Another Milestone in Santa Fe

Not too long ago Astro D reached her 1000th find and I hid a special box for her. Astro D, rubberpeace and I made a day of it by going to find the box and then having a great lunch. Well this milestone was rubberpeace's 1000th find and Astro D hid a special box for her. I contributed one stamp and Astro D took care of the rest. She also carved a couple of stamps and found the perfect hiding spot.

We all met at rubberpeace's house and then headed out to find the box. Astro D didn't tell rubberpeace where the box was hidden she just gave her an address. She plugged the address into her Garmin and we were off. Astro D and I knew the location but it was a total surprise to rubberpeace when she pulled into the parking lot.

Astro D waited in the car while rubberpeace and I went in to find the box. Once inside it was easy to find the box. We sat on a couch and stamped in and enjoyed the stamps. After rehiding the box we returned to the car. Then we went to Chicago Dog for a quick lunch before ending the day. I really hope rubberpeace loved the box and stamps as much as Astro D and I enjoyed putting it together.

A Couple of Quick Finds

Today I had some errands to do near the Plaza and so I decided to pick up a couple of letterboxes that I had clues for. I also decided to get a little walk in while I was downtown. I really enjoy walking down Canyon Road and around the Plaza. So I parked on Canyon Road not too far from the intersection with Paseo de Peralta and I walked up Canyon Road as far as The Teahouse. At this point I turned around and headed back to Paseo where I crossed and walked up Alameda in the direction of the Plaza. I took a left on Sandoval and ran my first errand and when I was done with that I turned around and headed back toward Alameda where I crossed that street and continued to Water St. I turned right at this point and walked past Blue Corn Cafe, Doodlets and Café Pasqual's until I reached Santa Fe Arcade. This is not a place with video games it is a shopping mall of sorts and it is home to Rooftop Pizza. My letterboxing pal - rubberpeace - planted a box outside the restaurant. I found the box and sat on a bench and stamped in. It was a nice stamp and find. I rehid the box and continued my walk. I left the Arcade and stepped out onto San Francisco Street. I crossed the Plaza and headed down Washington St. to my second errand. As soon as I was finished with that I headed back to my car. A nice little walk, don't you think.

After getting back to the car I went to find one more box before heading home. I made my way to Museum Hill. Well actually not to the Hill but to the intersection of Camino Lejo and Old Santa Fe Trail. There is a statue here that represents a Santa Fe Trail caravan as it nears Santa Fe - it is called Journey's End. Hi Desert hid a box near this statue. So I followed her clues and easily found the box. I found a place to sit and stamp in and then rehid the box.

It was a nice day of errands, walking and letterboxing - thanks rubbberpeace and Hi Desert.

Making Changes

Over my letterboxing years I have received many comments about the letterboxes I have planted. Most of the comments have been positive but there have been a number that have not been nice, some bordering on rude and a few that were outright rude. I tend to take things personally especially when it involves something I have said or done or made. I put an insane amount of time into every letterbox I make and it really bothers me when I get a rude comment.

Over the years I have realized that when I think about planting a new letterbox it seems to take me longer to get the box done. I procrastinate about every aspect of the box - from finding the right spot, picking the best image, getting a good carve and making a nice logbook. I have come to the conclusion that the reason it takes me so long to get a box planted these days is because I worry about what people will think. This has taken all the fun out of planting boxes and out of letterboxing.

I have also noticed that I get some comments about the way I list my boxes. Some people are demanding about how they think I should do things. Here is a very recent example: I posted a couple of boxes both on AQ and LbNA. When I posted them on AQ I put in some restrictions. So when someone visited LbNA it took them to a link on AQ that told them they weren't authorized to see that box. They thought it was rude of me to do that and they stated I shouldn't post boxes on LbNA if there were restrictions. Well, I loved having all my finds and plants listed on both sites - it is just something I like doing - having complete records. What bothers me is that these people feel that I should change the way I do things because it inconveniences them. I feel that because they choose to use only one site and to not log in their finds on AQ that they are rude. My feelings are that if it is a problem for you and you think it is rude when you get an unauthorized message then maybe you should change what you do instead of asking someone to change what they do just because you don't like what they are doing.

Because of all this I have decided to make some changes in the way I do things. First, I deleted all my boxes from LbNA, so if someone feels like finding any of my boxes they will have to go to AQ - I really don't care anymore if they take the time to search AQ for my boxes or if anyone at all looks for them. Second, I am starting to retire some of my boxes (a list of boxes I have retired will be at the end of this post). It just isn't worth getting rude comments while doing maintenance on a ton of boxes. Third, I will no longer log finds on LbNA or AQ - I will just keep a personal record on my home computer. And I will keep all my logbooks on AQ private except for my planted traditional boxes. I had originally thought I would make my blog private but decided that I would open it to all but not post it on AQ.

I am not sure how much letterboxing I will be doing - I will just see how it goes. There are a few in and around the Santa Fe and Albuquerque areas that I haven't found yet so I may look for those during the summer. And I still have the Alaska Letterboxing Cruise that is in July. I do have one more box for my Alphabetical New Mexico series to plant but after that I will severely curb planting any boxes. I have lost the love that I had for this hobby and I don't seem to be able to find any excitement to get out and box.

Here is the list of the boxes that I have retired . . .
Siddhārtha Guatama
Going in Circles
"Fortitudo Dei"
Keep on Swimming
The Crow Knows
New Mexico's Eternal Flame
Giant Rebel of Eden
Honor, Loyalty and Peace
Bear in Mind
lionsmane's 5 Year Letterboxiversary
City Different Walking Tour
Thaumaturgic Escalator