Picking Up Letterboxes in Albuquerque

The last few weeks have been pretty busy mostly with getting things ready for our trip to Alaska. So I decided to take a break today and get outside and do something. And that something was to go letterboxing in Albuquerque. I had a stack of ten clues for boxes that were planted in Albuquerque between March and June. This morning I got all my stuff ready and headed south. I drove all the way to Belen before making my first stop. That was at the Harvey House Museum where I looked for Chuga Chuga placed by rookie traveler. I had to walk around and take some pictures before I could actually look for the box. There were three people just hanging around the parking lot and it took about 20 minutes before they went inside. After that the only problem I had was navigating my way around a giant yucca without getting stabbed to death and luckily I came out of it unscathed and with a letterbox. I found a nice spot to sit and stamp in and then rehid the box and was ready to get on my way again.

I had mapped out things so that I wasn't backtracking and so I didn't waste too much time just driving around. So as I headed back to Albuquerque my next stop was somewhere off of the Rio Bravo exit. The clues don't actually tell you the location, they just gives you directions and tell you to look for something. Well, I found it easy enough. I won't tell you anymore about the clues or location but I did like the area and the box - thanks Twinville Trekkers. This was another of their wonderful Beatles Series.

From here I made my way to Fairview Memorial Park Cemtery to find All Quiet by Wronghat. As I entered the cemetery I marveled at the green grass and tall trees (it seems that this year everything is brown - a product of zero moisture) but as I followed the clues I entered into another section of the cemetery only to find the typical New Mexico landscape - dirt. There were very few trees and not much other vegetation. I continued to follow the clues and eventually found the box. I stamped in while sitting in the car, which was shaded by one of the few trees. I really liked this double sided stamp.

My next stop was at the Rio Grande Zoo and more specifically the parking lot. There was a box here called Panda and the Poo that I found in August 2010. I guess that box eventually went missing so the planter decided to plant another box in the same location. Last year I found the panda and this time I was going in search of the poo. But as I parked and started walking while counting light post I realized that they were digging and working on the parking lot and that there weren't even enough lights to match the clues. I tried to remember where the other box was and I think they were digging right in the area. I am pretty sure that the poo is gone. But I will leave it up to the planter or someone who has found the box to make a more accurate statement.

From the zoo I drove to Old Town and parked on 19th Street near The Albuquerque Museum and walked through a beautiful mosaic arch to Old Town. I walked to the gazebo and followed the clues to find Old Town by Wronghat. It was a wonderful day to be in Old Town, the weather was good and there weren't that many people which made it easy to find the box. It was a clever hide and I loved the two sided stamp. I sat on a bench in a shaded area and stamped in and enjoyed the incredible summer day. After I stamped in it was easy to get the box back in its hiding spot and then I made my way back to my car. I then drove a few blocks to the Natural History Museum where I went on the hunt for Spike by Wronghat. I parked, found Spike (the dinosaur sculpture, not the letterbox), I found the Cosmic Connection and made it to the future. Once there I quickly found Spike (the letterbox, not the dinosaur sculpture). I found a bench to sit on while stamping in. This was another nice Wronghat carving. By the time I got back to my car the temperature was rising - it was now in the '90's - so I sat for a minute in the air conditioning to get cooled off.

Next I found myself in the downtown area and was parked on 4th Street near the Madonna of the Trail statue. This was my starting point for the next box - another of the Twinville Trekkers' Beatles Series. To find this box I had to do a little work - I had to find words and letters to figure out all the clues. It took me a little time to decipher everything but it didn't take me too long to find the box. Like I said earlier it was getting a little warm so I found a nice shady spot to sit and stamp in. Thankfully there weren't many people out and it was easy to find and rehide the box. I made the short walk back to the car and the comfort of cool air and then started for my next destination. It wasn't too far from where I was at and it only took me a few minutes to get to the UNM Cancer Center. Hi Desert placed a box here called Cancer Awareness Letterbox. I found the location of the box pretty fast but I wasn't able to actually get the box right away. Just as I parked a woman was getting into her car right where the box was and her car wouldn't start. So she called for someone to come with jumper cables to help get her car started. So I waited for about 20 minutes. Finally, she got her car started and left. After that I easily retrieved the box and took it back to the car to stamp in. Putting it back in place was pretty easy as well.

I had one more stop on my list. It was for La Luz by Wronghat. This box is placed near the La Luz Trailhead off of Tramway. But just as I turned on Forest Road 333 I was stopped by closure signs. The road was only open to residents. All this dryness in New Mexico has made all of our forests prime fire areas. So they are closing lots of areas for the time being in hopes of preventing more fires in the state. I really had a good day in Albuquerque and found some really great boxes.

While in Albuquerque I did make a few other stops to check on some of my boxes. My Roosevelt box is definately missing and I am now retiring it. I had also gotten a note from Wronghat that my Koi Fish box was missisng as well. I checked and it is missing and now retired. Fortunately, my Urban Forest box is still in place and doing well.