My Tale of My Trip to TALE - A Tale of TALES

I am heading to Texas for their annual letterbox event in Smithville, TX. I will be doing a lot of driving to see some interesting areas of Texas and to visit some friends.
February 26 - March 5, 2013

Last Day on the Road

I woke up this morning in Sweetwater, TX knowing that I would be home to sleep in my own bed tonight. I have had a wonderful trip but it will be good to get home to Thomas and the dogs. I figured the drive would take about seven hours, maybe a little longer stopping for gas, letterboxes and bathroom breaks. I was up early, dressed, car loaded and coffee mug filled - that put me on the road by 5:30am.

Buddy Holley

It was a boring and uneventful drive - I took I20 west to US84 north and made my first stop of the day in Lubbock. I made my way to the City of Lubbock Cemetery to find howeville's Buddy Holly's Grave letterbox. I first went in to the cemetery to see Buddy's actual grave and then returned to the entrance of the cemetery to find the box. I found the box easily and brought it to the car to stamp in. After stamping in and replacing the box I found a gas station to fill the car and a coffee shop to get a little more caffeine and then it was back on US64 to continue on to New Mexico. Once I got to Clovis the road changed to US60/84 and when I reached Fort Sumner I stopped for more gas. At this point I made a decision about continuing on US84 to Santa Rosa and then I40 to Clines Corners or staying on US60 to Vaughn. I opted for the Vaughn route and when I got to Vaughn I took US285 north. I decided to go the back way through Galisteo on CR42 to get to NM14 and home. It was around 2:30pm when I arrived home to be greeted by three very happy dogs. After 15 minutes of loving the dogs I unloaded the car. Since I got up early I was feeling pretty tired so I decided to take a little nap until Thomas got home from work. One of Thomas' brothers was visiting and I woke up when he came home. We visited until Thomas got back from work and then we all went out to dinner. Now it is time to go back to bed. This trip was a busy one and I need a little more rest to catch up.

Backroads and Out of the Way Places

So today brought me closer to home. I started my drive in Burnet and left the hotel at about 6:45am to drive to Longhorn Caverns State Park. It was only a short drive to the park and I thought I could just park and hit the trails to look for boxes. But when I arrived there was a gate across the entrances. I was a little confused because I had looked things up on the park website and this is what I found.

Hours
Open daily from dawn to dusk.
Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
There is no gate.

I decided to wait a little while to see if a park ranger came and opened the gate. At 7:30am no one appeared so I decided if I was to get to my destination at a decent hour I really couldn't sit around and wait anymore. I was really disappointed that there was a gate - I was looking forward to seeing the park and also visiting Inks Lake State Park. But I made a decision to just hit the road and I would visit these parks at another time. I drove Park Road 4 to TX29 so that I could make my way to Llano. I had a clue for a box hidden at a roadside park off of TX29. The clue stated the park was six miles west of Burnet close to Lake Buchanan but I felt like I was a lot further from Burnet than six miles. But I found a roadside park that matched all the other descriptions so I thought I was at the right spot. Only problem was that I couldn't enter thea area. The guardrail for the highway looks like it has been extended to block off the entrance. I was thoroughly disappointed because the box there is a Boots Tex box called The Hot One.

