TAG PHOTO

This is the photo from The Arkansas Event. Thanks so much to The Purple Ladybug for sharing! Front Row: The Atoy Adventurers and The Purple Ladybug. Back Row: Lucy Locket, Blue Butterfly, Webfoot, and Shiloh.

The Arkansas Gathering

On the morning of the very first Arkansas gathering, Blue Butterfly and I got up and hit the University of Arkansas in North Little Rock. There was an intriguing series there that we just didn't want to miss! After we FINALLY found the Fine Arts building, we stamped into A Study in Picasso by Nancy Drew. Unfortunately, the third box was missing, so we really missed out on that one.

After grabbing coffee and muffins, we headed to Burns Park. After getting the map of the park, we drove around and found Shiloh and the gang already busily stamping away. Shiloh greeted us and offered the Event stamp. After meeting Webfoot and The Purple Ladybug, the race was on for personal travelers. I had a great time talking Children's books with Webfoot, and I'll be picking up a book she suggested very soon!

After chatting for a bit, I was anxious to find some letterboxes, so I dragged Blue Butterfly away. We started out by finding Burns Park Covered Bridge by Shiloh. We were following Webfoot, who was following Barefoot Lucy.

We made our way around the loop, and caught up with Barefoot Lucy. (We decided to skip one box, so we passed Webfoot on the way). After much discussion and a little confusion, we found Burns Park Rock Gnome. We also took this opportunity to sit down and have a little rest before continuing on to the next box. After replacing the box, we headed out for the last one in the series. We easily found Field of Mushrooms, and while we were stamping in, a couple asked us if we had a trail map. No, we didn't, and we weren't exactly sure where we were, either! We'd just passed a sign that said Trailhead, so that looked sort of promising. By this time, Webfoot had caught up with us and so I hid the box and we asked her if she knew where we were....she wasn't quite sure, either! She just knew we were about 2 miles into the loop. BB, BFL, and I took the gamble of following the trail head sign. When we got to the trail head, BB was pretty sure she knew how to get to the covered bridge, so she led us there. Thank goodness she knew the way!

After making our way back to our van and getting a drink, we decided to hide our boxes. TAG Trip LB and Go Razorbacks! are hidden safely in their new homes in Burns Park. After hiding these, we went back to the pavilion to share our clues with fellow letterboxers, chatted for a bit, then headed Southwest towards home. It was a fun event, and a great day for finding letterboxes.

Stamps I earned on this day:

TAG Event Stamp
Shiloh-Exchange
J.W.-personal traveler
Arkansas is a natural-personal traveler
Webfoot-exchange
The Purple Ladybug-exchange
Burns Park Covered Bridge
Cleopatra-exchange
Lizzard-exchange
Field of Mushrooms
Burns Park Rock Gnome
A Study in Picasso-3 boxes
Go Razorbacks

THANKS TO SHILOH FOR HOSTING THIS EVENT!

The Natural State

Blue Butterfly and I left the Sooner State this morning and headed East to Arkansas. We had a plan to visit Lake Catherine State Park to find Baby Bear's box here and for me to leave a box. When we finally pulled up to the appointed trail head and were getting out our clues and gear, I heard some one shout, "Hey....what are you doing here?" I was thinking to myself...surely this person isn't talking to us.....but this person WAS talking to us! It was Barefoot Lucy! We visited for a minute or two, and discovered that she hadn't found the one and only box in this park yet, either. She kindly joined us for our journey to find Chip.

After braving the suspension bridge (don't worry, it wasn't too long) and stamping in, I asked BFL if she wanted to wait while I planted my box, but she kindly declined. I left her and Blue Butterfly by the suspension bridge, and told BB to wait here at least ten minutes while I tried to find a place to plant my box. I planted Terk, then headed back down the trail to meet up with Blue Butterfly and give her the clues. When I got about halfway back, I met her and let her continue her journey. She easily found the box and stamped in.

