more boxes missing

I just received an email from Buckeye5 that, thanks to Hurricane Ike, our two Galveston boxes "The Great Storm" and "Just Off the Strand" are gone, as well as our "Jolly Roger" contribution to Hoppers' "Long Lost Treasure of the Pirate Jean LaFitte." I'm not surprised, but still sad about. I figured the one right on the seawall was doomed, but had hoped that the magnet box farther away from the water might still have a chance. I'm really bummed about Hopper's "Long Lost Treasure." That was such a great treasure trove of really nice stamps contributed by a lot of folks. That was the first time we'd encountered a jackpot of community effort or a lock n' lock box that big or one that was camo painted! I think you could have put a loaf of bread in it! I don't know if other boxers do this, but I think I might scan the images of the stamps of our boxes that have gone missing and add them to our website.

visiting letterboxers

I got a phone call from Bell Motel saying that she and fellow Austinite letterboxers (Can Can and AnnaBee) were coming to Waco as part of their Saturday boxathon.  The advanced warning was wonderful because I'd been meaning to check on in some of our boxes and this gave me a good excuse! 

I Checked several on the Baylor that were doing fine, though somebody thought it would be a good idea to take one of our boxes (Zuni Bear) and deposit it inside a nearby hitchhiker hostel of ours (Just Passing Through). That one I pulled and will replant in a new location. Behold the Power of B's, Baylor History Walking Tour, and Ducky Duckles were exactly where and how they should have been. Sadly, Sailor Bear has disappeared as has Quiet Angel. Trying to decide if we should recreate those or let them be. Any advice from you veteran's who've lost boxes is greatly appreciated.  Another one that I was really sad to discover had gone missing was Pilgrimage, a photo clue box in a great cemetery. I've marked these as "retired" rather than deleting them so we can remember what we've planted and what the clues were.  I was relieved to find that three other cemetery boxes of ours were still there: The Draped Urn, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, and Tempus Fugit.  Two boxes were clearly not where they were supposed to be. Will the Circle was laying out on the ground in plain sight (I think it fell victim to groundskeeper weed wacking...though still perfectly intact). Tiny Texas Ranger was still there and doing ok, though it was also out in the open. Uggh! is it THAT hard to put stuff back where you found it?  

I was pleased to learn that the Austin group found a number of boxes in Mother Neff Park. I was afraid many if not all of these had gone missing in the massive flooding experienced by the park this last year.

I need to get back in the letterboxing swing of things. 4Armstrongs and us need to get cracking on this big series we starting working on last summer for Cameron Park, a series for which several of you guest carvers have already submitted stamps!