Bald Eagles, Jess Thompson, Cottonwood Photography

Anyway I continued on. About half way between Buchanan Dam and Llano I turned into a pull out where there is an eagle's nest. There are two boxes here and there was one at the east end of the parking area. So I parked there since that is the direction I was coming. I went in search of Lone Star Quilter's box called Bald Is Beautiful. It was supposed to be hanging on a post but I didn't see. I looked around a little but still saw nothing so I got into my car and drove to the other end of the parking area to find ScooterBoots' The Eagle's Tree. This one was easy to find and after stamping in I replaced the box and decided to back and look for the first box. About a foot from the post there was a box (like a food box) on the ground. I decided to pick it up and throw it away and when I lifted it I found the letterbox. I took it back to the car to stamp in and then replaced it - there was no way to hang it so I just hid it at the base of the post (I did send LSQ a note about that). While I was looking for the box I was trying to see if there was a nest anywhere but I didn't see one. I had noticed a truck and someone standing near the fence but it was a little further west than where I was parked. At first I thought they were doing work on the fence or something then I realized they had a camera. So I drove over there and talked with this guy who had located the nest and was trying to get pictures. He had his camera on a tripod and this incredibly large lens. I felt a little silly with my camera and 300mm lens. Unfortunately after 15 minutes I didn't see any eagles and I needed to move on. I left the area and entered the town of Llano and made my way to the Llano City Cemetery to find Lone Star Quilter's Taken for Granite box. I found this box without any problems and sat and stamped in. The cemetery was quiet and peaceful and after stamping in and replacing the box I walked around a little took a few pictures. The box I found was about Frank Teich - a granite sculptor - very interesting story.
From Llano I took TX29 to TX71 to Fredonia and just before I arrived in Fredonia I took Deer Creek Cemetery Rd. to find Astro D's Hail, Fredonia! box. I always love finding Astro D's boxes and I loved this one. I stamped in and replaced the box and then got back on the road. From Fredonia I took Ranch Road 386 to Ranch Road 1222 to US377. As I drove north on US377 I kept an eye out for a picnic area just before the San Saba River. Here I found Get 'Cher Feet Wet by Pax Tecum. I stamped in and replaced the box (which has been found by more geocachers than letterboxers and had a few trinkets in it). Back on the road I continued on US377 to Brady. Once in Brady I drove to Richards Park to find Silver Eagle's Goat Cook-Off Microbox. I had a little trouble finding the box because it was buried a little. When I did find it and opened it I found the logbook soaked. Luckily, I had a film canister and a logbook in the car so I grabbed them and fixed the box up after stamping in. I then put it back in its hiding spot and continued on my trip.

Old School Gym, Indian Creek, TX

I drove north on US377 and stopped at the Heart of Texas Park. I climbed the little tower there and enjoyed the view and then continued my drive. Still on US377 I drove to FM586 and followed it to Indian Creek. I first stopped at the old school to look for Baby Bear's Old School House - Indian Creek. I didn't find the box but I did get a history lesson. As I was returning to my car an older gentleman stopped and asked if I needed help. I told him I was just driving back roads seeing out of the way places. He gave me a quick lesson of the area. He told me about John Chisum (and he made sure I didn't confuse him with Jesse Chisholm) owning acres and acres of land in the area where he free ranged cattle. He also pointed out that the old building I was just looking at was the school gym. The other buildings of the school were moved to the Brookesmith area during World War II. The area where the school was became part of Camp Bowie that had been established just south of Brownwood. It was an interesting visit and after 20 minutes I said goodbye and continued on. I left the old school and proceeded to CR237 to the Indian Creek Cemetery to find Lone Star Quilter's Home Again box. This box is about Katherine Anne Porter - a writer born in the area. I made it to the cemetery and followed the clues. I found the tree and a concrete paving stone but did not find the box. Back in the car I was boxless for this area but I did gain a lot of information. I retraced my drive back down CR237 to FM586 to US377. I then headed south a little ways on US377 to FM586 going west. I continued on FM586 to FM1176 to Trickham. I pulled into the cemetery and gathered my letterboxing bag and clues for three boxes here. I walked around the cemetery and found Baby Bear's Camp Collier, Boots Tex's Wrangler and Silver Eagle's Mukewater Moonshine (this box marks my 800th box found in Texas). After stamping in and replacing all the boxes I drove back to US377 using FM1176. I was just south of Brownwood and I drove into town and went to the corner of Brown St. and Baker St. to a small park. I followed the clues to Downtown Brownwood by Joemunch. I didn't have any luck here - the clues were a little confusing and I wasn't finding any of the bushes mentioned in the clues. So I called it quits and found something for lunch and filled the car with gas before continuing on.

