Viewing Petroglyphs and Hunting a Lorax

I have been wanting to get down to Albuquerque to do some letterboxing because I had clues for six boxes that I wanted to find. But things have been busy and every time I made plans something else came up. Today, though, I had nothing on the calendar and nothing intervened so last night I gathered all the clues and my letterboxing stuff and made a pile ready for this morning. I left the house around 9:00am and arrived in Albuquerque a little before 10:00am.

Petroglyphs at Boca Negra

My first stop was at the Petroglyph National Monument Visitors Center. This is on Unser between the Rinconada and Boca Negra Areas. Surprisingly there are no petroglyphs at this location. You can get information, the National Passport Cancellation Stamp and visit a small bookstore but you can't see any petroglyphs. Oh, and you can get a letterbox. After talking to the ranger (who was very rehearsed and very impersonal) and getting a map I headed out to find the letterbox - Plethora of Petroglyphs. The box was only a short distance from the Visitors Center and I found it quickly. I found a flat-ish rock and sat down to stamp in. I then replaced the box making sure it couldn't be seen from any direction. It was a short trip back to my car to head to the next box.

I left Petroglyphs and headed back to I40 and then to I25 so I could make my way to Belen to find Respite letterbox. After a nice little drive I arrived at the Harvey House Museum. I parked and took out my phone and camera so I could walk around the parking area and look for the box without being conspicuous.

Horses at Harvey House

There seemed to be a lot of visitors to the museum but fortunately no one seemed to pay me any attention to me. Anyway I took a few pictures and then sat on the wooden wall barrier right next to the box. The parking lot finally was empty so I leaned back and reached over the rock and grabbed the box. I then took it back to my car to stamp in. Once I finished stamping in and had the box back together again I walked back to the hiding spot and luckily no one was around so I put the box back in place and covered it with rocks and a little bit of dirt and returned back to my car. By this time it was close to noon and I was starting to get hungry. So I made my way back to the main road and found a place eat and after a quick lunch I headed to a gas station to fill the car with gas.

Ernie Pyle

With a full tank of gas I returned to I 25 and headed back to Albuquerque. I exited at Avenida Cesar Chavez and then made my way to Girard. I made my next stop at the Ernie Pyle public library to find my third Wronghat letterbox of the day called Ernie Pyle. I found the first couple of landmarks but then somehow I got a little confused about the rest of the clues and it took me a couple of minutes to realize what I was looking for and by that time a couple of people had arrived at the library and were parking their bike. So I had to wait until they entered the library. I then sat right near the hiding spot and just grabbed the box and stamped in right there. It was another quick and easy find and a fast stamp in and I was ready to move onto my next location.

The next letterbox I was going to look for is actually a series of three boxes and is in Zuzax, New Mexico. Until I read those clues I didn't even know there was a Zuzax, New Mexico. The name of the box is The Lorax in Zuzax. This box is hidden on a short little hike on the Lower Pine Trail. I followed the directions to the parking area and gathered my things and headed down the trail. It was only a short distance when I thought I noticed a landmark for the first box, but after examining the picture a little more I realize I hadn't found the right stump. I continued down the trail and when I reached the right stump it was obvious and I quickly found the box after that. I grabbed the box and found a flat rock to sit on and stamped in. The stamps from the boxes go together and make a complete picture so I made sure to stamp the first stamp in the right location so that I could put the other two in the right places as well and get the full picture. I returned the box to its hiding spot making sure that it was camouflaged well and then continued down the trail. Again the distance to the next box was short and I quickly noticed the very large boulder that the Lorax was standing on in the picture. This box was a little more challenging to find. The clue said it was hidden among the oaks near the rock the Lorax was standing on and there were quite a few of those oak trees. But with careful deduction I quickly found the box. So now I only had one more box to find. I returned to the trail and continued on.

The Lorax

At this point the clue read make your way to where the riverbed meets the dirt trail. It was at this point that I realized I had been in the riverbed all this time instead of the actual trail. When I found the dirt trail the clues told me to take that trail and head back toward the parking area. So I followed those directions and tried to find the location pictured in the clue. I thought I found it and looked around the area for the box and came up empty handed. I decided that it didn't quite look like the right spot so I continue down the trail. As I rounded a corner I instantly recognized the picture in the clue. Now that I had the right location the box was easy to find. Luckily, the rock that the box was hidden by was flat and made a great place to sit and stamp in. Now this was the only box with a logbook so it took me a little more time to stamp in. In this box was the third stamp, the logbook, a plantable pine tree and a first finder certificate. After stamping in I returned the box to its hiding spot, packed up my letterboxing stuff and headed back to the car. I really enjoyed this box and the stamps along with it and the fact that they made a nice little picture when all put together. I also enjoyed the nice walk, it was very peaceful out there and I only saw one other person the entire time I was on the trail.

Back in the car I thought about what a nice day I had and was thankful for the letterboxes that Wronghat planted – I always love Wronghat's boxes and always enjoy looking for them. So Imade my way back to I40 and headed back west to take the exit for Cedar Crest. I decided I wanted to drive the back way to Santa Fe along Hwy 14. This route back home is a lot more enjoyable than the I25 traffic and by the time I arrived home I was relaxed and ready for some dinner. So today I found 6 boxes and got some great stamps in my logbook thanks to the Albuquerque letterboxers.