New Mexico-Day 4

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

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

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

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

New Mexico-Day Three

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

Lucy Locket

Flowers in the desert.

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

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

Headed West-Day One and Two

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

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

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

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

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

Athens, TX

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

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

Tomato Fest

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

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

Meeting Letterboxers in San Antonio

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

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

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

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

Stinky Monkey's 8th Birthday

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

Baby Sister

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

Creepy TX Critters

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

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

Wonderland

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

Roarin' Lion Turns 9

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

Roarin' Lion getting help from Blue Butterfly

Should Stinky Monkey join the circus?

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

Spring Break-Day 4

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

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

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

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

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

Spring Break-Day 2 and 3

I woke up Monday morning and looked out the window.

Yep, it was raining.

I turned on the weather report.

1000% chance of rain today.

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

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

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







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

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

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


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



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







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


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



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

Spring Break-Day One

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

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

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

From Nitrocat

A Poem By Nitrocat....

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

Thanks, Nitrocat!

THANK YOU!

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

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

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

A Few Days Later....

A few days later, I came home and found a package on my front porch. Hmmm....I don't remember ordering anything......

I looked at the return address and it was from SandiBox. This put a smile on my face. I came inside and opened up the package. SandiBox and Beach Bum visited the gift shop at Palmetto and found a couple of things for me. They just couldn't resist purchasing a Snake T-Shirt and Snake Patch with the Palmetto SP logos on them. NICE! I got a good chuckle out of that.

They also sent me a letterbox commemorating the snake bite, which I can either plant as a traditional or use as a PT. What more could a letterboxer ask for?

Thanks Beach Bum and SandiBox! I LOVED this gift!

TALE 7-The Rest of The TALE (at least for us)

Baby Bear and Silver Eagle

Saturday morning, Blue Butterfly and I got up and began preparing for the day. We were lucky enough to have been invited to eat cinnamon rolls with Boots Tex and Lone Star Quilter, so we were preparing to go to their campsite when Baby Bear and Silver Eagle stopped by. We talked with them for a few minutes and they mentioned that they missed us at dinner the previous evening. We explained that we weren't able to make it due to our time constraints Friday night. (We were touched that they missed us).

We made our way over to BT and LSQ's camp site with the Circus Train in hand for Baby Bear and Silver Eagle to stamp into. We explained to the gang that we were planning on writing the clue on a sheet cake. The clue would direct the letterboxer to our campsite, where the train would be "hidden" on our picnic table. They agreed that this was a good idea.

After eating the best campsite breakfast known to man, the famous brothers needed to get to the pavilion and we needed to finish getting our clue ready. While we were loading the clue, the Rodgers 7 stopped by, so Blue Butterfly had to do some quick maneuvering so we wouldn't give anything away. (That was close!) We finally made it to the pavilion.

The clue for the Texas Circus Train.

We added our dessert to the dessert table and watched carefully from a distance. A couple of people asked Blue Butterfly about the Train, and she told them to check the dessert table. Finally, Beach Bum and Pink Cookie picked up on the clue and claimed the train. We were glad that they were able to take it home and enjoy it!

After exchanging, getting personal travelers, and eating lunch, it was time for the famous group picture. After the picture, Blue Butterfly and I were anxious to actually "get out there and box". We wanted to start on the hiking trail because Blue Butterfly wanted to have some Bear Stew (sorry Baby Bear!) AND I definitely wanted her to be able to grab my box, too. We looked at the clues and saw that Bell Motel's box would be the first one we would pass, so we hiked down the trail to the dedicated spot. Since we like to kill two birds with one stone when possible, I said, "My box is just right over there. I'll go grab it while you get Bell Motel's. "

I went to the stump and was pushing the leaves out of the way and saw the box, but felt a sharp prick on my finger. I said "OW!" and pulled my hand out. At first, I thought it was just from a thorn, but it seemed to hurt more than a usual thorn. I thought the thorn might actually be IN my finger, so I was squeezing it to see if I could get it out, but I wasn't seeing anything. Blue Butterfly came over and asked if I was ok. "Yeah, I think I got a thorn in my finger". As I was saying that, she looked at the stump and said, "You were bit by a snake."

