Spring Break Trip-Day One

On Monday morning, I got up around 4:15 a.m., finished packing the car, and hit the road. I had to stop at Wal-mart to get ice and a few other things, but I was soon on my way. I had camping reservations for Guadalupe River State Park. I'd never been there before, so I was excited to visit a new park. On the way down, I passed right by Blanco State Park. So, I stopped and nabbed Baby Bear's ARGH MATIE, which is located there. It was about 9:45 or so when I was there and the box had already seen visitors that very day! JB Kokopelli and Wag Time had stamped into this box before I'd gotten there that morning. I just wondered how far behind them I'd been.

By about 11 or so, I pulled into Guadalupe River State Park. I checked in and the ranger warned me of the 30 pound raccoons who are perfectly willing to open up your coolers and eat your food. Suddenly, I had a vision of me sitting at my picnic table and being attacked by a six-foot raccoon ala Silver Eagle and his bear story. I quickly forgot about my imaginary friend and found my campsite.

After I got everything set up, I decided to go exploring and find the boxes in the park. I first went down to the river. There were a few families there and they were having a great time swimming. I went about my business to try and find SPECIAL PALS. For some reason, I couldn't make the clues work and decided to try another box.

I made my way around the park to a campsite area that has a trail. I followed the clues for BIRDING LB: NORTHERN CARDINAL. I easily found this one and enjoyed the view of the river, but especially of the green trees across the river on the hill.

After finding this box, I went back to the campsite and carved for a little while. I'd transferred an image onto Mastercarve before I left and wanted to get it in a box before I finished my little trip. I carved for a while, then decided to give the box down by the river another go. I headed down there, but no luck again.

I came back to camp and builta fire, ate some dinner, then finished carving MY NEW HAT. By now, it was bedtime and I had a lot of 'boxing to do the next day.

New Signature Stamp

I'm planning on a little letterboxing adventure this week while I'm on break. I'm hoping to make it to a few parks that I've never visited before. I also got busy today and found a graphic that I like for my new signature stamp. I'm pleased with the carving results, and can't wait to start stamping in with it.

Find, Stamp, Rehide, Repeat

This morning, I decided that since it wasn't going to be too terribly cold and wet, I wanted to get out and do some letterboxing. I left the house at the crack of 10:00 and headed for Athens. I'd already found a few in Athens, but needed to clean up the rest of them. I started out by looking for one in a park, but I couldn't find it anywhere. There was a nice view with a pond, though. I went to downtown and picked up THE SHERRIFF. While I was stamping in here, a man in a truck stopped by and asked me, "Are ya'll done yet?" I just looked at him. "Are you with the crew?" I told him no. "Do you know how long they were here?" I have absolutely no idea what the man is talking about. I told him I hadn't seen anyone, I'd only been sitting there a few minutes. I'm not sure what he thought I was doing there. Anyhow...it was time for me to go find THE CARDETTE. I'd tried to stamp into this box last fall, but there were too many people around at the time. So, I made my way over to the TVCC campus, and there wasn't a soul in sight. Unfortunately, I found the box laying upside down beside the bridge and the lid was missing. The stamp and the logbook were both there, so I stamped in and replaced the box under the bridge. I hope it will be safe there.

Next, I grabbed lunch, then headed off to find SCUBA DUDE. I had no idea there was a scuba diving training area in Athens, but now I know exactly where it is! My next stop of the day was at Oaklawn Cemetery to pick up JUST CALL HIM JESS. I easily found the box and stamped in. However, while I was repacking the backpack, I saw a car driving around. I decided to get my camera out, stash the box in my backpack and wander around a bit. The lady put some flowers on a grave and only stayed about five minutes or so. After she was back in her car and safely out of sight, I went back over and re-hid the camo box.

I went after one more box today, the BAXTER SCHOOL HOUSE LB, but I wasn't able to find this one, either. I made quite a few finds today and had a good time letterboxing not too far from home.

The Morning After....

After spending the day boxing, chatting, stamping, inking, and exchanging on Saturday, we decided we still wanted more. Blue Butterfly and I got up on Sunday morning to another beautiful day in Lake Bastrop. We made a plan of attack to pick up a few more LBs at South Shore, then to find a few more in Bastrop State Park before we headed home. We packed up our things and headed up to the office to check out of the cabin, then we hit the trails. Of course, we weren't the only ones with that bright idea and we ran into several letterboxers on the trail and it was great visiting with them again. After finding several more boxes, we headed over to Bastrop State Park. This park seems to be surrounded on all sides by busy highways and it has a golf course at its entrance. We found Baby Bear's Trail Rider box which led us to a nice water fall. We looked for a couple of others in this park, but we had trouble with the clues and were forced to give up. We'll definitely have to go back there to make a sweep on both parks for the boxes we missed.

The boxes I found on March 2:

TX Champions Series: Spurs

TX Champions Series: Rockets

TX Champions Series: Cowboys

TX Champions Series: Dynamo

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Pinch! Pinch!

Trail Rider

Texas Treasures Event

On Friday evening, Blue Butterfly and I headed south to Lake Bastrop. BB had made reservations several weeks prior to the event for our cabin, so we were ready to get there and get things in order. After finally making it to the park, we were thrilled to check into our cabin. The cabins at the South Shore park are quite nice, clean, and comfortable. We unpacked the van and settled in for a good night's sleep.

