Waco Letterboxing

So today I stayed in Waco and letterboxed all over the city. Of course I had a plan. Anyone who knows me will agree that I am pretty anal retentive and tend to over organize things, and last night I did just that. I first made a list of all the boxes I wanted to look for and their locations. Then I mapped things out starting with my hotel. By the time I was finished I had a planned that lead me around the city without backtracking at all.

This morning after breakfast I went to Woodway Park from the hotel. I was looking for a box that was found back in November 2010. Before that the last find was back in 2008 and there was also an attempt logged back in 2008. I decided to give it a try anyway. Unfortunately I didn't find the box but not because it wasn't there (and I am not sure if it is because I never made it to the area) but because I couldn't even find the first landmark. I was looking for a bridge but never got to one - I may not have gone far enough, I decided to turn back when the trail became nothing but slick, sticky mud. Oh well, maybe another time. So I left the park and headed out to Waco Mammoth Site. The box I was looking for is hidden at the entrance so you don't have to go inside, so I parked at the entrance and qucikly found the box. I stamped in hoping no one would come because I had parked right in front of the gate. I didn't go in because it was still early and they weren't open yet - this will be for another trip. From here Cameron Park was close by and I had it next on my list. I found the starting point for the next box, Rock Hopper, and hit the Highlander Trail. It was a pretty good hike and I enjoyed being out on the trail. I found the box and sat on a nearby bench to stamp in. I saw only two other people during the hike and that was fine by me. By the time I was back at my car the temperature had risen and I was getting warm so I shed one of my shirts before heading to my next stop. The next box was also in Cameron Park but at the completely other end and I didn't feel like driving a long curvy road through the park so I found an alternate route. When I entered the park at the opposite end I first turned the wrong way and ended up pulling into a parking area and backtracking to the right area. I then climbed 88 very steep steps to eventually end up at the exact area where I had just turned around. Lesson learned - read the entire clue before starting out, you just may make things easier for yourself. Anyway, I found the box and stamped in and rehid it. I then climbed back down those 88 steps and returned to my car.

Now I was heading into downtown for a stop at the Dr. Pepper Museum. Well really just the parking area. I followed the clues and found the landmarks but I didn't find the box. Not sure if I just missed it or if it is gone. I looked and it has been a while since it was found so maybe it is missing. So I didn't waste too much time and I headed to my next destination - the Texas Ranger Museum. I found one of two boxes here. It was an easy find and a quick stamp in before rehiding the box. I decided to look for the other box even though there was a note that it had been reported missing a while back because I noticed a find back in November. But I didn't have any luck and decided to move on. So I moved on to the Mayborn Museum Complex to look for two boxes. But I decided to abort this hunt because when I arrived I noticed three school buses and tons of little rugrats all over the place and I didn't think my nerves could stand it. There was another reason I aborted, the historic village had a chain link fence around it and the buildings were all moved to one spot. It looks like they are changing things. Not sure if the boxes survived all of that.

Next stop, Baylor University. I found the visitor parking area and went to visit the bears - but they weren't out (this was my second visit to the campus and I still have not seen those bears). So I found a bench and organized the four boxes I wanted to look for. I found Waco Creek #2: Cranky Crawfish, Bookworm, Behold the Power of the B's and Quiet Angel Revisited. By the time I had stamped in to all four boxes I had gotten a great tour of the campus. I really enjoyed these boxes and I enjoyed the afternoon on the campus. From Baylor I drove to Holy Cross Cemetery to find My Special Angel placed by Lone Star Quilter. This was an excellent stamp placed in a wonderful location. After stamping in and rehiding the box I spent a little time walking around taking pictures. Then I left the cemetery and headed to my last location of the day. Lansharx - a computer gaming center. I went in and asked for the box and the guy working had no idea what I was talking about. So I explained it to him and he opened a couple of drawers and couldn't find it. He then told me to try back tomorrow since the manager would be there and probably knew about it. So I returned to my car and decided I wanted to fill the car with gas and get something to eat. So I did both of those before returning to the hotel to get ready for my trip tomorrow. I am now relaxing and enjoying thinking about my great day in Waco.