Poe and a Gun Fight

Last Sunday, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and head to Fort Worth. I had my eye on Oakwood Cemetery, where there were five boxes for me to find. I had the pleasure of stamping into three boxes for the EDGAR ALLEN POE SERIES by Black Widow and two boxes in the GUNFIGHT AT THE WHITE ELEPHANT SALOON series by Viewfinder. I absolutely enjoyed my afternoon of letterboxing and finding beautifully carved stamps!

Cradle of Texas

Blue Butterfly made a trip through Deep East Texas this weekend. We wanted to find some new boxes as well as do some box maintenance. I am proud to say that my CRADLE OF TEXAS box is still alive in San Augustine, TX. It is almost five years old! Thanks to all of the finders of this little box!!

East TX Letterboxing

On September 11, Blue Butterfly and I decided to take a drive through East Texas. She wanted to check on her box in Nacogdoches, and I wanted to check out mine in San Augustine. Of course, we would find some boxes along the way. Listed below are the boxes we stamped into on this wonderfully fun Saturday!

Winnie's Leg-San Augustine, TX
Historic Walking Tour-Nacogdoches, TXNo Man's Land-Shelbyville, TX
The Finest Bale of Cotton-Woods, TX
Country Legend-Mystery, TX
ASL Fingerspelling Series-B, Nacogdoches, TX
Millard's Crossing-Nacogdoches, TX
Regulator/Moderator War-Shelbyville, TX
Church Hill Battle-Shelbyville, TX

Blue Butterfly took this shot while I was finishing up with the last box of the day. Isn't it beautiful?

Round Rock, TX

On Saturday morning, I had to attend a meeting in Belton, TX. So....I took out the map and found Round Rock was not too far from Belton and decided that I would spend Saturday night in RR to go letterboxing! I finally arrived to my hotel around 3 PM and decided that letterboxing would not be in the cards for me this afternoon or evening.

Donuts and a Letterbox!

When Sunday morning rolled around, I got up, took a look at the clues, and headed out. There is a three part TEXAS PUZZLE Series that I wanted to tackle. The second box in this series is located at a famous donut shop that I'd seen on the Food Network. I decided that my first stop as well as my breakfast, would be here. I made my way to the designated bakery and was lucky enough to find a parking spot. I hopped out of my car and found the box, tucked it in my back pack, then went inside to order. I even got to see two of the famous "as big as your head" donuts! I took my donuts outside to a picnic table, stamped in, then began eating my donuts. A local couple sat down and struck up a conversation with me. They said I'd picked the perfect time to come because it wasn't so busy. I asked if they would mind taking my picture, since they already knew I was a tourist, and they obliged. After that, I packed up, drove around the corner, then rehid the box. I was on my way!

I made my way to two more boxes that were hidden in the same park. The first box I tried for was hidden under stairs at the mansion in Settler's Park. When I got to the stairs, someone's barbecue and cooler were right next to it. I didn't want anyone to think I was going to try and run off with their things, so I left without without snagging that particular box.

The Open Space Team

Now, it was time for me to find the third puzzle piece. I made my way to the parking lot and the designated tree, rooted around for a bit, then finally found the box. I walked across the trail to a shady spot and commenced to stamping. After I got everything packed up, I still had no idea what park the first puzzle piece was in, so I continued to sit in the shade and attempt to look things up on my phone. As I'm sitting there, I notice a family looking around the tree where the box should be hidden. I wonder what they are up to..... I see the man has a compass...... I wait to see if they are just examining the tree, then I finally ask if they are looking for something. YES! We are looking for the letterbox! I tell them that I have it and they were in the right place. I share the box with them while we chat and exchange. The Open Space Team has already found the first box, so I ask them if they could help me out. They were nice enough to give me a map and show me where the park is. I was so grateful! They also mention that they had hidden a box in the past 24 hours, so as she is describing it to me, I recognize the name of the box. I promise to go find it and hopefully be the lucky first finder!



