A Casual Drive and Letterboxing in Northern NM

This morning Thomas and I decided we needed to get out and explore. What better way to do that than by letterboxing. So I went through some clues I had and planned out a route. I had clues to five letterboxes that would take us up I25 to Wagon Mound and then along the eastern side of the Sangre de Cristos and finally around the Enchanted Circle. So with clues, maps and snacks in hand we left Santa Fe for a day out.

We left the house about 8:00am and headed north on I25. We drove until we reached Wagon Mound. Stormcrow had planted a box about 11 months ago and I was ready to find it. Once we arrived in Wagon Mound we found the cemetery and followed the clues which lead us up a hill where there were the initials "W" and "M" made out of white rocks. We found a place to park and the hiked the short distance up to the letters. We found the box quickly and I stamped in. After rehiding the box I took some pictures and enjoyed the view from above Wagon Mound. As we drove down the hill we noticed that there was something in the center of the cemetery so we pulled up to the gate and parked. We walked up to the structure in the center and realized it was a giant rosary made up of volcanic rocks. It was amazing - I took some pictures and we walked around the cemetery before leaving for our next destination.

We backtracked a little ways down I25 and exited at Hwy 161. We decided to detour a short distance and visit Fort Union National Monument. It was a very interesting place with its history of serving the Santa Fe Trail and its part in the Civil War. The ruins are interesting and the trail around them makes for a peaceful and educational walk. When we finished our tour we headed back down 161 and followed it to Watrous (and within seconds we were through Watrous) and on to Golondrinas and finally to Buena Vista. The drive was beautiful and we got to see an area we hadn't yet visited. Our destination was Salman Ranch. We were in search of a box hidden in their gardens. We attempted to find the box but we had some trouble with the clues and were uncomfortable digging around in their flagstone wall. So we took it as a not found and continued on our way. During our drive we snacked and talked. It was a very pleasant morning and we enjoyed the relaxing drive on back roads. From Salman Ranch we continued on NM518 to Mora and then turned onto NM434. Along the way we saw a bunch of alpacas and we also encountered a lot of people walking along the road (we assumed it was some sort of pilgramage for Good Friday). We eventually made our way to Coyote Creek State Park. We didn't actually go into the park - the box was hidden in a way that you didn't actually have to enter the park. We decided to just find the box and continue on our way. We found the box quickly and stamped in, after rehiding it we continued on our way along NM434. It was a beautiful drive although the road was very narrow and very curvy. We eventually came to the intersection of NM64 which would take us to the Enchanted Circle. We drove through Angel Fire and on to Eagle Nest to find Humming Hummingbird and then drove to Red River to find Scenic Playground at Mallette Canyon Park. Both of these boxes were easy finds and now it was time to head back to Santa Fe. We continued on the Enchanted Circle to Questa and on to Taos. The drive from Taos along the Rio Grande Gorge was wonderful. It was relaxing and beautiful. We had a great time today letterboxing and enjoying some wonderful parts of Northeast New Mexico.