A Great Big Texas T.A.L.E.

Well today was event day and the weather was just perfect. I was looking forward to meeting new people and getting to visit with ones that I have met at past events. We had a short drive to the event - about 30 minutes - but I also wanted to get a few boxes along the way.

So we were up and at breakfast by 7:00am and on the road before 8:00am. Our first stop was at the Alto City Cemetery to look for two boxes by jb kokopelli. We found one but the other was missing (later at the event we found out that jb had pulled the box and it was at the event). After stamping in to The Sunflower and rehiding it we headed for the next box. We arrived at St. Thomas Chapel Cemetery to see if we could find out Why is Mary Weeping? And when we arrived there were already cars in the parking lot and when we went looking for the box we found letterboxers already stamping in. So we joined the group, stamped in and then got back in the car again. Next we decided to make a quick stop at the Caddoan Mounds State Historic Site. It was an interesting site and we got to see the Human Effigy Pipe that Bell Motel used as a model for her box that she planted at the event. After a quick visit we left and made one last stop before heading to the event. That stop was at The Old Pepper Tree. Now I am not trying to insult anyone but I didn't get it - it was just a little old tree but if you are interested you can read this article about the Pepper Tree. We found the letterbox and stamped in and just as Bell Motel was about to rehide the box a car drove up and out came Gryzzled Gryphon of Coryell County. After a little visit we left GG to find the box and we drove to Mission Tejas State Park.

Once in the park Bell Motel decided to walk and find a spot to hide her box and I also decided to go walk around and plant my boxes. So we left Astro D with the car and she made her way to the pavilion. I started on a trail just past the park headquarters and I was trying to find a certain area to hide my boxes. But somehow I made a wrong turn and ended up on a completely different trail and no where near where I wanted the box planted. I decided to just continue along and plant the boxes on this trail - So Texas Heritage: Eugene C. Barker and Texas Heritage: The Texas Cowboy now reside on the Nature Trail. Finally I was able to make my way to the pavilion and join the event already in progress. I first wrote out my clues and set them out for everyone. Then I stamped into the event box and as usual Baby Bear did an excellent job with the stamp. Right after this everything became chaotic. There was a flurry of activity - exchanges, personal travelers, visiting with old friends, making new friends, collecting clues for new boxes planted, getting something to eat, cooties and exchanging letterboxing stories. **NOTE: With all this going on I forgot to take pictures - I was so disappointed when I realized that I didn't have any pictures of the event.** At this point we decided we needed to get away from all the madness and we headed out to find some letterboxes. Our first stop was the Old San Antonio Road. By the time we finished this trail we had five stamps by Bailey's Bunch, Lone Star Quilter, Boots Tex and SandiBox. When we arrived back at the trailhead we walked up to the mission. I got a picture of Bell Motel and Astro D there and I think they would have fit in. At this point we made our way back in the direction of the pavilion but stopped on another trail to collect two more stamps, and then a quick detour to the mission for a Silver Eagle box and then we quickly found Tejas Bell near the pavilion before taking a break to get some water and a snack. While reenergizing we had a great visit with Lone Star Quilter and Boots Tex. We got to see the logbook of their plants and hear some great stories and learn a little history. But there were more boxes so we headed out again. I found 11 more boxes in and around the Nature Trail. Astro D and Bell Motel got a few more than I did because they found the ones I had planted. We had a blast finding all the nice boxes planted all over the park and thanks to everyone that planted them.

Okay - now a little side story! At some point during the day (I think it was around noon) Goofy Girl walks up to me and casually tells me she feels bad because she had cootied my car (in my opinion she really didn't look like she felt bad). So okay there was a cootie on my car, I didn't think anything of it and went back to the activities. At 6:00pm when we were arriving back at the car to leave Bell Motel walks around and starts laughing hysterically. Astro D and I go to see what is happening and we find hanging on my door handle the cootie. But it wasn't that it was just a cootie - it was a cootie hidden in underwear (tighty whities to be exact) and there was one other thing - the underwear had skid marks. I couldn't believe that they were hanging there all day for everyone to see. Next time someone tells me they put a cootie on my car I think I will check on it right away.

So on our way out of the park we stop to find Bell Motel's Caddoan Pipe and after stamping in we headed for Crockett to find something to eat. We stopped at Thompson's Barbeque and had the most incredible dinner. It was sooooooooooooooo good! I had fried catfish and butterfly shrimp with french fries and fried okra (okay we won't talk about all the grease) and on the side I had some boudin. Once we were all sufficiently stuffed we headed over to Madisonville to the hotel for the night. It was a great day and the event was fantastic. The Texas letterboxers are always a lot of fun and very nice so I always have a great time attending one of their events. Thank for having us and I look forward to the next visit.