We left Santa Fe about 7:00am and made our way to US 550 and the town of Bernalillo. Our destination was the Jemez Canyon Dam.
It was a nice quiet drive along Tamaya Blvd. which ends at the Jemez Canyon Dam Overlook. The views from here were wonderful and you could see Cabezon Peak in the distance, although there was no water in the reservoir. I was surprised to find that there were quite a few people around. There were two people at one of the picnic tables and there were three cyclists hanging out in the parking lot and there was a family at another picnic table. So we walked around and took some pictures and casually made our way to where the letterbox was hidden. We sat on the rocks and took more pictures and then just slipped the letterbox out from its hiding spot. I loved the stamp! After stamping in we rehid the box and left. By this time everyone else had left except for the two people at one of the picnic tables. Back on US 550 we continued north to San Ysidro. 
We turned into the parking area for the Perea Nature Trail. We headed down the trail following the clues. It was a wonderful trail - we saw lots of lizards, some wildflowers and a cute little snake (I say that because he was pretty small, maybe a foot in length and he didn't have a rattle) as we made our way to the letterbox hiding spot. The area where the box is hidden was a little gem. There is a bench under a big cottonwood tree and when sitting on the bench you have a fantastic view of Blanco Mesa and behind you there is beautiful little meadow. I enjoyed sitting here while stamping in - it was extremely relaxing and I think Wronghat and Semicolon hit a home run here. The stamp was excellent and the area was beautiful - I really loved looking for this box. 
Our journey continued up 550 to Cuba (at first we weren't going to go that far but changed our mind at the last minute) and a pullout for the Continental Divide. We parked and read the clues - I got out my compass and started my search. Standing at the first landmark I set my compass to the degrees noted in the clue and took the specified number of steps. I ended up in the spot I was supposed to be. So the next compass direction and steps put me a little off trail and the next set of degrees and steps put me in the middle of a bunch of pinons and junipers. The last compass degrees had me looking for a tree with three rocks in front of it. Nothing! We could not find the box. We searched around the area and looked in most of the pinons but couldn't find the box. We went back to the beginning and tried again - twice!. Each time we ended up in a little different area but still amongst the trees. I finally broke down and decided to use one of my lifelines - I phoned a friend - Astro D. I didn't get in touch with her so I left a message. Thomas and I decided to go into Cuba and have some lunch and see if Astro D would call us back. Just as we were getting to the restaurant she called and gave us a little insight into finding the box. So after eating we went back and found the box easily. I am not sure if I was reading my compass wrong or if my compass is just plain wonky but we were no where near the box and if it hadn't been for Astro D I don't think we would have found it.Now it was time to drive back to San Ysidro and head down NM 4 (Jémez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway).
Soon after we turned onto NM 4 we saw a beautiful little church - so we stopped to take pictures. Then we continued on our way. The drive along NM 4 is beautiful. Lots of rock formations, tall pines and scenic little villages. 
We next stopped at Jemez State Monument. We paid our fees and headed down the Ruins Trail. The trail goes in and around The Village of Giusewa ruins. It was pretty impressive and I enjoyed the walk. There was another reason for stopping here - I wanted to place a letterbox and before we left we did just that. We placed "J" - Jemez State Monument. Time to continue our journey. We drove along until we reached Battleship Rock. We drove in and parked near the picnic area, but that isn't why we were here. We were here to hike to the McCauley Warm Springs and to find a letterbox of the same name. The picnic area was full - lots of people everywhere. We couldn't find an envelope at the pay site so we found a ranger and paid him. We also asked a few questions. There seemed to be a little 'something' in the air. The ranger informed us there was a mountain lion sighting in the back picnic area. So we asked if it was safe to hike to the Springs. He told us it was and that the trail started in the back of the picnic area (where the mountain lion was?). 
Somehow that information either didn't register or we just weren't thinking because we headed in that direction and started up the trail. Fortunately there were other people around the trailhead and even a little ways up the trail so we felt okay. Soon though we were the only ones around. I think I kept my radar up and was constantly looking around just to be safe, all I could think about was the show Six Feet Under when the hiker gets attacked by a mountain lion. So just in case you are out hiking here are some Mountain Lion Safety Tips. We had a wonderful hike (although it was a little hard) and enjoyed the peace and quiet. We ended up passing only four people on the hike and met up with a family at the Springs. 
There were some beautiful orange wildflowers so I took pictures for a little while until the family headed out. Now we were the only two people there, so I could look for the letterbox without anyone being nosy. We found it and I sat and stamped in and then rehid the box. It was such a beautiful area so we walked around the Springs and I took some pictures and we enjoyed the peacefulness. About 20 minutes later about five people showed up and we decided to head back down the trail. The hike down was uneventful and when we reached the picnic area it had cleared out and was almost empty. It was almost 6:00pm and we decided it was time to call it a day and head back to Santa Fe. I didn't get to do all that was planned because we spent more time at a couple of spots that were so beautiful. So we are planning another trip in about a week to the area to look for two more letterboxes and to plant one more.
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