In Search of the Perfect Letterbox Hiding Spot

This week I have hiked to Picacho Peak (twice), I have hiked the Chamisa Trail (once) and I hiked a couple of other trails in the Santa Fe area looking for the perfect spots to hide letterboxes. I have come up with a few - keep your eyes open for new boxes soon! I have had a blast exploring both places I have hiked before to areas that I am enjoying for the first time. This past week I put in about 10 miles of hiking after work and on my day off. Today Thomas and I put in 8.5 miles - all of these miles were done so that I could find locations that would inspire me to plant boxes. I have come up with about 5 boxes and they will be planted this week for the 2nd Annual International Plant a Letterbox Day - clues will be available sometime on May 24th.

Today Thomas and I made a special trip to Los Alamos to hike the Mortandad Cavate Trail. This trail is located off of East Jemez Road about a half mile from the intersection of NM 4. Mortandad Cavate Trail is located on Los Alamos National Laboratory property and is usually closed to the public for preservation purposes. This weekend, on Friday, May 18th and Saturday, May 19th LANL allowed self-guided tours of the ancient cave dwellings and well-preserved cave art from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in conjunction with New Mexico Heritage Preservation Month. We took this relatively easy 1 1/2 mile hike and enjoyed a beautiful day and some interesting cave art. I am glad we got to see this - who knows when the public will be allowed to hike this trail again.

During my hikes this week I encountered lots of wildflowers and a few little creatures as well as the cave art from today's hike. Here is a slide show of some of these - I hope you enjoy!