Hill Country Trip-Day One and Two

Last October, Blue Butterfly and PSGuru took a trip to Garner State Park and camped out for a few days. I decided that it sounded like such a good idea, that I would take a few days down there this summer for myself....and I did!

I made the drive down to Garner State Park on Sunday, June 21. I finally made it there in the late afternoon. I went to check in and discovered there was a line and I had to take a number. I waited in the lobby area for about 45 minutes, then finally checked in. I made my way to the camp site and began unloading and setting up. As I was putting my tent together, two teenage girls were sent by there mother from across the road to help me set up the tent. I was grateful for the help! They asked me if I was camping alone and I told them yes. I didn't mention that my main goal was to look for rubber stamps in the woods! They were very friendly, and I thanked them and they went back to their family and I continued with the set up routine.

After getting everything set up, I was ready to go find a box. I made my way back to the front of the park and found Blue Butterfly's A COWBOY DELIGHT. I was the second finder, but I still beat the Gryzzled One to this box! After having my letterbox fix for the day, I went back to camp and read for a while, then went on to sleep.

With the breeze blowing, it was not hot at night and I slept very well. As day two arrived, I headed out toward Leakey (pronounced LAKEY) and found the scenic overlook and a letterbox. It has a great view and is located (if I remember correctly) on Hwy 83, which stretches from the Northern tip of Texas to the Southern tip of Texas.

After leaving Leakey, I headed toward Vanderpool. I found the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum, which happened to be closed. This was good news and bad news. The good news is, I could nab the box without on lookers. The bad news was, I could not experience the museum itself. So, I took my time and enjoyed stamping in at the gate of the museum, then moved along to Lost Maples State Natural Area.

I was looking forward to finding two boxes here. One was by Silver Eagle and is called LOST MAPLE. This box is about five years old, if I recall correctly. I found the box and was alone on the trail to stamp in. (Of course I was....who else would be hiking out in this heat except for a letterboxer?) I replaced the box and headed for the next box. I took my time enjoying the scenery and watching butteflies as I moved along the trail. Then I FINALLY looked at the clue again...a five mile hike....well, I had plenty of water and I'd brought along snacks...maybe I could handle this. As I got farther in, I saw the hike is "fairly difficult". Then when I got to the steep part of the trail, I knew why it was difficult. I decided to give it a try. I ended up having to bite the bullet and turn around. It was too much for me. Maybe I can go back after I am a more experienced hiker and grab that box. I made it back to the car, cooled off, and made my way to Utopia.....literally.

There is a box called THIS IS UTOPIA and it is located in Utopia, TX. This was at another museum that was not open when I was there. I stamped in, and remembered I'd passed a library, so I decided to see if I could access the internet there.

I spent about 20 minutes on the internet in the Utopia Library, then headed back to camp. That night, I carved a stamp and prepared the box with plans to hide it in Garner SP the next morning.

Impromptu Gathering

Letterboxing Friends Event Stamp. The shoe on your left should say 2009 and the shoe on your right should say June, but it didn't turn out too well.

On Monday evening, AndPlus2 and I decided to meet for an exchange in Terrell. SalliMander, who is AndPlus2's mom would be joining us, also. Knowing that two or more letterboxers meeting means an event, I was able to pull together an Event Stamp.

I made it to Terrell and to Starbucks and saw who I thought might be the letterboxing ladies getting out of their vehicle. When I saw them in the coffee shop, I recognized AndPlus2 and gave her a big smile and wave. The three of us greeted one another, exchanged, stamped into the Event Stamp, and chatted for a while. It was a lot of fun getting to know this pair.

After leaving Terrell, I think they headed to Canton to find a few boxes, but I needed to go back West. I headed to Forney to look for THREE FLAGS OVER LADY LIBERTY. There is a replica of the Statue of Liberty here off Hwy 80. I found the statue and the flags, and finally found the LB.

It was definitely too hot out there today to do much else, so I headed back to Navarro County!

If You Like to Talk to Tomatos.....

Saturday, June 13, was the Tomato Fest in Jacksonville and we attended an event there hosted by Barefoot Lucy. BFL sent out the clues on Friday night, but there was a storm in my area, so I had to shut down my computer prematurely. Luckily, I was going to be meeting Blue Butterfly, Nac Trail Cat, and Puddle Splasher, and I hoped they had better luck than I did!

