A Little Letterboxing Back in Santa Fe

Friday morning I met Astro D for coffee and catching up on our letterboxing trips. My trip was to Austin and hers was to Tucson. It was nice to sit and visit and hear about each others letterboxing adventures. After looking at our logbooks and exchanging stories we headed out on two missions. One was to find a new letterbox that had been hidden just this past week. It was an easy find. Once we stamped in and rehid the box we were on to our second mission. Rehiding a few of my boxes. I had pulled some boxes around town last November for reasons I won't go into now. I have decide to rehide them due to comments from some letterboxers I admire that wanted them back in action. So Astro D and I had a pleasant walk about town and replaced all but two. One was on a further walk than we wanted to do and one had a person painting right at the spot. It was a nice day and we celebrated Astro D's 1000th day since she found her first letterbox. WooHoo!!!!! We said our goodbyes and then I got in my car and rehid the last two boxes.

Today Astro D planted a new box that was only available for two hours. It is based on the camera obscura. There are going to be workshops in Santa Fe to learn to build these and use them. Today they had a demonstration of a camera obscura. It was fun and interesting and I got another Astro D carving. I always love her stamps and letterboxes and this one just happened to have a little extra something with the demonstration.

So the following boxes are now active again . . .
Bear in Mind, City Different Walking Tour, Honor, Loyalty & Peace, Going in Circles, Giant Rebel of Eden, Fortitudo Dei, The Crow Knows and New Mexico's Eternal Flame

More Capital Boxing

The weekend was a lot of fun. We had a great time letterboxing and sightseeing with Bellmotel and Whiz Gee. We found quite a few letterboxes and enjoyed some of the Greenbelts that Austin has to offer. So I left off on my last post at Sunday night. I’ll now fill you in on the last couple of days.Monday morning started early. Thomas had to check in for his conference and I headed over to Zilker Park. I wanted to get a letterbox planted and have a chance to walk around the Botanical Gardens. I parked and entered the gardens. At first I just walked and enjoyed all the flowers. Then I got serious about finding a nice home for my Sakura letterbox. I planned to place the box in the Isamu Taniguchi Japanese Garden, so I spent some time looking for a spot that wasn’t well groomed and that would be hidden enough from the public. The gardens are beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed myself on this humid morning. Once the box was in place and I felt satisfied that it would be okay I returned to my car.

I now needed to go shopping. On Sunday afternoon my camera quit working. I am not sure what happened – it just shut down. I tried changing the batteries and that didn’t work, and I pushed every button on the camera and it still wouldn’t work. So on Monday morning I went out and bought a new camera – it is almost exactly like my old camera – just an updated version. The one that broke was five years old. Once I had made my decision on which camera I wanted I paid for it and then headed back to the hotel. I was meeting Bellmotel at 11:00 to head for Bastrop for some letterboxing at South Shore Lake State Park.

Ms. Bellmotel was a little late in picking me up due to the fact that willhime had planted a new box and posted the clues that morning. Bellmotel was determined to be the first finder (and she was!), so that put her getting to the hotel a little late. After throwing my letterboxing gear in the back seat and getting in the car we were off to Bastrop. Bellmotel informed me of letterboxes at McKinney Roughs State Park so we decided to stop there first. I am glad we did – it is a wonderful spot and we enjoyed walking around. We also found four really nice boxes thanks to Boots Tex, Lone Star Quilter, Baby Bear and Silver Eagle. Now time to get to Bastrop. We wanted to get the boxes that we didn’t have time for when we attended the Texas Treasures gathering in March, so we arrived at the park and hit the trails. We hiked two trails and collected the following stamps . . .

Just ‘in Case by WOWMOM, Texas Treasures by JBanana, GWP Series: Pancho Villa by Barefoot Lucy, TX Chainsaw Massacre by Silver Eagle, The Texas Champions Series (4) by Sandibox, and Pinch! Pinch! by WOWMOM & KoolKid.

During our little letterboxing adventure in South Shores Bellmotel found her 100th letterbox. It was Just 'in Case - WOOHOO for Bellmotel!!!!!We then left South Shores and made a stop at Bastrop State Park. We hiked one trail and looked for two boxes by Armyswmr99 – we were unable to find either box. It was getting late and we needed to get back to Austin – so we called it a day and drove the hour back to the hotel. It was a nice time in Bastrop and I thoroughly enjoyed all three parks we stopped at.

When I got back to the hotel room Thomas was there waiting. His conference dinner had finished and he wanted to walk down to Congress Avenue and see the bats. So we headed out for an evening walk. We got to the bridge and found a nice spot to sit and watch for the bats to make their evening flight for food. We enjoyed it and it was a sight watching all these bats coming out from under a bridge. On the way back to the hotel we stopped for coffee and dessert and then called it an evening.

