Morning Letterboxing

I was supposed to work today but I got called off so I decided to spend the morning letterboxing. I gathered my things and headed out.

Horse Sculpture at Frenchy's

I made my way to Frenchy's Field Park to find a series of boxes placed by Speleo. I spent about 45 minutes walking along the paths, taking pictures and finding three boxes - Frenchy's Field on the Old Camino Real. I enjoyed my time and walk in the park and I loved Speleo's carvings. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the morning. I only encountered two people during the time I spent in the park and that made it easy to retrieve and hide the boxes. Also there was always a great place to sit while stamping in and that is something I really appreciate. I am looking forward to finding more of Speleo's boxes in the future.

Kakawa Chocolate House

When I was finished in the park I made my way to Kakawa Chocolate House. Here I was looking for Kakawa Chili by C4. It was hidden on a shelf just inside the door in a greeting card. I grabbed the box and then went to the counter to indulge in some treats. I ended up with a salted caramel chocolate and I got a cold drink to go with it. The drink was a Horchata with a shot of American drinking elixir. Both treats were delicious. I ate and drank while stamping in and enjoying a relaxing time. It was a good way to spend a morning - much more enjoyable than working.

Letterboxing BEFORE and AFTER Work

Last night I was working on my emails and calendar when I started receiving notices of new letterboxes in Santa Fe. So I put my emails and calendar work on hold and started copying the new clues. By the time the notices stopped coming in I had clues for nine new boxes in Santa Fe. Lately I have been very busy and I have had very little time to letterbox. This week is going to be very busy and so I decided to make time before and after work today to find these boxes. So when I got my things ready for work last night I went ahead and added the clues and my letterboxing supplies to the pile.

This morning I was up early and left the house around 6:00am and headed out to find whichever boxes I could before I had to be at work. I found my first box at Rodeo de Santa Fe. This was a quick and easy find and I stamped in while sitting in the car. This box was Bowlegged and was planted by C4. I thought the image, location and name of the box all worked well together. After replacing this box I headed out for the next one. The second box brought me to the Greer Garson Theater on the campus of the Santa Fe University of Art & Design. Another quick and easy find and again I stamped in while sitting in the car. The carving was really nice and this box was by Sunny Delight. Once this box was back in place I drove to my next location to find three boxes. The location was Old Fort Marcy Park. I parked on the side of the street and walked into the park. I first found NM Chile near the entrance to the park and found a low rock wall to sit on to stamp in. This box was by C4 and after stamping in I replaced the box and headed down the path to the Cross of the Martyrs. I arrived there and then made the descent along the walkway where there are plaques noting the history of Santa Fe. Along this path I needed two markers - one for 1540 and one for 1848. At one of the markers I found No Matter How Far by C4 and at the other I found The Artist by Sunny Delight. At each spot I found a nice spot to sit and stamp in and then replaced the boxes. When I was done with these boxes I noticed I had about a half hour before I needed to be at work. I walked back up to the Cross of the Martyrs and found a nice spot to sit and enjoy the morning. I looked at my logbook at the five new stamps I had acquired and noted that I was the first finder on four of them. Finally I made my way back to the car and then headed to work.

I finished work about an hour early and drove up Hyde Park Road into the mountains to find three more boxes. My first stop was at the Black Canyon Campground. From the parking lot I had to walk into the campground to space #24 where the Black Canyon Trail begins. To find the box I had to walk up the trail to a "Y" and find the sign that said Black Canyon Loop. Once I was there finding the box was easy. I retrieved the box and found a fallen tree to sit on while stamping in. The box I found here was Friendship by C4. I really like this trail so I decided to walk the entire loop after rehiding the box. When I returned to my car and I started heading back down the mountain. I really didn't go far (almost across the street) before stopping again at the Little Tesuque Picnic Area to find Santa Fe Chili also by C4. It was only a short walk to find the box and again I found a log to sit on to stamp in. Once I finished stamping and rehiding the box I made my way back to my car. One more box to find along this drive and that was at the Chamisa Trail. The box was hidden only a short way up from the trailhead so it was a short walk and an easy find. I found Friends . . . Keeping in Touch by C4 nestled in the crook of a tree. I sat on a rock and stamped in and then I replaced the box. I walked a little further up the trail just to enjoy being out in the mountains. I had a great time letterboxing today and I loved starting out my day finding boxes and then ending the day the same way - it was great to wash away the stress of work by being in the mountains. I was the first finder of the three boxes in the mountain as well as four this morning - that made seven first finds out of eight box finds. Thanks to C4 and Sunny Delight for leaving these boxes for us to find in Santa Fe.

A Quick Find While Doing Errands

Today Thomas and I had some errands to do and one of those errands was going to his office.

Fairview Cemetery

His office is located on the corner of Cerrillos and Cordova. There just happened to be a box across the street in Fairview Cemetery. This box was placed by jb kokopelli, who is from Texas. She is on an adventure with her parents celebrating their 50th anniversay. They are driving from Texas to Alaska and she is planting boxes along the way. So after Thomas and I finished the errand at his office we crossed the street and followed the clues for North to Alaska: New Mexico Route 66. It was a simple find and a nice stamp. I took the box back to the car to stamp in and then once it was replaced we continued on to complete our errands. Thanks jb kokopelli for leaving us a little present in Santa Fe.

A Letterboxing Outing with Astro D

A while back I got two notices that my Alphabetical New Mexico: Q (Quarra) letterbox was MIA. Not too long ago Astro D and I went letterboxing up at Villanueva State Park (you can read about that at Lunch and a Letterbox) and we talked about taking a trip to Mountainair to check on my box and replace it if necessary. About a week ago I worked on recarving the image and putting the box together. I finished it on Monday evening and got things together so that Astro D and I could make the trip today.

At around 9:00am Astro D arrived at my house and then we were off. We decided to drive south on NM14 to CR42. This took us to Galisteo. At this point we turned right onto NM41. We followed this road through Stanley, Moriaty, McIntosh and Estancia. Then we took NM542to NM55 and we finally arrived at place where this box is hidden. It was a beautiful day, temperatures in the high 80's with brillant blue skies. There were a few people at the site but it wasn't too busy. We took a paved trail from the vsitors center and walked leisurely to the hiding spot for the box. We both searched but didn't find the box. I was pretty sure it was gone but there were a lot of dead leaves and some very prickly bushes so I am not sure I searched as thoroughly as I could have. I did have a new box to plant so finding the old one wasn't that important. I decided that I wanted to placed the new box in a different spot so we took a walk and found another trail and what we both thought was a better hiding spot. After hiding the box and writing out the clues we continued our walk until we arrived back at the visitors center. It was a great visit and I am glad this box is active again.

We left the area and started our drive back home. We took NM55 to NM337 - this brought us up to Tijeras. We stopped here for a bit of lunch and then took NM14 back to my house. It was a nice day trip and I am happy that I got to replace the box. I have now updated the clues and hopefully this box will not go missing.