Letterboxing Blows Me Away

Last Tuesday Thomas and I were invited to a birthday party for friends in Albuquerque for tonight. We also had a couple of errands we needed to run in Albuquerque.

Mormon Battalion Monument

So we decided to make a day of it and find some letterboxes as well. We left Santa Fe sometime after 11:00am and with a lot of wind. We made a stop at the Mormon Battalion Monument in Budaghers to find Wronghat's Pillar for Polygamist. We parked and I decided to read the clues and try to locate the box from the wind free safety of the car. I was pretty sure I had the right spot so I exited the car and almost immediately went on a mad run to recover my hat. Once I had my hat I went and looked for the box. It was in the spot I figured so I grabbed it and returned to the car to stamp in. As usual it was a great Wronghat carve and I loved the title of the box. When it was time to return the box to its hiding spot I had to wait a little bit because the wind had picked up and there was lots of sand blowing around. When it subsided I made a mad dash and replaced the box. Once I was back in the car we headed toward Albuquerque.

We went to Trailhead Park to look for a bonus box to the Filmed in New Mexico series (I am not giving anything away - it states in the clues that there is a bonus box).

Daisy and Rozie

Once there I didn't find the box because I was really confused about the clues and the wind was a little aggravating. I tried to figure it out but still came up empty handed. So we left there and continued on. The next stop was Rio Grande Valley State Park where we looked for another Wronghat box - Quest Aloft. I followed the clues and hunkered down against the wind. It took a little more time to find this box because the wind and blowing sand had us taking little breaks behind trees to protect ourselves. Once I found the box I sat down in the middle of some trees which helped to block us from the wind. I stamped in and got a first finder certificate for my troubles with the wind. I replaced the box and we bolted for the car to get out of the wind. We drove to the Rio Grande Zoo to find the next box which is Sunny Delight's Rosie's News. We didn't have as much trouble with the wind here because there were buildings to help cover us. I found the box easily but ended up getting a few scratches - the bush where this box is hidden has some serious spines so you need to be careful. I brought the box back to the car to stamp in.  Once I was done and the box was back in place we made our way to Old Town. The next box we looked for was Wronghat and Semicolon's New Mexico Women #4: Sarah Ruiz. This box is at the Church Street Cafe.

Church Street Cafe

I have eaten here a few times and I love the food. We hadn't had any lunch so we decided to get something to eat while here. The box is sitting on a fireplace mantel in the entry so I grabbed it and took it to our table when they seated us. We order our food and then I stamped in. I got a great stamp carved by Semicolon and a first finder card. I then replaced the box on the mantel and then we ate. While we were eating I ended up talking with Thomas about the bonus box we couldn't find earlier and I had some ideas but still wasn't certain. After the meal was done we left to run our errands and while Thomas drove I emailed Wronghat for some insight to the bonus box - I didn't ask for the clue just his thoughts. During our last errand I stayed in the car and Thomas went inside. I got on my iPad and tried a few things and voilà I had the clue and I also checked my email and Wronghat had sent me a note. When Thomas was back in the car I told him I had the clue so we headed back to Trailhead Park. By this time the wind was a little better and we found the box without any problems. After stamping in we returned to the car and headed to the party.

We had a nice time visiting with our friends and celebrating their birthdays. There was lots of food and cake and very nice company. But Thomas and I were tired - the wind had really beaten us down and we still had to drive an hour to get home. So around 9:00pm we left Albuquerque and headed to Santa Fe. Thankfully the wind was a lot less by this time and the drive wasn't bad. Even though we had the wind to contend with it was still a great day of letterboxing and we found some nice stamps - thanks to those who planted boxes.