Walking Like An Egyptian Colorado Style

I am heading up to Castle Rock, CO for an event and some non-stop letterboxing. The event is Walk Like An Egyptian Colorado Style and I am really looking forward to this trip. I am ready to find lots of letterboxes.
August 16 - 22, 2017

Trip Fizzles Out

I left Castle Rock this morning around 9:00am and headed home. All this trip my blood pressure had been low and I have been light headed and dizzy. And with the heat it has been uncomfortable. I had a good time the first few days but by Saturday for the event I was feeling tired and somber. I had a great time at the event but I needed to take frequent rest breaks. Yesterday I tried to go out hiking and letterboxing but barely up the trail I became light headed and decided to take a break for the day. I spent most of the day in the hotel reading and sleeping. Then I thought that this morning I would feel better and could get one last day of letterboxing in - but I just didn't have the energy. So I packed up, loaded the car and drove home. I did have fun on the trip, I just wish I had felt better. I also enjoyed all the boxes I found and the places I hiked. Thanks to The Woodshed for a great event.

It's Event Day!

Today is event day and I am ready. I was awake at 6:00am, dressed, had breakfast and was ready by 7:00am. Still too early for the event. So I read for a bit and around 7:45am I headed out. It only took me about 15 minutes to get to the park since it was early on a Saturday and no traffic.

I arrived at Columbine Open Space for the Walk Like An Egyptian Colorado Style event a little after 8:00am. The hosts - The Woodshed, Taken to the Woodshed and Seekers Two - were there getting things set up. Since I was early I jumped in to help. Once most of the things were set up they gave me the clues and I set out to start letterboxing. The park has two trails, one that goes north and one that goes south, both starting from the parking area. Both trails are lollipops, they go up a ways and then make a loop and then come back down. The boxes for the event were planted on the south trail, at the shelter and around a barn area. I wanted to do the trail early before it got to hot. So that is where I headed. This trail held 5 series with a total of 45 boxes - there was a clue for a bonus box in one of the boxes but the bonus was back at the shelter. While I was on my third box a couple of boxers (Johnsosaurus) caught up to me and we ended completing the trail together. I am not positive but I think it took us around two and a half hours. By the time I got back to the shelter I was tired and hot. And since my blood pressure has been low, I decided to eat a snack and just stamp in to the event boxes, do exchanges and personal travelers and just rest a bit. After about an hour I also started getting the boxes planted around the shelter. Once those were done I went and found boxes in the parking area and then lastly I headed to the barn area for the remainder of the boxes. In these areas there were 12 series and 7 individual boxes for a total of 65 boxes. In total today I found 110 boxes, 2 event boxes, 4 exchanges, and 13 personal travelers. All in all it was a great day with some wonderful boxes and stamps. But by 4:30pm I was very tired, really hot and light headed. So I decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel I first checked my blood pressure. It was still low. I then took a shower and then laid down for a bit. After about an hour I decided to log in my finds and write this post. I really enjoyed the day but I really need to get my blood pressure under control. We will see what tomorrow brings.

A Few Boxes and a Lot of Rest

For the last couple of days I haven't felt all that well. I am feeling rundown and tired, dizzy and lightheaded. Last night I didn't sleep well and I wasn't sure what I would do today. When I woke up I felt tired but got ready of the the day and had some breakfast. Then I headed out to do a little letterboxing.

My first stop of the day was Daniels Park in Sedalia. When I arrived there were three cars in the lot, two were empty and I didn't see anyone around. The third was a Sheriff car and he was just sitting there. So I walked to the pavilion and read the clues to see where I needed to start. First off, I was confused. I had been to this park back in December 2015 and things were a lot different. There was new fencing all around and it wasn't there on my last visit and I couldn't find a couple of landmarks. Also, the Sheriff was making me nervous. But I went in search of two boxes but didn't have any luck and finally decided to call it quits and move on to something else. So I headed over to Glendale Farm Open Space. The first box I looked for I couldn't find and I didn't want to spend too much time looking so I continued on to the next box. I found Douglas County Open Space: Box 10 Black-Footed Ferret by The Woodshed. It was located at the top of a mesa with beautiful views. After stamping in I spent a little time relaxing. Then I headed back down and stopped again to look for the first box but still had no luck. So I moved on.

I drove to a couple of other spots for boxes but when I arrived I decided I wasn't interested in looking for them. It was around 12:30pm and I decided to go back to the hotel and have a bite to eat and relax for a while. I was feeling a little dizzy and very hot. So I ate some lunch and read for a while before deciding to head out again.

This time I headed to Ridgeline Open Space. There was one series of boxes and three singles at this location. I decided to look for the series (Animals Playing Instruments) first and then see how I felt - I wasn't sure if I would have the energy for everything. So I headed up the trail and immediately started having issues - one I was a little light headed and the second was I wasn't connecting with the clues. I couldn't find any landmarks for the first box. So I just started looking around and walking among trees and bushes looking for that first box but never did find it. But I did find a box by accident - Bucket List Visits: Egypt by The Woodshed). I knew it wasn't the first box because I was too far down the trail. I stamped in and then replaced the box and got back on the trail. So I continued on to the second box and again I didn't have any luck. So far I had spent about 30 minutes looking for two boxes. I gave up and moved on. Finally, I found the third box without any trouble. So I found a shady spot to sit and relax. This helped my light headedness and helped keep me cool. After replacing this box I continued a short distance along the trail to the fourth box. Again, I had trouble finding the box. I looked for about 15 minutes and decided I just wasn't up for hiking and letterboxing this afternoon. So I decided to return to my car and call it a day.