Wind Farms near Nolan, TX

I continued from Brownwood on US64/87 to my next stop in Santa Anna  at the cemetery to find The Sheriff Wore Petticoats by Boots Tex. This was a quick and easy find and after stamping in and replacing the box I continued my drive. I left Santa Anna and continues on US64/87 for a short distance where I took US283 to Coleman and from there drove on TX153 through Winters until I reached FM126. This part of the drive was pretty uneventful but I did love all the windmills - everywhere. There has to be thousands of these all over the place - no matter where I looked there were windmills. I took this road to the Slater Chapel Cemetery in Nolan to find deniserows' Kodiak Bear #11. After stampin in and replacing the box I backtracked to TX153 and continued to TX70 to Sweetwater. I reached Sweetwater and stopped to fill the car with gas and get some dinner before checking in to the hotel. I had a long day but it was fun. I was able to travel some back roads of Texas and see some out of the way places. I need to get some rest tonight for the last leg of my trip back to Santa Fe.

The Drive Home Begins

This morning I visited with Regina and Tammy for a little while before we set out for breakfast. My car was loaded and gassed up so that after we ate I could begin the trip back home. For breakfast we went to Magnolia Haus. We had been there before a long time ago and I remembered that they had amazing pancakes. When we arrived there was a waiting list and we ended up waiting about 40 minutes - so we just sat and talked until they called us (well actually they sent us a text). We had a leisurely breakfast and just talked. I ended up with a shrimp and avocado omelette and a short stack of pancakes. It was delicious and we all had a great visit. It is always nice when I can actually spend time with Regina and Tammy. After breakfast and some goodbyes I got into my car. Before actually leaving I called Thomas to say good morning and to let him know my trip home was beginning.

Dead Man's Hole

I got on to Hwy281 and headed north. I drove through Blanco and Johnson City before I made my first stop by turning off of US281 to FM2147 to CR401 and parking at Dead Man's Hole. I parked and walked to the historical marker and took a few pictures of the hole. Then I read the clues I had for the boxes here. Well, one was missing but since I was here I thought I would look. I didn't find either box and the box that was supposedly there I was having trouble with the clues making sense. But I tried everything and looked around all the trees and still came up empty handed. Time to move on. I continued my drive on US281 and I made my next stop at the intersection of US281 and Park Road 4. This the turnoff to go to Longhorn Caverns State Park. Here there are rock walls flanking the road. On one side the wall has a window and on the other it has a sign for the park.

Bluebonnets in Burnet

I parked in a pull out on the side by the park sign. Then I went in search of Longhorn Caverns State Park box by Gingercat. The box is hidden in a niche in the wall behind the sign. It was a quick and easy find and I took it back to my car to stamp in. After putting the box back into place I continued driving on US281 to Burnet. I pulled into Galloway-Hammond Park. There were some games going on at the ball fields but there was nothing at the pavillion so finding this box was easy. I followed the clues and in no time I had the box in hand. I brought Burnet Rumble by Princess S to a bench where I sat and stamped in (this box is my 2900th find). When I was done here I headed in to Burnet and made my way to the Fort Croghan Musesum to find Baby Bear's Fort Croghan box. Another easy find and I stamped in while sitting in the car. After replacing the box I decided I wanted to call it a day. I checked into my hotel and took a shower.

The trip has been really fun so far but very busy. I have been staying up late and getting up early so I decided to stop early and get some things done and then get some sleep. Tomorrow I continue toward home.

TALE 10 . . . A Tale of TALEs

So today is the celebration of 10 years of the Texas Annual Letterboxing Event. The first event took place in Bastrop State Park in Bastrop, TX back in March 2004. Here is a list of all the events so that if you are looking for some great boxes you may want to visit these parks.

