Quiet Angel Revisited

Planted another box today for one that went missing and that I really liked (Quiet Angel). The placement is different and it because it's a micro, it doesn't have a logbook. To see the clues, click here.

New plants and replants

We planted some new letterboxes this evening - three microboxes at the park in the new Legends Crossing area in Waco. They're all on Atlasquest.com and use photo clues. None of the three have logbooks (if logbooks could fit, you'd need a microscope to read them!). We're hoping folks will log their finds on Atlasquest so we'll know who's been there. I have mixed feelings about logless boxes. They're certainly much easier on the planter and have less issues, but there's a sense of community in seeing the other boxers who've found a box before you (unless you're Gryzzled Gryphon, who I think is ALWAYS the first finder around these parts!). There was no way to even consider a logbook for these ultramicroboxes though. I also put a small F count on these three, which I also had mixed feelings about. I've always enjoyed new folks finding our boxes and having boxes to find in this area - an area that just a few years ago had very few boxes (three that I can think of when we started?). However, I've seen too many of our boxes not rehidden well (or not rehidden at all!). I guess boxers with high F counts can be careless too, but I hope that in making sure folks that look for these three have at least had a little bit of experience, maybe these won't go missing quickly. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this if you have a chance.

We also replanted two of our first boxes, the Waco Creek ones. Both of these had sustained considerable water damage to the logbooks. In fact, one finder left a note saying they had removed the logbook because it was damaged and were planning to mail it to us, though we never heard from them and were unable to track them down. Because this area is prone to a lot of moisture, we decided to replant without logbooks rather than just retire them completely. We did have to find a new location for the second Waco Creek microbox.

I had another Waco Creek addition to add tonight, but couldn't find a good place for it (even though I could have sworn I had a great place in mind the last time I checked!). I also carved a replacement for "Quiet Angel" which was one of my favorites that went missing a while back. It'll be in a different but nearby location so it can use part of the previous clues.

The Bookworm

New letterbox planted today! The Bookworm is fittingly located in a library and involves delving into a number of books to solve the mystery. Click here for the clues.

Road Trip!

I took Carter, my five year old, skiing for the first time to Taos, New Mexico and on the drive between Taos and Santa Fe, we stopped for a wonderful box placed by our friend AstroD in honor of another friend, Lionsmane, to celebrate his 1000th letterbox find. It was in the beautiful and scenic Orilla Verde Recreation Area. This box, called Road Trip!, contains an amazing array of stamps contributed by lots of letterboxers (fourteen stamps at our visit).

Letterbox Lunch

Had a great visit yesterday with letterboxing friends AstroD and Lionsmane of Santa Fe and BellMotel of Austin. They were in Waco on their way to the annual letterboxing event TALE. In honor of their visit, we did a private launch of a soon to be released box "Letterbox Latte."

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!