The Great Book Adventure and Texas Letterboxing

My journey to The Great Book Adventure Letterboxing Event in Tomball, TX.
October 17 - 26, 2006

Texas Letterboxing Trip Photo Album

I have finally downloaded and sorted through all the pictures from the trip. I think I picked a good representation of pictures. Some of the pictures I really loved. I realized while looking at all the pictures that there were places that I either forgot my camera or just forgot to take pictures. I had also wanted to take more pictures at the Great Book Adventure but it was all so overwhelming that I only got a few. Click on the Texas flag to view the photo album.

83, 281, 37, 10, 83, 153, 70, 20, 84, 60, 84, 40, 285, 25

Unfortunately these are not winning lottery numbers. These are the highway numbers that took me from McAllen, TX back to Santa Fe, NM over a two day driving period.

On Tuesday (October 24) I did some hiking at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park. It was a great day. Did not see many birds but the butterflies were everywhere. I only encountered two other humans during my three hour visit to the park - this was just fine with me - I loved the peace and quiet. I immediately found World Birding Center Letterbox, pretty easy and close to the entrance. I then walked for maybe half a mile and looked for Red Crowned Parrot. The area is pretty overgrown and I didn't have any luck locating this box. So I continued walking. After another mile or so I looked for Silver Eagle's Green Jay Microbox. Found this box right where it was supposed to be. What a great stamp - it may be micro but it has to be one of my favorites. Now that all the boxes were found I walked around enjoying the butterflies and then headed back to my friends house to get ready for my trip home in the morning.

I got an early start on Wednesday heading for San Antonio. I left McAllen on US 83 to US 281. This eventually merged with I 37 into San Antonio. About halfway between McAllen and San Antonio it started raining (really hard rain) and that stopped me from getting a couple of letterboxes on the way. In San Antonio I took I 10 to a friend's work and we had lunch together. Since it was still raining and didn't look like it would let up I said my goodbyes and headed west on I 10. I arrived at US 83 and the rain was beginning to stop. In an hour the sun would be out! I continued through Menard, TX (no relation to my family - at least none I could find out about) to Winters. At Winters I took TX 153 to Sweetwater. Since the weather was holding up and it was still relatively early I made a goal to be in Lubbock for the night. After filling up the car with gas and getting a snack I took I 20 to US 84. I arrived in Lubbock as it was getting dark and stopped at the first hotel I found for the night. Just one more day and I would be home. I slept great that night - after 10 hours of driving and 2 hours of visiting my friend in San Antonio I was exhausted.

Early on Thursday morning I headed out but not before finding Silver Eagle's Buddy Holly Microbox (and in the dark). I headed out on US 84 to Clovis, NM and picked up US 60 to Fort Sumner. I stopped here at the Billy the Kid Museum and Gravesite.I replaced a missing letterbox for Silver Eagle and saw Billy's grave and visited the museum. A nice little stop. I continued my journey for home on US 60 to US 84 to Santa Rosa. From here I took I 25 to US 285 at Clines Corners and was ever so close to Santa Fe.

After about 45 minutes I arrived at I 25 and then home. I had a great time in Texas, found some incredible letterboxes and met some wonderful people but I sure am glad to be back home!

The Stamps I Collected

Here is a list of all the stamps I collected at the Great Book Adventure Letterboxing Event in Tomball, Texas.

Exchanges
Daisy and Onslow
Boots TEx
Lone Star Quilter
Mother of Five
yippikiyo
CelticLions
Baby Bear
Cattitude
Lucy Locket
BusyBeesFamily
Barefoot Lucy
Silver Eagle
Queen Beeloved
Bluebutterfly
SandiBox
TeamKing
dewberry
the PEAS
Element
SoccerChik
Gryzzled Gryphon
Wills World
wandaandpete

Personal Travelers
Queen Beeloved's LT
Happy Dancing PFX - Heads
CactusLicker's Literary Traveler
CactusLicker's Personal Traveler
Stillwater's Literary Traveler
Ruby Tuesday's Literary Traveler
Ruby Tuesday's Personal Traveler
Vandal's Literary Traveler
Vandal's Personal Traveler
dewberry's Coffee Exchange
dewberry's Traveler
dewberry's Literary Traveler
Lightning's Literary Traveler
Clueless Collector Literary Traveler
Running Rain Literary Traveler
Silver Eagle Literary Traveler
Baby Bear's Personal Traveler
TeamKing's Personal Traveler - A Scoutdog Dachshund
TeamKing's Personal Traveler - Harriet the Spy
The Old Man and the Sea
TeamKing's Literary Traveler - Outlander
TeamKing's Literary Traveler - Agatha Raisin
Pleasantness and Peace
I Speak for the Trees
BusyBeesFamily Personal Traveler
BusyBeesFamily Literary Traveler
the Littlest PEAS LT
the PEAS Literary Traveler
the PEAS 2nd Literary Traveler
the PEAS 3rd Literary Traveler
Lone Star Quilter's Literary Traveler
Boots TEx Literary Traveler
Wills World Literary Traveler
Bluebutterfly's Literary Traveler
Bluebutterfly's Personal Traveler
Daisy's Personal Traveler
Onslow's Personal Traveler
Daisy's Literary Traveler