The Original Texas Letterboxing Patch

TALE 1     Bastrop State Park, Bastrop, TX - March 6, 2004
TALE 2     Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, TX - March 19, 2005
TALE 3     Rusk State Park, Rusk, TX - March 18, 2006
TALE 4     Lake Somerville State Park, Somerville, TX - March 3, 2007
TALE 5     South Shore Park, Bastrop, TX - March 1, 2008
TALE 6     Mission Tejas State Park, Weches, TX - March 7, 2009
TALE 7     Palmetto State Park, Ottine, TX - March 6, 2010
TALE 8     Fort Parker State Park, Mexia, TX - March 5, 2011
TALE 9     Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, TX - March 3,2012
TALE 10   Buescher State Park, Smithville, TX - March 2, 2013

I've attended 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. I have enjoyed all my trips to Texas and the events are so much fun. The Texas letterboxers are the friendliest people I have ever met. They are so welcoming and make you feel like you are part of the group. And they have some fantastic carvers. So if you haven't made a trip to Texas yet you need to put it in your plans - you will find some incredible boxes and meet some wonderful people. Make arrangements for TALE 11, the events are usually the first Saturday of March. So check the events listings on AQ for the next event.

Now on to my day. I decided to start the day early so I was up about 5:30am. I organized my stuff and loaded the car. I then had a little breakfast and some coffee and checked out of the hotel. Now it was time to head to Smithville. I arrived at Buescher State Park a little after 7:00am and headed for the trail. Since yesterday I had done the trail from inside the park this time I drove Park Road 1C toward Bastrop State Park. I parked about half way up the road in a small lot just across from the MD Anderson Research Center. I then walked a short distance up the road to the trail. During this time I haven't seen any other person. So I hit the trail looking for Bloomin' Gramma Jo's TALEs Revisited (a series of 10 boxes). Along this trail I was also looking for four other boxes while searching for the series. It was so peaceful out on the trail and I thoroughly enjoyed my morning in the park. After about an hour and a half (well, maybe a little longer) I had procured the following stamps . . .

TALEs Revisited (10) by Bloomin' Gramma Jo
Star Gazing by Bailey's Bunch
The TALE Brothers by Boots Tex
Lost Pines Letterbox by Eoghan
Alphabet Flowers, D is for Daffodil by Dawns Glory
Alphabet Flowers, D is for Day Lily Bonus by Dawns Glory

And then I returned to my car, but I didn't leave. I crossed the street to the MD Anderson Research Center to the trails on either side of the driveway.

Hiking Trail in Buescher State Park

Going one way I found TALE Founder 1 and going the other direction I found TALE Founder 2 both by Baby Bear. Now it was time to get to the event. I made my way to the Recreation Hall and entered into lots of activity. I first got the event stamp for today and also one from last night. After that I proceeded to stamp all the event stamps from all of the past events - Baby Bear was nice enough to bring all the stamps to the celebration. Then chaos ensued. I walked around talking with old friends and meeting new ones. I collected exchanges and personal travelers and just visited. Sometime during all that there was a raffle and a group photo. I also took some time to organize all the new clues available at the event and map them out so later I could hit the trails again. Around1:30pm I decided I needed to get out and do a little more letterboxing since I had to leave between 4:30pm adn 5:00pm to meet friends in San Antonio for dinner.

Bell Motel and I grabbed our clues and map and headed out. We chose to walk the trail from inside the park and look for some boxes there that way I could get back to the car easily when it was time to leave. We looked for and found the following boxes . . .

Girl Scout - Camp Plus Patch (7) by NLW
TALE by Open Space (This is my favorite stamp of the event.)
Bizarre Texas Boxers: Purple People Eater by View Finder

Unfortunately I missed finding quite a few other boxes because we had a little trouble with some of the clues and we ended meeting up with other boxers along the way. At some point we were joined by Open Space and Wry Me in hunting boxes. But I had a great time with lots of wonderful stamps, lots of laughing and a little bit of confusion. I left the group on the trail and returned to my car to head to San Antonio.

New Texas Letterboxing Patch

The drive to San Antonio was uneventful. An easy drive that took almost two hours but without any major traffic problems or delays. I was meeting my friends - Regina and Tammy at the La Cantera Mall for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. It ended up with just me eating dinner. They had a late lunch and decided just to have cheesecake. I had Thai Lettuce Wraps and then I got some cheesecake to go. We had a great time visiting and then we headed over to Tammy's house. We visited some more but we all were getting sleepy. We called it a night and we will visit some more tomorrow at brunch.

