Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we went down to Victoria to visit my sister. My step-mom and I attempted to find the one box in the county on LbNA that doesn't have a note about pulled for maintenance or whatnot in the clues. Alas, we found the right spot (I'm sure of it), and it was no longer there. We found a plastic ziploc that was pretty decimated, so I believe it's safe to say that it's been gone for a while. We fought I don't even know how many thorny vines that had grown up around the hiding spot. Proving once again, that no matter how far I travel, the Thorny Vine Mafia is still out to get me.
I carved a new stamp from an eraser, with every intent on planting it while we were there, at the park we had fought the thorny vines at. Never got around to it, and we were in a bit of rush on Sunday on the way out of town. So, it's sitting in my bag, waiting for later this month when we visit again. My sister showed me a neat place downtown that is close to where she works that she thought might make a good spot - I took a couple photos so I could carve something appropriate for the area. So, I might be planting 2 boxes when we go down there in a week. And my sister has been so kind as to offer to check on the boxes every so often - very kind indeed considering she's not a boxer.
Now, there was a reason we were so rushed on our way out of town. The Texas Tour Bus had been hidden in a town known for it's chicken and sausage. I made a deal with the hubby that if we took a different route home, so that we could stop at Lockhart State Park, he wouldn't be forced to stop for the five boxes on our usual route. Lockhart is known for it's barbeque chicken and sausage, and it has a state park with a golf course (hey, the clue said something about flags!). So, we went. And the park ranger wouldn't let us on the golf course. And my DH kept insisting that no one would put the Tour Bus on a golf course (the voice of reason that one is!). And I was so intent on finding the Bus that I wouldn't listen, and we spent the next hour on trails trying to find a way onto the golf course.
Finally, I gave up, and sent a message to the keeper of the box that I couldn't get to it. And lo and behold....
We were at the wrong park.
So, now I must patiently wait for it to resurface. And now that classes are over, as long as it's in the next week or two, I'll be able to hop in the car and be part of the usual mad scramble for it as soon as it shows back up!
In celebration of the semester ending, I went boxing this afternoon. It was a bit chilly, but I didn't really care, I've missed it so very very much. I had a couple of errands to run in Fort Worth, so I printed out a couple of clues that were on my way there, and I was off!
First, I headed after Kantexan's Jazz Quartet: Drumset at Deaver Park in Arlington. Some of the clues were a bit tricky - it was planted some time ago, and hadn't been logged in a while, so I wasn't sure if it was still there. There's only one set of bleachers now, so I had to figure out where exactly would bleachers have been. And there were two tiny trails, which was a bit confusing. But, I finally found the multi-trunked tree, and there it was! Laying out in camo-taped glory for all to see. Oh my, What a rush! What a thrill! You could feel the excitement in the air! Quickly followed by the frustration of the tin being rusted shut. Fortunately, after some finagling with one of my key-chains, I was able to pry it open. There was a bit of moisture in the tin, which I dried out. The logbook had gotten wet at some point, but was dry now, so I proceeded with stamping in. I cleaned up the rusted edges as best I could, and hid it in the manner that the clue said it was hidden in. An absolutely lovely Drumset stamp now lives in a beautiful brick red shade in my logbook.
Next, it was off to find the next of the series, Jazz Quartet: Bass Guitar just down the road at the Cliff Nelson Rec Center & Park. It was a lovely jaunt along the gully amongst the fallen leaves. The smell of the recent drizzles hung in the air, and the sound of the fallen leaves under my feet put a smile on my face that not even the cold winds could wipe away. A mom with her adorable little son and a black lab were walking along the sidewalk, and the little one decided he wanted to come check out the gully. Fortunately, my logbook is a hardbound sketchbook, so I just pulled out my markers (which I still haven't figured out how to use very well) and pretended to be an art student drawing the trees. Worked well enough, and the mom told the kid to stay out of the creek bed, so they didn't bother coming to see what I was doing. Again, the box was right where it was supposed to be! This one wasn't even rusted shut! Woohoo! The fabulous Bass Guitar now resides in an appropriately fabulous blue shade in my book.
Unfortunately, time ran short and I had to stop boxing for the day. I did have errands to run before the kiddo arrived home from school after all. Agent X actually managed to make it home 10 minutes before me - good thing he has a key!
I'm looking forward to more boxing tomorrow... probably the two boxes I printed off today that I didn't get to. Or, maybe, even better - yes, definitely now! - I'll go plant my 6 box series that I've been holding onto. I mentioned it in my last post - it's all based on Star Trek, and I think it's a pretty clever clue, if I do say so myself. I will give you the hint (now that I'm sure it'll get planted within the next couple days!) - each box in the series that uses a cipher (not all do) has a different cipher. I will say, I'm hoping that the whole clue will take people about an hour or so to figure out. And, I think I'll have to post it all on the blog here, since several parts of the clue are going to be picture files. I guess we'll see tomorrow or Monday, won't we?
So, we come to the conclusion of another post, which means it's time for today's Lessons in Letterboxing!
- Boxes might not always be where they should be, but it's fun figuring it all out anyway. I might not get the stamp, but it's awfully satisfying to know that I can determine exactly where Disc-golf basket #3 used to be.
- The hubby is not so thrilled when I make us go two hours out of the way to the wrong park. So I doubt that I'll be able to convince him to stop for boxes again for a good long while. :-(
- Clever clues take a ton of work. I think they're worth it - I mean, I did spend a good 10 hours carving those six stamps, it's perfectly fine for me to require some work to be put into actually getting to find them!
- The middle of the day on a cold day is the perfect time to box around here! Everyone who goes to the park to each their lunches is staying in their cars, and not in my way and snooping around!
- I've determined that the TVM is everywhere, and they are all out to get me. Little do they know that I've figured this out, and now I'm actually paying attention to where those pesky vines are before they stab me in the eye.
Rogue Artist
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