The next morning, we got up and out on the trail so we could plant our boxes. I'd brought along Oedipus Tex and Blue Butterfly brought A Texas Roadside Treasure. On our way to the trail, we said hello to Barefoot Lucy, TX Pokey, TX Ta-tas, and Frogkisses. After finding our trail, BB went one way and I went the other so we could each plant our boxes. I found a decent hiding spot for mine, then I went back to our meeting spot to see if she was finished with hers. When I got there, BB was still on the trail, so I sat down to re-copy the clues to make them legible for the other LBer's who might want to find it. While I was waiting, BFL and Lightning came along, so I offered up my clue to them. Since I was still waiting on BB, I decided to look through my clues and figure out what other boxes were already planted on this trail. As I was finishing up a plan of attack for us, BB came back and told me she'd found a box. Apparently she'd found a great hiding place for a box and tried to hide her LB there, but Baby Bear beat her to the punch! So, she stamped in, then went farther down the trail to hide her box.

She and I decided to find Black Gold-Texas Treasure, since it wasn't too far from where we were, then we split up to find each other's boxes....of course I found Baby Bear's box along the way, too. After stamping in and meeting up again, it was time for us to head to the pavilion for the actual event.

We arrived at the pavilion to see that there were already several people there. We stamped into the event stamp and poster. Baby Bear did another fabulous job on the event stamp. I don't know how he comes up with these ideas for his stamps.....but I'm definitely jealous!

I met several new people and earned some personal travelers. I had a lot of fun visiting with everyone. After lunch, BB and I decided to hit the trail to find some actual letterboxes. We'd just stamped into the Shoot Low, Sheriff box when we heard some people coming down the trail. We weren't sure if they were LBers or civilians....but when Mother of Five started calling our names, we were glad to have their company! We had a great time finding letterboxes on this trail with Mother of Five and her two girls, Dewberry, SandiBox, PuddleSplasher, SoccerChick, and Element. Our little group stamped, hiked, searched, and laughed our way down the trail.

We finally made our way back to the pavilion where Silver Eagle gave us the answers to the match game. The team of Dewberry/Mo5/PuddleSplasher earned first place while the most prolific first finder in Texas took second place. And for those of you who are wondering, I earned the special prize that Gryzzled Gryphon brought along with him.

After leaving the event, BB and I needed to make a run into Bastrop. When we returned, we parked the van at the cabin, then made our way over to Silver Eagle and Baby Bear's campsite. There were several people sitting around the campfire and sharing stories. Fearless Fox was kind enough to share his peach cobbler that he made on the campfire, and boy was it yummy!

Stamps I earned on March 1, 2008:

Black Gold-Texas Treasure

Aqua Teen Hunger Force HH

A Texas Roadside Treasure

What You're Missin' While you were Fishin'

TALE Event Stamp

Heisman High-Personal Traveler

Texas Gal-Exchange

Crazy TX Dragon-Exchange

Texas Lady Bug-Exchange

Bailey's Bunch-Exchange

Mica-Moo-Exchange

Cowboy Couture: Chaps

Cowboy Couture: Hat

Cowboy Couture: Boots

The Mountain Climber-Personal Traveler

The Cruisers-Exchange

Moods-Personal Traveler

Banana's Fool-PT

LionsMane-New Sig Stamp

Jbanana-Exchange

Lucky Cat-Exchange

Mother's Love PT

Zinni-Exchange

Bloomin' Gramma Jo-Exchange

The Gecko-Exchange

Zturtle-Exchange

MimZ-Exchange

Oh, the Places You'll Go Event Stamp

Pug Momma-Exchange

Chrispy-Exchange

CanCan-Exchange

PuddleSplasher-New Sig Stamp

Star Bright-Exchange

Dewberry-New Sig Stamp

Goodbye Ruby T

What Dewberry Likes About TX

Shoot Low, Sheriff

Mother of Five-New Sig Stamp

Along the Bluebonnet Trail

Mailbox

Happy Heron

Just In Case

Bell Motel-Exchange

AstroD-Exchange

Hummer

We Had Fun!

Blue Butterfly and I got back to my place around 6:00 last night, tired but extremely happy. We'd had a great weekend of friends and letterboxing at the Texas Treasures Event in Bastrop. Unfortunately, I had to work an extra-long day today, so I don't think I'll get to write about our adventures at least until tomorrow. Thanks to Silver Eagle and Baby Bear for hosting such a fantastic event!

FINALLY!!!

I've been racking my brains for the past couple of months over what I will carve for the Texas Treasures Letterboxing Event. Last year, I got sudden inspiration for my FRAGRANT FLOWER LB while watching cartoons with my nephews. For this year's box, however, I got an idea by listening to a piece of music by the late great P.D.Q. Bach. If you've never heard any of P.D.Q. Bach's music (or his alter ego...Peter Schickele), I highly recommend it. Anyhow, I'm planning on carving a VERY SIMPLE version of Oedipus Tex to plant in Bastrop. Will it be one of the great carvings of all time? NO WAY! But, I hope people will enjoy my tribute to PDQ and Mr. Oedipus Tex. Now......off to see if I can make this stamp!

Happy Trails!

The Excitement is Building!

I'm glad that February is a short month! The next event is the Texas Annual Letterboxing Event hosted by Silver Eagle and Baby Bear. These two gentlemen always do a fantastic job of hosting and I'm alway impressed with what they put together. Blue Butterfly and I have already made arrangements to sleep over in Bastrop so that we can participate in all of the fun activities of the event. We had a great time at the Wildflower Event last year and are gearing up for this one!