Event Boxes
The Great Book Adventure
Letterboxing Texas
Alice's Wacky Wonderland Friends Event Box
Early Bird Gets the BookWorm, The
The Bible: The Greatest Book Adventure: New Testament
The Bible: The Greatest Book Adventure: Old Testament
Literary Traveler Event Box
Printing Press, The
The Book Exchange Box Stamp
Thank You, Dewberry!
Thank You, TeamKing!
Thank You, Mother of Five!

Letterboxes Found
Castle Lark and the Tale That Stopped Time
The Other Boleyn Girl
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
A Color of His Own
A Farewell To Arms
Ahab's Quest
All of a Kind Family
Amelia Bedelia
Barry, The Bravest Saint Bernard
Charlotte's Web
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Geraldine Belinda
Good Dog, Carl
Hansel and Gretel
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Les Miserables
Mark by Mark
Memoirs of a Geisha
Molly McIntyre, An American Girl: Meet Molly
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
Nancy Drew
Outlander
Quill Pen
Ralph S. Mouse
Read A Book
Red Jericho
Redwall
Sword of Truth
The Dark Tower - The Gunslinger
The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test
The Far Pavilions
The Frog Under the Kitchen Sink
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Sensualist
The Silver Chair
Treasure Island
Where the Wild Things Are
Wicked the Book
Check It Out!! Hitchhiker
A Wocket in My Pocket Hitchhiker

Great Books, Great Stamps, Great Letterboxers and One Great Adventure

Well, it finally arrived - the Great Book Adventure Letterboxing Event at Burroughs Park in Tomball, Texas.I have to say - I was very excited, it was my first event. I got there a little early and met TeamKing. Since I was the first to arrive and it was a little early she gave me a clue sheet and I set out for one of the "Walks" that had been set up. Walk #1 wasn't ready so I set out on Walk #2 - there were 13 boxes to be found. What a great way to start the day, a nice 2 mile walk and 13 great stamps. Little did I know that was just the beginning of the great stamps. I returned to the Pavilion after the walk to find people beginning to gather. I jumped right in - I immediately got all the event stamps (about 10) and then I started collecting signature stamps and personal travelers. Most of the personal travelers required that you answer a question regarding some literary character or book.
There were so many personal travelers to get that most of the day was spent stamping just those, along with the person's signature stamp. I had such a wonderful time meeting people - everyone was so nice. The signature stamps and personal travelers I collect were incredible. Some great carvings!

Finally, around mid-afternoon I started looking for boxes. There were boxes hidden all around the Pavilion - some with clues and some without. After locating a few of these I decided I wanted to go on a walk - so I left the Pavilion area. There was a walk for the younger letterboxers that had props set up with the box hidden in, near or under it. A lot of fun! Another walk was mystery related and another all about classic literature. Before I knew it the day was over. I didn't get near all the stamps that were available but I had a fantastic time hunting for the ones I did find. It was a great time and I am looking forward to my next event.

Leaving the park I drove to the hotel and realized that I was exhausted and hungry. With all the stamping and talking I literally forgot to eat. I went to my hotel and took a shower and changed. A friend met me at the hotel and we went out to dinner. I had a quick dinner and a short visit with my friend and then returned to the hotel. I needed to get to bed early - I had had a very busy week and on Sunday I had a long drive to McAllen to visit another friend.

I decided that there would be no alarm for Sunday morning - I would let my body decide when to wake up. That turned out to be 8:30 am. I dressed, packed, loaded the car and checked out of the hotel. Before heading out to McAllen I wanted to do a little letterboxing in Houston. I boxed for a few hours and found four boxes and then decided I needed to start driving. After a five hour drive (not particularly exciting or scenic) I arrived at my friend's. We had dinner and visited for a bit before calling it a night.

Today was a resting day - I spent most of the day logging in my finds from the weekend and organizing my letterboxing stuff. I enjoyed looking back at all the images I have collected on this trip. Today gave me a chance to really look at the images and appreciate the talent that is present in this hobby. I have to say this has been a great trip. I still have a couple of days until I return home - who knows maybe a few more letterboxes as well.

