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.

Butterflies and Stars

This weekend, Blue Butterfly, Stinky Monkey, and I combined family business with pleasure as we set to cross over from TX to LA to MS. Of course along the way, we just NEEDED to plant and find some letterboxes.

The first place we stopped to visit was a park in Henderson where there was a brand new box. The box is called Butterflies in the Park. This was a fun box...we enjoyed the logbook as well as the decoration of the box itself. SM enjoys visiting this park...since he loves stars....because there is a big star on the ground here. I believe this was the first plant by this family of boxers and it was nicely done!

Next, we wanted to stop in at Catch a Fallin' Star and Peggy Hill so SM could stamp in here. As you may recall, the Fallin' Star box was placed in honor of SM. He also wanted to play on the playground, but we were trying to get to Vicksburg before the sun went down.

Lake Tawakoni

Today, I took a ride up through McKinney, Plano, and Wills Point. I was on a mission to find a few boxes, of course....and hopefully find one. After taking care of some personal business in Farmersville, I headed to McKinney to find the Sister Grove Park. This is a nice park, which has a view of the lake. I started my journey by following the instructions and looking on the trail map so that I could find Sister Grove #1. I journeyed around the trail and into the woods and easily found this box. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten my signature stamp! So, I stamped the #1 stamp into my log book and made a note in the box's log that I'd been there, but with no stamp.

In order to get to Sister Grove #2, I just needed to stay on the same trail, so I continued my hike. By this time, there were a couple of other people on the trail. I found #2 and found a place to stamp in. This was a great stamp, too and not very many people have logged finds in these boxes. I would encourage boxers to visit this little park and enjoy it.

After finishing up here, I headed to the Community Center Natuer Trail in McKinney. This is another beautiful urban park. It has paved trails, a nice pond, and a fountain. There were families fishing and just enjoying the beautiful day when I was there.

As I looked for the box, I easily found the log, but I looked in the wrong hole "pointing towards the sun". I continued on down the trail a little ways, then came back to try again. This time, I found the box. KCSB (KC and the Sunshine Band) is a box by Sprite and Highlander, which is retired postal LB.

After dancing with KC, I went to the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, to find another box by a non-Texan boxer. No Directions Needed! is located in a beautiful part of Plano, and when I was there, they were having free concerts one night a week.

After finding all of these treasures, I wanted to plant one myself. I made my way to Lake Tawakoni State Park. I'd carved Fairy At Work a few weeks ago, and had been itching to get her placed. This is a fairly new state park and everything in it is in top condition. I enjoyed finding a home for my fairy here.

It was a very satisfying, fun, productive day. I always enjoy my time letterboxing. I think I have a date with a certain monkey next week to do it again!

Boxing with a Lion

This morning, I got up early and stopped by Roarin' Lions house so he and I could go do some boxing. He still had some boxes to stamp into that had been placed in honor of the TX RR Gathering, so we piled into the car and headed to Rusk.

We started out by going to a couple of new boxes placed by JB Kokopelli placed in a park that used to be Rusk College. We found Linus Goes to School, but the Snoopy box escaped us. RL had fun climbing all those stairs!

Next we went to Rusk State Park and picked up Letterboxing Coyotes, Boxcar Willie, Crash at Crush, and Baja Oklahoma. I was pleased to see there had been a few visitors to these fine boxes since I'd been there last. After we found these boxes, we went to the train station and ate our picnic and of course RL wanted to play on the playground for a bit.

After we finished with our lunchtime activities, we headed to Maydelle. We found Barefoot Lucy's Loblolly Pine box. As she states in her clues, this box is at a very serene location. It was beautiful and peaceful there. When we arrived, however, there was a small dog in the parking area. I got out of the car first to see if the dog would be friend or foe, and he seemed friendly enough. This puppy followed us around and sat with us as we stamped into the box and made some whimpering noises. RL said he must be looking for his family. After we stamped in, we headed back to the car and the dog followed us. We had to leave him there, but I hope his family found him later.

Even though RL was tired and ready to go home, I wanted to check on my Camp Out LB and let him stamp into it. We were pleasantly surprised to find a fun HH, Big Foot Without Big Socks. We can't wait to let this foot loose to make some more footprints in other boxes!

Tomorrow, I'm taking a little trip for a job interview, but I'm going to try and plant a box while in the area and find a few, too!