Saturday's Finds

Blue Butterfly and I decided to do some letterboxing on Saturday morning after the big event. We decided to go after four boxes in Tyler while we also ran a few errands...and of course...ate lunch. We started off by going to The Children's Park again because there is a new box there. This one is called THE HEART OF A CHILD. It was easy for us to find, stamp, and rehide.

Next, we headed to the TJC campus to hunt down SOCCER RULES! We made our way to the soccer bleachers and BB headed into the woods to find the box. She looked in what we thought was the hiding spot, but the box was no where to be found. I paced the bleachers and looked into the wooded area, thinking maybe I could spot the box if it had been misplaced. Sure enough, I spotted a camo box a little ways down hill from where it was supposed to be. BB retrieved it and we claimed our prize. After finishing up, she put it back in it's original spot and hopefully it won't get washed away again!

For our third box of the day, we headed to Chick-Fil-A to pick up MMMM! Sweet Tea. We pulled around to the back of the restaurants, but missed our turn into Chick-Fil-A. So, we turned around and headed back and pulled into the parking lot. We were just in time! Someone was pulling out of the designated parking spot that Kpat was leading us to. Once again, BB retrieved the box while I was on the lookout for onlookers. This stamp is a great carving. I'm looking forward to finding more of Kpat's creations.

Finally, it was time for us to head to Rose Rudman park to find RING MY BELL by TX Dragonfly. After we figured out where to park, we enjoyed our stroll through the trail to find this box. I highly recommend this box for anyone visiting Tyler. We really enjoyed our visit at the cancer pavilion and ringing the bell.

That was our day of boxing on Saturday. All in all, it was a fun weekend full of clues, stamps, and ink. Happy Trails!

Tyler Mini Meet

Friday evening was the Tyler Mini Meet and Greet. I happened to get to the pizza place right at 6:30 and the fun had already started! There were lots of people already there stamping into the event stamp, eating, exchanging, and visiting. Blue Butterfly did a great job of putting this event together and I enjoyed meeting new friends and visiting again with old ones.

The stamps I earned at this event:

Horse Rider-Exchange

Texas Pokey-Exchange

Purple Nic-Exchange

Tyler Mini Meet-Event Stamp

Just Rollin' Along-PT

Mother's Love-Exchange

KG of Palestine-Exchange

JGG of Palestine-Exchange

Kpat-Exchange

Pretty Kitty-Exchange

The Three J's-PT (thanks to Horse Rider for helping me out with that one!)

Pawtrekker-Exchange

Beautiful Butterflies-Exchange

Frog Kisses-Exchange

KamKat-Exchange

Ice-Exchange

Bambi-Exchange

Furry Friends-PT

What's My Major-PT

Cricket-PT

The Patriots Series

Once again, I had some personal business to take care of in Tyler. I'd called Blue Butterfly and told her after my errands, we should meet for lunch and possibly try to get the limited-time series of boxes at UT Tyler. She agreed and brought Roarin' Lion along for the jaunt.

As Roarin' Lion was admiring the bell tower, it sounded and he just about jumped out of his skin! It was pretty comical to watch him react to the loud clangs of the bells. He had no idea that was going to happen....let alone every fifteen minutes!!

We also really enjoyed ourselves at the pond. RL enjoyed taking pictures of the ducks and we regretted not bringing any bread to feed the little fellows with.

It was a good day and we found all four boxes we were seeking. Thanks to Fairy Dreamer for planting this series!!

My New Map

A few months ago, I commented to an lb friend of mine that I really liked the map she had on her website. As a result, she told me that she'd be happy to help me out with my own map if I'd just get the numbers to her. As a result....six months later...I finally got the numbers to my graphic artist....and...the above is the result. I find it difficult to believe I've actually found THAT many letterboxes in the past two and a half years. To be honest, I thought I was closer to hitting 400 than 500! Anyhow, I'm enjoying my map and want to say thanks to my good friend who made it for me!

Happy Trails!

Thanks!

I wanted to take the time to say thanks to Sea Dove and Boots Tex who both helped me out by doing some maintenance on some of my newer boxes in the Houston area. Special thanks to these letterbox rescuers!

On January 25, there will be a mini-meet in the Tyler area hosted by Blue Butterfly. This meet will be held at one of the local restaurants and we should have some fun meeting some of the new letterboxers from the area.

As you can see, I was feeling a little nostalgic and I attached a picture of Stinky Monkey from two years ago.

Happy Trails and Happy New Year!!

Pictures from Weekend Before Christmas

Lucy Locket stamping in.



Blue Butterfly stamping in.



Nightfall at Kleb Woods.



Water Lilly at Mercer Arboretum.

Weekend Before Christmas-Part 2

On Sunday morning, we were itching to get over to Memorial Park and find some of the many, many boxes located there. We were only staying about 4 miles from the park, so it didn't take us long to get there. We started off by going to the Arboretum so that we could first find Baby Bear's Parting the Waters #1. We easily followed the clues to his box and wondered what the other half of this joke would look like...but it would have to wait!

Blue Butterfly had already found A Box of Legos by MO5, but I was dying to get it myself, so we wandered over and stamped into this fun little box. After taking care of that, I hid Fireworks, which is a carving by Mama Cache. I gave the clues to BB so she could stamp into her first Mama Cache production.