When I got back to the hotel I took a shower and checked by blood pressure - still low (97/68). So I got in bed and read for about 15 minutes and then my eyes started closing so I took about an hour nap. When I woke up I was hungry so I ate a little dinner and then organized my things for the event tomorrow. Now that this post is done I think I need to get some sleep so I can handle the event - rumor has it that there are around 100 boxes.

Memmen Ridge Letterboxing

I was more tired that I thought yesterday after driving and letterboxing all day. This morning I didn't wake up until 8:30am. And by the time I got ready and gathered my things and had some breakfast it was almost 10:00am. I had a few things I wanted to do but decided to head to Memmen Ridge Open Space. Here I was looking for Angry Birds Series. This is a series of 21 boxes placed by a group of boxers. I also had clues for one other box in the area. So I parked and grabbed my backpack and hit the trail.

I first looked for Douglas County Open Space: Box #4 Chatty Gopher by The Woodshed. This was only a short distance up the trail but in the opposite direction from the Angry Birds series. But I decided to grab it first and be done with it. I easily found the box and stamped in on a nearby bench. Then I returned to the intersection and went in search of the series. I was doing well for the first few boxes and then I started feeling light headed and dizzy. I had plenty of water and some snacks so I took a break and rested. Then I continued on just moving a little slower. I had no problems with the clues or finding the boxes until I got to box 14. I followed the clues I had and found a box. But when I opened the box it wasn't one of the series - it was just a single box. So I stamped in and then checked my phone to see if I had the wrong clue for box 14. The clue was the same as the one I had printed out on Sunday. So I continued on and found the rest of the boxes. I enjoyed this area. It was relaxing and beautiful, full of scrub oaks and pine trees. So today I found 22 boxes and hiked 4.17 miles.

By the time I got to the car I felt tired and was still a little dizzy and light headed and it had started to rain. So I decided to call it a day and go back to the hotel. I have been monitoring my blood pressure for my doctor and things have been good. But the last few days it has been low. I had my blood pressure monitor with me so I checked it as soon as I got into my room. It was low again 98/67. I record my pressure on a website for my doctor so I will monitor it for a few days and then contact my doctor if it doesn't get better. I will still do some letterboxing but I will take it easy.

I rested this afternoon and then logged my finds and now wrote this blog post. In the morning I will figure out what I want to do for the day.

Headed Up To Castle Rock To Another Event

This morning I was up early so I could make my way up to Castle Rock, CO. I am attending the Walk Like An Egyptian Colorado Style letterbox event. I have been planning for the trip for about a month and I am excited about letterboxing in the Castle Rock area. Once the car was loaded, I hit the road. This was about 4:30am. My drive was pretty uneventful. Not much traffic (which I like) and peaceful. I made my first stop at the rest area near Maxwell, NM for a bathroom break and to stretch my legs. Then I continued on and made my second stop in Trinidad to fill the car with gas. I was going to arrive in the Castle Rock are pretty early and planned it this was so I could do some letterboxing before checking in to the hotel. So I kept driving and made my way to Lincoln Mountain Open Space in Larkspur, CO.


I had clues for three series of boxes here but wasn't sure the exact hike lengths or how difficult they were. The trail started from the parking area and went a short distance before splitting. One series of boxes was located on the trail to the right and the other two series were on the trail to the left. I decided to try and get the two series so I turned left. One of the series started from this intersection and the boxes were distributed along the trail all the way to the top and all were hidden on the right side of the trail. So I made my way up the trail and found the boxes along the way (except for one, not sure if I missed it or it is missing) stopping at some points to enjoy the view. This area is beautiful and has excellent views all around and they get better as you climb up. When I got to the top and found the last box of the first series (Disney on Vacation by The Woodshed) I took a break and had a snack and some water and enjoyed the views.

Then I started my way down. The same applied for the second series (Egyptian Hieroglyphics by The Woodshed), all the boxes were hidden on the right side of the trail. I missed one on the way down as well. I was looking for two white rocks but never found any - not sure about that. But I enjoyed my hike but by the time I got back to the bottom of the trail it was thundering and lightning and then started to rain. So I decided to skip the third series and just head back to the car. I am glad I did because it rain steadily for the rest of the afternoon. So with going up the trail and back down and walking back and forth looking for boxes I did 7.57 miles and found 30 letterboxes. So I left the Open Space and headed to my hotel in Castle Rock.

After checking in and getting settled I took a shower and spent time logging my finds and blogging. But now I am tired. It has been a long day with a lot of driving and hiking. Not sure what I am doing tomorrow - I will figure it out in the morning.