Albuquerque and Socorro

Thomas and I are off again for another little trip. This one is taking us south to Socorro and then to the Trinity Site. I have been wanting to do this trip for a while now but the Trinity Site is only opened two days per year - the first Saturday in April and the first Saturday in October. Twice now we have had to cancel because something came up but this time it is working out.

Trinity Site Aerial View

We left Santa Fe around 8:30 this morning and decided we would have a leisurely drive to Socorro. By the time we reached Albuquerque the traffic from the morning commute was gone and it was clear sailing through the 'Big I'. We made our first stop just outside of Albuquerque. We took the Rio Bravo exit and headed for Astro D's Bombs Away letterbox. Astro D placed this box based on a true story of a "Broken Arrow" incident. I decided since we were passing right there we should stop and when she first planted the box is was gone within 24 hours and she had to replant it - I decided I didn't want any more time to pass before I went and got it so that it wouldn't disappear again before I found it. Luckily we had no problems and we found the box easily. There was no one around and I took my time stamping in. This is another great Astro D & Great Wuga Wuga box and you should make an effort to go and find it. We replaced the box and headed back to the car and then back to I25.

We headed south and decided to take a detour before driving in to Socorro. Before I tell you where we went on this detour let me preface it with a note - apparently, I am a glutton for punishment. Thomas and I exited I25 to US Hwy 60 and headed for a small, dark mountain around mile marker 174. We were going to look for The Dormant Dragon (this would be my fourth attempt at this box - see what I mean about the punishment). And Astro D don't you laugh - I just can't accept the idea that the box is missing and I keep getting this urge to go and look for this box any time I am passing the exit on I25. The box could very well be missing but no one that has found it (or the planters) has gone back and looked and said "YES" it is definitely missing. So we made an attempt again and tried a lot of different things with the clues. We were up there for an hour and still didn't find the box. And I keep thinking it is something I am doing wrong because I don't always find all the landmarks. Anyway we got some good exercise and had some great views while up on the little mountain - and we will see if I try another attempt later on. So it was back to I25 to continue on to Socorro.

Dream Snake by Evelyn Rosenberg

By the time we reached Socorro it was past lunch time and we had been snacking in the car but we were still a little hungry. We stopped for just a little lunch before continuing with our letterboxing. I had clues for five boxes (three active ones and two that were missing) all on the campus of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. So we went and looked for the three active ones. We found Harry Potter Horcrux Series #7: Nagini (appropriately placed near a large sculpture of a snake), The Inspector placed near the New Mexico Mineral Museum and Harry Potter Horcrux Series #2: Marvolo Gaunt's Ring. All three of these boxes were placed by ArnoldZiffel and BirchMoon. We enjoyed finding all of these boxes. The campus was pretty empty - either Spring Break or Good Friday - not sure, but was glad that there were not too many people around.

Duck at New Mexico Tech

It sure made it a lot easier to look for the boxes. Also it was a beautiful Spring day in Socorro so we decided to head to the duck pond and walk around a bit and check for those other two boxes (Joe Cool Goes to College and The Festival of the Cranes). We didn't find either box but then again we didn't put too much effort into it since they were both marked as missing, but we did have a nice walk and there were so many ducks and geese around - it was amazing.

We checked into the hotel around 3:30 and did a little reading and relaxing. Then about 6:30pm we walked over to Socorro Springs Brewing Company for dinner with friends. We had a great time and some good food. It was a very nice and busy day and we still have lots to do tomorrow. I'll be back to let you know how our day goes.