A Gallery of Signature Stamps

I have put all the images of my retired signature stamps in one place. You can click on the photo to get to the slide show of these stamps. This only includes my retired stamps - you won't see the stamp I am currently using. That is a surprise - you either have to meet me or find a box that I have found or planted using that stamp to see the image. I will add to this blog as I retire any stamp.

Another Mini Meet in Santa Fe

This morning Astro D and I met some visiting boxers for coffee and letterboxing talk.
Front Range Hiker (who visited us earlier this month for the SPOOKtacular) and Grosse Point Wine Lover were in New Mexico and specifically Santa Fe for a little boxing. We met them at one of our favorite coffee spots - PD Bean. It was really convenient for them since their hotel was right next to the coffee shop. We had a great visit and always enjoy meeting other boxers. I got the feeling that they both enjoyed their time in Santa Fe and also enjoyed the boxes they found. After a couple of hours they headed out - they wanted to find a few more boxes before getting to the airport - now that is the sign of a true letterboxer.

Picacho Peak

It was a cold and windy morning . . .

OK, I will spare you - but it was really cold and windy when I met John & Mark (otherwise known as the Weeny Boys) and Chris to hike up to Picacho Peak. We all met at the parking area to the Santa Fe Nature Preserve. There were already five or six vehicles when we arrived. I thought that was a lot for such a cold morning. Anyway, we headed out for the Dale Ball Trails and our destination - Picacho Peak. I have a letterbox hidden at the peak and John was searching for it - he would be the first finder. The hike was pretty uneventful, I mean it was just a very pleasant and relaxing hike. Of course this hike offers excellent views of the Santa Fe area. We made it to the top easily enough. But there was a little problem with the clues to my box. You have to take quite a few steps from a sign and I guess that over that distance it puts you off a little. In the end John found the box and stamped in. We then made our way to the peak and enjoyed the views - but only for a little while. It was a little cold so we headed back down the trail. All four of us counted the steps and came up with different numbers but all very close. So I will update the clues with an average of what we found. I will also probably add a few other landmarks just to help verify where you are when you take the appropriate steps. In a short time we were back at the parking lot and parting ways. This was a great hike for a brisk fall morning and as I am writing this it is now snowing. I guess it was a good thing we went hiking this morning.

New Mexico A to Z

For a while now I have been thinking of doing a series of letterboxes that would highlight the state of New Mexico. I have been doing research looking for interesting places, people or events that would give people information about The Land of Enchantment. The series will be called Alphabetical New Mexico. Almost every letter has been decided upon (decisions on a few still remain) and I am looking for images to carve. So far I have carved five stamps for the series and yesterday two of those were planted. The letters "V" and "E" are now placed and ready for finders. The boxes will not be placed in alphabetical order since placing these boxes will require traveling throughout the state. So the boxes will be placed depending on where I can travel to and when I can get there. This series will not be placed all at once - I feel it will probably take me at least six months to get them all done. So stay tuned and I hope you enjoy.

Enchanted Circle

Yesterday I took a quick trip to Albuquerque to pick up my friend Regina at the airport. On the way I made a detour to the Bosque to search for Coronado's Campsite. I arrived at the parking area and made the short walk to find the box. It was a nice find in an interesting place, except that there was some construction going on in the near area. And there were a few construction vehicles that passed by me - a little uncomfortable and noisy. Once I stamped in and replaced the box I headed for the airport. Regina arrived right on time and we headed back to Santa Fe. We spent the afternoon and evening talking and just catching up.


Today we decided to drive the Enchanted Circle. This drive starts in Taos and goes along Hwy 64 to Angelfire and on to Eagle Nest. Then takes Hwy 38 to Red River and Questa. The circle completes in Taos via Hwy 522. I wanted to look for two letterboxes and plant two letterboxes. Around nine this morning we left Santa Fe and headed to Taos. From there we drove on to Angelfire to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We walked around and took pictures and looked for a good place to hide my letterbox. It was very windy and a little cold. Eventually we found a spot and hid the box. (I will get the clues posted soon.) We visited the chapel and the memorial - which was nice since it was warmer inside. We left the memorial and went to find the Elliott Barker Trail and the Angelfire letterbox. Once we found the trailhead we took the short half mile hike to a small pond. Along the way we saw a couple of hawks flying around. At the pond we followed the clues and easily found the box. I sat and stamped while Regina walked around - she was trying to stay warm. (She lives in McAllen, TX and says the temperatures this past week have been in the 90's.)

From here we headed toward Eagle Nest to look for another box and to plant another box. On the way we stopped at a historical marker to find The Lazy Wheeler letterbox. This was an easy find just off the highway. Our next stop was Eagle Nest Lake - I had another letterbox to plant. When we got to the lake it was hard to find a spot to hide the box. But I was persistent and eventually found somewhere to hide it. (Again, I will post the clues soon.) Today was a nice day, the sun was out and the drive was beautiful - the only problem was the wind. Now that the letterboxing was done for the day we headed to Red River to get something to eat. But we were soon distracted - we stopped to see Elizabethtown. This is a ghost town on Hwy 38 between Eagle Nest and Red River.

It was interesting - we walked through a small museum, took pictures of the old courthouse and visited the cemetery. Now we could head for Red River to find some food. Unfortunately it is the slow season in this area and all the restaurants were closed until around 5:00pm. So we did a little walking around in Red River but succumbed to hunger pangs. We decided to head back to Taos and find an open restaurant. The drive to Taos was beautiful. Wheeler Peak has snow on it already and there were still plenty of trees with fall colors. Once we had eaten we headed back to Santa Fe. It was a great day, a beautiful drive and a relaxing adventure.

