Lunch and a Letterbox

Entrance Sign to the Park

 Yesterday was my birthday and Astro D asked if she could take me to lunch today and then we could go and find a letterbox. Of course I said yes. So after running a few errands this morning I met Astro D at The Ranch House at 11:30am for some lunch. I had a pulled pork barbecue sandwich with homemade potato chips and Astro D had a chicken tortilla salad. We had a nice visit and got to catch up on our recent trips and just life in general. Once lunch was done we jumped into the car and headed north on I25. Our destination was Villanueva State Park. Both Astro D and myself have been living in Santa Fe for over 20 years and neither of us have been to this park. We were both excited to see the area. The main road into the park isn't very long from beginning to end and the visitor center, camping sites, and picnic areas are congregated into two general areas. Either along the main road which borders the Pecos River or on a loop above the main road. There are a few hiking trails that take off from these two main areas. In general the accessible part of the park is pretty compact. Anyway we arrived and paid our fee, then headed to the visitor center for maps and brochures. We left the car parked in front of the visitor center and walked across the road to a beautiful metal bridge that lead us across the Pecos River. This started our search for Road Junkies' Big Buffoon Bags Big Balloons letterbox. Arriving on the far side of the bridge we turned right and took about 60 steps. At this point we found the box. We decided to sit on the trail in the shade and stamped in. Once the box was back in place we walked around and took a few pictures. Then we drove through the entire park just to get a feel for the layout and what the park had to offer. We left the park and drove through the town to see what was there. The entire area is really nice and we enjoyed our time there. But all good things must come to an end and we headed back to Santa Fe. It was a perfect outing and a nice little extra to my birthday. Thanks Astro D for lunch and letterboxing.

Bridge over the Pecos River

A Late Afternoon Find

This afternoon I was catching up on emails when a new letterbox appeared in Santa Fe. This box was Strategic Air Command by Wronghat. The box is placed at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. I printed out the clue and Thomas and I decided to go look for this box, take a short hike and then go out for dinner.

Santa Fe National Cemetery

So around 5:00pm we gathered our things and headed out. We were a little concerned about the smoke from the nearby fires but it turned out not to be a problem. Once we arrived at the National Cemetery we followed the clues and found the spot to park. Then I found the marker I needed and from there the rest of the clues were easy. I nabbed the box and found a nice spot to sit and stamp in. The cemetery was quiet and peaceful and we didn't see anyone else at this spot. The stamp is terrific and this is another great Wronghat box. I was also the first finder for the box and I got an LTC first finder card. I then rehid the box and returned to the car.

Tesuque Creek

We left the cemetery and decided to head up Bishop's Lodge Road to CR72A and to the Tesuque Creek Trail. We walked for about 40 minutes and then found a spot to sit and relax before making the return trip back to the car. Our little hike lasted just over an hour and we enjoyed the peacefulness of the area. A wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

After our hike we headed back into Santa Fe to get something to eat for dinner. We ended up at Five Star Burgers at DeVargas Mall. Thomas had a green chile cheeseburger and I had their burger of the month - the caprese burger (a beef burger topped with mozarella cheese, tomato, fresh basil and a balsamic glaze). It was delicious and a great way to end the day.

And to Wronghat - thanks for planting such a wonderful box in Santa Fe.