Letterboxing Holiday--Day Three

Our final day of the trip turned out to be the prettiest as far as weather goes--No Rain! We started out by heading to Bane Park to pick up a seasonal box placed by Dewberry. When we pulled into the park, we realized we'd been here before, to get Mother of Five's TX SNOWMAN and a few others. We easily found HE'S LOOKIN' AT YOU! then headed off to find some more.

We headed out to Cole's Crossing where I had hidden HITCHIN' A RIDE back in June. I wanted to check on it as well as find BURIED TREASURE and try again to find GAS CHAMBER. When we got to the starting point, we saw a huge tree that was in the path which led to GAS CHAMBER. I was hoping that we could still manage to find it if we went the other way around the loop trail. So, we started out by finding my box first. BB followed the clues to the box and stamped in. Everything in the box was in good shape.

We went on around the path to hunt down some BURIED TREASURE. After BB found the hidey-hole, we claimed our prize. Next, we decided to continue around and see if we could find Baby Bear's box. We came across a couple of places where there was large amounts of forest debris on the trail, but we followed it back to a good starting point to find this box. BB followed the clues back to where the LB should have been, and I managed to spot the LB laying out in the open. I was glad I came back to find this one! Baby Bear's boxes have got a sense of humor to them! After stamping in and rehiding the box, we made our way back out of the trail and to the van.

We drove around to another part of Cypress and found three more Baby Bear boxes. One of them being RETIRED EAGLE. I'd been wanting to stamp into this box honoring Baby Bear's brother, and I was not disappointed. After all, what better way to honor a letterboxer, right?

We made our way to a pocket park in Cypress and stamped into FIRE IN THE HOLE. I didn't know what to expect from this stamp, but it is definitely worth finding!

For our last box of the day, we decided to go find a puzzle box that Blue Butterfly had solved a few weeks ago. We made our way back into the Houston area and found a great park with lots of different activities. We made our way around to the box location, but we couldn't find it. We were really disappointed to have missed out on the box, but happy to have visited this particular park. Finally, it was time for us to head home.

Letterboxing Holiday Trip--Day Two

Even after finding a few boxes on Saturday, we were still ready to find some more on Sunday! We left our hotel around 9 a.m. and hit the trail. We started out by finding three puzzle boxes. All three of the boxes had fabulous carvings and there is always an extra feeling of satisfaction when you've worked on a puzzle box and finally get to stamp in.

After working on these boxes, we ate lunch, then headed to Hockley. On the way there, we stopped and I bought a rain poncho, which is much harder to accidentally leave behind than an umbrella. We started out by checking on our boxes that we left in Kleb Woods last year. I had to pick up my Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree LB because it had been left open and wet too many times. If I'd had an extra logbook with me, I would have been able to replace it. However, I didn't want to leave a slimy logbook in my letterbox, so this one has been retired. Thanks to all those who visited this box.

On Saturday, most of the boxes we found were of a Halloween theme. Today, we were on Christmas. We found a TX SANTA, JOSEPH, THE THOMAS NAST SANTA, and A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF SANTA-JANUARY. I'm amazed at the carving skills and great ideas of some of these planters. They are all outstanding!

While we were in Kleb Woods, I left a little piece of holiday spirit, too. I hope those who find HOLIDAY BIRD
will enjoy it.

Letterboxing Holiday Trip--Day One

Blue Butterfly and I decided to make our annual holiday letterboxing weekend the weekend after Christmas this year. We have been wanting to get back to Telge for quite some time. The last time we visited Telge Park was for the Terrors of Telge gathering a few years ago. The Terrors of Telge also happened to be our first gathering to attend, so we hold that park dear to us.

Anyhow, BB and I left her home on Saturday before the sun came up and made it to Cypress a little before 10 a.m. We found a few boxes left by characters such as Mother of Five, whose GHOST IN THE GRAVEYARD we really enjoyed finding, Ira Boxer (has anyone actually ever seen this guy?) and we attempted a few more. It sprinkled occasionally, but we were doing ok. The good news about rain is that it keeps the muggles away :-)

We went back to the van, got a snack and a drink, and took a little break. After our break, we decided to go to another part of the park to find some more boxes....this time, I took my umbrella. Luckily, BB already had her rain poncho on. We went around and found a box by Pastry Princess and another box planted by Ira Boxer. We got a good laugh out of Ira's box. It was supposed to be scary, and I suppose it could be scary if your alias is Kid Kodiak.

Next, we had to cross the bridge to find a few more boxes. We accidentally found a box by Runs For Chocolate, but we'd stamped into that one in 2005. We were looking in the wrong place. Eventually, we found HALLOWEEN FRIENDS, and tried to find Baby Bear's I SALUTE YOU. After reading and re-reading and re-re-reading the clues, I handed them over to BB. She looked at them and figured out that we were in the wrong part of the woods. DOH! I couldn't believe it. Finally, we found Baby Bear's box...his 250th plant. Kudos to Baby Bear for planting so many boxes for so many of us to enjoy!

