A Letterboxing Outing

Last night Thomas and I decided that we wanted to get out of the house today so we planned for a trip to Chaco Culture National Historic Park. And there just happened to be a letterbox along the way. So about 7:00am we filled our backpacks with water, trail mix, sandwiches, cheese, apples, oranges and strawberries. We also took the letterboxing stuff and the camera. I also remembered to bring my passport stamp book.

The drive was nice, I think we left early enough that we got started before most people were awake. Our first stop was in San Ysidro at the Perea Nature Trail to find Black Mesa Inbound by Birch Moon. It was a quick and easy find and after stamping in and replacing the box we walked the trail - it isn't very long so it was a quick walk. Once we got back to the car we continued our drive north on NM550 to Cuba. We stopped in Cuba to have breakfast. There was only one place open and that was Bobbie & Margie's Cuban Cafe. We had a nice breakfast and the staff was very friendly - we enjoyed it.

So now it was time to head to Chaco Canyon. Driving to Chaco isn't the easiest. It is out in the middle of nowhere and the last 13 miles or so is on a badly maintained dirt road. And today the road really felt like driving on a washboard. There were times we had to go about 5 to 10 mph because the car was shaking so bad. But we made it. We stopped at the Visitors Center (which is a tent as they are building a new one) and paid the fee and got my passport stamps. We also got a map. We then drove down the park road and stopped at the Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito parking area. They had just started a tour of Pueblo Bonito so we joined in. The ranger gave a great tour and Thomas and I both really enjoyed ourselves. After the tour we drove over to Casa Rinconada Community and did our own self guided tour (there was a ranger lead tour but not until 4:00pm). It was an enjoyable day but by 1:00pm it was starting to get hot and we needed to head back to Santa Fe.

It was nice to take this little day trip. Thomas and I use to do that all the time but these trips now don't happen as often as we would like. Maybe we will try to do one or two a month and see how that goes. Anyway, it was a nice day and we got to find one letterbox.

Meeting Hi Desert

For a little over a year now there has been a new letterboxer in Santa Fe and that letterboxer is Hi Desert. Today I finally got to meet her. I had lunch with Hi Desert, Astro D and rubberpeace at Mucho's. It was nice to meet Hi Desert since I have found 12 of her boxes so far. She is so full of energy and you can tell she really loves letterboxing and has been having fun with it. She complimented all of us for the boxes we have planted and how they have entertained her through some health issues. It was a nice lunch and I enjoyed hearing her letterboxing stories and I look forward to more meetings and also to finding more of her boxes. Hi Desert, welcome to the group of Santa Fe Letterboxers.

Lunch with the Travelin' T's

Astro D and I had lunch today with Sha and Anne (Travelin' T's) at Mangiano. They have been vacationing and letterboxing in Santa Fe for the past week. We first met them back in July 2007 when they were visiting Santa Fe. We always enjoy getting together with them whether it is in Waco or Santa Fe or at an event somewhere. We had a great lunch and visit and enjoyed hearing about their kids and sharing letterboxing stories. They have planted some great boxes in the Waco area and I love finding them. Sha has also contributed stamps for the Road Trip box that Astro D placed for my 1000th find and a stamp for Dreams of Eames box for Astro D's 1000th find. I am glad they find time to visit with us, it was good to see them again.

Home Sweet Home

After a long day of customs, airports and planes we are home. Our dogs are laying next to us and won't leave our sides. Anytime one of us moves all three of them follow. I guess they missed us as much as we missed them. I am trying to get some things onto the blog so I don't forget them but to tell the truth I am really tired. It is late and it has been a long day. The trip was fantastic - we had an incredible time, saw some amazing places, had a few wonderful excursions, experienced some tasty food and made some terrific friends. I have to say that this trip is my all time favorite and I hope the memories will last a lifetime. If the memory fails me I can always go to Letterboxing Cruise to Alaska Adventure to refresh it. You can go there as well to read about the entire trip. And if you would like to see pictures I have created four slide shows and you can find them at . . . Alaska 2011 Interior, Alaska 2011 Cruise, Alaska 2011 Ship Tour and Alaska 2011 Vancouver.

Off to the 'Land of the Midnight Sun'

I used this title for this post since Thomas and I are off to an Alaska trip. And since we are going in July we will have plenty of daylight - I think while we are there we will have on average of 18 to 20 hours of sun.

We are taking this trip as part of the Alaska Letterboxing Cruise set up by Mark and Sue Pepe. But we decided to add a couple of days to the beginning of the trip and to the end of the trip. We will arrive in Fairbanks on July 2 at about 10pm. After a couple of days there on our own we will join the group for a trip to Denali and then to Anchorage before boarding the cruise ship in Seward. The cruise goes from Seward to Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Ketchican and then the Inside Passage before docking in Vancouver. Once off the ship Thomas and I will spend a couple of extra days in Vancouver (one of our favorite cities to visit).

I am so excited about this trip and I have done so much research and reading I kind of feel like I have already been there. I haven't planned much for our free time - we will just play it by ear and hopefully we will end up with an incredible experience. This is our first visit to Alaska and one that has been on our 'To Do' List - I am hoping that the trip is incredible and that it will entice us to visit Alaska again. If you would like to follow our trip and adventures go to Letterboxing Cruise to Alaska Adventure.