The Eve of TALE 10

I managed to sleep in this morning if you call getting up at 7:30am sleeping in. I got all my things together for the day and loaded the car. Then I had some breakfast and coffee at the hotel. Finally I was ready and I left for my first destination. My hotel was at the intersection of Hwy71 and I35 - so in the southeast part of Austin, somewhat. Close to me was Mary Moore Searight Park and there were 12 boxes to look for there. I arrived at the park around 9:00am and I made my first stop at the field where the Hill Country Aeromodelers Club fly their radio controlled planes which is a little ways before you get to the parking area for the park. I found a place to park and followed the clues to find Mazy Days' Soaring. This was an easy find and I loved the stamps. After stamping in and replacing the box I spent a few minutes watching one person flying his plane. Then it was time to move on. I completed the drive into the parking lot and grabbed my clues and letterboxing bag and headed for the trails. I first tried to find a Silver Eagle box - The Game of Letterboxer Life - TX Edition. But after 15 minutes of reading and rereading the clues I was not having any luck. I think it is possible that the landmarks have changed so I wasn't sure where to look. So I headed out to the other side of the park and began my search for two series of boxes.

A Haunted Mansion

Baseball Mania Series placed by Princess S and Make a Scene - The Haunted Mansion placed by Easterbelle. At the beginning of the trail I read the clues for the first box in each series and headed out looking for the required landmarks. It wasn't long before I reached the landmark I needed to find these boxes. These were the first boxes in each series and they were in close proximity to each other. I found one and stamped into that one and once it was replaced I grabbed the other one and stamped in to that one. Once they were both back in place I read the next two clues and continued on my way. I kept doing this - going back and forth between clues keeping an eye out for landmarks so that I could get both series without having to backtrack and walk the same trail twice. This went on for about an hour or so and when I found the last boxes of both series I had collected 10 stamps. I enjoyed my walk on the trails and never encountered another person. I enjoyed this morning walk and the serenity of the trails. Now that I had found all the boxes I could in this park I retraced my steps back to the car. It was somewhere around 11:00am and I decided to stop to fill the car with gas and then head on over to the Bastrop/Smithville area.
As I drove to Bastrop I debated about where I was going to go first and to tell the truth I was debating about whether or not to got to Bastrop State Park.

Bastrop County Complex Fire

There was a major fire in September 2011 that destroyed 96% of the park - The Bastrop County Complex Fire. I understand that the park is recovering but it still has a way to go. I wasn't sure if any of the letterboxes that were hidden in the park were still there so it would be just to see what the effects of the fire were. In the end I decided to skip Bastrop State Park and head to another location. So I continued driving through Bastrop and past Smithville to West Point. I made my first stopat the Woods Prairie Cemetery to find Baby Bear's Joseph Robinson box. When I was almost to the box I heard a car and turned around to see a truck parked behind my car. I kind of wandered around because I wasn't sure who was in the truck. Fortunately it was another letterboxer - NLW and her LSS. So I went on over and grabbed the box and stamped in while visiting with NLW. We got the box back into place and we headed out. It turned out that we were both heading to the same location to find another box. Anyway, I headed back toward Smithville and turned into a roadside park and overlook area to find Boots Tex's Henry's Lady box. NLW and Kendrick had brought a picnic lunch so they sat at one of the picnic tables and ate while I went in search of the box. It didn't take me long to find it and I have to say I was a little skeptical since the last log in and comment was an attempt and the boxers were sure they were in the right spot. Luckily, the box was right where it should be - the clues were spot on. So I found a nice spot to sit and stamp in. I then put the box back in place and returned to the picnic area. I told NLW bye and hit the road. My next stop was Buescher State Park.
This is the park that the event is being held tomorrow. So I pulled in and stopped at the office and paid my fees and grabbed a map. I then got into my car and figured out where I needed to be for the clues I had in hand. I ended up in the parking area for campsites 61-65 to get to the trailhead for the Buescher Trail. I started hunting for Mosaic Butterfly's Telling TALEs (a series of 10 boxes). I didn't see any other people around so I walked and looked for boxes - I found the first two boxes between the trailhead and the utility easement.

