Visiting The Red

I got up bright and early Saturday morning and jumped in my car to head toward Carthage for a meeting. I took my boxing stuff because I expected it would take a half a day or a little more, but Fearless Fox and Lightning were at Camporee, meaning I was on my own until Sunday and I might just have enough time to dodge over to Shreveport for a couple boxes.
Well I was not very far from home when I got a call that my meeting was a no-go, so what did I have in front of me but a whole found day! I don't know about you, but a found day is the best kind of day of all - you had something planned and it fell through, so you can do whatever you want and no one expects anything else of you. Now I could've gone home and cleaned house, but that is NOT how you use a found day. Nope. You have to do something impractical and spur of the moment. Sooo...off to Shreveport I went. Thankfully I had been planning for a Shreveport day at some point in the near future and had clues and one of my crazy homemade maps all made up, so I had everything I needed to spend the whole day there. The only two things I really regretted was that I had not brought a box with me to plant and that I had not emailed JBanana ahead of time because I thought my timeframe would have been terribly limited. I was running on automatic between Henderson and Carthage when suddenly I noticed that there was tons of snow along the roadside, on the rooftops, in the trees - everywhere! I was amazed - I had no idea that much snow was that close to where I live! I debated jumping out and building a snowman in someone's yard, but it was already almost 9 a.m., so they were probably mostly already up and out of bed, so they would've seen me and it wouldn't have been a surprise. That would've been cool though - making a snowman in someone's yard for them to find when they got up in the morning! So anyway, on to Shreveport with me, and I got there about 9:20. I went straight on across the river and found My Favorite Animal by JBanana. Right off the bat - a really cool location and a cute stamp! I sat there in the little park in my sweatshirt and hooded jacket over a pair of capris pulled on over stirrup pants with my hiking shoes on and standard ponytail. I was sure nice and toasty, but I noticed that in daylight I didn't look too pulled together. Oh well. Surely the day wouldn't call for any better than what I was. If it did, I had my uniform still in the car. Maybe the scouter look would be less conspicuous than the homeless look? Hmmm...questionable! Anyway - I spent a little time pulling a plan together with my homemade map of Shreveport. If you've never seen one of my nifty little maps, I map the locations of all the boxes and then print them from Mapquest, cut them out and tape them together. I wind up with a map of only the parts of a town where there are boxes, so that the map has several arms and flappy pieces all taped together. It's a sight I know, but I get only what I need and I can print it in a readable size. Fearless Fox rolls his eyes when I start making one of my maps. I'm not making it for him though. So anyway, I marked the boxes I could find on the map, figured out a plan of attack and set about my way. From The Metal Zoo, I went to find The Purple Ladybug's box. Now I just loved her clues. I had no idea where they were leading me until I actually got there and they made perfect sense. I got out of my car and debated momentarily about how safe it would be, then I noticed that I even had police cover - two patrol cars parked in the parking lot. I happily locked my car without shuffling stuff to the trunk, then I went ahead and started meandering around. One small piece of the clue was giving me a hard time and I so wanted to reach out and ASK someone passing by what they thought it meant - there were so many people and surely one of them would've known - but I didn't want to jeopardize the box by asking an outsider so I let the question buzz around in my head instead. I gradually homed in on where I thought the box was and began to act like I was waiting impatiently for someone who was late. Unfortunately, I don't wear a watch but I realized this might be a good piece of gear to add to my letterboxing ensemble. As I waited and waited, I nonchalantly fished around where I thought the box must have been, but kept coming up empty-handed. I finally decided the waiting act was wearing thin and I would begin drawing attention if I loitered about much longer, especially with the Boys in Blue in the parking lot. What I wouldn't have done for another boxer to be my cover while I looked! This wound up being a theme of the day. The Purple Ladybug assured me the box had been in place as recently as the week before, which was not terribly surprising to me since I didn't feel I had thoroughly searched the area. I headed down to the Sci-Port area where there were three boxes. I wound up parking in the perfect location for all three, although I was prepared to cover a few blocks in the course of hunting this grouping. The first, Discover The Red, was in the Sci-Port and I am fairly sure it was in the pay area. I cruised in to hang out in the lobby and scope things out, but since I had already decided I would be returning to Shreveport for Purple Ladybug's box, I decided not to pay to get in until I had my husband and son with me and we could all enjoy an excursion through the science museum. I did, however, manage to slip past the "Armbands Required" area by pulling my sleeves down over my wrists and sliding in with a large family. While in the restricted area, I managed to make a quick perusal of the area but I didn't find what I was looking for before an employee approached me. I saw her coming up beside me so I put on my best "puzzled mother" look as she very kindly shuffled me