I met the ladies in the parking lot of Walmart on the morning of the event. By the time I got there, they were already discussing the clues and mapping out a plan. After BB went in and got some water and ice for us, we loaded up the van and headed out. BB was the driver, and NacTrailCat was the navigator.

We found a parking space and headed toward the festival on foot. We were quickly recognized by BeeMom who had a clue for us. First however, we had to tell her the Letterboxer's Bible Verse. We quoted from the book of Matthew and collected our prize.

We walked by the Ham Radio Operator's booth and I asked them if they had a clue, but they just looked at me as if I had two heads. No luck there. Next, we went to the Democrat booth and asked there. EUREKA! One of the ladies knew what we were talking about. We told her our "unusual fact" and collected another clue.

Barefoot Lucy told us that in order to get one of the clues, we'd have to know who won the 2006 Soccer World cup and advised us to walk toward the stadium where the soccer tournament was being held. When we got there, I asked a group that looked like they were a soccer group who won the last World Cup. They told us Italy. Armed with that information, Blue Butterfly called BFL to get the clue. She passed the phone off to me, and we got the information.

After this, we found a water gun booth and told the Scout Leader there some of the Boy Scout Laws and earned another clue. After this, we headed off to find some boxes!

The first box we looked for was the one given to us verbally. Once we FINALLY figured out the location, we were searching through the Asian Jasmine when we saw a fellow waving to us. It was Gryzzled Gryphon. He and Frost Maiden had the box and were busy stamping in. We joined in the fun, then he re-hid the box and we went our seperate ways.

From here, NacTrailCat took the lead and led us around downtown Jacksonville to four more festival boxes and one accidental find. We met up with JBK, LadyBugTree, PurpleNic, Maydelle Queen Bee, and PrincessA in the process. After finding the boxes downtown, we were in a hurry to get out to Lake Jacksonville because we only had a thirty minute window to get this clue. PurpleNic and LadyBugTree joined us as we headed out to find "the man". As we passed by the Lake Jacksonville sign, BB commented that there used to be a letterbox there. After we finally found "the man" and asked for the clue, we were on our way to find this fishy box. We read the clue and realized the box was in the same place that Blue Butterfly had commented about. We went back to the Lake Jacksonville sign and stamped in.

After leaving the lake, we went back to the festival. We wanted to find Otto from The Simpsons to see if he had a clue for us. We walked down the streets and did not find him. We found out that Otto did not make it to the festival, so we were done with letterboxing for the day. Some of our group grabbed some tomatos, then we headed to Legends cafe.

When we got to Legends, people came in at various times, enjoyed the cool air, the shade, and the food. We were able to make exchanges with Frost Maiden, Beach Bum TX, and Pink Cookie. I think this was the first event for all three of these letterboxers.

I had great fun at this event, met some new people, chatted with old friends and found letterboxes. What more could a letterboxer ask for??

Stamps I earned this day:

1. World Tomato
2. Tomato Fest
3. You Say Tomato (my personal favorite)
4. Ready, Aim, Tomato
5. July Puzzle
6. Fries with that Tomato
7. Pescados y Tomates
8. Frost Maiden-Exchange
9. From the Sea-PT
10. BFL's new Signature Stamp
11. Happy Tomato Event Stamp
12. Beach Bum TX-Exchange
13. Pink Cookie-Exchange

Terrell Again

I noticed last week that Black Widow put out a new, seasonal box in Terrell. It is called HAM'S ORCHARD and is on the grounds of said orchard. On Saturday morning, I made my way to Terrell and found Hwy 80, which led me to the orchard. It was great! I went into the air conditioned market area and was in dream land. I'm not really a cook (boy, that's the understatement of the year), but I appreciate fresh produce and products made from it. I bought a few items, then headed out to find the box. The stamp is a lovely carve and I'm glad Black Widow brought me here. I might just have to go back!

After leaving the orchard with my purchases and my new stamp image, I headed toward Ben Gill Park to find a few boxes there. I looked for a couple of boxes by Frogkisses, but could not find them. Finally, I went to the rail car and found BUILD YOUR OWN TRAIN PART #2.

I had a great day of boxing....and shopping...in Terrell!

Bunny Trail

This post has nothing to do with letterboxing. I just wanted to share. :-)

This morning, I looked out my bedroom window to see if that darn squirrel was in my bird feeder again. I looked down and saw a rabbit in my yard! I don't exactly live out "in the country", but I don't live in a concrete jungle, either. Anyhow, I took a picture of the little guy through the window. I wonder if he will visit again.