...Thinking....

Yesterday, before heading off to celebrate Stinky Monkey's birthday, Blue Butterfly and I went to Jacksonville to find a few boxes. BB has already found these, but I hadn't yet had the pleasure, so she patiently trekked through the cemetery and park as I made the discoveries.

We made our way to Nichols Green Park to find Silver Eagle's Barefoot Den Mother. This was another fine and creative carving by the talented Silver Eagle. Next, we went to the Jacksonville cemetery and stamped into Urban Legend and What Do You Think? by JB Kokopelli. The weather for boxing was perfect today.

Next, we went to the big city of Tyler and ran a few errands there. On the way home, we stopped at Henry's Chapel Church and Cemetery so BB could plant a box there. I waited in the car while BB traipsed through the cemetery to find the perfect place. Afterwards, she gave me the clues and I stamped in.

After this, it was time to head to a special monkey's birthday party, so we put our stamps away, washed the ink off our hands and got ready to celebrate!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STINKY MONKEY!

This week, Stinkey Monkey turned four. He enjoys finding boxes, and he even enjoys looking through his log book and showing off all the "clues" he's found. Blue Butterfly recently planted a new box, Catch a Falling Star, just for SM because he likes stars so much. I can't wait for him to find his special box at one of his favorite parks!

It's Been a While....

It's been a while since I've updated my blog. There is no excuse, except the usual.....other things have gotten in the way of my "blogging time". Since finding the Spring Flower Series, I've been down to Double Lake and found a few of Lone Star Quilter and Boots Tex's WONDERFUL carvings in that area. I've also found a few others that I can't quite put my feeble memory on right now, but I had fun finding all of them.

I also went to Lake Livingston (seen in the picture) and found several on the trails there by Baby Bear, Silver Eagle, and the Frye Team. I even planted my Hank Hill box at Livingston SP while I was there.

Last weekend, I went on a journey with Blue Butterfly. She planted the Great Texas Balloon Race near the site of the annual race in Gregg County. We then headed over to Tatum to each plant one in a park where Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey enjoy playing. BB planted Catch a Falling Star, a box she made especially for Stinky Monkey, while I planted Peggy Hill. I can't wait for others to come enjoy our stamps!

Spring Flowers

On Saturday morning, I started the day out by carving myself a new signature stamp. My old stamp (a custom made one) is starting to show signs of wear and tear...plus it's high time I did this anyway. After this, I went in search of two boxes in Nacogdoches. I started out by finding Batty placed by Josephine. She placed this box close to an area where bats exit in the evening and it's a great stamp with a cute little poem to boot. After encountering this friendly bat, I went in search of New York City. After I found the park and the hiding place, I decided not to go after the box since I was boxing alone. The climb up the rocky slope seemed a little scary for someone as klutzy as myself. This is a nice park, however, and I'm thinking of placing a stamp there myself.

After this, I went home and did a few chores, then headed to meet Blue Butterfly and Stinky Monkey. We headed to Martin Creek Lake State Park to find BB's Spring Flower Trail Series. We had so much fun finding all of these flowers on this trail. Even though there were a lot of people in the park itself, they all seemed to be out on the lake swimming/boating/fishing, so we had the trail to ourselves. The stamps in this series are well done and the boxes are cleverly hidden. Even this afternoon, Stinky Monkey still wanted to look at his "pretty flowers" that he got yesterday. I hope others can get out to enjoy this series!

When we got back to the trail head, I left SM and BB resting in the amphitheater while I hid my newest box, Coffee Break. After hiding it, I met back up with this dynamic duo who didn't want to leave the park without finding this box. So, I followed them as they deciphered my clues and took a short "coffee break". Then, we loaded up the van with our inky fingers and headed home. However, we stopped at a convenience store to get something cool to drink. As I was paying for our refreshments, the clerk looked at me and said, "Have you been coloring Easter Eggs?" I just chuckled and told her no, but it was something else I'd made a mess of.

Flowers Are Blooming

It's spring and we all know that in TX, the flowers are already blooming. Unfortunately, I did not get to enjoy spring, flowers, hiking, or boxing today. I was stuck indoors. Blue Butterfly called me in the early afternoon and asked me how many boxes I'd found today. I told her I'd only found one box-the Turbo Tax box at Wal-mart. I did my civic duty today and calculated the amount of money that I owe this great nation.