Buescher State Park

As I entered the open space of the easement I saw three people sitting off to the right at the tree line. On closer inspection it was Bell Motel, Frost Maiden and Gryzzled Gryphon. Bell Motel had met up with them and they were stamping in to a box so she joined them. They also gave her clues to a box that they had just hidden. So Bell Motel and I continued on the trail to find the rest of the series while GG and Frost Maiden made their way back up the trail. Bell Motel and I had a great time walking the trails and finding boxes. We found the final eight of the series and enjoyed our visit. Bell Motel also hid a box while we were out on the trail - The Narrative Clue of TALE 8. In addition to the Telling TALEs series we also found three other boxes. Mary Anne by Frost Maiden and Crossed Carbines & Renegade Recharge by The Renegades. Now that we had found all the boxes on this trail we returned to the trail head and our cars. We decided to go to the Recreation Hall and find a few more boxes before heading out to TALEgate. We started looking for a box (Spring Break in Texas 2) but along the way we met up with many distractions. Those being Wry Me, Bluebutterfly, Mothers Love, Lucy Locket and Mr. Open Space. We visited along the way until we finally arrived at the last landmark. We followed the trail and found the right spot (we think) with a SPOR at a stump - but alas no box. Between visiting with fellow boxers and hunting for this box we were out of time. We headed back to the cars and then left the park and headed to Bastrop to the Texas Grill for dinner.

Dinner was great - the food was delicious and there was a lot of it. The night was pretty chaotic with about 40 people talking and stamping and eating. I had a great time but around 8:00pm I needed to leave. I still had to drive back to Austin to my hotel. It had also been a long and busy day and I was getting tired. Now settled in my room and showered I am realizing how great of a day I had. It was a good way to start the celebration of 10 years of TALE. Tomorrow it is back to Buescher for TALE 10 - a Tale of TALEs.

A Day in the Hill Country

I left Kerrville around 7:00am and headed north to Fredericksburg. I didn't realize that the trip would be quick and I was there in less than a half hour. I made my first stop of the day at Lady Bird Johnson Park just outside of town. Here I walked the Nature Trail and found Lone Star Quilter's The Yellow Roads of Texas (a great little stamp) and Scooterboots' Where the Wild Things Are. I enjoyed my early morning stop here - there were birds everywhere and the sounds were incredible. When I was done here I made my way to Cross Mountain. I looked for and found Silver Eagle's Hangman Game 16 and I also looked for but didn't find Baby Bear's House Cat Blues. After enjoying the views I made my way to downtown Fredericksburg. I stopped to look for Baby Bear's Fredericksburg Winery but came up empty handed, then I looked for Boots Tex's Unbroken Promises and again came up empty handed. My next stop was better in that I found the box but the stamp was a little clear rubber store bought stamp. So far I wasn't really doing well in Fredericksburg. But I continued on. I drove to the Visitors Center and found Boots Tex's Nimitz box. Another beautiful Boots Tex carving. After replacing the box I went into the Center and got a map and some information and then crossed the street and spent a little time at The National Museum of the Pacific War.

Cemetery Angel

This place is huge and packed with information - I didn't have time to see everything but I did like what I had time to see. I hope to be able to come back to the area and spend more time here. After the museum I drove to Der Stadt Friedhof Cemetery where I found two more store bought stamps. Time to move on. I drove on to Stonewall and stopped at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site. I searched for four boxes here. Baby Bear's Scooby Doo (I think I found the spot and I found the bottom of a small tupperware container but no stamp or logbook or cover), Lone Star Quilter's The Road to the White House (which I found and loved), Silver Eagle's TX Peach (which I am not sure I looked in the right spot but didn't find) and Lucy Locket's My New Hat (which I also didn't find) - even though I only found one of four boxes I still enjoyed my time in the park. I decided I needed to get to Austin but I wanted to make one more stop - the Miller Creek Cemetery to find Baby Bear's The End of Scott Cooley. I enjoyed the story and the stamp.