Our original plans were to leave Austin at about 1:00 pm to start heading home on Tuesday. So I planned to do a little letterboxing and then get back to the hotel at noon and get everything ready to leave. Early Tuesday morning Thomas found out he had meetings until 4:30 pm so that gave me the whole day to letterbox. So I headed out following my map as I went from one location to the next to find boxes. I visited Balcones District Park, Allen Park, Northwest District Park, Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, Mt. Bonnell – Covert Park and Zilker Park. I saw flowers, squirrels, great views and even a few peacocks. It was a busy, fun and wonderful day. I found the following boxes . . .

Balcones Critter by rolly polly, blockhead by TheBishop, Bringing Down the Hamer & Traveler, Citizen, Writer by jb kokpelli, I’ll Fly Away by Fire Dragon, Mt. Bonnell by TheBrownKnight and Beth & Jo by Bloomin Gramma Jo.

All nice boxes and in great places around Austin. I even left time to back to the Botanical Gardens to walk around some more and take pictures. I also stopped by the Barton Springs Pool and had a snow cone. Then I met Thomas back at the hotel and we decided to go to IKEA to do a little shopping. We bought a few things and enjoyed walking around the store. Then we went out for dinner. After dinner we drove to the Capitol and walked around the inside and outside of the building. I took plenty of pictures and then we returned to the hotel to get packed for out trip back home in the morning.

Today was a pretty uneventful day. I am typing this as Thomas drives us home. We encountered a little rain but nothing too bad and we had a good drive home. We still have about two hours until Santa Fe but we are close and although we had a great time in Austin we will be glad to be home.

Lone Star Letterboxing

We have had a great weekend in Austin! We have spent the entire weekend with Bellmotel and Whiz Gee letterboxing all over Austin. Thomas is here for a conference that begins on Monday and ends Tuesday afternoon. But the weekend was all about fun!

We left Santa Fe on Friday morning with the temperatures in the low 30's. But as we headed east and south the temperatures increased. By the time we reached Lubbock it was a beautiful Spring day. We made a stop for a letterbox but unfortuantely we didn't find it. So we had a little lunch and then continued on our way. The day was mostly uneventful - just a long drive from Santa Fe to Austin. Although I made Thomas stop quite a bit. The wildflowers were everywhere and I was really excited to see a lot of Bluebonnets. So we stopped, took pictures, went a little further, stopped, took more pictures, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! We finally made it to Austin and checked in to the hotel at about 8:30 pm. We were both exhausted. After showering, we went straight to bed.

On Saturday morning we slept in. Once up and dressed we headed for breakfast and then to Oakwood Cemetery to find Jacob's Ladder by Lone Star Quilter. It was a peaceful morning in the cemetery and another nice box by LSQ. From there we made our way to pick up Bellmotel to start our letterboxing spree. Our first stop was Arboretum Center to find two of the March girls - Amy & Meg by Bloomin Gramma Jo. Two great boxes and easy finds. >So we made our way to Switch Willo Stables to look for a box but we weren't able to find it. By this time Whiz Gee was off of work and wanted to join us. So we picked him up and we were on our way again. We headed to Old Spicewood Springs Road and started our search for five boxes. We found Buffalo Bull and Footprints in Time - both by Bloomin Gramma Jo. We couldn't get to the other boxes - the creek was too high and we needed to get to the other side for them - oh well, another time. Our next stop, St. Edward's Park, was quite close to where we were. It only took us a few minutes to get to the trailhead. It was a short walk and an easy find for our first of the 5 Kingdoms Microboxes. We found Anamalia quickly and stamped in. Once hidden properly we went in search of The Saint's Hat, another quick and easy find. Done in this park we drove just a couple of miles and parked at an entrance to the Bull Creek Greenbelt. After a short walk we found our second 5 Kingdoms Microbox - this one was Fungi. A great little stamp. So far we were having a great day and a lot of fun.

With plenty of daylight remaining we made our way to Emma Long Park. We parked at the trailhead for the Turkey Creek Trail. We didn't have to go far before we found our first box in the Let's Have a Picnic Series by Mama Bee. We spent the next hour looking for all seven boxes in this series. And what a great series it is - all the stamps are wonderful and when seen all together it is fantastic. With this series completed we continued along the trail to find X Marks the Spot and then to our third of the 5 Kingdoms Microbox - this one being Protista. It was getting late but we had one more that we wanted to get. We drove up Big View Road and found Deba-Bocho Eel. I unfortunately did not play a big part in finding this one due to the fact that there was poison ivy all over the area. It was growing all over the ground and all around the tree where the box was planted. So I let someone else get it from its hiding spot. So we decided now that the sun was going down that we should call it a day. As we were driving down Big View Road we stopped and sat on a bench to watch the sun set - a great way to end a letterboxing day. Once the sun set we were all hungry, so the four of us headed to County Line for some great barbeque. By the time Thomas and I dropped off Bellmotel and Whiz Gee and then returned to the hotel it was close to 11:00 pm. A quick shower and off to bed.