The good news is, I've now got that out of the way and can do something that's more fun and more personally fulfilling. I carved two stamps this evening...they are Hank Hill and Peggy Hill from the Fox show King of the Hill. I'm hoping to add Bobby and possibly Luanne to the mix, too. Tomorrow will be a great day because I'm supposed to do some boxing with Blue Butterfly and Stinky Monkey. I can't hardly wait!!

Cherokee County

Yesterday after the birthday party, Blue Butterfly, PS Guru, and I loaded up the van and headed out to Rusk State Park. BB and I needed to get the rest of the boxes that we missed at the gathering while PS Guru wanted to take a few pictures.

We arrived in the late afternoon and immediately picked up Letterboxing Coyotes. This is a fun, innovative box. Even the physical box itself fits in with the theme of LB'ing Coyotes. After stamping in here, we went on down the trail to find Baja Oklahoma, which our friends HappyDays had left for us to find. We had a bit of trouble because their landmark sign was missing, but we managed to seek out it's hiding place. After returning this box to it's rightful place, we headed up to find our good friend, Box Car Willie. After seeing this stamp, we are DEFINITELY looking forward to finding more of the Music Box series.

We had one more box to find, but we'd forgotten to print out and bring along the clues. BB and I decided that we'd read through the clues for General Sherman enough times that we may actually be able to find it. We made our way down to the appointed RR track, estimated where it may be, and began the search. After only about two minutes of looking, BB pulled our prize from the track.

After stamping in here, we located PS Guru and headed to Maydelle to eat at the famous Big Bertha's. The three of us enjoyed the All-You-Can-Eat Catfish. While eating dinner, we decided to try and head for ID Fairchild State Forest while there was still a little bit of daylight left. There are two boxes in that forest and I also wanted to try and plant my Camp Out box.

After paying our bill to Bertha's niece, we headed toward the forest. We found the trail head and BB and I began our journey. We easily found the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker. After stamping in, I left BB to do the obligatory rehide while I went off in search of a hiding place for my box. I found a nice place for it next to a good landmark. By the time I'd gotten it hidden, BB had caught up with me, so I gave her the clues and she stamped in.

By the time we were finished with this, it was getting too close to dark to try for the Loblolly Pine box. We'll definitely have to make another trip out in order to stamp in there!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROARIN' LION!

Today is Roarin' Lion's 5th Birthday. Now, when he counts his age on his fingers....he can go all the way to his thumb!!! (Something he was excited about a few weeks ago.) After we attend the big birthday party today, Blue Butterfly and I are going to sneak off to hit those boxes we missed in Rusk. I think it will be a great day with family and boxing.

Camp Out & Coffee Break

I have two new boxes that are ready to be planted! Camp Out and Coffee Break are two stamps I carved last weekend while making myself stay at home instead of going out boxing. I was going to try and plant at least one of them today, but had to change my plans. I may go out and try to find a couple of new local boxes instead. I also heard a rumor that Blue Butterfly has a new series which will be planted soon. I can't wait to go find it!

Galveston Boxes

Blue Butterfly and I spent a couple of days boxing in Galveston last week. We stayed in a hotel that had a MAGNIFICENT view. We even stayed on the west side to enjoy the sunset. Our first day of 'boxing, we found Tribute to England Series #7, Celtic Cross, and Pirate's Puzzle. We looked for a few more that day, but were unsuccessful.

Day two of the adventure found us at the Corps Woods catching up with Felix. Other boxes we stamped into included Kemp's Ridley, Hiding from Putty Tat, and Sylvester. We were impressed with the stamps and locations of each of these. We attempted a few others, including Running Rain's Lightening Bolt Scar. We found the box and log, but the stamp was missing.

We also visited the state park in Galveston, where we'd camped a few years ago (prior to boxing). I planted a new box there, although I'd definitely advise extra care in retrieving it. There are signs at the start of the trail head warning of poisonous snakes. The box is called Watering Can. I'd love to hear about it if you stamp in!

Happy Trails!

How Do You Spot a Letterboxer?

On Monday, Blue Butterfly and I faced the rain and cold to do some boxing in the greater Houston area. We started off by putting together Mother of 5's Texas Snowman. We'd had so much fun putting together Mr. Bones back in October that we didn't want to miss out on this one. MO5 didn't let us down! While we were in the park, we also stamped into Gleeful Grinch and Wile E. Coyote. Blue Butterfly also got some nice duck pictures while we were there.