We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I was able to complete my puzzle and I easily found OH THE PLACES YOU'LL QUACK, which is a beautiful carving! By the time I found these boxes, it was time for me to head back to Navarro County. It was a fun letterboxing morning!!!

A Hot Day in July

Even though it was a hot day on July 31, Blue Butterfly and I decided to get out and letterbox that morning. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from that day, but we did manage to find a few letterboxes!

Harvest Time-Jacksonville, TX
Tomato Flower-Jacksonville, TX
The McCowan Brothers-Jacksonville, TX
Neil McCoy-Jacksonville, TX
In Honor of Eliza-Tecula, TX

New Mexico-Day 4

On Wednesday morning, we went back to White Sands and we took our log books to get the National Park Passport stamp added to our stamp collection. We spent most of the morning there, then headed back to Alamogordo to find a few letterboxes. The first one we found was FLY LIKE AN EAGLE. We had a bit of trouble at first, because I had the East/West directions reversed. Luckily, Blue Butterfly figured it out for us and we were able to stamp in!

Next, we attempted a box at the space center, but couldn't quite get the clues to work for us. Our next stop was a the Toy Train Museum. We decided to break out our lunch here. Again, we couldn't get find this letterbox, so we sat on the grass under a shade tree and ate our lunch.
Our next stop was TulaRosa. We drove about 15 miles to this town and found the library, where two boxes are located. We went into the library and asked for the first box and also asked for use of the internet while we were there. The friendly librarians were very accommodating. After stamping in and planning our box-finding route back home, we went outside to find the second box on the library grounds. Both of these boxes were great carves and fun finds!

We drove around the Village of TulaRosa a bit, then headed back to Alamogordo. On the way back, we stopped to see the World's Largest Pistachio, located at a pistachio farm. After visiting the pistachio store and the unique landmark, we continued on our route.
We had one more box to try and find in the area, so we made a small detour to nab it before getting back to the cabin. The ironic thing about this box, is that it is at a scenic overlook that we had stopped at on our way into town the first day. We didn't realize there was a box here ! So, we headed to find THE TUNNEL LB near High Rolls.

After we finally made it back to the cabin, two exhausted letterboxers, we rested for a while, then Blue Butterfly prepared dinner for us. While eating dinner, we could see that in the distance, there was a rain storm and we were graced with a beautiful rainbow.

New Mexico-Day Three

On the third day, we did not letterbox. We spent most of the day at White Sands National Monument. We had a wonderful time hiking a couple of trails, despite one of us getting sun burned. I won't say who it was. :-)

Lucy Locket

Flowers in the desert.

Lucy Locket and Blue Butterfly on one of the beautiful white sand dunes. This photo is courtesy of a park ranger who suffered from logorrhea.

This is our one-room cabin in Alamogordo. Move over, Bobby Flay, Blue Butterfly's at the grill tonight!

Headed West-Day One and Two

A few weeks ago, Blue Butterfly, PSGuru and I decided to take a trip out to White Sands, NM. A few days before the trip, PSGuru had a conflict come up, so BB and I went on without him. BB met me in Navarro County on Sunday, July 11, and we headed out west.

Our first stop was in Eastland to find Boots Tex's box OLD RIP. We had to bypass paying our respects to the Real Old Rip since it was Sunday, but we found the LB and were once again in awe of a BT carving. Boots' attention to detail is amazing.
After repacking Rip, we continued to head west toward Abilene. Here, we searched for and found FLITTER FLUTTER by Batty Girl. I can't remember if it was in Eastland or Abilene, but in one of those two cemeteries that we visited, we found the grave of the man who wrote the 40-Hour Work Week for Texas.

We made our way to Big Spring, where we spent the night. We decided not to set our alarms since we were on vacation. :-)We got up on Monday and continued our journey westward. First, however, we found a box by Maydelle Queen Bee in Big Spring called A DEAF ARTIFACT. Our next stop was in Andrews, TX. We made a stop in Andrews to find Astro D's box KIRBY WEST. She cleverly had the box made out of a pouch that was wrapped around a tree limb.