After completing our mission at the arboretum, we went down the road to the mountain bike trails. We had lots of fun finding various boxes, mostly from the Yellow Brick Trail event that day. BB had already found some of these, but she humored me as I found some of her favorites. One of the most pleasurable boxes is A Texas Tornado in Oz. It's one of those boxes that has the complete package: location, stamp, and logbook all tie together for the theme of the box.

We took a short break for lunch, then hit the trail again. We scouted out where our next adventures would be so that we could be somewhat organized. We eventually finished up at memorial park, then found a mystery box. After finding the mystery box, we looked on the map to try and find the 11th street park for Dewberry's Box of the Month. We had two maps, but none of the streets from the clue were listed on either map. I decided to use our greatest resource--a local letterboxer. I got Mother of 5 on the line and she was happy to give us directions to 11th street park. Thanks to her, we were able to log into our last couple of boxes for the day. By this time, it was pushing 5:00 and we needed to head home.

Our trip was a pretty successful one. We visited many boxes by many different carvers and had a jolly good time. Merry Christmas to all the letterboxers out there!

Weekend Before Christmas

On December 22, Blue Butterfly and I arose quite early and made our way to the Houston area to find some letterboxes. We started out by finding a few WOM boxes....boy were these boxes fun to find! We had such a great time trekking through the woods to find these fabulous boxes....special thanks to the secret friends who shared their clues with us!

After we finished those boxes, we headed to Mercer Arboretum. We'd been there for the Candyland event last year, but there were still a couple of boxes we'd not found. We started off by finding Mercer Monarch by Silver Eagle. We enjoyed looking through this historic logbook...especially when we found Mother of Four's signature stamp! After replacing the butterfly, we headed off to find Elmer by Baby Bear. The stamp in this box is broken, but you can easily get a good image from this little guy. After wrapping things up at Mercer, we headed west to Kleb Woods.

We got to Kleb Woods, and finally figured out that there are two very different parts to Kleb Woods, so we hopped back in the car and headed to the other entrance. By now, it was pushing four o'clock and we knew we didn't have a whole lot of daylight left. We found Mother of Five's Build a Nativity: Mary and saw that some fellow letterboxers had been there that very day! How did we miss them? By the time we stamped in, we decided we better go ahead and hide our own boxes, then trade clues. After hiding and finding the new boxes, we headed to our hotel for a long winter's nap.

A Few Changes

I've been taking the time to make a few changes on my blog this weekend. I don't know if they have enhanced the site or not, but maybe the changes will be good. We'll see how it goes and how many more changes I decide to make!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, our family had our traditional Thanksgiving feast at Bluebutterfly's house. After cleaning up our mess and visiting for a while, BB took me to Hogg Park in Rusk to find a few letterboxes. Boots Tex has one of his Governor Series there that I've been wanting to snag and there are several others in that same park.

We got to the park a little before 4:00, and we knew we were on a time crunch because the park closes at 5:00. Blue Butterfly had already found most of these boxes, so she was there to help me out if I had some trouble. The first one we found was NATIVE BORN-TX GOVERNOR SERIES by Boots Tex. I don't know what Boots' secret is, but he does an amazing job of carving these governors and other characters that he puts out into the wild.

After this, we had to decide whether to find JBK's November Series or another letterboxer's WOM series. Once we looked on the posted map to figure out where we were and looked at the time, we decided to head out for the November Holiday series. There are five boxes in this series, and we were only able to find four of them. For some reason, the first box eluded both of us. We had lots of fun finding the remainder of the series. JBK does an excellent job of finding interesting holidays and putting them together with meaningful carvings.

By the time we finished stamping in, there was 11 minutes left before closing time. We ended up taking the long way off the trail and finally arrived at our vehicles a few minutes past five. Luckily, we didn't have any trouble exiting the park and we each got back home safely.

Thanksgiving Eve

I took Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey back home yesterday, but we also found some letterboxes on the way! We started out in Athens and found ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL. The boys really enjoyed the art work in this letterbox.

Next, I took them to the CHILDREN'S PARK LB in Tyler. They had a lot of fun running around this park, climbing on waterfalls, crossing bridges, jumping across the creek, and looking at the fish.

After dropping them off at their house, I drove through Troup and found Blue Butterfly's GO TIGERS LB. I've been wanting to get at that one for a long time, and was glad to finally be able to stamp in!

Happy Thanksgiving !!

Pictures From Yesterday

I was having a difficult time uploading yesterday's pictures to my blog, but I was able to be successful this afternoon!

The two pictures above are from the Tyler Rose Garden.

This picture is from the Children's Park.

A Good Day for Letterboxing

I have this week off due to Thanksgiving break, so it was time for me to catch up on things that have gone undone for quite some time. The first priority was to have a couple of repairs made on my car. So, I took my car to the shop, and after everything was fixed up, decided it was time to find some letterboxes.

My first stop was the CHILDREN'S PARK LB, which is placed in a lovely, peaceful park on a very busy street in Tyler. I enjoyed all of the sculptures and reading the dedications on the plaques. The LB was easy to find and I had no trouble stamping in, as I was the only one around to enjoy the scenery.

Next, I decided it was high time I'd found Silver Eagle's TYLER ROSE LB. This one is appropriately placed in the Tyler Rose Garden. When I was in high school and junior college, I was a part of the annual Rose Parade because my band always marched in it. As I walked among the garden today, I enjoyed the sights and the aromas of the lovely flowers. That being said, I easily found the box and had no trouble stamping in discretely.