Next, we moved onto find a mystery box and a WOM box or two at an undisclosed location....

After eating lunch, we were back on the road to capture a few animals from Birds of a Feather's Runaway Circus Series. Out of the 8 stamps, we were only able to find 6 of them. As far as we know, the leopard and the lion are still out there roaming around somewhere. We hope that someone will be able to capture them soon! While in the park, we also found Runs for Chocolate's first planted box, Seven. This box was planted in honor of Lance Armstrong.

This was a great day of boxing!

Cooties!

The day after the event, Blue Butterfly and I left for the Houston/Galveston area to spend a few days there boxing. On Tuesday evening, Blue Butterfly was digging through her back pack looking for something, when she pulled out an unexpected surprise...A COOTIE! Neither one of us had any idea she'd been bitten by this cootie. Now she just HAS to attend another event soon so that she can pawn it off on someone else!

The Event-Part 2

On Saturday morning, we got up and Blue Butterfly made some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Soon after, we hit the trail to find the Frye Team's Pecan Festival LB. While stamping in, we met another letterboxer named Strawberry. She joined us while we were stamping in at the edge of the lake. Soon after, Silver Eagle, Baby Bear, and their gang happened by. Baby Bear told us he'd just planted a box on the other side of the lake and told us where to find it. After we'd stamped in at the Lion King, we headed to the pavilion to join event fun.

We stamped the event stamp, beautifully carved by Baby Bear, and logged in with the event log. We then began meeting everyone, exchanging, and performing "secret codes" that would get us those coveted personal travelers. The big moment came for me when I was able to meet and exchange with the mysterious Grizzled Gryphon.....then watch him do a plie!

We had a great time at the Texas Boxcar Letterboxing Event this weekend. Everyone was very friendly and we can't wait to participate in another event soon!

The Event-Part 1

This weekend was the Texas Boxcar LB Event in Rusk State Park. Blue Butterfly, Roarin' Lion, Stinky Monkey and I camped at the park on Friday evening. I arrived early, set up the tents, and found BB's Crash at Crush box. After the rest of my team got to the campground, we found Lone Star Quilter's Underground Rail Road-Jacob's Ladder and also ran into Silver Eagle, Baby Bear, and their gang. After stamping in, we headed back to camp in the rain.

As night time came, we made a campfire, ate dinner, roasted marshmallows, then headed for bed. Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey told us a few scary stories, so we returned the favor and scared them a little bit, too. We finally all settled down so we could get rested for all the activity that the next day would bring.

More to come later.............

I'm Too Excited to Sleep!

I work in education and today is the last day of school before spring break begins. (We are lucky enough to get one whole week plus an extra Friday off.) I must be extra-excited about getting today over and done with because I woke up about an hour early this morning. It was almost as if someone walked into my room and shouted, "LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!". I was up and ready to start my day. I even got an idea for a box to plant while I'm on break. Let the countdown to spring break commence!

One for Three

Today, Blue Butterfly drove out to Nacogdoches to try for three boxes. First, we went down to the SFA Azalea Garden where we enjoyed the beautiful flowers and she stamped into Monkey Business.

Next, we headed down the road to find Number Four. The last time we were here, BB and Roarin' Lion were not successful at finding this stamp. Unfortunately, they were using the clue I'd printed out when I found the box a few days before. I failed to check to make sure the clue was updated, so the box was not accessible to us on that day. However, BB made sure she had the right set of clues and we headed right to the cemetery where the box is located. When we got there, however, there was a lady sitting close to our landmark who was bird watching. BB took a few pictures, but it looked like bird lady was going to be there for a while. We decided to head off to Pioneer Park so BB could find my Viva! Mozart box.

As we pulled into Pioneer Park, we saw a man sitting at our picnic table. OH NO! BB and I walked around the park and took some pictures, but picnic table guy did not seem to be going anywhere. BB decided to try again another day. We headed once again to find the Number Four box (third time's a charm, right?). As we pulled in, we saw that bird lady was still there.

It was a little disappointing for us to not be able to locate two of the three boxes. However, the good news is that we spent some nice time together and had a great time in the process.

ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL THE GATHERING!