At that point, I was no longer calm.

I dropped my binder, BB dropped what was in her hand, and we ran to the trail head. There, BB found Barefoot Lucy who called for Fearless Fox. Fearless Fox was good enough to drive us to the hospital. We first stopped at the Ranger Station to ask for directions, and the Ranger came out to look at my finger. He said he'd recently been bitten by a copperhead and I should be ok.

The Offender

FF took us to Luling to the ER. I went in and told the nurse and doctor what happened. They gave me a bed and took a look at my hand. They put me on an IV with anti-venom, gave me a tetanus shot and FINALLY gave me some pain medication. My hand was starting to swell and it was certainly hurting by now. They decided to take me to Brackenridge in Austin and they used the ambulance to get me there. We loaded up, BB sat in the front of the ambulance, and we made the trip to Austin with full-on lights and sirens.

After waiting in the Austin ER for a while, (did I mention I still had my Lucy Locket name tag on my shirt?), they said they would keep me for at least one night. They finally took me up to the intermediate care floor. My mom called Barefoot Lucy and told her we'd be there for the night.

Between the pain and the nurse coming in every couple of hours, I didn't get much sleep on Saturday night. When Sunday morning rolled around, my hand was still swollen, but the surgeons had come around and said it didn't look like surgery would be necessary (whew!).

Sunday afternoon, I got a special package from Dewberry and Mother of 5. Later on that day, Bloomin' Gramma Jo came to visit. She also brought one present for me and two more "presents" that I would later find in my bed. You should have seen the look on the Nurse's Assistant's face when we pulled back the blanket on the bed as he was helping me back in it! Bell Motel, Whiz Gee, and Can Can also came to visit. They brought Blue Butterfly her suitcase, and they brought me my letterbox that Beach Bum and SandiBox had rescued from the vicious snake's nest! Our camp host had also sent a nice card wishing me well. It was great having all of these visitors! It meant SO MUCH to me that they would come to the hospital to see me.

We were also told that several letterboxers had pitched in to pack up our campsite. We were also grateful for that since that meant Blue Butterfly could stay at the hospital. I think it was Barefoot Lucy and Fearless Fox who drove BB's van to the hospital for her, too. (Please forgive me if that's wrong). It was great of everyone to pitch in to help us out. Again, we are forever indebted to all of you!

Earlier that morning, the docs had said that I might have to stay another night. We got word on Sunday afternoon that I would, indeed, be staying Sunday night, too. I had to make a couple of calls to work to let them know that I was stuck in Austin with a snake bite wound. After all the excitement of the visitors (and the cooties), I took a rest. Around 10:00, they said I was doing well enough to go to another floor. This meant I wouldn't be hooked up to the machines any more! Yay!

On Monday morning, I was visited by a couple of more surgeons, who said everything was looking great and the swelling in my hand had mostly gone down. I was finally discharged around 1:00. Lucky for us, Barefoot Lucy and Fearless Fox took a detour on their way home and dropped my car off at my house in Navarro County. This was a great relief, especially since I still had limited use of my left hand and was generally in no shape to drive.

After finally getting discharged, we left Austin and headed to my house. Blue Butterfly stayed with me on Monday night, then she went home late Tuesday afternoon. I went back to work on Wednesday and was welcomed by my students.

The wounded area. Luckily, the swelling was mostly gone by this point. However, see the pink ink on my fingers? Some of the nurses were also concerned about that. :-)

What did I learn? Well, a couple of things. First of all ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS poke with a stick SEVERAL times before using your GLOVED hand to reach into any type of hidey hole. Secondly, the letterboxing community is filled with AMAZING, CARING people. BB and I don't know what we would have done without all of the extra special attention we were given by Texas Letterboxers. We don't know what we did to deserve it, but we are genuinely grateful!