My next box to find was not too far away. I drove a couple of streets north of the Rose Garden and found a nice little park where JKC had planted EAST TEXAS STATE FAIR. Thanks to JKC for bringing me to this park, which I probably would never had known even existed.

After that, I headed out to pick up Stinky Monkey and Roarin' Lion. They are on Thanksgiving break, too, and will be staying a few days at my house. Who knows...we may even be able to do some letterboxing together!!

Hopping For Letterboxes

I let Blue Butterfly know earlier this week that I might be visiting her for the weekend, and we decided that we'd take a letterboxing detour while we were together! I met Blue Butterfly in Jacksonville at the crack of noon today, and we got started on our adventure. We really wanted to find a box placed by Baby Bear and we also wanted to find one of BT's Governor Series.

We decided to head for ID Fairchild Forest first, where A GOOD DAY FOR MY WIFE is planted. Unfortunately, our "shortcut" turned into a longer ordeal and we finally had to pull out Blue Butterfly's GPS system in order to get to Maydelle. We were relieved to finally hit Highway 84 and made our way to the appropriate place to follow Baby Bear's clues. Luckily, our feet didn't get wet when we hopped over the creek and we made it safely to the other side. (Is there anything I WON'T do for a letterbox?) Thanks to Baby Bear for planting another fun box for us to find!

Next, we went to Rusk State Park, but of course, it's not a state park any more. Blue Butterfly needed to replace a logbook in her CRASH AT CRUSH LB, and we also decided to visit/check on others' boxes in the park. Finally, we went and found Lone Star Quilter's box, RAILWAY TO HEAVEN. This one was kind of difficult to locate because the box had been moved to an alternate location....probably from recent rains. Luckily, we did find it and were able to replace it back in it's original location.

Our next stop was to be at Jim Hogg Park to stamp into one of Boots Tex's governor series. However, when we got to the park, there were loads of people there for the PIONEER DAYS celebration. We decided it would be best to save this box for another day.

Louisiana Event

It looks as though there will soon be another Lousiana LB Event! Mama Cache is hosting TALKK 2007 in Jackson, LA. I was lucky enough to meet Mama Cache and Company at their first ever event....the original TALKK in Baton Rouge last year. This event is being held in conjuction with the Highland Games and sounds like there will be lots to see and do. I'm sure Mama Cache would also love for you to bring a box to permanently plant in the area!

http://www.atlasquest.com/events/event.html?gEventId=491

Henderson County Letterboxing

I decided on Saturday evening that I'd have to get out and go letterboxing today. It's hard for me to get out and letterbox during the fall, and my schedule is busiest in October. Therefore, I knew that if I didn't take advantage of today, it might be a while before I was able to get my fingers inked up!

So, I was ready to leave my house by the crack of 10 and headed to Athens. I visited the Kiwanis Park there and stamped into DON'T ROCKET TIL YOU'VE TRIED IT. This is a nice stamp dedicated to a piece of playground equipment in the park. Next, I headed to Central Park and stamped into the TVCC CARDINAL. I had this particular park all to myself, but decided to go ahead and move along. I went back past the Kiwanis park and visited the Athens City Cemetery. I stamped into UNITED WE STAND and WE REMEMBER.

Next, I headed to Purtis Creek State Park, which was the site of a gathering a few weeks ago. First, I stamped into CATCH OF THE DAY. I was able to get a nice view of the lake while I stamped in, and I knew that MY catch of the day wouldn't smell.....well....fishy! Next, I went deeper into the park and located WATCHING WILDLIFE. After this, I stamped into BEE CAREFUL, UGLY DUCKLING, and JUST DUCKY. I was really impressed with the fun carving of Bee Careful.

After that, I was finished with my finds at Purtis Creek, but knew that I must drive by Goshen Cemetery on my way home. I decided to stop there and stamp into CAPTAIN ZACH'S BOX.

Finally, I gave up letterboxing for the day and headed home. I drove through a couple of towns (unexpectedly) where I KNOW there are some more letterboxes, but alas, they will have to wait for another day.

Cedar Hill State Park

This morning, Blue Butterfly and PS Guru picked me up at my place, and we headed north to Cedar Hill State Park in Dallas County. Our mission was to find a couple of boxes by LSQ and Boots Tex. We made our way to the park and dropped of PS Guru at Penn Farm while we went on our hunt. We soon discovered that we only printed out one of the clues, so we would only be able to find MOOSETAKE ON THE LAKE. We easily made our way to this stamp and enjoyed the artwork that LSQ had left for us there. She also led us to a great view of the lake.

While I went on to hide my own new box, I left BB to take a few pictures and explore on her own. I hid CHIP! on another trail in the park, then met back up with BB so she could follow the clues and stamp in to this new box. I hope to have the clues to his hiding place posted soon. Happy Trails!!

Pioneer Village

I had the afternoon off today, so I ventured out to Pioneer Village in Corsicana to pick up THE PIONEER BOX by Adams Trails. I've lived in Navarro County for about a year now, but had never visited this historic park. The village's buildings house a great deal of memoribilia from Texas history and Navarro County's history. Exhibits include The Carriage House, Navarro County Hall of Fame, the Lefty Frizzell Museum, and many others.

Rhyme Time

Since I had a free day, I decided to head out to Athens and pick up a few of Adams Trail's boxes. I stopped off in Malakoff first to try and find the box that is hidden at the Community Center, but I couldn't find the designated tree, so I had to give up on that one. I headed on into Athens and found Cain Park where TEXAS LONGHORNS and CANDI CAIN are hidden. It wasn't too hot out there and I only saw two people walking the trail while I was there.

