It's Event Day!

After a great day of letterboxing yesterday and a good night's sleep I am ready for the Share the Love in the Heart of Evergreen Event. My alarm went off at 6:30am which gave me time to shower, dress, get my letterboxing stuff and have some breakfast before heading off to the event.

The event is being held in Dedisse Park (part of the Denver Mountain Parks system) in Evergreen. From my hotel, it was about a half hour drive to the park. And it being Saturday there was no traffic and the drive to the park was very pleasant. They were just getting things set up so I helped a little and then started with getting the event stamps. When that was done I did a few exchanges and visited for a little while. Then I decided to hit the trail and find some boxes. There were four series of boxes hidden on the trails as well as two other series hidden around the pavilion. There were also a few HIPS boxes in and around the pavilion - some of these were marked as traditional and some were event boxes. There was also another series that has been in the park a while and a single box also in the park for a while. So needless to say there was plenty to do. I started with the Love to Carve (LTC) (14) series [stamps used for LTCs and then donated to the event]. I followed the clues and had no problems finding any of the boxes. I also checked the logbooks I found for any bonuses but there were none in this series. While looking for this series I also looked for the series that was already in the park - In the Heart of Evergreen by Front Range Hiker.  I had found all 14 of the LTC series and four of the Heart series and this put me at the top end of a maintenance road (the last box in the Heart series was back down at the start of the maintenance road) and it was getting close to noon and time for lunch. So I turned around and headed back to the pavilion stopping to pick up the last box before taking a break for lunch. At the pavilion, they had subway sandwiches, chips, watermelon, dessert and water.

So I spent some time eating, getting more exchanges and finding the boxes around the pavilion. I found a series by Blackvelvetrav - Wizard of Oz (12) and a bonus for the series and I also found another series by Blackvelvetrav - Halloween Town Celebrates Christmas (5). I found three other boxes in and around the pavilion - Management Job; The Heart's a Wonder; and Love, Love, Love. My count for the day at the end of lunch was 40 boxes.

Now that lunch was done I gathered my things and set off in search of two other series. I had to walk back up to the top of the maintenance road to start the next two series (they were planted one after the other). So I walked the trails and found Misteaks(13) [supposedly these stamps were carved by someone and abandoned as a mistake] and Winter Wonderland (8) [winter themed stamps]. I had a great time walking the trails, it was beautiful and peaceful (I only encountered four people on my afternoon walk) and the weather was perfect. Now I had collected 22 (one was a bonus) more stamps and ended back at the pavilion. So I visited for a little while and then went in search of one more series hidden not too far from the pavilion - Are We Lost? (5) [based on the TV show]. This didn't take me long and I was back at the pavilion in no time. I had a snack and visited some more and around 5:00pm I left to go find one more series before calling it a day.

I said my goodbyes and got into my car and headed to Bear Creek Cemetery (aka Evergreen Cemetery) just down the road from the park. I drove into the cemetery and parked at a stone and timber shelter to begin my search. I followed the clues which took me on a nice walking tour of the cemetery. Here I found Do You Love a Good Mystery? (16) [stamps related to mystery stories] and two bonus boxes for the series. There was also another box in the cemetery that had been there before the event and I found that one too - A Fool's Birthday PREsent by Front Range Hiker. This added another 19 boxes to my total - which for the day ended up being 86 boxes - not a bad day!?!?!

I finished up at the cemetery around 6:30pm and headed back to the hotel. It was around 7:15pm when I got to my room. After a shower and a snack, I logged in all my finds and kind of organized all my letterboxing stuff. And then I sat down to write this post. Now that I am done I am going to bed to rest and I am not setting an alarm. I have plans for tomorrow but I don't need to get up early.

***Here are some other links for Denver Mountain Parks . . .
Denver Mountain Parks | Visit Denver
Denver Mountain Parks | all about this historic park system
Denver Mountain Parks Foundation | Part of our past; a gift for our future.
Denver Mountain Parks | History Colorado
Denver Mountain Parks - Go Hike Colorado
Denver Mountain Parks Map