After this, we decided we still wanted to go farther down the trail so that we could view the waterfall. We were very pleased with our decision once we got there. It was a nice, secluded, peaceful little place.

After enjoying the waterfall, we headed back to the trailhead and made our way to North Little Rock to prepare for tomorrow's event!

The Land We Belong to is Grand....

Blue Butterfly and I woke up to a beautiful
morning here in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. We went back to Beaver's Bend SP, but this time, we hit a different area-The Lakeview Lodge. We found two boxes here and I planted The Tooth Fairy LB.

After this, we drove through some beautiful mountains, going after one of Silver Eagle's boxes. When we made it to the arboretum, however, the road was closed, so we had to be on our way.

The next stop was in the town of Antlers. There is a letterbox here in the Antlers spring where the Native Americans found this spring and marked it with a set of antlers. Tomorrow, we are headed East towards the TAG Event.

Beavers Bend

This morning, I met Blue Butterfly at her home in East Texas. We promptly (and I do mean promptly) left to head North to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. BB did a great job of mapping out a plan for our TAG Trip, and it all started with a visit to Beavers Bend State Park.

What's the first box a Texas Letterboxer to find in Oklahoma? Well, a box from Baby Bear or Silver Eagle, of course! We started out by finding the Snow Bear LB, then we headed down the trail to find the Beaver's Bend LB. We were not disappointed in finding our fellow Texans' boxes here! We felt right at home stamping into these familiar boxers' treasures. As we strolled along the Mountain Fork River, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and watching fathers and sons fishing. We greatly enjoyed the gentle roar of the water rushing downstream. We also managed to find Playin' Pooh Sticks LB and Sooner State before we headed off to another part of the park.

We drove around and found the Square Dance LB on a nice little trail close to another part of the river. After this, we attempted to find a couple of more trails, but it was only in vain. Tomorrow, we have another adventure prepared by Blue Butterfly....I can't hardly wait!!

Marching in March

Yesterday started out as a rainy day. We weren't sure we'd actually be able to go find any letterboxes. We packed up the van and headed to Tyler to take the little ones to Discovery Science Place. We'd all been here before, but this time they had a great new exhibit on sound that we really enjoyed. After playing indoors for almost two hours, we headed south towards Jacksonville. The rain had passed, and we were hoping it would hold off until after we'd discovered all of JB Kokopelli's March Holiday Series.

We made our way to Nichols Green Park and started marching down the trail. The first one wasn't too difficult to find. For the second one, I had to balance myself on the side of a hill (I'm sure that was a sight to see!) while retrieving AND replacing the box! I was certainly glad that no one had any visual proof of my unique acrobatic talents!

We successfully found all of the boxes in the March series. Poor Stinky Monkey also had a run-in with a hillside and a vine that his leg got caught under, but he's no worse for the wear. After collecting all of our March images, we stopped at another park and found a puzzle box.

After getting cleaned up, I headed over to spend some time with Stinky Monkey and Roarin' Lion's sister. She's so sweet, I just had a hard time putting her down.

Tomorrow is the day that Blue Butterfly and I will leave for our TAG trip!! Happy Trails!

TAG....You're IT!

Spring Break 2007 has FINALLY arrived!! Blue Butterfly and I have been making plans to attend an event entitled TAG (The Arkansas Event) on March 17. We've decided that we'll do some letterboxing close to home on Monday with Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey. Then, we'll get up early Wednesday morning and head North to Beavers Bend in Oklahoma. We plan to make it to North Little Rock by Friday evening...and ofcourse we plan on finding letterboxes (if possible) between our destinations. My fingers are already itching to have some misplaced ink stained on them....this is gonna be fun!

Happy Trails!

Washington-on-the-Brazos

After getting a great night's rest in Brenham, we headed off to the Birthplace of TX Independence. LSQ and Boots Tex had planted a few boxes at the WOB State Park, and we wanted to get them before the celebrations began. We started off by finding THE LAST PRESIDENT. As we were stamping in, I noticed three familiar gentlemen walking in the area-it was Silver Eagle, Baby Bear, and Clueless Collector! They were here to get the same box we had. It was fun running into them again-this time on the trail.