We started today with breakfast at Bellmotel's house. Whiz Gee cooked us some great pancakes and sausage. We also had some wonderful fruit. Once full, we did some exchanges and then headed out to find more letterboxes. I had tried solving a clue before we left Santa Fe but wasn't having any luck. I talked to Bellmotel about it but we still were having trouble. This morning before we left the hotel I looked at it again - and voila, it came to me and I solved the puzzle - we knew where the box was and now had the clues to find it. So we headed there. Unfortunately we didn't have any luck finding the box. We spent about an hour and read and reread the clues - we tried everything but ended up leaving empty handed. It wasn't a good way to start the day. But we persisted and headed to the Barton Creek Greenbelt off of Scottich Woods Trail. The clues said it would be about a fifteen minute walk to the box. We had such a hard time following the clues. We kept stopping to try to make sense of them but the more we looked at them the more confused we became. We eneded up at Sculpture Falls - a beautiful area, but way beyond where we were supposed to be. We headed back the way we had come and then saw something that was in the clues, kept reading the clues and eventually ended up at the spot. Even when we were at the right place it still took us a little while to find the box. After an hour and a half we were on our way again. I have to say that thankfully the hike was good and there were spots along the trail that were great or else this would have been a bust - the box, stamp and logbook left a lot to be desired. Thomas had wanted to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center so we headed there next. There were also three boxes in the area that we could look for. We enjoyed our leisurely walk through the Wildflower Center. Plenty of wildflowers in bloom and a wonderful place for a relaxing stroll. So we left the center and found the three quick and easy drive-by boxes - Lady Bird's Wildflower by Viewfinder, Butterfly Block by Lone Star Quilter and Mellow Velo Microbox by Silver Eagle - all three boxes are wonderful. We were all very happy to find these since our day hadn't started out that great. We next tried for Austin Scoops Letterbox but didn't have any luck finding it but we did find a place to eat. So we had a quick dinner, relaxed and talked. From here we headed to another section of the Barton Creek Greenbelt to find our fourth box in the 5 Kingdoms Microbox Series. This one is Monera. This series has been terrific. Thanks RayRay for some wonderful boxes. There were three other boxes on this trail - we found Barton Creek Greenbelt and Porky Pig - we didn't find Hiking Pug. It was starting to get dark by the time we returned to the car so we drove Bellmotel and Whiz Gee back to their home and then returned to the hotel.

Now that I have showered, logged in all my finds and written this blog it is time for some sleep. Tomorrow I want to try and hide a box and then Bellmotel and I are headed to Bastrop for some more letterboxing. I also need to buy a new camera. Today mine just stopped working. So I wasn't able to do my picture of the day - I took pictures before it stopped working but I wasn't able to download them - hopefully by tomorrow I will be able. So check my As I See It blog in a few days to see if it is up to date.

Six Feet Above

I planted this box on May 24, 2006. It is in one of my favorite cemeteries.

Six Feet Above

In January 2007 I received an email . . .

The tomb is currently covered with a silver tarpaulin, although it's no problem getting underneath it to find the box. I don't know if this is a recent development, or a sign of an intention to do work on the tomb in the future.

I worried that this meant that the box would eventually go missing. In April 2007 my letterboxing buddy Astro D attempted to find the box, after a phone call while she was at the cemetery it was confirmed that the box was indeed missing.

Fast forward to April 2008 . . . I received this email . . .

Hello there! I was in New Orleans for the very first time this weekend. I did not take my Letterboxing gear as I didn't think I would have enough time. I was in Lafayette Cemetery, and came across a letterbox by accident, inside of a huge urn. I wrote in the log book, but didn't have enough time to look through it. I got back home and looked it up, and found that it was your "Six Feet Above" letterbox. It's not where your clue said it is, but it's still in the cemetery. I have to be honest.... I don't recall exactly where it was, but I will look through my pictures and do some searches online to see if I see the tomb. It's in good shape (other than the fact that one of the lid-tabs has broken off). I hid it better in the bottom of the urn covered by some bricks.

So I owe a great big Thank You to Grosse Pointe Wine Lover for literally resurrecting my letterbox. Below you will find information that will help you search for the box. If anyone is heading to New Orleans please let me know and maybe you could help me find a better hiding place until I can make it down to Louisiana and rehide it myself.