Next, I headed over to the Arboretum. Blue Butterfly and I had been here before, but we were in a hurry that day, since we arrived with only about thirty minutes left before closing. This time, I was able to take my time and enjoy the scenery. I parked my car, took a look at the map, then wandered around the flower gardens for a bit. There were lots of butterflies floating about in the flower gardens, and I enjoyed watching them duck in and out of the flowers. After this, I walked down to the children's area. There are several play houses for children to enjoy. I finally got onto the trail and found all the boxes I was seeking: THIS LITTLE PIGGY, LITTLE MISS MUFFET, HUSH-A-BYE BABY, THE BIG BAD WOLF, PUSSY CAT PUSSY CAT, and THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN. The weather was just right and the rain stayed away while I enjoyed my afternoon at the arboretum.

Trip to Midland

On Wednesday, my colleague and I made a business trip out to West Texas. It was my first time to go to this part of my beloved state, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The landscape there is MUCH different than what I am accustomed to seeing in Central Texas, and I was definitely not disappointed with my new experience. In addition to visiting with others who are in my line of work and getting new ideas to take back to my job, I was able to find a letterbox! My colleague was kind enough to ask me if I wanted to find an LB while I was there, so I (of course) took advantage of it. We found ACME BOOTER by Wills World. This letterbox is safely hidden under a bridge on the Midland College campus. I'm very proud of my first West Texas Letterbox stamp!

A Special Saturday

Saturday was kind of special for our letterboxing team. It was Blue Butterfly's birthday AND we we attended a wedding shower for one of my cousins. I met Blue Butterfly and Stinky Monkey in Tyler, and we drove to the hall where the wedding shower was going to be. We had a great time before, during, and after visiting with family. But you don't really want to hear about that...after all, this is a letterboxing blog.....

After taking the time to visit a couple of family member's homes that afternoon, we went on a mission to find a couple of letterboxes. We'd already scouted out the park where PANCAKE CAPITOL OF TEXAS was hidden, so we zipped on over there and stamped in. The weather wasn't too hot and we really enjoyed ourselves at this park.

Next, we headed over towards Gladewater to find TSS BIRD: MOCKINGBIRD. This was hidden in a lovely little cemetery near a precious angel statue. Thanks to JBK for planting these boxes for us to find. We had a good afternoon of letterboxing together!

Thanks, Gramatrick!

I just wanted to publicly thank Dewberry and her team for going the extra mile in rescuing my box entitled PINKY AND THE BRAIN: THE BRAIN box after the recent heavy rains and flooding in central Texas. The box had washed away from it's hiding place, but Gramatrick managed to find all of the pieces except for the log book. Thanks for going above and beyond to help out a fellow letterboxer! I am sincerely grateful!!

....the State Where I Was(n't) Born...

On Saturday morning, after a good night's rest at Miss Emily's Bed and Breakfast, I decided to try and find a few letterboxes before the big event. I headed out to find LOUISIANA SEASONS: LONG HOT SUMMER, which is located in a cemetery. When I arrived, I got out and looked around, trying to figure out where I was supposed to be headed toward, then a car pulled up. I pretended to be interested in the graves and walked slowly around, re-affirming that I saw the right place. The people got out of their car and went into the section of the cemetery where I needed to be--AND it started raining. I took out my umbrella and continued to stroll along in the cemetery. These people were putting flowers on a grave, so I made a loop back to my car and decided to try again later.

Next, I tried making my way to Rocky's Video, but I happened upon Curry's pharmacy first. I went in, and after waiting in line, I gave the young man the secret password and he brought me my prize. By the time I was finished stamping in, it was time to head to the Event. I pulled up to the designated area and was greeted by Mama Cache and Company. We began pulling out our letterboxing equipment in order to get personal travelers and the event stamp. A few minutes after I arrived, Big M also joined in the fun.

We had a great time stamping in and enjoying the nice weather and one another's company. The event stamp was FANTASTICALLY carved by Mama Cache.

After the event, Big M and I went to find a few boxes. I told her about my bad luck with the SEASONS box, so we headed there and I was able to stamp in this time. Next, I found BASEBALL SKUNK, which was planted by Big M. Now, it was time for both of us to find some boxes that neither of us had stamped into. We found ROLL E'M and BRIDGE OUT (EAST) and BRIDGE OUT (WEST). After working so hard, we needed a break, so we headed to Mama Cache's house and visited with her and the gang for a while.

After leaving MC's place, we decided to go out to the Mary Ann Brown Nature preserve. Big M wanted to stamp into the boxes I'd placed on Friday, and she volunteered to help me find a box or two I'd missed stamping into. We got started and Big M followed the clues to both of my IN SEARCH OF: boxes. (If you ever meet Big M, ask her what she found at the In Search of a Brain box....cuz I'll never tell!) We continued around the trail and found a bench to rest on while we got a peaceful view of a small pond. Big M decided that this is where she wanted to plant her box. She got to work scoping out a hiding place while I continued to rest at the bench. After she found the perfect hiding spot, we continued around the loop.