After this, we headed to find a few more boxes. Lone Star Quilter's LEGEND OF THE BLUEBONNET SERIES was amazing. BT and LSQ always seem to have great stories to go along with their letterboxes, and this one took the cake! I think its one of my favorite series now.

While on the trail again, we ran into Gingercat and Skyebird. They were also there trying to increase their F Count. Then, in the visitor's center, BB met BarefootLucy and Lightning, who were about to head out to find a few boxes, also. It was a great day for letterboxing and I hope everyone enjoyed the boxes and the weather !

TX Wildflower Event

The day had finally arrived when I could pack my things and head to Lake Somerville for the Fourth Annual TX Event ! By the time I got to the camp site, Blue Butterfly already had the tent up and everything ready to go for our evening. We finally went to bed, then the next morning, at about 7 a.m., Blue Butterfly went out and planted two boxes, HAT TRICK and A LITTLE BLUEBONNET. After she got back, we cleaned up a little bit and I went to look for her box while she headed out to look for mine. After having successfully found them, we packed up our chili and headed to the appointed pavilion. When we got there, we checked in with the event stamp and poster (Thanks Baby Bear for another OUTSTANDING Event stamp!), then got on with exchanges and personal travelers. People arrived and shared clues to the boxes they'd planted that day, and everyone busily copied the coveted new clues.

At about noon, most people stopped and ate a little lunch, then Silver Eagle and Baby Bear broke out the Letterboxing Trivia Game. The game had 35 questions concerning worldwide letterboxing trivia. The questions were provocative, and well researched. Thanks to Baby Bear and Silver Eagle for adding this bit of educational fun to this year's gathering.

After this, I decided to attempt to solve a puzzle box placed by The Gryzzled One. As I was trying to solve it, I heard someone call my name. It was Dizzy Monkey! I'd met Dizzy Monkey at the T.A.L.K.K. Event, and since she lives in Austin, she decided to come to our event. She and I talked for a minute or two, then Baby Bear directed her to the Event stamp and advised her to go ahead and stamp in before the exchanging frenzy began.

Soon, it was time to find some letterboxes. Blue Butterfly, Dizzy Monkey, and myself headed out to find three boxes. Of course, we had to attempt the Gryzzled box first. We made our way to the area and prayed that we'd deciphered the clues correctly.....Dizzy Monkey reached under the hiding place....EUREKA! The box was there. After this we found FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON by Silver Eagle, and WILDLFLOWER FRIEND by Baby Bear.

Blue Butterfly and I hung around the pavilion and chatted with other letterboxers as the crowd dispersed. One of the highlights of the evening was exchanging stories with a few letterboxers that we admire and respect. After finally dragging ourselves away from our letterboxing friends, we packed up our campsite and headed to Brenham for an overnight there (in a nice warm hotel). We had letterboxing plans for the next morning and wanted to get close to our appointed park early!

Stamps I earned at this event:
RFC's Personal Traveler/ LSQ's Personal Traveler/Batty Girl's Personal Traveler/ Dreamcatcher-Exchange/Puddle Splasher's Literary Traveler/ Boots Tex's Personal Traveler
I picked these for you-Event Stamp /Hat Trick/Wildflower Friend/ A Little Bluebonnet
Flowers for Algernon/ 4th Annual TX LB Event Stamp/Element-Exchange Batty Girl-Exchange
Soccer Chik-Exchange/Boots Tex-Exchange/Ice Cube-Cootie/Lone Star Quilter-Exchange
Gingercat-Exchange/Wild Flower/Adams Trails-Exchange/SkyeBird-Exchange

THANKS TO SILVER EAGLE AND BABY BEAR FOR HOSTING SUCH A GREAT EVENT!!!