Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tornado Update... as it relates to Letterboxing

I took a little drive Sunday and the thing that was plain to me is that There is no possibility that all of the boxes in town survived. I made my way to the Stones River Battlefield to check on a few boxes that I have over there. I also planted the Box Of The Month over there as well.I was stopped at the visitors center and told that the 2 mile paved park loop won't be open for another 2 weeks and the trail system won't be open for several months. I searched and searched for a way to get over to the area where Fairy Box #1 and #2/ Fairy Thoughts and Day Dreamer were planted and was stopped by 3 state troopers and 4 Park Rangers before I could even get close. Eventually, I went in through the Greenway. I found a place on the Greenway where I could access the Rail Road tracks and walked them for 2 miles and finally came out about 100 yards from where each box is...or was. Fairy Thoughts FBS#1 was present and accounted for. An easy pick up. After that, I had to wait till it was almost dark as clean up crews are working by electric light and on into the dark. I crept as slowly and as quietly down towards Day Dreamer FBS#2 when it dawned on me that nothing looked familiar. Everything had changed. All of the trees that used to be here were gone and so was the tree FBS#2 was in. I figured it was not worth getting caught so I started making my way back towards the RR tracks when I heard a voice yell at me to bring them a box that was on the ground. I bent down and grabbed the box and took it to the man who proceeded to tell me all of the reasons why I should have on a hard hat. As I was looking down trying to avoid eye contact with the man, I saw a familiar chunk of tree in a burn pile. I walked over to the pile and stuck my hand in the section of tree and there was FBS#2. I tucked her into my shirt and told the man I left my hard by the stump where I had gone to the bathroom. He yelled at me to get it on so I went as if I were going to grab it and kept going. The RR tracks were about 150 yards away, there was no one following me and I had FBS's #1 and #2. Mission accomplished. As I was driving home I went to the back side and played hide and seek with another work crew and about 5 more state troopers, but I was able to get the BOM and it has already been replanted. If you are interested in continuing to collect the BOM please look at the clue, as it has changed. If you are a SRNB hiker, please avoid this park until the first of the summer. It has sustained a lot of damage. There are a couple of boxes that belong to other people that I did not get but if you have a box there and want it rescued I am planning 1 more trip inside the boundries. Let me know and I will look for it.

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