Moore Letterboxing Fun

SoccerChik and I have been itching to go out and letterbox, so this morning we decided to pick up a couple of new boxes by Mother of Five which she recently planted at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary. All I can say is WOW! Both to the boxes, and to the nature center. Mo5 has been telling me for ages to check out this little jewel of a place, located smack in the middle of west Houston. I can't believe we waited so long! I guess it just took the added lure of new letterboxes to get us out there.

We enjoyed being first finders of her Owl Be Seaing You box. The original Owl Be Seeing You box was her first-ever plant, but as she reports, quickly went missing. The new version is her 75th plant! We were rewarded as FF not only with a great stamp, but also with a darling LTC. Ask me to see it some time. It's really cute!

It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had a wonderful time meandering along the trails. We saw quite a few squirrels, including a couple of them playing a game of chase. Oh, the noise they made crashing through the leaves! There were lots of red-eared sliders in the ponds... cousins to SoccerChik's pet slider Larry.

We also found Mother of Five's new letterbox, Empty Nest. A very clever hide and some cute little bonus stamps. One thing we have come to count on with Mo5's boxes, is her special way of hiding the bonus boxes... and this was no exception. Very cute! (Jumping ahead in my story here, but... when we arrived back home we found a couple of real empty nesters - some baby grackles that had just left the nest and couldn't quite master flying quite yet, were hopping around our front yard. Mom and Dad were swooping overhead trying to scare us - and the neighbor's cat - away.)

We also searched for two other boxes at the nature center (one by Dewberry and one by Baby Bear) but were not able to find them. However we did find this huge rabbit munching on some plants. He seemed quite content to sit and pose for a few minutes before scampering off.

Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary is truly a gem of an urban oasis. And knowing how much Lisascenic loves wildlife, we were happy to finally find a good place to plant the 'Possums in Armor letterbox that she left with me during her visit in March. Be sure to check Atlas Quest for the clues.

Bluebonnets, Blue Bell & Those Poor Little Ponies

It’s springtime in Texas and that means it was time for our annual pilgrimage to Brenham to view the bluebonnets, our state flower. So with a goal of leaving early and staying late, Pug Momma, SoccerChik and I piled into the car and headed to Washington County.

The first stop on our agenda was the Bluebonnet Festival in Chappell Hill. We arrived around 11:00 a.m. and the festival was already in full swing. There are musicians, food, and craft booths galore. We set out to explore them all! There were so many wonderful items for sale, but we managed to practice a little restraint and only made a couple of modest purchases. SoccerChik’s favorite find was a Juicy Couture knock-off necklace that she proudly wore the rest of the day. My favorite was Pepper Belly’s Dirty Jalepeno Olive Relish – it makes a great dip when mixed with cream cheese! Pug Momma was so sweet and bought us both a set of Coca-Cola salt and pepper shakers. By 1:30 the crowds had grown much larger, so we left and headed on toward Brenham.

Our next stop was to sample some of the Best Ice Cream in the Country at the Blue Bell Creamery. They offer factory tours during the week, but on Saturday only the gift shop is open. There is nothing like eating Blue Bell ice cream at the place where it all started! SoccerChik and I found patches to add to our collections, while Pug Momma picked up gifts for her boys.

Next, we headed to the Monastery of St. Clare Miniature Horse Farm. The Poor Clare nuns have operated this miniature horse farm since 1981, and are open to the public most days. The spring is a great time to visit because the foals have just been born. They are SO cute! I also got permission to plant the Poor Little Ponies letterbox that I carved after our visit there last year.

It was getting late in the day and we still hadn’t seen many bluebonnets. So our next stop was at Washington-On-The-Brazos State Park, the birthplace of Texas, and also one of the best spots in the state to view bluebonnets. I was rather disappointed that there were so few wildflowers in bloom. I don’t know if we were past the prime viewing season, or if there simply weren’t as many this year, but there were far less than in previous years. Regardless, we took our annual photos of SoccerChik amid the blossoms, and found a Boots Tex’s Dodson’s Flag 2 letterbox while there. Pug Momma really enjoyed Lone Star Quilter’s The Legend of the Bluebonnet series, which SoccerChik and I had found last year.

After leaving the park it was getting late and we were beginning to get tired, but we still weren’t ready to call it a day quite yet. So we drove over to Old Baylor Park to see if there were more wildflowers there. The field behind the ruins was pretty with mixed bluebonnets, Indian paint brush and black-eyed Susans, but again, not as many as in previous years. We also stopped by the Antique Rose Emporium, to find that the store was closed, but the grounds were still open for an early evening stroll.

By now it was 7:00 and we had only found a couple of letterboxes, so we were determined to find a new letterbox that Baby Bear had planted at Hohlt Park. His clues gave directions coming from the south, but somehow we got turned around and approached the park from the North. After driving around for a little while, we discovered that there are actually three separate entrances to the park. The clues told us to park near the green metal bridge, and we were convinced that Baby Bear was either color blind or completely daft, because we could not find a green metal bridge! That is, until we finally entered the park from the correct entrance. J It was almost 7:30 now and the sun was quickly setting, but we were going to get that box! We followed the clues and found the location just off the trail. After improvising with a cell phone for light, we located the box and quickly stamped in as first finders!

