Yesterday there was a little snow in the state and there was questions about whether I40 would be open heading west. This morning I got up early and put on the news to see what was happening around the state. There was snow in the direction we were going and the schools in Gallup were closed for the day. Thomas checked with the NMDOT in Gallup and they said that by the time we got there the roads would be good and at the time there were no road closures. Well, rubberpeace and Astro D arrived at my house around 8:00am and once the car was loaded we were on our way. I25 between Santa Fe and Albuquerque was clear and not much traffic and the same held true for I4o from the Big I interchange headed west.
Now that we were on the road and everything seemed copesetic we were ready to find some letterboxes. We exited I40 to NM 117 and headed south to La Ventana Arch to find Twinville Trekkers' Beatles Series #12 "From a Window". This drive is beautiful and it didn't take long to get to the area. We parked and headed down the trail following the clues and being a little careful and the area was covered in snow and ice. Luckily it wasn't very deep. Astro D read the clues while I took some pictures and before I knew it she had found the box. We found a rock that we could use to stamp on. The bad thing was that this rock was in shade and it got pretty cold while we were standing there. So we quickly stamped in and then Astro D replaced the box. I really enjoyed the area, it was beautiful and serene. We then made our way back to the car and headed back to Grants. Once we were in town we drove to the New Mexico Mining Museum to find Harry Potter Horcrux Series #4 - Helga Hufflepuff's Cup by BirchMoon and ArnoldZiffel. This was a quick drive by and we found a nice sunny place to sit and stamp in. After this we made a quick stop at the NW New Mexico Visitors Center and picked up a few brochures before continuing our trip.
Back on I40 (but only for a short distance) we drove to Exit 81 and headed south on NM 53. Our plan was to stop at the Ancient Way Cafe for some lunch. When we got there it was closed and we learned that they are closed on Wednesdays. So instead of lunch we had some snacks and continued the short distance to El Morro (Inscription Rock). Here we walked the short Inscription Trail and found Twinville Trekkers' Beatles Series #18 " Shiek of Araby". We stamped in sitting on the trail and then replaced the box. We then continued along the trail so that Astro D and rubberpeace could find my Alphabetical New Mexico: I (Inscription Rock) box. I took some pictures while they stamped in. 
We got the box back in place and continued the loop back to the visitors center where we got some postcards and then headed to the car. By this time we were all hungry and the rangers at El Morro told us about another cafe in Ramah called Stagecoach Cafe. So we stopped there and had a nice meal. They had huge portions and we left with doggie bags. We continued our drive along NM 53 to NM 602 where we headed north to Gallup. Along NM 602 we stopped at a sign for Zuni Pueblo so that Astro D and rubberpeace could find my Alphabetical New Mexico: Z (Zuni Pueblo) box. They found the box quickly and brought it back to the car to stamp in and once they were done they ran back out to rehide it. It was a real drive by and we were on our way again. NM 602 took us in to Gallup and after a quick stop to fill the car with gas we made our way to the Church of the Holy Spirit to find CoVicars' Holy Spirit box. We had a little trouble finding the box because the rock we were looking for was covered with a branch from a bush and the branch was covered with snow. We had to read the clues and follow the directions about three times before we noticed the rock. We grabbed the box and stamped in while sitting in the car. I rehid the box and on to the next one. Next we found On the Run! - Astro D had already gotten this one so rubberpeace and I stamped quickly and we continued to the next box. On the way to the next box we made a quick stop to check on another box - Tiny Tooter. We noticed it was in the LbNA basement and wanted to double check on it. We didn't find it so we moved on to BirchMoon's Get Your Kicks. We misread the directions and stopped to soon but quickly found our mistake and got to the area. 
A quick dash from the car and I had the box in my hands. We all stamped in while sitting in the car and I was glad to be in the car because the box is hidden near a soccer field that is next to a Waste Treatment Plant and there was a definite smell in the air. After stamping in and rehiding the box we had one last box to look for. We drove to the Mentmore Rock Climbing Area and looked for The Lost Texan Series #10. Astro D and I had already found this one but rubberpeace hadn't gotten it. We followed the clues but unfortunately we didn't find the box.We had a fun and a long day so we decided to head to the hotel. After we checked into our rooms we freshened up and then headed out for a little dinner. We ended up at Camilles' Sidewalk Cafe after trying two other places that didn't seem right. We were all glad we stopped here - it was a good, light dinner to end the day. Tomorrow we continue our trip and head back to Santa Fe.
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