After leaving the cemetery I got onto US290 and headed for Austin.

Peacock at Mayfield (Not My Pic)

I made my first stop at The Apothecary Shop (owned by Whiz Gee and Bell Motel) to find two boxes - A Cat's Opinion of Pharmacy and Bad Pill (or What a Pill Looks Like to a Cat) - both are great stamps and boxes. By this time it was mid afternoon and I decided to pick one place to go and letterbox for a little while before heading to my hotel. The place ended up being Mayfield Park & Nature Preserve. This is such a beautiful place and I truly enjoyed my afternoon here wandering the trails and finding some great boxes. When I first arrived I spent time taking a few pictures of the peacocks and relaxing in the garden.

View of the Lake

Then I headed out for the trails. I looked for and found the following boxes - sewsewbizzy's Come Quilt With Me - Austin, TX series, Wry Me's Halley's Comet, Eoghan's Mayfield Park Letterbox, Dreamwalker's Mayfield Lake View, Silver Eagle's 20 Questions Game 2 - Thing and finally screamin' meemie's ATX Graffiti #2 - 'Til Death Do Us Part. The trails here are really nice and there wasn't a lot of people around so it was very relaxing.

But I have to say I had a busy and a long day and I am exhausted. Now that this is done it is time to get some rest. Tomorrow I plan on doing a little more boxing in Austin and then head to Bastrop for TX TALEgate.

Heading Further East

Today started really early, mainly because the hotel I was at was pretty noisy so I was awake at 5:00am. So once I had everything ready I loaded the car, checked out of the hotel and hit the road. The road I took out of Odessa was US385 and I headed for Crane. Actually a little south of Crane. I stopped at a roadside picnic area to find El Lobo's Beer for My Mules letterbox. It was still very dark when I arrived at the area and the entire area (including the road) was deserted. So I used the car and the headlights to find landmarks and when I thought I had the right spot I got out of the car and headed over to see if the box was where I was looking. When I turn my car off the lights stay on for 60 seconds so I had light to see what I was doing. Luckily I was right and I found the box on the first try. I took it back to the car to stamp in so I could use the inside lights to see what I was doing (this makes the 700th box I have found in Texas). It wasn't long before the box was back in place and I was backtracking to Crane. In Crane I took TX329 to make my way to Rankin.

Outlaw Historical Marker

On the way I turned onto FM2463 to look for another of El Lobo's boxes. This one was 75 Miles - No Water. Unfortunately for me it was No Letterbox. I followed the clues and I found the sign but from there the landmarks from the clues did not match up with what I was seeing. So I got back into the car boxless and continued on my way. When I reached Rankin I stopped to get some coffee to help energize me. From here I continued on TX349 to I10. Once on I10 I was a very happy camper. There was very little traffic and the speed limit was 80mph. So in no time I reached my next destination - Junction. I headed south on US377 for about 10 miles to an historical marker about the "Outlaws of Pegleg Station". Here I found Baby Bear's Ft. Clark - Ft. McKavett Military Road box. It was an easy find and a quick stamping.

Bird at South Llano

Once the box was back in place I headed back toward Junction making my next stop at South Llano State Park. I paid my fees and headed to the back of the camping area to hunt for two boxes - Silver Eagle's Junction Boys and Baby Bear's Old Bear Creek Texas Ranger Camp. I didn't have any trouble finding the Old Bear Creek box but I never could locate the landmark's for Junction Boys. I think I might of kind of sort of been in the right location but I never did find the box. Anyway, I returned to the car to head back to the front of the park to find Boots Tex's Mr. Texas box. This was an easy find in a great spot. I was able to take the box into a bird blind to stamp in and I could watch all the birds feeding. It was so relaxing and I really enjoyed my time at the park - but as usual it was time to move on.
My plan for today was to get to Kerrville to visit a friend. She was working until 4:00pm and would probably get home by 5:00pm so I made my way to Kerrville-Schreiner Park to letterbox for the afternoon until I could meet up with Regina. There are a lot of boxes at the park because there was an event back in October 2012 and I knew I didn't have time to get all the boxes so I decided to stop at the first trailhead I came to and just letterbox there. That happened to be Trailhead 2 which leads to the red, green and blue trails. So I went through the clues for this area and tried to organize them a little and headed out. I ended up walking the entire red trail (I think I might have done this twice), the entire green trail and most of the blue. When 4:00pm arrived I had found the following boxes - All Wrapped Up With No Place to Go, Last Laugh, the Creepy Character Series, Haunted Rock, Witch Way? and The Hobblin' Goblins in Kerrville.