After logging into Baby Bear's box, we headed back to the main part of the park. When we stopped by the van again to grab a bottle of water, I realized I was without my umbrella. Maybe a nice letterboxer will find it...probably near a box...and put it to good use. We attempted four or five more boxes and successfully found three. We found and stamped into eleven boxes today. Thanks to all who planted such fun boxes for us to find!

Boxing Day!

In honor of Boxing Day, I did what any letterboxer would do....I got out and boxed! Since I am still at Blue Butterfly's house, I decided to go into Whitehouse and get some of JBK's September Holiday series boxes. There are five in this series and I was able to log into all except the coveted Chocolate Day box. There are no wild stories to relay about this boxing trip, except that I enjoyed stamping into these boxes on a nice day. The weather was perfect!

So Much Fun!

The EXCUSE TO GATHER meet was in Tulsa, OK this past weekend. I decided earlier last week to sign up for it and make the drive. I got off work early on Friday afternoon, and hit the road. I got stuck in Dallas traffic, unfortunately, but finally made it across the Red River. I made it into Tulsa at about 10:00 that night. I checked into a hotel, then checked my AQ mail. Safari Man had sent out some WOM clues that I should be able to find on Saturday morning. I went to the business center, printed out the clues, and found the park on the map. Luckily, I wasn't too far from the park and it should be easy to find. I went to bed excited about meeting all these new people the next day.

I woke up at the hotel and ate a little breakfast, then hit the trail. I found the park and followed the clues to the first box. After waiting for four or five joggers to go by (what were they doing out here anyway? It was COLD!), I snagged the first box. After stamping in, I followed the clue to box #2. While I was stamping in, a man came up to me and said, "I caught ya!" It was Safari Man! We chatted for a little while, then he had to leave to go get some things set up for the event. I stuck around and found the rest of the WOM boxes in the park.

After finally leaving the park, I made my way over to the event site. I was greeted by young Princess Minty, "Hi Lucy Locket!"

"How did you know it was me?" I asked.

"Your license plate says Texas on it!" she replied.

So, I went into the gathering room and met Okie Dog, Fishin Mom, Goofy Girl, Tulsa Gal, and said hello again to Safari Man. A little later, I met Adairmd. I also met the rest of Goofy Girl's gang-JerBear and Star Commander. We had a good time sitting around, stamping, chatting, stamping, and chatting some more. I even found a letterbox that was "hidden in plain sight".

As I was chatting with Safari Man, he gave me some advice on my route back to Texas, which I greatly appreciated. Then, he told me about a letterbox that I could pick up on my way home....even better!

After the meet was over, I went with Goofy Girl and Adairmd to find two boxes out in the wild. We had a good time stamping in with the cold and the cold wind! However, all good things must come to an end, so I had to leave Tulsa and head south.

Thanks to all the great letterboxers that I met in Tulsa. You made the drive worthwhile!!!

Excuses....Excuses.....

Goofy Girl, Lucy Locket, Adairmd, and Tulsa Gal peeking out of the bathroom.

I made a quick trip this weekend to attend the EXCUSE TO GATHER meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I met a great cast of characters there, including Safari Man, Okie Dog, Tulsa Gal, Goofy Girl, Adairmd, and others ! I'm spending today with Blue Butterfly, but I will write about my travels when I get home later on today or tomorrow. I had a fantastic time and want to thank everyone who was at the gathering for a great letterboxing time. As they say~letterboxers make a good impression!!

Dinosaur Valley

Mustang Sallie at Dino Model

I've been wanting to visit Dinosaur Valley for quite some time. I determined earlier in the week that I would make the trip out this weekend, and invited Mustang Sallie along. We hit the road this morning and made our way to Glen Rose and Dinosaur Valley SP.

Lone Star Quilter happened to place a LB here just this week. I was sure we'd be the first to find her treasure there. However, we opened up the logbook and saw that Gryzzled Gryphon had beat us to the punch on Friday. After stamping in, we wanted to go see if we could find some dinosaur tracks. We walked back over to the track site and discovered that we would have to make our way across the river on a rock "bridge". We gingerly stepped across from rock to rock and made our way over to the other side. After some searching, we finally found a couple of dinosaur tracks. We paid our respects to the dinosaurs who had come before us, then had to cross back over the bridge (with an audience watching us AND laughing at our slow progress) and get to the car so we could find some more letterboxes.

The "Bridge"

Next, we found HOWLING AT THE MOON, which was placed by DrooP. This is a bit of a historic letterbox since it was placed in the spring of 2004. We had a bit of trouble finding the right path, but we were successful and able to stamp in.

Finally, we found ST. PADDY'S TX HATCHLING and DINOSAUR TRACKS. Both of these were created around the dinosaur theme of the park. After stamping into these, we drove back around to the dinosaur models and admired their grandeur.

Lucy Locket at the Dino Model

Thanks to all who planted boxes there for us to find and thanks to Mustang Sallie for a fun day!