We finally made our way to New Mexico and drove through several small towns before finally winding our way into Cloudcroft. There were four letterboxes hidden on/near a roadside trail. THE CLOUD CLIMBING RAIL ROAD is a tribute to a railroad that used to run through Cloudcroft. We were only able to search for three out of four because by the time we stamped into #3, there were some workers from the Parks Department hanging out near the fourth box.

After packing up in Cloudcroft, we continued towards Alamogordo. We stopped after going through a mountain side tunnel to take a look at the scenic overlook, then finally made it to our destination!

Athens, TX

On June 26, I met Blue Butterfly in Athens for an afternoon of letterboxing. We met for lunch, then headed out for a stampin' good time! We started out by going to the B&B CAFE LB. I had already stamped into this one, but BB hadn't found it yet. After leaving downtown Athens, we headed toward a cemetery to find PEATINI. We easily found the box there, then headed to Fuller Park.

We found the entry gate to Fuller park, and were relieved to see that the first box in this series was outside the gate. As we were looking for the box, a car stopped and asked us if we were from "around here". We told them no, but they were on a hunt to find those people who were buried in the cemetery inside the park. We chatted for a while, then bid them adieu. We stamped into the box, but decided to not pursue the rest of the series since it was inside the park and everything looked like it was overgrown and possibly snake heavy.

Tomato Fest

The annual Tomato Fest Letterboxing Event was a blast! Even though it was HOT, HOT, HOT, we had a great time traipsing around the festival area, deciphering clues, and collecting our beloved stamps. Blue Butterfly and I got to spend time with PurpleNic during our morning of letterboxing, then we met up with the rest of the crew for lunch!

Stamps I gathered on this day:
Wag Time-Exchange
LB The Cat-PT
Event StampLight House Luvin' Mama-Exchange
Baby Bee-Exchange
Hands On-Exchange
Happy Trails-Exchange
From Seed to Salsa: Peppers
From Seed to Salsa: Tomato
From Seed to Salsa: OnionFrom Seed to Salsa: Garlic
Flamenco Dancer: Traveling Event Stamp
With Love PT
Fairy PT
Dawn's Home Town Movie PT
Ocean View PTB&B Cafe -Athens, TX (I got this one on my way home)

Meeting Letterboxers in San Antonio

I was lucky enough to schedule an exchange with SHH and Padawan as they were taking another cross-country field trip. So, on Monday, I headed south from Navarro County towards San Antonio. I stopped first in Waco so that I could nab one of Lone Star Quilter's newest boxes, MY SPECIAL ANGEL. After leaving here, I went straight down to San Antonio, checked in to the hotel, ate lunch, and took a break.

I got a call from Padawan to meet up at 7:00, so I headed over to their hotel around 6:15. The ladies arrived, and we got to stamping and talking letterboxing. SHH and Padawan mentioned that they had struck out on finding a couple of Texas letterboxes, so I filed that in brain, hoping that I could remedy that situation. At the end of the visit, we took pictures, and said our goodbyes.
Since I still had some daylight left, I decided to try for a couple of Boots Tex boxes that were somewhat near down town. I easily found Maverick and 13 Days of Glory. I was not disappointed! By this time, I was ready to head back to the hotel room and eat some dinner.

When I got back, I emailed Padawan and SHH and let them know that the two boxes I 'd found this evening were easily accessible, if they wanted to grab them before they headed out Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday morning, I took my time getting up, found an IHOP for breakfast, and took a look at my clues. There was one more Boots Tex box in the same area where I'd been the night before, so I decided to head back to the cemetery. Just as I was pulling into one side of the cemetery, the letterboxers from the beautiful PNW were coming out of the other side ! They had just found one box, but had trouble with the other one, so I offered to go with them to find it. I led the way, then left them to stamp in.

