Sunday Houses and the LST

Psguru and I wanted to get away for a week-end, and I told him I would love to head down to Coldspring and find some of those "dog" boxes that have been calling my name. With Lucy Locket's help, I found the link to the Sunday Houses in Coldspring. The owner, Linda is a very nice lady and we made arrangements to rent one for our stay. These are very nice, comfortable houses (there is even Sat. T.V.) very clean and it was quiet. Just what we needed to re-charge and have a nice week-end together. Double Lake Rec. Area and the Lone Star Trail are just a couple of miles away, so, we took advantage of the lake and trails.







I had a priority list of boxes I wanted to get, and anything after that was just icing on the cake :) We made our way down Saturday Morning, and I hit the trails while Psguru took photos of the lake. It was very hot, but I had plenty of water with me and I had a great time finding some of the boxes left after the gathering in march. Thanks to all of those that placed boxes and especially to Dewberry and friends who donated all those neat stamps (and Dewberry planted) for our stamping pleasure. It was a added bonus to collect stamps from Letterboxer's in other states.
One of my favorites was Lone Star Quilter's Easter Egg Basket! The only thing that could have made it better, was for Stinky Monkey and Roarin' Lion to be with me. They would have loved finding those eggs!

Special Stamp- Rosado Mariposa

Back in May (2008), SHH and Triple T set out on an adventure of a lifetime. They traveled over 8000 miles and visited 17 states. They were able to meet and exchange with a large number of letterboxer's and see this great country. MoWizLiz decided to make a contest out of their exchanges and one winner would get a stamp by SHH and the other by Triple T. I got brave and entered the contest and WON!!! WOOHOO!! I guessed the closest to the number of exchanges SHH got while on the trip (at least to the Stone Mountain event).
SHH was kind enough to send me a beautiful stamp and a LTC and they are both a work of art. I wanted to keep this special stamp and decided to make it a personal traveler. When you see me, tell me the title SHH gave to their adventure (The Longest Field Trip EVER) and I will give you an image of a beautiful Rosado Mariposa.
See you on the trail!

Tired and Fraggled

With Lucy Locket in the driver's seat, we headed west on HWY 21 to make a stop in Alto to pick up a couple of stamps that JBK recently placed. We easily found the Alto Cemetery stamped in "POW’s at Le Pitit Mont Rouge" and continued west to ST. Thomas Chapel Cemetery to find "Why is Mary Weeping". There is a small community still in existence today called Weeping Mary, Tx. The next time you are at a local bookstore, look for WEEPING MARY by O. Rufus Lovett. It's nicely done and great photos.

The Pepper Tree




Back on hwy 21, we drove down to "The Pepper Tree" I have driven passed this tree numerous times without stopping to take a look. A box placed there recently, gave me the incentive to stop and take a look at a tree that is 160 years old! LL and I stamped in, and easily hid the box back without anyone stopping by.
On to Mission Tejas SP and more boxes. I had gotten all of the boxes in the park except one, but LL had not been down that way for a while, so I tagged along as she stamped in. It was interesting to see who had stamped in the logbooks after I had been there.

The CCC Baths at Mission Tejas SP



The last box of the day was "The Pipebangers: Fraggle Rock Series". Now this one has a story. usually, when i can't find a box, it doesn't bother me so much, except for the fact that i have to send the placer a note saying the box is missing. This one was different by a long shot! The terrain on this trail is rocky, and there is a lot of ups and downs to make your way to the area where the box is. We had been boxing all day and we were hot and tired before we ever endeavored to find this box. It is a nice hike (which I like) and we finally find the hiding spot. We all know when placing a box, that the area can quickly be changed by the caretakers deciding it's time to clean up a certain spot in the park. This is what had happened to "The Pipebangers". Now, the placer did a good job and it was not their fault we had trouble finding the box, as I said things had changed A LOT! LL and I both decided we were not going to be able to find this one, so we sat on the bench (Thankfully, they had place one there which I think was one of their improvements) and wiped the sweat from our brow and guzzled down some water. I decided I was going to look ONE MORE TIME! I just could not leave without that stamp! I walked over and began to search again and FOUND THE BOX!!! YIPPEEE! I was shocked and so was LL! I cannot decribe the feeling of finding this box. It took a lot to get it, but was well worth it!
Blue Butterfly......1
Maintenance crew....0

Garden of Good Eatin' and Boxing!

Since Lucy Locket moved a couple of years ago (WOW! I can't believe it has been that long) We have a limited time together for 'boxing. This week-end was one of those rare times when we were on the trail together. We both wanted to head to Nacoghdoches to stamp in some boxes and check on the boxes we have there, and then head to Alto and Weches. We got a little later start than we really wanted but, we made it to Nac and began our hunt. First, we went to check on my box at the Old North Church, TRES CRUCES. It has been tucked away in it's hidey hole for quite a while and I was delighted to find it in good shape. I love this location, the history and the fact that the church is still active is pretty neat.
Leaving there,we made our way over to the Lamplite Theatre where Nac Trail Cat had hidden a treasure. We easily found this one and continued our journey. NTC has another box hidden a small cafe by the name of "Garden of Good Eatin'" It's only open M-F Hours: 10-2. I was excited to get this box as it was a milestone for me. I gladly stamped in my 600Th box!!!



I can't believe it has been 3 years since I started this hobby and all the memories that have been created. I have to say, some of my favorite boxes are those that take you on at least a short hike. I have done a lot of "drive-by's" (and proud to get them) but those hikes down the trail are my favorites. There is something about walking done the trail and hearing the birds singing or listening to an armadillo rustling the leaves.
After taking pictures and looking around, we headed to downtown Nac to check on LL's boxes on the LaNana Creek Trail. There have been a lot of nice improvements done on this trail. LL found and did first aid on one box, and the other one was still in good shape. By this time, it was about lunch time, so we headed over to one of my favorite dining spots in Nac....Auntie Pasta's....YUMMY!!!
One last stop at the Arboretum at SFA to check on a box, then it was on to Alto.