Memorial Park and Driving Around Houston

Getting an early start was important – I had a long drive from Tomball to Houston and wanted to avoid as much of Rush Hour as possible. Well, it didn’t work – It still took me well over an hour to get to the Arboretum. And . . . the morning was overcast and a little chilly. I was hoping for a little sunshine, please! I started by getting a map and talking to someone about the Arboretum – just to get a feel for the trails. I then gathered information to solve one of the clues and also looked at the map and planned my attack. A Box of LEGOS became the first victim and the placer got the last laugh – very cute Mother of Five – I liked the little trick. The letterboxing started out well – only thing though – Houston has had a lot of rain in the last week and everything was wet and muddy. Made it hard to stamp in. I had to be careful not to get the logbooks messed up. I very quickly found Alien Logic, Alien Logic Bonus Box, No Problem Houston HH Hostel and Gibberish. By this time my pants, shirt and backpack are wet and muddy – you can’t take me anywhere in public.

I spent the rest of the morning exploring all the trails in the Arboretum and when I left I also had the stamps for Koaly-ty Time Together, Memorial Park Box and Trivial Box Pursuit – Sports & Leisure. There was also sunshine!

I then drove over to the picnic areas and read clues so I could decide where to head next. Cambodia won! Well, the Green Trail. I read all the clues for this trail and tried to make a little sense of where on the trail I might find them. I was ready. I walked the entire trail and felt good about the exercise I received. I was also rewarded with four boxes. The rest I just missed the landmarks and didn’t want to go back. By this time it was 2:30 pm and I had enough of muddy trails. I decided to venture out onto the streets of Houston.

Driving in Houston wasn’t too bad. Now trying to navigate for boxes and drive in Houston is a nightmare. I can’t tell you how many parking lots I pulled into to check my maps. I visited one park, three cemeteries, a bat bridge, a printing museum, a pizza place (oh, and what good pizza there was) and a radio station. Nine boxes later it was 6:30 pm. I was tired, my feet were wet and my clothes & backpack were filthy – it was time to call it a day – I headed back to the hotel for a hot shower and some sleep.

This morning I decided I didn’t want to drive all the way back to Houston so I opted to brave the Terrors of Telge. This was an event held last year in Cypress, TX in Telge Park. Most of the boxes are still in place. I also decided to take my time so I didn’t leave as early. The first box I looked for I couldn’t find, not sure what I did wrong?!?! I then went to a different trail and found a Creature from the Black Lagoon. After stamping in I headed down the trail when all of a sudden there wasn’t a trail, there was a lake. I was ready to find another place to go. But there were boxes back there! I circumvented the flooded trail by cutting through the woods. I am glad I did – I found some nice stamps. My favorite today had to be The Haunted House by Mother of Five – what a clever hide and a great stamp. Thanks so much! After finishing that trail I headed back to the playground area – I had enough of the water, my feet were wet. I noticed there were some boxes in another area so I decided to walk over and check it out. This trail was drier and I quickly found three boxes. I was satisfied with my day and I decided I wanted to get back to the hotel early so I could rest for the big day tomorrow. I’m having a great time in Houston but I have to tell you I miss the dry, cool Santa Fe days.

Making My Way To Tomball

Well, I've been in Texas for two days now. Most of the time has been spent driving. Now I'm not complaining - I love to drive. It has given me the opportunity to stop and see things that I hadn't seen before and I get to stop and letterbox. Most of the time these two are one and the same.

I left Santa Fe very early on Tuesday morning and arrived in Amarillo at Cadillac Ranch just in time to see the sunrise - Incredible! There were suppose to be three letterboxes at the Ranch. I only found one, not sure if the other two are missing or if I was just tired from getting up early and all the driving. After snapping a few pictures and searching for the letterboxes I was off again. My destination was Dallas to visit a friend before heading to Tomball.

I decided to stop in Denton to hunt for a few boxes. I found Sidewinder Ouroboros (a great stamp), Belle - MBF and My 1st's Box. By this time it was getting late and I didn't want to arrive in Dallas right at rush hour so I headed South.

My friend and I visited for a while and then I talked him in to going to collect one letterbox, he is not a letterboxer. We headed out to get The Cheshire Cat. I had looked for this box in April and couldn't find it. Then in May I went in search for it again and I found it this time. Only thing - there were four young men hanging around and they would have seen me retrieve the box so I opted to leave it in place and come back at a later date. Well the time was now - I wanted that box. Now I have the image in my journal. We returned to his house and for dinner he had cooked Chicken and Sausage Gumbo - I felt like I was back home.

After all this - the letterboxing, the driving and the getting up early - I was tired. So I called it a night.

Today I headed to Tomball. The entire trip was foggy but nice, not much traffic at all. I made a quick stop at Huntsville State Park to find one box and then made my way to Burroughs Park - the site of the Great Book Adventure on Saturday. I also wanted to find the existing boxes in the park so that on Saturday I could concentrate on the event. I found all but one box (later I found out that the placer removed it to replace the logbook). I also went boxing at Spring Creek Park - that is until the downpour. I got soaked halfway to the car and missed one box, maybe I'll have time to go back. I decided to call it a day and checked into my hotel. Tomorrow I tackle Memorial Park.