I went on to find BEN'S BONES, then headed to find ALL THE PRETTY HORSES by Silver Eagle. Silver Eagle's box is located at Comanche Lookout. I followed the clues to the top of the lookout and stamped into this box. There were beautiful flowers along the trail on the way up. This was my last box for the day, so I headed back to Navarro County.

Stinky Monkey's 8th Birthday

Stinky Monkey (L) and Roarin' Lion (R)

Baby Sister

Stinky Monkey had his 8th birthday at the end of May. We were lucky enough to spend the weekend with him and his two siblings. We had a ton of fun!

Creepy TX Critters

On Saturday, May 22, I decided to visit the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens. There were a few boxes that I wanted to find, so I headed out for an adventure. I started out by taking the trail for CREEPY TEXAS CRITTERS series. This is a series of four, with one box marked unavailable. I was able to find the RATTLE SNAKE (very creepy!) and the MEXICAN FREE-TAILED BAT.

After finding those, I went around to try and find a few more boxes, but the gardens were so crowded at the point, I didn't want to "get caught". I was happy to find the critters, then headed on out.

Wonderland

I had been eyeing the ALICE IN WONDERLAND series, which was placed in Eagle Mountain Lake Park by Black Widow. So, on April 25, I made my way to the park and got started! The clues are written in the style of a story, and the finder must use their imagination to get to the boxes. However, the carvings are spectacular and well worth it. It was a beautiful day to wander around this wonderland.

Roarin' Lion Turns 9

Last week, Roarin' Lion had his ninth birthday, so we headed out to his house to help him celebrate the big day. We didn't go letterboxing, but Blue Butterfly and I brought our cooties, hitch hikers, and yet-to-be-planted boxes for them to stamp into. We had fun!

Roarin' Lion getting help from Blue Butterfly

Should Stinky Monkey join the circus?

Blue Butterfly with Baby Sister, who is sporting her "swimmin' soupt"

Spring Break-Day 4

On Wednesday morning, I got up, had a bit of breakfast, then packed up the camp site. I'm glad that, once again, there was no rain! I got everything loaded up, then left the beautiful Palo Duro Canyon.

I decided to go through Conway because I wanted not only to see the slug bug ranch, but also to get the letterbox that JBKokopelli had left there. I easily found the "ranch" and got out with my camera and clues. I didn't bring any spray paint, so I wasn't able to leave my mark for the rest of the world to see, but future letterboxing visitors will know I was there. :-)

After leaving Conway, I headed down 287. I usually don't letterbox much on the way home, because I'm usually ready to get back to the house. A few hours later, I stopped at one of the nice rest stops, and decided to take a look on my phone at what boxes might be nearby that I hadn't attempted on my first pass through here.

According to AtlasQuest, there was a box in Doans, TX. I looked on the big map that was displayed, but didn't find this town there. I looked at the clue and saw this was a Boots Tex box. How could I pass this up? I read his clue and saw it was north of another town that was on the map. No problem! I hopped in my car, headed south on 287, then followed Boots' directions. I easily found the Up The Trail letterbox. Even though it has been here for over a year....I was the first finder! I was so excited to find this box! I even called Blue Butterfly to tell her that I was the first finder of this treasure.

I continued on toward Navarro County and decided to stop in Decatur. I found a box by Black Widow there, then headed on home. It was a fun trip and I enjoyed ALL the boxes that I found! Thanks to all of the carvers and planters for a memorable trip!!

Spring Break-Day 2 and 3

I woke up Monday morning and looked out the window.

Yep, it was raining.

I turned on the weather report.

1000% chance of rain today.

Well, this would certainly make things more....interesting today......

I got loaded up and checked out of the hotel, and made my way to Palo Duro Canyon SP. I checked in and drove down to my camp site. Did I mention that it's still raining???? I knew there was no chance of the rain ever stopping before dark, so I donned my pancho and started setting up the tent. I managed to set up the tent and unload the necessities in the rain.

