The Rest of the Trip

On Wednesday I was up by 6:00am and I did a little work on the computer, trying to catch up on my blog and logging all my finds. After about an hour I joined Astro D and her mom for some breakfast and coffee and we talked about what we were going to do today. Astro D and I were pretty interested in going to Ballinger to find Lone Star Quilter's Coppini's Cowboy and it seemed her mom didn't mind going to Ballinger as well. So we got our things ready and jumped into the car and headed to Ballinger. Not long into the trip I needed to stop for a bathroom and we ended up at a convenience store. When we pulled into the parking lot I noticed a sign in the window adveritising food - not that unusual. But I found it extremely odd what kind of food that was being advertised. It was 'Gizzards & Fries for $3.99'. Now I am not a fan of gizzards and it struck me funny that they were this popular to be sold at a conveniece store in Miles, TX. So back on the road we finally arrived in Ballinger and made our way to the courthouse and to the statue of Charles H. Noyes. We quickly found the box in a light rain and returned to the car to stamp in - an absolutely fabulous carve by the Lone Star Quilter/Boots Tex team. Once the box was back in place we drove around town. We passed by the house where Astro D's mom grew up and as we were leaving we turned the corner to find wild turkeys all over the place. They looked pretty young and there must have been about 25 of them just walking the neighborhood. Then we drove up to The Cross. After a few quick pictures we headed back to San Angelo. We returned home and had sandwiches for lunch and rested a little. Then it was back in the car as we headed for Sherwood. Astro D needed to plant a letterbox there (so now Irion County has a box). We made our way to the old county courthouse for a look-see. Astro D was planning to plant the box in the cemetery but she found a great spot at the courthouse so we left it there. We did drive by the cemetery on the way out of town - it was a pretty nice cemetery. Back in San Angelo we were going to stop by San Angelo State Park for a letterbox but it was raining too hard so we just returned to the house. I worked a little on my blog and went through some of the pictures I had taken. Time passed pretty fast and it was time to meet Astro D's aunt & uncle for dinner. We had a great meal and a nice relaxing visit. After dinner we returned home and while I worked on my blog Astro D and her mom did crossword puzzles. I decided to take a shower and then organize my things before going to sleep. Even though it rained most of the day I still had a great time in San Angelo.

This morning we were up early - we planned to leave San Angelo by 8:00am. After a quick breakfast and goodbyes we were on our way. We had plans to find about three boxes, Astro D needed to plant three boxes and I had a couple of boxes to plant. Our first stop was in Sterling City to find a Silver Eagle box - very easy and we were back on the road. Next was Garden City where Astro D was replacing a box for Silver Eagle. While looking for a hiding spot we noticed that the fence and cacti were covered in ice. I guess it was cold! and wet! The box was hidden and we were on the road again. Our next stop was Stanton. There slogan on a billboard say "Home of 3000 Friendly People and a Few Old Soreheads". We were here today to find A Few Old Soreheads. We found the cemetery and located the box easily. We stamped in and rehid the box and continued on our way. Now the planting begins. We arrived in Andrews and found our way to the cemetery (well it took us a little searching and asking for directions). We then hid the box and continued on our way. Next on the agenda was a stop in Seminole (now Gaines County has a box) to hide another box. Again we looked for the cemetery and again we had to ask for directions - finally we found it and quickly found a great hiding spot. Once the box was in place we continued our drive getting ever closer to home. Only one more stop in Texas and then we would be back in New Mexico. Just before the border we stopped in Bronco to hide Astro D's last letterbox. There wasn't much there but we found a spot near the Welcome to Texas sign - and now Yoakum County has a letterbox.

Now, nothing against Texas (we had a great trip) but it sure was nice crossing back into New Mexico. We continued our drive into Roswell - here I needed to plant some letterboxes. So we made our way to the UFO Museum. About a year ago I had spoken with the director about placing a box in their library. She agreed immediately and I began planning the box. Unfortunately I had to put it on hold when I had my eye surgery last year. But now it was ready and we went into the library and spoke with the person there - she in turn called the director and the director was a little busy. So we left and went across the street for some lunch. After eating we returned to the museum and the person in the library told us the director approved the letterbox. So with Alphabetical New Mexico:U (UFO Museum) placed we left and continued our drive. About 30 miles outside of Roswell we stopped at a rest area and hid the last box of the trip. Here Aphonopelma found a home. With that done all we had to do was drive to Santa Fe. I dropped Astro D at her home, said hi to John, viewed the remodeling progress and then drove home. It is so nice to be home and sleeping in my own bed. It was a fantastic trip!