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.
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