Rusk State Park

As the TX Boxcar LB Event is approaching, boxers all over Texas are making preparations for the big day! Blue Butterfly planted a train-themed box in Rusk State Park this weekend. Crash at Crush commemorates a very unique day in the Texas Railroad Industry. I'm looking forward to finding this box myself!

On a personal note, I made the event poster this evening. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like with the event stamp and all the personal stamps on it!

Vivaldi's Autumn

Today, some of the members of the Texas Music Boxers (yep! that's us!) went out to Lake Striker to check on my Autumn box. The last person to stamp in was in November, but Autumn was alive and well, safe and dry. After we checked on the box, we hung around the lake for a little while. Roarin' Lion wanted Blue Butterfly to teach him how to skip a rock across the water. If you've ever tried this, you know it's not an easy task! However, RL kept at it and finally he made one do two skips. We had a great afternoon together at Lake Striker, even though it was too cold to swim!

TX Boxcar LB Event--Coming Soon!

The 3rd Annual TX Letterboxing Event is quickly approaching us! Boxers all over Texas (and even from Oklahoma!) are preparing for the festivities. Blue Butterfly, Roarin' Lion, Stinky Monkey and I can hardly wait until the day arrives! Less than three weeks to go....yeeaaahh!

Monkey Business

There was recently placed a new box called Monkey Business in Nacogdoches, TX. This box is located in the SFA Azalea Garden. I was luckily the FF of this box! I can't wait to visit the garden again in the spring when the Azaleas are blooming.

New Companion

I have a new letterboxing partner named Tony. I adopted him (with the help of Blue Butterfly) in San Antonio. He has his own blog and his own stamp, so be on the lookout for Tony! Oh...don't worry...he's very friendly!

McAllister Park

On our way out of San Antonio on February 19, Blue Butterfly and I stopped in at McAllister Park to find a few boxes. We found Baby Bear's Peanuts first. Then we set off to find the Texas Memories Series placed by the Scoutdogs of Indiana. Though we were freezing (I can't imagine boxing in snow!), we scouted out each location and were rewarded quite well with the artistry of Longhorn, Cowboy, and Spanish Dancer.

By the time we were finished here, we went to lunch, then continued North to Holland and Florence. We've been just WAITING to finish out the Texas Passport Series and these were the last two stamps we needed to be complete. First we went to Florence. We had a little trouble finding the cemetery, but BB stopped the car in front of the police station and he directed us right to it. Finding the box itself to more time than we'd anticipated, but we were happy to stamp into Florence.

After leaving florence, we drove through to Holland. BB was gracious enough to get out in the cold and retrieve the box and bring it back to the car while we stamped in. We were so excited to have completed the TX Passport series!

We had a wonderful time in the central part of our state boxing last week. We are very excited about the upcoming gathering in March and can't wait to meet all our fellow boxers!

Only 200 Miles To Go.....(or is it?)

After finishing up with the cookie series, we headed to Austin to hunt down Baby Bear's Bevo and Oakwood Cemetery by Gingercat.

We found the one by Gingercat first. This was a great stamp and it's in quite a unique hiding place. It was great fun to find this hidden treasure. After rehiding, we headed to another part of Austin to find Bevo.

BB and I easily found the stamp. We were once again in awe of Baby Bear and his carving skills. We packed up our things and began to head South towards San Antonio, but before we got out of the parking lot...we had a flat tire. OH NO! BB turned the car around and we got to work. BB's car is fairly new, so we've never had to change the tire on this car and had a bit of trouble with part of it. I enlisted the help of a very nice young man who came to our rescue. Mystery guy helped us not only take the hub cap off, but finished up the job, too. After we thanked him over and over again, we headed south and hoped to find a garage who would repair the tire. We got just a few miles down the road and found a Sam's Club. BB whipped out her Sam's card and the gentlemen got to work on our poor pancake of a tire. While we waited inside in the technology section, the tech. sales person asked us if we needed any help. We politely told him, "no thanks", but inquired as to about how far we were from San Antonio, our final destination. He replied with, "Oh, it's about 200 miles." WHAT???!?!?! 200 MILES FROM AUSTIN TO SAN ANTONIO?? I'm not sure he understood the question.

San Antonio-New Boxes

This week, while attending the TX Music Educator's Convention in San Antonio, TX, Blue Butterfly and I took an afternoon to plant a couple of new boxes. We hopped on a bus and made our way to Brackenridge Park where the SA Zoo is located. We stopped at the train station to ask directions to the hiking/biking trails and made our way into the woods.