Somehow or another, the pair of us got a little confused and we looped right back around to the pond! Hmmm...we're not sure exactly what happened, but we decided to try again. This time, we followed the trail correctly and found Boxdn's BOX #8 S.C. box. We even found a turtle along the way! I was thrilled to be able to stamp into one of Boxdn's boxes. This box has been in place for about three years and has a rich history. However, the log book was quite damp and it was impossible to stamp into. Big M decided to take it home, dry it out, and bring it back. After this, we continued around the trail and headed back to Big M's place for a little repast.

I had quite a fun day at the event and going out to find LB's with Big M. Part of the fun of letterboxing is coming back with some great stories to tell, and I definitely accomplished my goal!

The stamps I earned on this day:

Half and Half

Fire Off! - Babadge's PT

Cottontail's Harvest - Cottontail's PT

Red, White, and Blueberry Event Stamp

Livin' in the Sticks - Mama Cache's PT

Irish Blessing - Mama Cache's PT

Dreams - Big M's PT

Clyde the Cowboy and Bart his Buckin' Bronco Hitch Hiker

Cottontail's Love - Cottontail's PT

Geaux Tigers! - Mike V's PT

Hey Fightin' Tigers - Mike V's PT

Roll 'em

Louisiana Seasons: Long, Hot Summer

The Head Hunter LB

Bridge Out (West)

Bridge Out (East)

Something Special Event Stamp

Give Me Louisiana - Chippy's PT

Baseball Skunk

Podling Slave~From the Dark Crystal

Please Pass the Honey, Honey Hitch Hiker

Box #8 SC

Bonus Box

Skeeter-Cootie

Hookey Walker

Give Me Louisiana!

On Thursday morning, I got up bright and early and left from Blue Butterfly's house to start my Louisiana Road Trip. I picked up a few things at the grocery store, then I headed East towards Shreveport. I planned to take a break when I got there, stretch my legs, and find a couple of boxes. However, as I was leaving, it started raining. By the time I got to Shreveport, the rain was coming down VERY hard, so I had to forego the Shreveport boxes for now. After a few hours, I finally made my way to the library in Zachary, LA. I found the children's section and asked the clerk for the LAGNIAPPE LB and showed him my LB pass. It took him a second to realize what I was referring to, then he gladly handed it over.

After leaving the library, I headed north to the Mary Ann Brown Nature Preserve to find a couple of boxes there. Mama Cache is the owner of an LB that I put together, so I was off to find "my" box, which was a first for me. I couldn't wait to see where she'd hidden BEE HAPPY. MC's clues were very well written and easy to follow. I was thrilled to be able to stamp into BEE HAPPY.

After returning Bee Happy to his hiding spot, I went back to the trail head to start on my find for THE LADY. This is a box that was planted by DrooP, who is a letterboxer from Southeast Texas. This box has been in place for about three years and has a rich history.

After re-hiding THE LADY and congratulating myself for having such a productive letterboxing outing, I decided that this was the place for the two boxes I'd brought along. I found places to hide In Search of: A Home and In Search of: A Brain. I hope these two boxes will have many visitors!

My next stop was in the town of Jackson. I stopped there to grab something to eat, re-write my clues, and change clothes before meeting Mama Cache & Company. When I arrived at our meeting place, I was greeted by all my old friends from Louisiana. Mike V was quick to tell me about some WOM boxes in the area and shared the clues with me. One of the clues was a brain teaser, but luckily, Ducky D was smart enough to help me figure that clue out and I was rewarded with a fun adventure and a great stamp! Thanks Ducky D!! I also met a few new letterboxers: Veritas, Mi, and Sun-Yi.

After the party and the letterboxing, we all went downtown to watch the fireworks. We had lots of fun watching the sky light up and listening to the live music.

Stamps I earned on Friday:

Lagniappe LB

Bee Happy

Fireworks Event

The Lady

Happy Birthday Event box including: birthday cake, shiny candle, the balloon, ice cream & a surprise

Felicia Naveat Cheesebox

Flip Flop

Veritas-exchange

Mi-exchange

Sun-Yi-exchange

Louisiana Highway Hitch Hiker

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABADGE!

My good buddy Babadge had a birthday this week, and I was invited to the party!! I had great fun while eating cake, drinking birthday juice, visting with friends, helping put together a puzzle, and ....of course...finding a few letterboxes. Thanks for letting me come to the party...and once again...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

P.S. -Thanks for letting me stamp into your personal traveler. It's such a cool stamp!!

The Thunder Rolls....

I found out yesterday afternoon that I'd have today off, so I decided to make a little trip to Palestine to find some letterboxes! Even though there was a chance...ok...a big chance of rain today, I decided to take my chances and hit the trails. I started off by finding Barefoot Lucy's COLUMBIA OF THE PINEY WOODS. This box is hidden in a nice little "old fashioned" park in downtown. I enjoyed finding the box, and exploring the park a bit before moving on.

Next, I made my way toward the courthouse to find another one of Boots Tex's Governor Series box. I easily found THE RAILROAD MAN. Once again, there was no one in this cemetery, and I was able to take my time, enjoy my surroundings, and leisurely stamp in. I also enjoyed claiming another one of BT's hand-made first finder prizes.....THANKS BT!

Now, it was time for me to find Davey Dogwood Park where Silver Eagle and Baby Bear have recently hidden new boxes. I'd been here before to find a box by BFL, so I was fairly sure of where I was going. While driving through the park, I did happen on a deer who was eating on the side of the road. I stopped the car to try and get a picture of him, but he hopped up the hill. It was a great surprise to see such beautiful wildlife!

