Home From My Texas Trip

I was up at 4:00am this morning and on the road by 4:30am. I guess I am ready to get home. I loved driving early this morning because I missed all the traffic and I find that it is peaceful and relaxing. The car was full of gas so I was ready to go. I drove non-stop until Chilicothe where I stopped to fill the car with gas and take a bathroom break. I also decided to get some coffee to make sure I could stay awake all the way home. Again I drove without stopping until I reached Amarillo where I again stopped for the bathroom and put gas in the car. When I stopped the car still had half a tank of gas but I decided it was a good time to take a break from driving and stretch my legs. I made one last stop in Santa Rosa before finishing the last little bit to Santa Fe. I finally made it home around 3:30pm. I had a great time in Texas and you can read about the trip by going to Traveling Texas for Delicious Delights. I am really glad to be home and to be able to sleep in my own bed and now I can start planning for TALE 11 - Naughty or Nice next March.

Headed to Texas for the Delicious Delights Event

I have decided to take a trip to Texas to attend the Delicious Delights event at Lake Houston Wilderness Park near New Caney. I am taking some backroads through Texas as I make my way to the event. I will do lots of letterboxing along the way and I will also visit a couple of friends. I am hoping to find lots of great boxes since Texas has some incredible letterboxers. I always have a great time when I travel throught Texas and I hope this trip proves to be just as much fun as always. You can keep up with my trip by going to Traveling Texas for Delicious Delights.

Another Scenic Driving and Letterboxing Day

Last week I was unable to get two boxes on my day of letterboxing and driving. So I decided to try and get them today. I also had clues to two new boxes. After breakfast and coffee I gathered my things and I was out of the house around 8:00am.
My first stop was near my house at the Spur Trail in Rancho Viejo. It was only a short walk down the trail to two benches and I easily found ArnoldZiffel's The Road to El Dorado. I love the stamp - it is a nice carve. I stamped in sitting on a bench and while there three people passed me with dogs. I ended up having two dogs come and inspect what I was doing.

Embudo Station (now closed)

When the coast was clear I put the box back in place and walked back to my car. From here I headed to NM 599 and then to US 287 and headed north to Espanola. I then continued my drive along NM 68 to Embudo. I was sad to see that the gallery and restaurant there are now closed. I parked and found Speleo's Embudo Station box.

Our Lady of Guadalupe at Embudo Station

This was another nice stamp. I stamped in while sitting in the car and when done got the box back into place. I ended up walking around and taking a few pictures before getting back on NM 68 and heading back south. Just a few miles down the road I stopped at Black Mesa Winery hoping to get ArnoldZiffel's Black Beauty box. This time when I asked for the box the woman behind the counter knew exactly what I was looking for. But she had a little trouble locating the box but found it in about five minutes. I stamped in and got another great stamp by ArnoldZiffel. I returned the box back to the woman and headed to the car. I drove south again on NM 68 and then turned right onto NM 74 toward Hernandez. This was the same route I took last week. The only difference was this time I didn't head toward Abiquiu. Instead I headed to Espanola and then took NM 30 to the Santa Clara Puye Cliffs Welcome Center. There is a sign on Santa Clara Canyon Road that says you need a pass to continue so I stopped in the center and asked. The woman told me I could just drive in. So I followed the clues for RNNR's Hidden Puye Treasure box which is hidden at a scenic overlook area. I parked and followed the clues but I was a little confused about where to look. The clue said 45 paces from information sign to look for a cloud shaped juniper hidden behind a baby juniper. First there were some baby junipers but none actually hid a bigger cloud shaped juniper. And second there were lots of junipers. So I picked one and headed to it. I found a large rock hidden under the juniper and I moved it and found the tip of a ziplock bag. I pulled it out of a hole in the ground and found the bag had a black box in it.

Hidden Puye Treasure Letterbox Stamp

I took this back to the picnic table at the information sign to stamp in. I am assuming I found the right box but the logbook didn't have the same name as the clue and the placer's name wasn't on the logbook. I stamped in wondering if this was the right box. The stamp was made of foam not rubber and was mounted on a piece of stick with a handle (that is a picture of the stamp mount on the right). When I was done I returned the box to its hiding spot and then I kind of searched around a few other junipers just to make sure I found the right spot. I didn't find anything else so I am counting this as the box I was suppose to find.

After finding this last box I decided to head back to Santa Fe. When I reached Santa Fe it was a little after noon so I headed to Five Star Burgers for some lunch. I ended up having the crab burger. Once I was done eating I had one errand to make and then I returned home. It was another great day driving around New Mexico and letterboxing. Incidentally I was the first finder on all four boxes I found today.