By this time, I was hungry and cranky, so I ate a bit of lunch in the car and attempted one letterbox in the rain, but I couldn't find that one. Grrrr...... I remembered seeing that the feed time for the State Longhorn Herd was around 1:00, so I headed back up to the feeding area to see what this was all about. When I got there, I saw only one longhorn eating his lunch. I decided to wait and see if the others would come along, but I never saw them. Maybe they were as irritated with the rain as I was. Anyhow, I took a few pictures of this guy, then visited the information center.







After visiting the information center, I just spent the rest of the day trying to stay warm and dry. :-)

Cold, windy, and rainy. This was in the parking lot of the visitor's center.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up to the sound of....NO RAIN! Yee haw! I loved seeing those blue skies. I decided to make my way to the famous Lighthouse Trail. I really wanted to get a few letterboxes that are placed on the trail as well as see the actual landmark itself.


When I got to the trail head, I was the only car in the lot. I headed out to find three boxes. The trail is 3 miles one way, and every tenth of a mile, there is a marker indicating how far along the trail you are. I found it interesting that given this information, people that I met on my way out would ask me, "how much farther?".



Anyhow, my first stop was for Chili Bowl-TX Symbols Series #2. This was an easy find and there is a nice covered bench to stamp in on. After I replaced that one, I discovered that Blue Bonnet Blues-TX Symbols Series #1 was very near here, also.







After finishing with these two letterboxes, I continued on to find Silver Eagle's Palo Duro Mouse 2. Due to the rain the previous night, I could not retrieve the logbook, but I did manage to get the stamp and record it in my own logbook. Thanks to Silver Eagle for planting this one!


As I continued along the way, the trail became more and more muddy. I did manage to fall one time and had to crawl up the hill! My poor camera had to be cleaned up later. There was a man who was going back toward the trail head and said it might be best to "stop at the picnic table. It's beyond dangerous right now". I thanked him and went on. When I got to the picnic table, with only 3/10 of a mile left to the light house, I realized how steep and muddy the remainder of the hike would be. Since I'd just spent three days in the hospital, I decided to turn around. I'll have to visit the light house rock formation another time.



After going back to the camp site and resting a bit, I decided to head into Amarillo. I visited the famous Ozymandias and found JBKokopelli's box there, as well as the Floating Mesa, where she has another box. This was the final box of the day, and time to head back to my camp site.

Spring Break-Day One

I'd decided several months ago that I wanted to visit Palo Duro Canyon over Spring Break. So, I took the Saturday to clean up and pack up, then headed out on Sunday morning. I knew it was going to be quite a drive from Navarro County, so I wanted to drive most of the way on Sunday, stay in a hotel, then drive the rest of the way on Monday.

I loaded up 90% of my supplies on Saturday night, then hopped in the car bright and early Sunday. I stopped in Midlothian for a couple of boxes. The first one, I didn't find, but I did find Gospel Series: John letterbox. I continued on my route toward the Panhandle, and stopped in Wichita Falls for V-TX Governor Series box. Of course, this was another terrific box by Boots Tex.

After Wichita Falls, I stopped and made attempts at a few more boxes, but came up empty handed. I finally stopped for the night in Clarendon. I watched the weather report, and saw that rain was in the forecast for Monday. Yuck. I was hoping they were wrong.

From Nitrocat

A Poem By Nitrocat....

http://sitstaywrite.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-pick-ticks.html

Thanks, Nitrocat!

THANK YOU!

I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who helped us through the snake trauma. Blue Butterfly and I appreciated the emails, posts to boards, phone calls, text messages, and everything else that we received from not only Texas Letterboxers, but others from around the country that we have met at letterboxing events or that we have only corresponded with.

I told one of my fellow teachers (he knows about my secret letterboxing life) about all of the things that were done for us and his comment was, "It's nice that your community is so close that they would come together like that for you. " Indeed it is.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I can't say it enough.