We had so much fun with our almost-dark letterboxing experience that we decided to find one more… the Yellow Fever Cemetery box by KOKO Kitty, located at the Brenham Masonic Cemetery. Now SoccerChik is terribly afraid of cemeteries, and to go after dark, was in her mind utter madness! Nevertheless, we were very close and couldn’t pass it by. We found the cemetery without any problem, and after reading through the clues realized that it was an easy drive-by. I quickly retrieved the box, again with my cell phone flashlight, and brought it back to the car where we stamped in. There was some very interesting history included in the box, and we enjoyed it in spite of SoccerChik’s unfounded fears.

By this time we really were exhausted and headed home, stopping only long enough for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We enjoyed a great meal, dropped off Pug Momma, went home and promptly fell asleep.

Washington County is a beautiful part of the state and has so many wonderful places to visit, it is impossible to see them all in one day. I would highly recommend a weekend stay at one of the many bed-and-breakfasts in the area, or at least making a day trip to see all they have to offer.

Our thanks to all of the letterboxes who added to our enjoyment of the day!

Dog Days at Double Lake

Thanks to Boots Tex, Lone Star Quilter, and Dewberry for another great event!

SoccerChik, Meekah and I drove to Cold Spring on a beautiful Sunday morning and arrived at Janet's Red Barn around 9:00 for some of Boots Tex's world-famous cinnamon rolls. Their reputation is well-deserved, and we quickly gobbled up a couple of those huge, gooey confections, chased down by a glass of milk. After that we had the fun of seeing old friends, and making some new friends during exchanges.

Then it was off to Double Lake Recreation Area to quickly hide a couple of boxes prior to the event. We discovered a beautiful, well-marked trail system and chose some spots along the Lone Star Hiking Trail for our letterboxes.

We headed back to the pavilion in time for the Dog Days event. As usual, Dewberry went DOGgone wild! There was a series of 14 dog stamps hidden in the area surrounding the pavilion, and we found 13 of them while the Hot DOGS were grilling, but never could find the last stamp. We enjoyed eating and sharing “war stories” with our fellow Texas Letterboxers, and finding some clever “in plain site” boxes. It rained for a little while, so we enjoyed each other’s company a little longer.

After the rain stopped, we headed out to the trails with Pug Momma, JBKokopelli and her puggle JR. Meekah and JR had a great time romping and playing together… they were well matched in energy and temperament. We found another 8 fabulous DOG-themed letterboxes hidden along the trails, and enjoyed seeing the DOGwoods in bloom.

Unfortunately, SoccerChik and I were both a little under the weather, so we called it a day relatively early and headed home. Regardless, we had a great time at and can’t wait to return to Double Lake to find the rest of the letterboxes hidden there.

Happy Easter!

I have a confession to make. SoccerChik and I woke up this morning, took our showers, and decided we didn't feel like going to church today. This is the first time we've missed Easter Sunday services in many, many years, but sometimes you just need a break. This is also the first year SoccerChik didn't have an Easter basket and she was a little bummed by that. (Note to self - next year, make the basket!)

And since she's a little too old for an Easter Egg Hunt, we did the next best thing. We went hunting tupperware in the woods! You'd have thought that we would have had enough letterboxing yesterday, but no. So we put the dog on a leash and headed back to Memorial Park.

If possible, today was even more beautiful than yesterday. It was a little cooler and that made for a nice hike. The first stop we made was back to the place where I thought we had lost SoccerChik's sig stamp yesterday, and sure enough there it was! ::Happy Dance:: Now I don't have to recarve it, and she wouldn't need to use her thumbprint today.

One thing we discovered during the course of the day... having Meekah with us made it harder to be discreet. Several times we were down-trail from the box stamping in, and people stopped to visit with the dog. What breed of dog is she? Boxer. How old is she? 5 months. She sure does have a lot of energy. Yes, much more than I do. She is a beautiful dog; are you going to breed her? Nope. Is that one of those head-halter things? Yes, it allows us to take her for a walk instead of the other way around. She sure is well-behaved. Thanks. (She was tired by this point - our goal had been met. :D )

All together we found a total of 12 boxes and one hitchhiker. It would be difficult to say which was our favorite, because they were all beautifully carved stamps and creative clues. We really enjoyed the Cola-Wars series by Will's World. Our winner? SoccerChik would say Choice B, but I would have to say Choice C. But that's just us. Our favorite location of the day was Dewberry's LLawnmower LLookout. It was so surprising, and if not for her box we'd have never found this particular spot. Thanks to all those carvers and planters who made our Easter so enjoyable!

Visit with Lisascenic

Today SoccerChik and I had the pleasure of meeting and letterboxing with Lisascenic. Lisa was in town for a conference, but we made plans to meet before she left to go home.