The Santa Fe SPOOKtacular Event Slide Show

Hi all! Thanks for a great day of letterboxing and visiting. Here are some pictures that I hope you enjoy. I may be adding pictures in the next few days. I need to see what pictures The Great Wuga Wuga captured. I am hoping he got some that I missed. But anyway, here is what I have so far. Just click on the picture to see the slide show.

A SPOOKtacular (and SPECtacular) Event

Well, The Santa Fe SPOOKtacular is history!

First I would like to say thank you to Astro D, rubberpeace, rbrhorno, The Great Wuga Wuga and Highwayman. If it had not been for all their help the event would not have been as successful. And second, I would like to thank everyone who attended our event. (Azroadie, Warm Front, Cold Front, AZJokester, artistamp, Azobox, Lisa from the TwinvilleTrekkers, Chris, preboxed, Front Range Hiker, y-nought, La Paloma and Elros) I had such a great time just visiting and talking with everyone. We had a small group but everyone who was there was so enthusiastic and appreciative. So thanks for attending our event and I hope we made your trip to Santa Fe a memorable one.

The morning started out a little cold but rbrhorno got us all warmed up by building a nice fire in the fireplace at the shelter. With all the visiting and stamping going on I don't think anyone really even noticed the cold. All in all the weather turned out to be perfect and we could not have planned it any better. The Great Wuga Wuga and Highwayman took good care of all of us by getting all the soup heated up. I think everyone enjoyed the food because I came home with two empty pots. And thanks to all the attendees for the chips, breads, crackers and desserts. We enjoyed a great spread. Once everyone had been fed people headed for the trails to find the boxes that we had planted.

Astro D, The Great Wuga Wuga and myself were all of a sudden left alone at the shelter. We cleaned up a bit and organized things and then just talked about how things were going really well and very smooth. After a while I decided to walk the trail and check on everyone - you know they were all searching for letterboxes in a haunted wood. Really! As I walked the trail I encountered large spiderwebs with equally large spiders, severed hands, flying bats and boxes where ghost had stolen the stamp. I was happy to find all of our attendees were safe and sound and really seemed to be enjoying themselves amongst all the ghouls and goblins. So I returned to the shelter to relax.

Soon enough everyone had returned with logbooks covered in SPOOKy images. Then another round of eating and visiting ensued. I was extremely happy to hear that all had enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Everyone then helped us to clean up and get the shelter back to its original state. The event had come to an end and I headed home. As I sit and type this blog I am happy to have spent the day with my letterboxing friends and to have made a few more.

I need to thank one more person. Funhog graciously sent us a letterbox to place for our event. We really appreciate you thinking about us even though you could not be here. Your box (Flight 1007) is now permanently placed in Hyde Park thanks to The Great Wuga Wuga.

Changing Colors

It seems that all is taken care of for the event. I've gone over my list and everything is checked off except for a few things that will have to be done on Friday night and Saturday morning. So I decided to take a drive this afternoon up Hyde Park Road. From my house I have a great view of the Sangre de Cristos and it looked like things were turning golden up there. I enjoyed my drive up to the ski basin even though there was much more traffic than normal. I parked up at the trailhead for the Windsor Trail and hiked about a mile. The aspens are definitely changing and I am hoping that they will still be as colorful on Saturday for the event. The chair lift is running and I debated on whether I should ride it or not. I opted not to. The chair is running from 10:00am to 3:00pm and cost $10 for a round trip. As I headed back down the mountain I stopped at the Aspen Vista Trail Head. The parking lot was full. I hiked another mile and enjoyed the views (but I've never seen so many people on the trail at one time). It was a very beautiful afternoon and I hope Saturday for the event is as nice. Even though as I write this it is storming outside. I have to say that at 2:00 this afternoon it was 55 degrees at the ski basin, so I hope everyone coming to the event dresses appropriately. I also hope that everyone will take the time to drive from Hyde Park to the Ski Basin and enjoy the changing aspens. Can't wait until Saturday to see everyone. To all that are attending the event have a safe trip to Santa Fe!

Ready, Get Set, Go!

Astro D, rubberpeace and myself have been working frantically to get things ready for the event. We each had certain things to work on. Things seem to be going just a little too well, you know that feeling that you may be missing something! That's neither here nor there - the important thing is that we are ready for the event. A few last minute things that will have to be done the night before and the morning of is all that remains.

This past Saturday Astro D, The Great Wuga Wuga, Highwayman and myself went out to the Park and placed the boxes for the event. Astro D then went home and typed up the clues. Today Astro D, rubberpeace and I went out to find the boxes. We followed the clues and checked on all the hiding places - everything is good, the hiding spots, the clues and the boxes. We all feel that the event will be a good one with some great boxes planted. We are just waiting for everyone to arrive on Saturday. And don't forget all the other boxes in the Santa Fe area.

Just a few reminders . . .

- Remember no glass containers in the park.
- Don't pay at the fee station - give your fee to one of us ($5.00 per vehicle).
-No cell phone service at the shelter (there is a pay phone at the Black Canyon Campground).
-Dress in layers - Saturday and today were a little chilly in the morning, check here for the forecast - http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/USNM0292_f.html
- Have Fun!!!!!

See you in a few days, email me if you have any questions or concerns.