I left the park and went to Regina's where we visited and ate spaghetti (that Regina cooked) and just relaxed. It was great to visit with her and I am glad I took the time to stop here. Tomorrow I head to the Hill Country.

From Santa Fe to Odessa

I am off for my adventure in Texas. I left Santa Fe in the cold and dark (19° and 4:45am). I love driving at this time because there is no traffic and it is so relaxing. I was a little worried about getting through Clines Corners at I40 since with all the snow that New Mexico and Texas received the Interstate was closed. Luckily I wasn't getting on I40, I was going south on US285 to Roswell. The drive was uneventful until just out of Roswell where I stopped at a rest area to find middle of nowHere placed by The 3DTs. The rest area was empty and I drove around to the back and followed the clues. I found the box under a rock, under snow.

R2D2 Mailbox

I was glad that it wasn't frozen in place. I stamped in while sitting in the warmth of my car - the temperature at this time was only 24° and it felt just like that. After replacing the box I continued until I reached Roswell and made my way to the Girl Scout offices to find In a Nut . . . Tin placed by GSSunshine. This was a quick and easy find and I saw it from the car as I pulled into the parking lot. Again I stamped in while sitting in the car and then replaced the box as I found it. My next stop was at the Roswell Convention Center to find Twinville Trekkers' Beatles Series #24 "Come Together". It was easy to locate the box but hard to retreive as it is on the bottom of a mailbox painted to look like R2D2 and it sits in front of the Convention Center on the busy Main Street. When the traffic took a break I was able to grab the box. I took it to a bench to sit and stamp in. By the time I was done and got the box back in place my hands were frozen. Once I was back in the car and thawed out it was time to leave New Mexico and enter Texas.

Mural in Brownfield

I drove down US380 until I reached Brownfield. I stopped near the Courthouse to find jb kokopelli's Gary P. Nunn. I had no problem locating this box and no problem grabbing it as the area was pretty quiet. I took it back to the car to stamp in. After getting the box back in place I headed to a gas station to fill the car and empty my bladder. With all that taken care of I continued on. My next stop was Odonnell to find another jb kokopelli box - Hoss Cartwright. The town was quiet and the little park where the box was hidden was empty. I found the box and took it back to a bench to stamp in. By this time the temperature was much better - it was now 53° and it was a beautiful day. I got the box back in place and continued on my way. I drove through Lamesa and then Tarzan. In both places I looked for boxes and came up empty handed.

Hoss Cartwright

The day was almost over and I made my way to Midland. I stopped at Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery but the box wasn't in the tree where it should have been and I did find a latch to a sisterna box and the little rubber seal on the ground in front of the tree but no box. It actually looked like it might have been mowed over. I left the cemetery and made my way to Sibley Nature Center - here I walked the Sibley Nature Trail in search of three boxes - I didn't find any. I was feeling like I should call it a day and just check in to the hotel. But once I was back in the car I decided to look for two more on the way to the hotel. I first went to Rockhound Stadium and easily found Boots Tex's The Home Run That Never Was. A great story and a great stamp. After I was done there I continued to the Commerative Air Force Museum. The place was closed and the lot empty so that made for a quick and easy grab of the box - another of Boots Tex. This one was The Pliska Aeroplane. Again a nice stamp.

Now it was almost 6:00pm and I was tired. So I found my hotel in Odessa and checked in. The high temperature for today was 69° - quite a bit different than in Santa Fe. I am not complaining - it was a wonderful day and I enjoyed every minute of it. Now I am resting and I continue my journey tomorrow.