back to where I was supposed to be while I apologized profusely for getting confused and going too far. Although I think she really WAS nice, I wasn't really confused. Another "X" for the trip, although again I slated it for the next trip so we could all enjoy the museum, and from what I saw of it, it's going to be cool! And off I was to find Rolling on the Red, which was either gone or underwater - either of which was entirely possible. Although I had now been hanging out by the Red River for about an hour, it was at this moment that I first realized how high the river was. It was clearly out of its banks a little, or appeared to be, since the boat launch gangway was underwater. I managed to lose my keys a couple times while there so I could get a good look at the underside, but with no luck. I headed off down Clyde Fant Parkway to find the 3rd of the Three of Hearts series by JBanana. I had thought I had a walk ahead of me and was not fully tuned in to what I was there for until I happened by one element of the clues and suddenly I realized I must be in radar range of the box. I opened my clues and sure enough, I should have been homing in by then. I had so been enjoying the beautiful walk along Clyde Fant that I nearly missed my turn! I quickly found the box where it was supposed to be, and this was a great place to sit down and take my time stamping in and further enjoying the view. I had earlier noticed the river was high, but this was the first time I really stopped to watch the river. Now I don't know what it is about river cities, but they have their own sense of pace, don't they? As I watched the Red flow steadily downstream, I felt myself slide into the pace of the city. It was a gloriously beautiful day and a great day to be in Shreveport, LA. I thought that several times throughout the day. After finding the 3rd Heart box, I got my car and headed south on Clyde Fant with the windows rolled down and the radio blaring. I was in the mood for some classic rock, but there were no classic rock stations that I could find, so I settled for country. There are lots of great country songs out right now, so that was just fine too. Somehow I missed the turnoff for the Stoner Avenue Boat Launch, so by the time I realized it I had to get my good ol' map out and figure out where I was. I got myself back on track and headed back north for Stoner. There it was. It wasn't so hard to find! I turned in and realized I was going to have to be on two opposite ends of the park so I decided to go to the less crowded side first. I parked as directed and got out and found my way down a narrow little trail as I searched out Team New Hampshire's Furs Class Stamp. I don't know exactly what I was expecting of the stamp, but I was delighted by the idea when I saw it. Clever. Very clever. This was also the one and only time during the whole day that I did any trail walking, which is where I usually find myself when I letterbox. I returned to my car to find it had been surrounded by beer-swilling fishing men who had apparently had quite a catch already that morning, so that I smelled the parking lot before I found it. Interesting. They were very courteous as I wound my way through them to my car and one of them was kind enough to offer me hand motions as I backed up to let me know when I had cleared their trucks and coolers and so forth. Entirely unnecessary, but a friendly gesture all the same. I waved to my briefly acquired new friends and watched in my rear view mirror as they filled in my parking spot. I found my way to the other end of the park and to a completely different crowd - skaters. They have a nice little skateboard park right there close to the boat docks. I wondered idly if there was a correlation. As I got out and looked around to see that there were several cars in the area, some of them with people in them, I glanced over the clues for the 1st of the Three of Hearts boxes by JBanana and decided it was good that she led me down a paved trail. And it was good, except that the clues stopped off before I got into the more secluded area! Hmmm...this was going to be interesting retrieving this box when I couldn't tell who was watching me and who wasn't. As I stood by my car arranging my stuff and contemplating my plan of attack, I saw a guy get out of his car and begin walking very slowly down the trail. I swung in behind him and decided I would walk a distance into the tree line and then turn around and come back. He continued to walk slowly and I wondered why he was going so slow, since he appeared to be a runner. I finally decided I could begin to talk on my cell phone and just idly wander down where the box was as though I was just pacing while on the phone. I managed to drop my marker box and scoop it and the hidden box up and make my way back to my car slowly, talking the whole time. Now one time I got busted using that tactic because I only had my phone open but not dialed. I was in the middle of a sentence when my phone rang. Oops Now when I use the cell phone trick, I dial my voice mail and leave myself some pretty weird messages as I carry on a one-sided conversation. I finished stamping in and then had the daunting task of returning the box, while even MORE cars had arrived and their drivers were hanging out in their cars facing the trail. Now how was I going to do this without a partner in crime? I again got on my phone and talked to my presumed other party about when they were going to be getting there and walked down to scope out the situation. It was not good. Now between the time my slow-walking runner guy had struck off and the time I was attempting to return the box was about 7-8 minutes. As I was scoping out the new cars, the slow runner guy came running out of the tree line, acting as though he was finishing a very long run and had