Bittersweet Letterboxing

I decided I wanted to go to Albuquerque to do some letterboxing today. I picked a bad day! First I got stuck in traffic in Albuquerque, then I had to deal with a whole lot of wind and then there was a little incident. But let me go in order of the day.

I left Santa Fe and headed to Albuquerque and ended up stuck in the morning rush. Eventually I arrived at my destination. I wanted to look for a letterbox that I had attempted before. This box appears to be missing but I decided to try anyway. Unfortunately I came up empty handed - I think this is my last attempt - it wasn't a good start to the day. So I headed to the next location. I felt uncomfortable at this spot. The box was suppose to be located in the median of the road. First there was really no where to park and second there were cars coming by on a regular basis. So I pulled off to the side and read the clue. I then waited for the road to clear. I left the car and went to the median and looked for the box, I was having a difficult time finding it. I have to admit that I was nervous, cars kept passing by and I was right out in the open. Then I heard a horn - I looked up and there was a road up on a hill above the area I was in. There was a police car up there. So I returned to my car without the box and drove off. I went up the road and found a place to park and I walked around and took a few pictures. I then decided that I should just not worry about the box. So I got in the car and drove back down the road. When I passed the location where I had been, there was the police, looking in the area where I was looking - I hope the box is safe and still there - I feel horrible for not being a little more careful. This is the weirdest letterboxing situation I have been in. Time to head to the next spot on my list.

On Monday, May 12th Triple T's and SoHillHendersons will be in Albuquerque. Astro D, rubberpeace and I (and hopefully TwinvilleTrekkers) are meeting them for coffee and exchanges. They are staying at a hotel in Old Town, so I drove to that area to look for possible meeting places. Astro D had found a Starbucks located on Rio Grande Blvd. on the internet. So I went by and that does look like the best place to meet. Now I need to email TTT & SHH to see if that is okay with them.

Now half the day was gone and I still haven't found any letterboxes. The Green Girls have planted a series of letterboxes based on Birds. I had found all of them to date except for two that they planted on April 20th. I headed to the Piedras Marcadas part of the Petroglyph National Monument. The first box was just a little ways up the trail. I found it easily enough - it was a nice stamp and there was a bonus of a hitchhiker. In the logbook of the first box there was a clue letting you know where to go for the next box. So I walked up the trail and found the spot I needed and then followed the rest of the clues. I found this box easily enough. Surprisingly I wasn't the first finder of the first box but I was for the second box - not sure why the people didn't go to the second one - oh well. During the hunt for these two boxes the wind kept blowing - there was sand everywhere and I had to chase my clue sheet at one point and a couple of baggies at another. By the time I returned to the car my backpack and logbook were covered in sand and so was my hair.

I decided that the day was over. I headed for the Interstate and Santa Fe. I couldn't wait for a shower. All in all I think this may have been one of the worst letterboxing days I have ever had.