My first stop was in Corrales at the Old San Ysidro Church. I got there early and it was so peaceful there. It was quiet and there was no one around. I easily found Wronghat's Corrales Asylum. I took my time stamping in and then I walked around and took a few pictures before heading out to my next destination. I drove from Corrales down Coors Blvd. to Montano and then to Unser. Here I parked at the trailhead for the Paseo de la Mesa Recreation Trail. This trail is just a little over 4 miles long. Wronghat recently planted six boxes along this trail. So this morning I did an 8 mile roundtrip walk and found all the boxes in his Mesa Series. I was out there for about three hours. It was so quiet and isolated. I didn't see any other person the entire time. I liked that - I didn't have to worry about anyone seeing me find and hide the boxes. The views were also great, I had volcanic cones on one side and the Sandias and Albuquerque on the other. I really enjoyed all the stamps and the walk - thanks Wronghat.
From the Mesa Series I drove down Unser to Central and made my way to Tingley Beach to find Just Fishing by trilla_marion. At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get to the box because there were quite a few people out there 'just fishing'. Luckily they weren't any where near the box. It was an easy grab and there was a picnic table nearby where I could sit and stamp in. After I replaced it I took a few pictures and then returned to my car to continue with my day of letterboxing. I drove from Tingley Beach to Bridge St. and that changed into Avenida Cesar Chavez which took me to the Lobo Football Stadium. The parking lot only had a few cars and none of them were parked in the vicinity of the the box I was heading for. So I parked right at the spot for the box. I read the clues in the car and visually found where the box was. So I walked up the ramp grabbed the box and took it back to the car to stamp in. This box is called Temple Owl Transplant. BirchMoon carved the stamp and Wronghat & Semicolon planted the box. It was a great little stamp and I enjoyed the area being deserted. Time to move on.
My next stop was just down Central at the Frontier Restaurant. I got there right at one o'clock and the parking lot was totally full but people were beginning to leave. I wasn't able to park where the clues suggested but I was pretty close. So I parked and read the clue again and spotted the area. So I left the clue in the car and went to the area but had a little trouble - I guess I wasn't understanding a part of the clue. So I went back to the car and reread the clue. It still didn't make sense but I went back to the area and started looking around. It took me about five minutes to locate the box - Cinnamon Daddy by What What. It was a nice carving and made me hungry for one of Frontier's delicious cinnamon rolls but alas I fought the temptation After stamping in I replaced the box and continued on. My next stop was only a short distance away at the Monte Vista Elementary School. The clues were a bit of a puzzle and it took me a little time to actually get to the location and find the box. The spot where the box is hidden is kind of out in the open and I was worried someone from the nearby houses was looking out of their window and they would see me. So I took my phone out and pretended to text while I used my foot to actually locate the box. Then I just bent down and grabbed it and took it back to the car to stamp in. The box is Monte Vista Penguin by What What and the stamp is really nice. I returned the box the same way I found it by pretending to be on the phone and putting it back in place with my foot. Now that I was done here I decided to stop by my Urban Forest box to do a check up. Not too long ago Wronghat notified me that it was missing so I decided to check for myself and search the area in case someone had just moved it. Unfortunately I didn't find it anywhere, so I am retiring this box. It kind of makes me sad that it went missing because this was one of my favorite carves.
Well two boxes left. The next being Hardball Legacies: Albuquerque by Kazam. This was in Balduini Park which was totally empty of people when I got there. I easily found the box and sat on a log to stamp in. It was a nice stamp and once I was done I put it back in place and made sure it was secure and well hidden - I am sure during baseball season this park can get pretty busy and I didn't want to chance that it wasn't hidden well. I continued my day by heading east on Menaul to Juan Tabo and more specifically the John B. Robert Dam. I climbed the dam and then descended the back side into the Bear Canyon Arroyo. I was looking for Another Dam Letterbox by Jane Booth. I attempted this box back in November but didn't find it (I wrote the placer and got a note back that it was missing). She replaced it recently and I was able to find it today. After stamping in and replacing the box I made my way back to the car.
What an excellent day letterboxing in Albuquerque. I was 13 for 13 - I found every box I looked for. I also enjoyed the areas I visited and the boxes I found. Thanks all for planting.
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