covered quite a long distance. He plod-jogged along to one of the new arriving cars and I saw that it was a woman. He was trying to impress a woman! I so wanted to tell her he had just gone into the woods and waited and then came running out like a macho guy to impress her, but I opted to watch the game a little while instead. I couldn't quite hear their conversation (yes, I will eavesdrop on strangers given the opportunity), but I'll bet he was telling her he had just finished running the whole two miles up to the other end of the trail and back, all the while drying his hair with a towel and guzzling gatorade or one of the more hip sports drinks. I got a big kick out of watching him, but in the meantime decided I was going to have to come back to hide the box. I really, really didn't want to have to do it because I was planning to leave this part of town and not return, but I didn't see a choice. I tossed the box in my car, got in and left. Grrr. This urban boxing was getting the best of me between not knowing how to attack them without another person to help and not being able to rehide for the same reason. Still though, I was having fun. I headed away from the riverbank, and for that I was a little sad. It was such a nice, peaceful area. I had the distinct impression I kept watching the same log float downriver over and over again because it seemed every time I looked at the river there was a single long log afloat. I couldn't help but wonder why they were spaced so there was only one, and where they all came from. Anyway, on to Columbia Park I went, and three more boxes. This was one of those lovely neighborhood parks with one side running along a major street and the other three sides surrounded by residential streets. It was a clever park with some neat features, not the least of which were the interesting sculptures that housed one of the boxes. I parked and scoped out the park from my car, but I couldn't figure out where I was relative to all three boxes. It wasn't a huge park so I figured it didn't really matter anyway - I could walk the path in five minutes or so, so if I had to walk it two or three times it wouldn't be an issue. Now one other problem I kept running into was the fact that the ground was saturated everywhere I went, so sitting down on the ground wasn't really an option. I approached the sculptures and casually felt around the inside of the one the clues for Daisy and the Snowman called out. Nothing. This was going to be more difficult than I had thought. I feigned interest in the other sculptures too, peering at them and walking around very close to them, then peeking inside the one I was interested in. I could see - nothing. I was afraid that box wasn't there. Still though, I realized I had hardly looked well enough. I finally discovered an angle that would be very difficult to be seen from, I got down on my knees, took off my sunglasses and peered inside. Ahhh - I could see it - neatly tucked high up in the sculpture. The next trick was retrieving it because short of laying down on my back and sticking my hand up the sculpture, I couldn't reach it. I finally realized I could get a stick and push it down from the other side, so I got up and headed on down the trail with the intention of finding the other two boxes AND a stick. I quickly found a couple of sticks that were probably tools, and I found the second box, Bananas is my Business. The third - On the Map by Blue Butterfly - I saw where it was but as I walked up to it a dog set off an alarm and every dog in the neighborhood started barking. And to make matters worse, their barking resonated all around the park. I felt like every person in the park and half of them in the houses were looking at me! I'm sure that wasn't entirely accurate, but I didn't glance around to find out. I returned how I came and took the one box with me, and when I reached the sculptures, I brandished my sticks, chose my weapon, and managed to prompt the box out of its hiding spot. Happily, I took the two boxes to the car and stamped in. Daisy and the Snowman was a cute stamp only box by JBanana, but her Bananas is my Business was awesome! Not only that, but it had a hitchhiker - not the rubber kind, but the six-legged kind. I was a little startled as I opened the pouch the box was in and out climbed a beautiful specimen of hemiptera - he was gorgeous! He must have decided that warm little pouch was a great winter home! As I finished up with that box, I tucked it away, folded the flap away, and carefully tucked the bug back inside. I decided that I would try that dog's box again, but this time I would approach from the opposite direction. I replaced the Banana box and then quietly eased toward the dog's fence, thinking he wouldn't notice me this time - I was wrong. He did notice me, and while he barked away, not as many other dogs barked with him. I took that as a good sign. He had obviously lost credibility with his canine buddies when he alerted on a park visitor instead of a real intruder. Still - I retreated to rethink the situation. I continued on around the trail and replaced the box in the sculpture, pushing it as high as I could and making sure it couldn't be seen. I watched the dog from across the park and debated what my next move would be. I was stinking tired of not getting boxes that day, so I wanted that box. I decided to move to the other parking lot at the park, if for no other reason than to start fresh with the folks down there. I headed down the trail, but this time as I approached, I cut up to the fence line very early on, so that I was creeping down the fenceline in hopes the dog wouldn't see me. I was nice and quiet, patiently moving forward. I was within arms' reach of the place where the box rested - and the dog went on high alert. Stupid dog! And now - not only