THANK YOU TEXAS LETTERBOXERS! WE LOVE YOU ALL!

TALE 7-Day One

On Friday, March 5, I was just too sick to go to work, so I headed down to Palmetto State Park instead. :-) Blue Butterfly had to work that day, so she would be meeting me down there. I stopped in Waco to try and find a couple of boxes. The only one I was successful in finding was Legends Crossing 2: Urban Hike. I will have to say that this is one of the tiniest boxes I've found. Luckily, no one was in this park, so I was able to stamp in without any eyes watching me.

My next stop was in Belton, where I tried again in vain for a box that I did not find. So, it was getting later and I needed to get to Palmetto SP. I finally arrived at the park, and I pulled in right behind Puddle Splasher and Viewfinder. We greeted one another, then they went on their way to hide a box while I checked in.

I checked in and started driving around the park, attempting to find my camp site. I spotted Sandibox, who was putting up her tent. We exchanged hellos and I continued my search. I finally found the campsite we'd been assigned, but I saw another one that I liked better. I called the front office and asked if I could change sites, and they told me to just talk to the park hosts in that area. No Problem! I went up to their travel trailer and the lady greeted me and helped me out with a smile.

I had a few things that I could set up, but the tent was Blue Butterfly's so I'd have to wait on that one. I set up the lights and the clothesline, then settled down to figure out what trail was near me that I might hide my box. While I was there, Lone Star Quilter and Boots Tex came by and said hello, and while they were doing that, Corazon stopped by. It was nice to see all of these great letterboxers.

At this point, I thought I'd go ahead and get my box hidden and write out the clues because it would still be a little while before BB got here. As I was at the head of the trail, Sandibox came along and was also going to hide her own box. I was glad to have the company, so we set off on the trail together.

As we headed down the trail, we noticed a large fallen tree that had been cut into pieces. Sandi suggested this as a hiding place, but I knew my box was too big. We walked around the area, and saw this HUGE box that was actually a geocache. We opened up and took a look, and went on our merry way. A little ways down the trail, I found a great place to hide my box. SandiBox and I went ahead and allowed each other to stamp into our boxes there on the trail. I hid my box in a tree stump, then we continued down the trail to find a place for hers.

As we continued down the trail, I saw a place that might be good for her letterbox, and SandiBox went over to check it out. I stayed on the trail with Meekah (Sandi's dog) while she hid the box. Well, she called me over to take a look.....there was a box already hidden there! So, we gladly had some Bear Stew right there on Friday night. After this, I looked at my watch and knew it was getting closer to time for BB to arrive, so I left Sandi on the trail and I went back to the campsite.

BB arrived about 20 minutes after I got back to the campsite. She was also greeted by Viewfinder and Puddle Splasher, as well as CanCan and SandiBox. We got to the task of putting up her big, fancy tent. Luckily, we got it all up just before dark.

As BB and I were sitting at the picnic table talking, and people started arriving back from the "Come and Get It" dinner. We said hello to Perky P and the Rodgers7, then later on, LSQ and BT stopped back by. Then....it was time....for us to stamp into...THE CIRCUS TRAIN!

We got out our backpacks and went into the tent. We set up our flashlights and head lamps, closed up the windows, and got to stamping. It was so much oooohing and aaahing over all of the stamps and the logbook pages. After this, it was past time for us to go to bed....so that's what we did.

Was I the ONLY ONE.....?

That DIDN'T see this sign?????????

(insert annoyed grunt here)

Food For Thought....

So, I was thinking about my little trip to the emergency room last night and I thought I'd share something with everyone. This may be something that most people do for themselves, but I never thought about it until now. When I was whisked away to the hospital, I had my letterboxing back pack, but not my purse. My driver's license and (more importantly) my insurance information were left at the camp site. I'm definitely going to make copies of these two documents and add a couple of emergency contact names and numbers to it so that I won't be caught without it again. I think it's a good idea for us to keep these items in our backpacks with our letterboxing gear....just in case!