We walked together for a while, then went our seperate ways. After we were both finished, we met back at the start of the trail and exchanged clues. I went on the hunt for BB's Go Spurs Go!, a dedication to San Antonio's NBA team. BB searched out my box, Swingle Singers, which is in honor of the a capella singing group started by Ward Swingle in the early 1960's. I chose to do a Swingle Singers box because Blue Butterfly and I had the pleasure of attending one of their concerts last year in San Antonio.

Happy Trails!

Cookies! YUM!

Several weeks ago, the Busy Bees Family put out a series called the Cookie Caper Series. This was a series of boxes, some of which are cryptic, that could be found in/around Georgetown, TX. As you find each box, you are to pick up clues from the box in order to collect a bonus stamp and a special meeting with Batty B. This seemed like a very exciting opportunity fo Blue Butterfly and I and we worked out our schedules so that we could take a week day off and find those Girl Scout Cookie boxes!

We got to the Austin/Georgetown area on the evening of February 14. It was dark, but we decided to at least try and find the box located in Austin. What did we have to lose? So, we pulled up to the Girl Scout Council and saw only one car in the lot (phew!). We snuck around the back, just to see if there was enough light or not. THERE WAS! We snuck down and nabbed the box, then headed back to the van to stamp in. We were SOO excited now that we'd found the first box, we didn't want to wait to find the others! But, we decided to be patient and play it safe. We drove north to Georgetown and found a place to sleep for the night.

After we checked into the hotel, we got a local map and mapped out our course. We made a note on the map where each box would be located, then called it a night.

We got up bright and early the next morning and ran all over Georgetown chasing these fabulous GS Cookie boxes. Batty B did a fantastic job with carving, hiding, and writing the clues. We got more and more excited as the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. While we were hot on the trail of those delicious cookie boxes, we also found Silver Eagle's Pocket Wocket and North Star's King of the North. We were delighted to find these boxes, too.

After the last piece of the puzzle was in place, we made a call to Batty B. She wasn't available at the moment, but a left a short (though excited) message telling her we'd completed the series. She returned my call and gave us directions to her bonus box. So, Blue Butterfly and I were on the road again to meet the generous and creative Batty B.

We told Batty B how much fun we'd had that day and she told us stories about encountering other letterboxers through this series. She also told us that no one had ever finished so early in the day! We were pleasantly surprised to hear that!

Thank you SOOOO MUCH Batty B for creating such a great series and for sharing so much with us!

New Markers

One day last week, Blue Butterfly called to tell me about some new markers she found at a local arts/crafts store. As she was giving me the story of finding her new treasure, I was also pumping her for information.....what aisle were they on?.....how many markers are in the package? .....will they still be on sale next week? ....then she gave me the good news that she'd picked up a package for me, too!

Thanks for the great new markers, BB! I loved trying them out this weekend and I'm very proud of the results!

Adventures in NE Texas

Blue Butterfly, Roarin' Lion, and I enjoyed some time together yesterday by heading up to Greenville and Paris to stamp in with some of Catpawz' boxes. Our first stop was in Oak Creek Park. The wind was blowing pretty hard and we were having a hard time with our log book pages, but it was worth it for this nice stamp. After packing up from Oak Creek, we drove over to Forest Park cemetery. We found the area of the cemetery where the box is hidden, but there were some maintenance people close by. So, we decided that I'd hop out of the van and retrieve the box. I made an attempt at it, but had to go back to the van to re-read the clue. BB and I read it together and she pointed out to me that I was probably at the wrong bench, so I tried again. I went straight to the correct bench this time and nabbed the box. We went to a picnic table on the other side of the cemetery to stamp in. After we completed our mission and replaced the box, we headed to the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum. This was an interesting place with memorials to American wars and an exhibit about cotton. As I searched for the box, I thought I might not find it, but it was just buried a bit deeper than I'd anticipated. This was another great stamp by Catpawz.

While we were at the Museum, we picked up a brochure about a local store/deli called Puddin' Hill. Our stomachs were growling, so we decided to try the local establishment. We made our way to the store and placed our orders, then went back to the eating area. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch there and would certainly visit this quaint little country store the next time we roll through Greenville.