was the dog drawing attention to me, but I was also in clear position for having been being sneaky. It was time to back away for the sake of the location of the box. Again - a little cover would've been a good thing! Where's Lightning when I need him? For a change of pace, I headed to Centenary College to find Boxalots' series there. And again - I was buffaloed. There were several things going on on campus, possibly a parents' day? Lots of people roamed around, all dressed up, and there I was in my homeless get-up. And I was cruising up and down grassy hills instead of properly using the sidewalks. I thought, at one time that the coast was clear, so I dove into some bushes to look for one of the boxes. As I was emerging, a man about my age, dressed in dockers and a denim shirt with polish shiny loafers was unloading about 20 pizzas right in front of where I was. I dove back into the bushes and waited for a few minutes while he and another couple of men had a discussion about their kids and the recital they were there for and what a nice day it was - yeah, yeah, yeah, just move on PLEASE! They finally took off with the pizzas and I quickly got out of the bushes before someone else came along. I decided I couldn't really risk another similar occurrence, so I wrote those boxes off to a different day too - maybe between semesters! The good thing was - I was running somewhere around 50/50 for finds, so I had a good second trip in the works. All those pizzas made me realize I was hungry (it was, after all, 2:30 p.m.), so I went off in search of somewhere to eat. I wound up at Pizza Hut and carried all my stuff in with me so I could plan forward again and make notes. I ordered a veggie lovers personal pan pizza with no olives and a salad, and my friend, She Who Volunteers Me For Everything, called to torture herself about my fun day vs her day at work. My pizza arrived - pepperoni - so I called the girl back and reminded her I wanted a Veggie Lover's and she smiled and took it back to the kitchen. I hung up the phone, folded my stuff away, and waited for my pizza. Sure enough, it came along pretty quickly - Super Supreme. Okay. Hmmm.. Maybe there was a Texas/Louisiana translation issue here that I was unaware of. I called her back again and very clearly said (because I don't speak Louisianian so I was counting on her being able to understand well-enunciated Texan) I would like a Veggie Lovers' Personal Pan Pizza without any olives and she smiled yet again and apologized and promised to get it right. On the third try, I got what appeared to be a mostly Veggie Lovers (there was still a little meat) with olives. Oh well. I picked the olives, ate the meat, called it good and got out of there. She was a sweet little ol' girl, just not too bright apparently. In the course of my planning, I realized I was at that moment closer to Stoner Avenue than I would be again. It had been a few hours since I had been there, so surely the traffic would at least be different. I pulled in again and scoped out the parking lot presence. A few folks were there, one who was parked right in front of the box and he was sitting there facing out toward the river. He kept bending down over the passenger seat in his truck, so he obviously had his mind on something else. I figured this was as good a chance as I would get to replace the box. I got out, pulled out the old cell phone and began talking. I ambled down by where the box belonged and sat down, as though sitting down to have a long conversation on the phone. I managed to casually get it rehidden. I glanced up a couple times at the guy in front of the box and each time I looked he was laid over the front seat. Good, I guess. I was close to having to leave Shreveport, but I had one last box I wanted to find - a WOM box - before I headed south to get some other boxes before I went home for a 7:30 p.m. commitment. I was able to find it quite easily, but there was a large parking lot sale going on nearby so that people were using the parking area intended for box retrieval. As per the rest of the day, I had to find a way to casually approach the box. But I DID get it, and it's companion, and they were great images. Cute, cute! I got myself to the highway south through Keithville where I wanted to get Chimp Haven, but had unfortunately not gotten enough information to find it before leaving home. I got to Mansfield but realized I really couldn't go further south for JBK's LSS box. I turned for Logansport, where I knew I had to get my mother's A Unique Landmark. I was dismayed to find that Logansport was only the jumping off spot, but I followed the directions to the site. Now let me be clear - THIS is a site well worth visiting! I still find myself shocked to discover some of the really cool reminders of our rich Texas history just stuck out in the middle of nowhere. I know that if you look at the map you will think that box is nowhere near any other box, but GO! Cool site - cool stamp. I hightailed it from there across country, familiar because of its proximity to Camp Pirtle - my home away from home. I barely made it to my 7:30 deal,but I did get there, tired and relaxed from a day of sunshine. Most of the boxes I found were JBanana's. She does a great job of making her containers fit the situation - very few standard LNL's like we use in Texas. I found several neat places I wouldn't have seen without looking for a letterbox. I saw a side of Shreveport I've never seen - a beautiful city with almost a tropical feel to it. All the boxes I found in Shreveport were outstanding - and the ones I couldn't find had enough promise of excellence that I'm anxious to go back with a partner in crime. Shreveport is well worth the trip - and I suspect Springtime is the time to go!-- Barefoot Lucy"It's not about footwear, it's about philosophy"