Well I was awake at that time but I didn't actually get out of bed until 5:00am. So I showered, got dressed, packed and loaded the car. I then went to the hotel lobby and had some breakfast. With all that I was still on the road by 6:30am and found my first box by 6:50am. I actually enjoyed it - it was so quiet and peaceful, no traffic and no people. It made hunting for boxes much easier. Especially since my first two boxes of the morning were on the Northern Arizona University campus. I found Riordan Mansion and Old Main. Both had terrific carvings and were hidden in beautiful areas. It was a great way to start the morning. The other thing that helped me was that last night I looked up all the locations in Flagstaff where there were boxes and put the addresses into my Garmin GPS. It sure helped me to navigate my way around Flagstaff. From NAU I headed for Thorpe Park, well not actually Thorpe Park but near it. I had to find an area with a very tall flagstaff. It wasn't difficult - the flagpole was pretty obvious. I had to walk a short way down a trail from the flagpole and pass a pond and then take an urban trail for a few steps to find the box. I enjoyed the walk but was a little dissapointed to find a store bought stamp. It was all good though and continued on my quest. 
I arrived at Buffalo Park, read the marker with the statue of a buffalo and then entered the park to begin my search. I followed the clues and arrived at the spot where I thought the box was hidden. Man oh man is this a busy park. There were so many people out there walking or running - I had to wait almost 15 minutes before I could even attempt to look for the box. Luckily there were some great views of the San Francisco Peaks and I was able to take pictures until the coast was clear. Unfortunately I didn't find the box. I looked rather quickly the first time because there were people coming down the trail and I didn't have time to give the area a thorough look. After another five minute wait I had the chance to look much closer but still came up empty handed. For the placers sake I hope I was either in the wrong place or I just wasn't looking careful enough because of all the people around. Anyway, it was time to move on. I made my way to the Museum of Northern Arizona and quickly found the trail I needed and started walking. It was only about a 10 minute walk to the box but it was in a beautiful area. Kind of a little canyon with lots of vegetation and rocks. I had the place to myself so I took my time stamping in and just enjoyed the moment. But all good things must come to an end and I had to be on my way. Last night when I went to bed I hadn't decided exactly what I wanted to do today but while I was eating breakfast and while I was out boxing in Flagstaff I decided to continue going west on I40 for a little further and see what might happen.
There were two boxes at Deer Farm and there was petting zoo as well. Both boxes are hidden out in front of the farm so I found them both and went to sit at a picnic table to stamp in - it was nice to have a solid surface to stamp on. I finished and rehid the boxes and then entered the farm (I thought it was a little expensive for what if was - and you had to pay extra for food to feed to the deer). Anyway, I walked around and it was neat to have all these deer come up to you for food and get to pet them. When I ran out of food they actually started pulling on my shirt - they were like your pet at home trying to get your attention to feed them. 
I ended up spending about 45 minutes just hanging out with the deer. They also had other animals - potbellied pigs, goats, reindeer, mules, camels, llamas and a bird that barks. So I left the farm and drove to Williams. 
I needed to find the depot for the Grand Canyon Railway. I found a spot to park and walked to the depot. It was pretty quiet there and it was easy to retrieve the box. There was a bench nearby so I sat and stamped in and enjoyed the warm day. After hiding the box I walked through the depot and then headed to the main part of Williams. 
I found a place to have a quick lunch and while eating I decided it was time to head back to New Mexico. I was having a great time and feeling pretty relaxed - the trip had accomplished its purpose. So I filled the car with gas and drove down Route 66 to return to I40. In Williams Route 66 makes a loop (each part a one way), so when I made the turn to loop around almost immediately the traffic came to a standstill. Well it didn't actually stop it just slowed to a crawl. It wasn't long before I realized what the problem was. They were having a car show and one lane was totally blocked off and filled with incredible cars for quite a ways. The traffic was moving so slow I was able to take a few pictures from my car window. Once I reached the end of the car show the traffic eased and in no time I was back on I40 - this time heading east.It was an uneventful drive and I didn't stop until I reached Gallup. By this time I was tired of being on the road and decided to find a hotel for the night. Tomorrow I will head back to Santa Fe - I may stop in Albuquerque for a few boxes but we'll see how things go when I get there.
No comments :
Post a Comment