After lunch, it was time to head to the Greenville Sports Park. As we pulled in, we saw a VERY nice playground that Roarin' Lion was just begging to play on. So, BB and RL played while I searched out the box. We were not disappointed with this stamp, either. After I retrieved it and stamped in, BB and RL returned once again to the castle to play and I returned the box to it's hiding place.

Next, it was time for us to leave Greenville and find Paris. BB and I already have a few of the Passport Series stamps, and we definitely wanted to add Paris to our collection. About an hour after we left Greenville, we pulled into the Paris Civic Center and were delighted that there weren't any tourists out by the tower. We easily found the stamp ..... which is now one of my favorites. RL enjoyed seeing this particular stamp. After stamping in, we took some pictures, then headed back to our neck of the woods. We had a great day together. Thanks to Catpawz for hiding these great boxes for us to find!

Viva! Mozart

On January 27, 2006, W. A. Mozart would have turned 250 years old. The world is celebrating this anniversary, but no other city in the world will have the types of festivities that Salzburg, Austria will have. This is the city where Mozart was born. I have a special place in my heart for Salzburg and all it's glory as I spent a semester there at an American School.

Mozart's Geburtshaus, or Birth House, is having a special exhibit called Viva! Mozart. I have taken part of the logo to make a special letterbox in honor of this famous Salzburger. The Viva! Mozart box will be out for this year only.

Sunset

This evening after getting off work, I decided to scout out a new location for a box I recently completed. I was unsuccessful at finding the perfect place with the time I allotted myself, but I managed to catch a nice sunset on one of East Texas' water ways. Look for the clues to my newest box to be posted soon, but for now....just enjoy the sunset.

400+ Miles

Saturday was an interesting day for me. I started out with going to Frankston to pick up Blue Butterfly's Pine Hill box. After finding this one, I trotted on down to Elmwood and checked in with Elmwood Gardens. Having carefully studied my map earlier, I'd printed out clues to boxes in Corsicana and Whitney. I didn't really think I'd make it out to Whitney, but you never know....when it comes to boxing....the possibilities are endless!

Anyhow, I left the community of Elmwood and made my way through Palestine to Corsicana.

Once in Corsicana, I hunted down the right address to find Petroleum Park. This is a nice tribute to the oil industry in Corsicana. I wasn't able to linger, though, as I needed to find this "pocket park" in the downtown area where Wolf Brand is located. I had a little trouble finding the correct street (even though I'd passed right by it and missed it), but once I found the street, the address was easy to locate. I was pleasantly surprised by this little park. It is kind of like an oasis in the middle of the businesses of downtown Corsicana. This park has three or four stones with inspirational quotes on them. I spent quite a bit of time here.

After I FINALLY forced myself to leave the pocket park, it was only a little after noon. I took out my map and measured the approximate distance to Hillsboro....only about thirty miles. No problem! Whitney is only a few miles on the other side of Hillsboro...I'm guessing maybe ten. So, I headed west again. As I made my way outside of Corsicana, I saw a sign that says Hillsboro is 40 miles away. This was a little more than I anticipated. However, I did make it to Lake Whitney SP with plenty of daylight left. I found Silver Eagle's Lorax box with no problem. This box was the main reason I'd driven the extra distance....I haven't been able to resist one of SE's Dr. Seuss boxes!

After checking in with Lorax, I went back to the trail head to search out Gone Fishin'. I followed the instructions, which said to look for trail marker number 8. As I walked around, I easily found 1-6, but alas, no 7 or 8. I did however, come to a bridge and decided that this MIGHT actually be the bridge where the box is hidden. I turned over virtually every rock that fit the description, but there was no box. Continuing on the trail, I saw some great birding in the area. They were flittering and fluttering all over the place. I tried to get a good picture of a few, but I'm not quite quick enough for those little critters. As I came around the trail, I did not see markers 9 or 10 either, but did see 11. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or what, but Gone Fishin' is still a mystery to me.

