Texas Annual Letterbox Event 6
Organized By: Silver Eagle
Texas Annual Letterbox Event 6
Organized By: Silver Eagle
Come to our 6th TX Annual Letterbox Event (TALE) as we celebrate Texas Heritage. This theme includes people, places and objects that make up the history, culture and lore of our great state. Since the venue for this year's Event includes many examples of our rich and diverse history, I thought it would be appropriate to add some tokens of our own for the future as we celebrate our past.
| Date: | Saturday, 03/07/09 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 10:00 AM - 06:00 PM |
| Location: | Group Picnic Pavilion in Mission Tejas State Park - Weches, TX |
| Directions: | From I45 near Centerville, take Hwy 7 east 35 miles to Crockett, then go northeast on Hwy 21 another 21 miles to Weches. Turn left on Park Road 44 to Mission Tejas State Park. Stop at the entrance station to pay the fee ($2/adult), get a map and ask for directions to the Group Picnic Pavilion. |
| Details: | You may R.S.V.P. for the Event on Atlas Quest. I have reserved the Pavilion for all day and it will hold 100 people. It is covered and has electric and water outlets, barbecue pit, picnic tables, and access to restrooms. Baby Bear is making the Event Stamp and poster. We are both bringing chili, so if you want to participate in the potluck lunch be sure to bring some food to share and list it when signing up for the Event on AQ, or in the database table called TALE06 Potluck on the TX Talklist. Other things to consider bringing include: drinks, chairs, letterbox materials, clues to boxes in area, boxes to place & paper and pen to record clues, trash bags, paper plates, plastic forks, bug spray, kid games and anything else to make the day more fun. If you are planning to camp, be sure to make reservations early. Baby Bear and I have reserved the Group Camping area and everyone is invited to the post-event campfire here on Saturday night. |
| Accommodations: | There are tent and RV sites in the park that can be reserved online. Camping is also available in nearby Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area in the Davy Crockett National Forest and at Texas State Railroad Parks. Hotels and other accommodations can be found in the nearby towns of Crockett in Houston County or Rusk in Cherokee County. |
| Event Activities: | Exchanging, letterboxing, eating, and Mission: Impossible, where you try to find the clues to a letterbox from your peers. The park has a pond for fishing and Ranger activities for the kids. |
| Other Nearby Activities: | If you have extra time, I highly recommend visiting Caddoan Mounds SHS and the Texas State Railroad. |
| Event Schedule: | 10:00 - 12:00 Meet & Exchange 12:00 - 12:50 Eat 12:50 - 01:00 Group Picture 01:00 - 01:30 Cipher Workshop (Dewberry) 01:30 - 02:00 Leave No Trace Presentation (Fearless Fox) 02:00 - 06:00 Letterbox 06:00 - 06:30 Cleanup 07:00 - 09:00 Campfire stories 09:00 - ??:?? Night letterboxing/geocaching |
The weather was cloudy and warm for our 6th TX Annual LB Event and we had about 60 letterboxers and a few LSS attend. People came from all over Texas, along with a couple from New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Ohio and Rhode Island. The park was beautiful with Dogwood and Redbud blooming, and the trails were nice and convenient, all within walking distance of the pavilion. There is a lot of history in the park, and that, combined with their letterbox-friendly attitude, made it a great choice for the Event.
Baby Bear, Clueless Collector and I arrived at the Group Camp on Friday about 5:30 and set up camp. We had just enough daylight left for us to check on our original letterboxes in the park and for me to hide the Tejas Mission Impossible box. We went back to the campsite to eat, and soon other campers began arriving. Barefoot Lucy and her family set up their hammocks and then some new boxers from Austin arrived and set up their tents. Sandibox and Soccerchick came over to visit and we all stayed up talking until 11:00.
Early the next morning, Baby Bear and I ran into Boots Tex and Lone Star Quilter eating breakfast at their campsite. They invited us to have some of Boot's famous cinnamon rolls and we didn't have to be asked twice. When we went back to our campsite we found Barefoot Lucy and her family packing up to leave. A friend had died and they needed to get back home, so BL would miss her first TX Event.
We began preparing for the Event, and I gave clues for the Tejas Mission Impossible letterbox to 4 different people: Baby Bear, Sandibox, Lucy Lockett and Boots. Everyone began asking for clues until they had all 4 and got to visit with everyone in the process. Boots posted a circus poster with clues to the TX Traveling Circus and Pacifickle figured it out within 30 minutes and grabbed the box. Boots and LSQ also brought a copy machine that made reproducing clues much easier.
After exchanging and eating, we took the group picture and went letterboxing. The planned demos were canceled since Dewberry and Fearless Fox were not there, but nobody seemed to mind. In fact, the lack of planned activities allowed more time to visit and letterbox in a relaxed manner, and everyone seemed to have a good time. About 6:00 we cleaned up and left the pavilion to get ready for the group campfire. Due to a fire ban there would be no fire, but the group gathered around a lantern and it worked out fine. Wanda & Pete showed up first to give Baby Bear and I our Lifetime Achievement Letterboxing Awards and then they left with Gryzzled Gryphon to go night boxing. I first met Wanda back in 2005 during our 2nd Event at Brazos Bend, and it was great seeing her again. We drank hot chocolate with "special" additives and talked for several hours, concluding with GG telling us his version of his "coming out".
The next morning as we were packing up to leave we met Ranger John, who told us several tales about the park. It was a fitting end to a great weekend, and one of the best TX LB Events yet. I'm sure we will be back!
Silver Eagle, Baby Bear, Clueless Collector, Lucy Locket, Blue Butterfly, Puddle Splasher, Viewfinder, Sandi Box, Soccer Chik, Batty Girl, Boots Tex, Lone Star Quilter, Adams Trails, Corazon, Navigator, Sunsnake, Bailey's Bunch, Astro D, Lionsmane, Bell Motel, Mother's Love, TX Dragonfly, Pug Momma, Antman, Strawberry Rain, Cancan, JBanana, Bloomin Gramma Jo, Zinni, Gryzzled Gryphon, Dee Pirate, Pacifickle, JB Kokopelli, NrgKat, Tejas Angel, Super Girl, Sharky, Boxhounds, Cub Family, Bird Dog, Maydelle Queen Bee, Granny Butterfly, Princessa, Estesink, Chilipepper, Pretty Kitty, Dragon Fly Beauty, Scoring 4 Jesus, Butterfly Cutie, Wanda & Pete, Josephine, Ashby, Random, Bangwell Putt, and Mosaic Butterly.
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Last updated on 03/12/2009