go to out-of-the-way places, sneaking around in bushes, taking trips, but taking very ...shall we say..."curious" routes to get back home so we can find these little treasures that mean so much to us.

Then, we decided it was time to start planting boxes...but would anyone even want to find them? We're not brilliant artists and we didn't want to disappoint anyone. Little did we know that others would appreciate our boxes, too. Letterboxers are such a great community of people, as we would later find out. So, we planted a few boxes and eagerly awaited those e-mail notices with the subject line: LBNA Status Changed.

We'd read extensively about letterboxing before we actually began, and even after we found our first box, we continued to educate ourselves as much as possible. We were wanting to go to a gathering, but we also knew that the annual Texas gatherings were held in the spring of each year and we'd have to wait a long time to go to one. Then, we found out about the Terrors of Telge Gathering that would be held in Houston. BB and I discussed it and decided we would go! SOOOO.....after we got home after a very late Friday night football game, we got up early and headed south. We made our way to Telge park and found a few of the permanent as well as temporary boxes that had been placed there. We were so excited to find some boxes by people we'd only heard about, but never found their boxes. Our favorite (or at least mine) was Mother of 5's Mr. Bones. Mr. Bones is a series of 4 boxes, and you had to put the skeleton together as you went along. I didn't know the difference between the pelvis and the rib cage until after I'd stamped the torso into my book....but at least I realized it before I stamped all of Mr. Bones in! The bottom line is that poor Mr. Bones is dancing on his head in my log book....but I digress....
As it got closer to the allotted time, we awaited the arrival of the other letterboxers. The first person we met was TeamKing. Soon after, The Legendary Silver Eagle and Baby Bear arrived. (We tried not to act star struck....I hope it worked). Others who came in were members of Gramatrick, Mother of 5, and two members of Birds of a Feather: Sea Dove and Liberty Eagle, the Frye Team, and Runs For Chocolate (sorry if I left anyone out). We were in letterboxing heaven! We found out that we weren't the only ones out there who did this and we talked about finding various boxes.....the hard ones....the fun ones...the easy ones...wow! After spending quite a bit of time at the table stamping into all of those event boxes and chatting, we had to part ways. We were sad to leave, but it left us feeling great about our new hobby and the people who enjoy it along with us.

Ok, Ok, I think I've gone on long enough. I started off all that to say it's been quite a year and I can't EVEN imagine now what I did with my time before letterboxing.
The hiking? Great!
The finding? Great!
The stamping in? Great!
The planting? Great!
The events? Great!
The people? WOW! FANTASTIC! COULDN'T BE A BETTER GROUP OF PEOPLE!!

Thanks to all of the people in the letterboxing community for making my year a fun-filled one.

This afternoon, Blue Butterfly, Stinky Monkey, Roarin' Lion and I met up for an exchange with a few new faces and a couple of familiar faces!! Barefoot Lucy coordinated a meeting with the Boxalots, who are from California, but are in the process of moving to a new location. The Boxalots have planted several boxes in the NE portion of Lousiana-including their MISSION IMPOSSIBLE AT ALLIGATOR PARK-which is still one of our favorites. It's always fun to put faces to stamp images and our little group sat around exchanging and just generally talking like we were old friends. I believe a good time was had by all. I'd like to say thanks to everyone who attended and I hope they enjoyed our little mini-meet half as much as I did.

Attendees included: The Boxalots-Tony, Honour, Linda and Smart Cookie / Barefoot Lucy and Lightening / TX Music Boxers-Blue Butterfly, Lucy Locket, Roarin' Lion, and Stinky Monkey.

Duck, Duck, Dog

After taking care of business on Saturday morning, BB, SM, and I went on a hunt for some letterboxes! We first headed to Port Gibson, MS to find Windsor Ruins, which was placed by our good friends Corazon and Navigator. We headed down the highway, then found the curvy road that led to the ruins. This was a great place for Corazon to lead us to find. The ruins alone from this estate shows that is was quite grand at one time. The columns that held up this home are massive and you feel so small in comparison to them. I could imagine myself coming to a social event here in my hoop skirt and dancing the night away.

Next, we headed back to Vicksburg. Blue Butterfly had made a special stamp which she dedicated to her father. She used to go hunting with him and she cherishes that time and the memories of that time together. Daddy's Beagle is located in a cemetery that is on the land where her father used to hunt.

Now, it was time for us to go to Vicksburg to find some more of Corazon's boxes. I so enjoy her boxes because she almost always has a great story to tell along with her hides. We found Tacito Bucci, Doc Smith's Cigar, and Mary's 80th Birthday. We found all of these in great shape.

Now, it was my turn to hide a box. I 'd recently carved Just Ducky and wanted to place it in the new park on the river front. The Catfish Row Art Park has a replica of a steam boat-with some original parts-and a fountain that children can play in. After I'd planted this box and BB and SM found it, we headed west....back home to Texas.