Raspberries, Christmas Trees and a Wonderful Drive

The forecast for today was for a beautiful and sunny day. So Thomas and I decided a day out was appropriate. So this morning we decided to go for a drive and do a little letterboxing. So we left Santa Fe and headed north on I25. Our first stop was in Glorieta. I have three boxes from our El Rancho de Los Letterboxes event that I wanted to replant but haven't had the chance. So the first box that we placed today was Battlefield New Mexico. I found a nice hiding spot and jotted down clues before we headed off for more of our adventure. From here we headed north again on I25 to Las Vegas. We drove through Las Vegas and then continued on NM 518 to La Cueva. The first order of business was to find Fantastyk Voyager's Salman Ranch - La Cueva box. The box is hidden near the Salman Raspberry Ranch and an old grist mill. It was an easy find and a nice stamp, and after stamping in and rehiding the box it was time for the second order of business. To hide another box from the event. That box was Water-powered Grist Mill and this was the perfect spot. I found a great hiding spot in no time and after writing down and rechecking the clues we were ready to continue on. I really like this old grist mill and the area so I think it is a nice place to visit and a great drive.

From the intersection of NM 518 and NM 442 we continued on NM 518 to Mora. Along the way we kept an eye out for a nice spot to hide my last box. We reached Mora but did not find a spot for my box. We then turned onto NM 434 so we could find another Fantastyk Voyager box. This one is called Christmas Trees in July and is hidden in Christmas Tree Canyon. We got to the spot and found the landmarks and pretty quickly found the box. It is such a peaceful area and we really enjoyed the box and stamping in. After getting the box back in its hiding spot we left the area and made our way back to NM 518. I still needed a spot for my last box and we had a choice . . . either return home the way we came or continue on 518 and make a loop. We decided on the loop. And we were glad we did - the drive was beautiful and relaxing. We drove through Mora, Cleveland, Holman and Tres Ritos and still hadn't found a spot for my box. But not far out of Tres Ritos Thomas spotted just what we were looking for. A descansos on the right side of the road a little ways up on some rocks. And just before the descansos was a pullout that we had already passed. So when he could Thomas turned the car around and we went back to the pullout. It was the perfect place. A nice serene and beautiful place. Across the road from the pullout is a stream and trees and hills. So I planted my Descansos letterbox at the pullout and you can walk a little ways along the road to see a real descansos.

Well, we were now done letterboxing and all we had to do was enjoy the ride home. We continued on NM 518 through Los Mochas and then turned onto NM 75 making our way through Rio Pueblo, Vadito and Penasco before turning onto NM 76. This passes through the towns of Chamisal, Trampas, Ojo Sarco, Truchas and Rio Chiquito. In Rio Chiquito we turned onto NM 503 and drove through Cundiyo and Nambe before getting to Pojoaque. Then we took US 285 to NM 599 and then to our house. We had a wonderful day, found two nice letterboxes and put three letterboxes back into action. Spring in New Mexico is pretty nice.