I followed the directions through the park and easily found both boxes. Silver Eagle shares his love of literature and nostalgia with GO DOG GO! and Baby Bear shares his sense of humor with ARE YOU THINKING WHAT I'M THINKING? There I was, alone in the woods, opening up tupperware, and laughing out loud. I'm glad no strangers met me on the trail while I was doing that!!

All the time I was at Dogwood Park, I could hear the thunder clapping. I wasn't too worried, though, because the sun was shining. I went down a new trail and planted BLUEBERRY SCOUT: DOT. I hope she enjoys her new home. I think she's been hanging out with me since mid-January! Luckily, it only sprinkled on me a little bit while I was at Dogwood Park. However, when I got in my car and started to pull out of my parking space---the clouds let loose all that precipitation they'd been holding inside! The rain came down hard. I'd timed it just perfectly!!

132nd FA Regiment

This morning, I went into the office for a little while, but on the way I stopped to grab a letterbox! The 132nd FA REGIMENT LB was planted in March, but I hadn't the time or the energy to get it, so I saved it until now! This box is cleverly hidden in a cemetery and the placer gives great historic information about the regiment.

The cemetery was peaceful and quiet, so I was able to enjoy leisurely stamping in and taking a look at some of the flowers that were blooming.

We've been Everywhere, Man

Ok, maybe we haven't been everywhere, but letterboxing has certainly taken us to fun, new, exciting places that we may not have visited otherwise. Today marks the second anniversary of the day Blue Butterfly and I found our first box! That experience has led to lots more excitement and adventure! Thanks to all who have planted boxes, found our boxes, and even agreed to exchange with us. Here's to LOTS more fun and adventures to come!!! Happy Trails!

Life is a Highway.....

Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey spent a couple of nights with me this week, and we had a lot of fun. Today, though, it was time for me to take them back home. They wanted to "find some clues", so before we headed back to their house, I took them to stamp into THE TEXAS GOVERNOR'S SERIES-THE PEOPLE'S PATH. They enjoyed this stamp, but SM was quick to notice that part of the governor's memorial had come off and was laying to the side.

After finishing up at Oakwood cemetery, we headed East. I took them to OSCAR'S LUNCH-which happens to be one of my boxes, but the boys hadn't yet stamped into it. They were eager to climb up the steps and, of course, beat me to the top. When we found the box, they were excited to see their old friend Oscar and couldn't get their green markers out fast enough. As we were leaving, a man stopped by to fill his thermos up with the cold, refreshing water that flows from the rocks.

After dropping the boys off and playing with Baby Sister for a while, I headed back to Jacksonville. I stopped by Country Charm Candles and did a bit of shopping and stamped into MAY SERIES-MOTHER GOOSE DAY. The clerk was very kind. I told him I'd go out on the porch to stamp in, but he insisted I stay at the counter and do it, since it was so hot outside.

After putting everything back in the box, I left to go find MAY SERIES-MEMORIAL DAY. The park was easier to find than I anticipated, and I easily found the box. There was a nice wreath placed at the Veterans Memorial, which I believe was probably placed on Memorial Day.

Next, it was off to Love's Lookout to find A MOTHER'S LOVE by Monarch B. This was another great stamp hidden at this beautiful location. Thanks to Monarch B for carving and placing this one!

Estes Park

I recently traveled to Boulder, Colorado to attend a wedding of a friend of mine. It was my first time to ever see the beautiful mountains of Colorado. Though I did not get a chance to letterbox while there, I wanted to share a couple of pictures. I hope to get back there one day and stamp into all the boxes hidden in this beautiful locale.

Jester

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to take a leisurely Saturday morning to go find one of Boots Tex's boxes, which he'd planted in a nearby cemetery. The box is entitled THE PEOPLE'S PATH-TEXAS GOVERNOR SERIES.

I enjoy finding Boots Tex's boxes-he has outstanding carvings and he teaches a history lesson with just about every box. Thanks Boots!

A Few Comments.....

A few months ago, Mama Cache wrote me and asked me to participate in her "Box of Chocolates, with Love" Event by carving a stamp. I happily obliged. Today, I received in the mail a wonderful booklet containing an impression of all the stamps that had been carved for this event, along with a Thank-you note. Thanks to Mama Cache and Company for such a fantastic gift!!!!

As you have probably guessed, I haven't been able to seek or hide any letterboxes lately. I'm hoping that things will slow down some in June so I can get back on the trail. There may even be a chance for me to find a box or two next weekend, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Blue Butterfly has a box in Navarro County called PITCH IN!, whose logbook is full. BB gave me logbook #2 to place in this box for her. I went by the park today, with the intentions of FINALLY accomplishing this task, but the groundskeepers were there, so I'll have to try again another day.

Happy Trails!

SNOW!

It's an Easter Miracle! Believe it or not, it is snowing today in East Texas! This is a rare phenomenon at ANY time of year in this part of the country, but in April....it just can't be explained!! Here are a few pictures of us having a grand time in the snow today.

Roarin' Lion and his first encounter with the powdery white miracle.

Roarin' Lion catchin' flakes.

Lucy Locket and Roarin' Lion

Great Friday

Today is Good Friday, but since I'm not working today.....I'll call it GREAT FRIDAY! I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to be doing today...probably mostly relaxing. Tomorrow, Blue Butterfly has plans for us to do some letterboxing...so it will be a great weekend! On Sunday, I'll spend time with my family, including BB, Stinky Monkey, Roarin' Lion, and Baby Sister.