After running late due to oversleeping and the ever-present construction on Houston freeways, we picked Lisa up at her hotel at 8:30. I recognized her immediately from her blog, and after loading her luggage into the car, we headed for breakfast. She probably wondered what she had gotten herself into when I immediately handed her printouts from MapQuest and told her she had to help me navigate. Even after growing up in Houston, I still get lost downtown without good directions. So with Lisa navigating, and SoccerChik carrying on a running monologue from the backseat, we headed to The Breakfast Club.

We found the restaurant without any problems (Lisa was a good sport about navigating), and even at this early hour on a Saturday morning, found a line out the door. If you've never been to The Breakfast Klub, you must try it. The staff are friendly and helpful, the portions huge, and the food delicious! We looked for Daisy and Onslow, who had signed up for our mini-meet, but in spite of carrying in my backpack (a dead giveaway that we are letterboxers), we didn't see them or anyone who looked like they might be letterboxers. Daisy and Onslow - if you were there - we're sorry we missed you. We looked for you though, we really did! While we were there, Lisa presented me with "Possum in Armor", a letterbox she created for me to plant. She called it her hostess gift to me. Isn't that just the sweetest!!! It's an awesome box, and I can't wait to get it planted!

After breakfast, with Lisa once again navigating, we managed to find our way out of downtown without getting lost. This was a major accomplishment for me! Lisa was concerned that she would run out of room in her logbook, so we made a quick detour to Texas Art Supply before heading to Memorial Park.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It started out slightly cloudy and cool, but the clouds quickly burned off and the weather became warmer. We hit the trails and soon found our first letterbox of the day, "Diamonds Are Forever" by Will's World. The trails were pretty busy, so we had to wait a few minutes before we could safely retrieve the box. A nice carve with a cute play on words.

We continued on the trail and soon found two more boxes along a very pretty trail. After stamping in, we turned to retrace our steps and Lisa spotted something just off the trail. Another letterbox, completely exposed and visible to anyone who walked by! It was a mystery box too, and one I hadn't solved yet... but that didn't stop us from stamping in! ;) Since I didn't have the clues to this box with me, we weren't sure exactly where the box should have been, so we put it back where we had found it, but made sure that it was well hidden from view. Folks this was an amazing box, with a beautifully carved stamp and creative logbook, and it would have been a tragedy to lose it. Please, please, please be careful in replacing letterboxes exactly where you find them, and making sure that they are completely covered and hidden from view. (Getting off my soapbox now.)

Next, we found several fun and creative boxes by Bailey's Bunch. I always enjoy finding their boxes. The stamps are well carved, and always have an imaginative or surprising element. I really want to make time to go to Baytown and find more of their fun boxes. And though we had been lucky so far this day, we were unable to find the third of their boxes. It is blue-diamond rated, so I hope we were not looking in the right spot, rather than it being missing.

We spent a few minutes resting and exchanging stamps. I feel quite fortunate to have some of Lisascenic's awesome stamps gracing the pages of my logbook. I meant to ask her about her carving techniques (knives or gouge, transfer method, etc.), because her stamps have so many fine details and are simply beautiful. We had stamps, stamppads, pens and logbooks spread all over a certain log that we were using for a seat, and I think it was while we were at this spot that we lost SoccerChik's signature stamp. Hopefully Lisa picked it up by mistake and we can get it back, otherwise I'll need to carve her a new one before the gathering next weekend. ::Sigh::

We finished our letterbox hunt by stopping at one of my boxes, Royal Historian of Oz. I'm glad to report that we found the box in good condition and enjoyed looking through the logbook. It's not so much that I wanted Lisa to find one of my boxes, as it was an excuse to look for a certain letterbox of Dewberry's that I know is in the vicinity, but alas, no luck finding it today. Oh well, it gives me a reason to go back to Memorial Park another day.

By this time we were getting hot, thirsty and tired, so we headed back to the car. Lisa had been lugging her camera around all morning hoping to find some interesting birds or wildflowers to photograph. As we passed a boggy area, I pointed to our left and shouted "Bird! Bird!" It's a wonder it didn't fly off before she had a chance to take his picture. I'll be the first to admit that my skill at identifying species of flora and fauna is sorely lacking, but Lisa was able to immediately identify the bird as a species she's never seen before in person. And even now, even after she told us, I can't tell you what it was! All the same, I'm glad she had a chance to photograph it, and hope to see the pictures soon on her blog.

After returning to the car, we headed to the arboretum to cool off a little and get a drink of water. We looked for some wildflowers for her to photograph, but there weren't too many, so we returned to the picnic loop where there was a beautiful display of red vincas and bluebonnets. The flowers were beautiful and the color contrast was striking. I'm really sorry that I forgot my camera in the mad rush to leave the house this morning. Oh well, I'll have to enjoy the photos that Lisa took. She confessed that seeing them really made her miss living in Texas.

We took Lisa to the airport to catch her flight home, and felt like we were sending off an old friend. Don't you just love the fact that through letterboxing, complete strangers - regardless of similarities or differences we might otherwise have - become cherished friends after a day spent together on the trail?