I got back in my car and chose a route to come back home. There was no need to go back the way I came, so I decided to head south and go through Waco. I even found the TX Ranger Museum on my map! However, I do not have the clues for it. Blue Butterfly had found this box previously, but she was out of town. Could she possibly remember where that box was hidden? If she did remember, would I be able to follow her instructions? hmmm....I took a chance and called her when I was about 20 miles from Waco. She'd be happy to help me! AND she wanted me to go find Baby Bear's Don't Mess with TX box, too. We'd just tackle one box at a time...after all...it was starting to get dark. When I got to Waco, I found the TX Ranger Museum and gave BB a call. She easily led me to the right place, but I had a little trouble uncovering it. I was there while the employees were leaving for the evening and the box is very close to the back door. I did manage to nab it and replace it though, and I'm glad I did. This is a nice stamp and I hope to go back sometime so I can actually go into the museum.

After finishing up, I called BB again and asked her if she knew where the suspension bridge was located. She couldn't remember how to get there, but she remembered the general direction from the TX Ranger Museum. I followed the Brazos River to the West, and BINGO! I found a suspension bridge. In no time, I was on the phone again (and the sun was VERY low by now) and she led me right to this box, too.

After stamping in, I finally ate a little dinner, then made the dreaded drive back home. I made a total of seven finds and missed one box. I had a terrific time with my mini-tour and will be ready to do it again in a few weeks!

Mini-Tour

I ventured out this morning with the intent of finding two boxes, but I took a few more clues with me just in case....and made an "emergency letterboxing call" to Blue Butterfly so she could help me out with a couple of boxes. I ended up stamping into seven boxes and unable to find one. I'm too worn out at the moment to share all the details, but I'll certainly make a point of it tomorrow. Until then, Happy Trails!

Three New Boxes!

Blue Butterfly has been very busy this weekend, as she planted two new boxes and posted the clues to her Tres Cruces box that she planted last weekend.

The Tres Cruces box is planted at an historic church and cemetery in Nacogdoches. This church even has a historic tree where the congregation used to meet, but the tree was heavily damaged during Hurricane Rita that blew through last fall.

The two boxes that were planted in Anderson County this weekend were Elmwood Gardens and Pine Hill. Elmwood Gardens is located outside of a garden by the same name in Palestine. Pine Hill is planted outside of a golf course in Frankston. This box was planted in memory of Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey's great grandparents who used to own this golf course. I can't wait to go out, find, and stamp in to these boxes!

Friday the 13th!

Blue Butterfly planted a box in the cemetery of Old North Church in Nacogdoches last weekend. She decided she wanted to write the clues a little differently, so I hunted out the box today to help her with the clue re-writing. As I was stamping in, I realized that I was in a cemetery....on Friday the 13th....as the sun was fading into the horizon.

Check back again soon for clues to Tres Cruces!

Happy Birthday, PSGuru

PSGuru is a member of our family who sometimes goes with us on our letterbox outings. He usually doesn't hunt for the boxes, but he does hunt for photo opportunities. He also helps us out by carving stamps to plant "out in the wild". Thanks, PSGuru and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

SFA Forest: Open Again!

Today, I followed Blue Butterfly and Roarin' Lion around as they stamped into a few boxes. The boxes we visited today were some that either I had already stamped into myself, or they were boxes I'd hidden. We had a fun time traipsing through different places in Lufkin and Nacogdoches. We even visited the SFA Experimental Forest which has FINALLY re-opened after Hurricane Rita blew through the area.

BB also planted a brand new box today, so check back again soon for a link to the clues.

Close Encounter

After leaving work today (the first day back after my two week vacation), I stamped in at Number Four, which was placed within the past week or so. I was surprised to see the stamp of The Boxalots, who had been there today, too! I'm hoping they've stamped into some of my boxes while they were in the area. I can't wait to go check on them soon!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wanted to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year. Thanks to all the letterboxers who have planted in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. I have thoroughly enjoyed finding your treasures this year. I was even able to attend a small gathering of letterboxers in the Houston area at the Terrors of Telge Gathering in October. It was great meeting all of the attendees and sharing with others who have a passion for/addiction to this great hobby. An extra-special thanks to Blue Butterfly for finding out about letterboxing and for sharing this journey with me.

I celebrated the induction of 2006 by finding a box this morning! (How else would a 'boxer celebrate?) There was a new box planted in Nacogdoches over the weekend, so I stamped into Confetti at the SFA Azalea garden this morning. I didn't expect any flowers to be blooming in January, but I did find one particular white flower. I did not find a sign indicating the name of the plant, so it will remain a mystery to me.

May your finds be plentiful!
May your carvings be delightful!
Happy Trails in 2006!