A Little Aztec and A Little Farmington

Thomas has a few meetings this morning and then he has the afternoon free. So I am going to do some letterboxing this morning and then pick Thomas up and continue the day. Thomas got a ride to his meetings with a coworker and I took my time getting things organized and then headed out.My first stop was really close to the hotel and that was at Berg Park at the corner of Scott Ave. and San Juan Blvd. where there is a parking area.

Berg Park Bridge

Here I was looking for two boxes - one of which had a recent attempt. Not far down the trail I looked for Sunny Delight's Great Blue Heron. I followed the clues and checked out the whole area and didn't find the box. So I moved on. A little further down the trail I crossed a bridge to the other side to the river. Not far after crossing the bridge I arrived at a plaque on a rock base, this was my landmark. I then searched for Sunny Delight's Just Roast It. This time I had more luck and found the box. I took it a little further up the trail to a bench where I could sit and stamp in. It was a beautiful morning in the park and I had a nice time. After replacing this box I retraced my steps to the car and continued with my day. I did make a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for a cup of coffee before moving on. Then I stopped at Farmington Museum and Visitors Center at Gateway Park. Here I found Sunny Delight's Vintage Fire Truck. I stamped in at a picnic table and then replaced the box.

Aztec Logo

Then I took some time to go in and get some information and walk through the museum. From here I made my way to Aztec (that is where Thomas' meetings were) and parked at the corner of Chaco St. and Aztec Blvd. in a small parking area near an old truss bridge. There are stairs going down to the river where there is a trail. Going down the stairs I looked for huginn's Metals: Magnesium but unfortunately I didn't find it. Then I started looking for C4's Aztec Ruins series. I found the first box Aztec quickly and stamped in while sitting on the stairs. I then replaced it and went in search of the second box - Pottery. Here I got really confused. The clue said to look at the lower tip of the rock stream that runs from the corner of a sign. There were hundreds of rocks. After turning over about fifty I decided to give up and move on. The area where I was in located between two busy streets and I felt uncomfortable and the box wasn't worth that. So I moved on to the next box - C4's Easter Morning. I followed the clues and quickly found this box. There was a bench nearby so I used that to sit and stamp in. The third box in the Aztec Ruins series was at Aztec Ruins National Monument. So I drove the short distance there and followed the clues. I pulled into the RV parking area and got out of my car to look for the box. Immediately a couple in an RV got out and started yelling at me that I shouldn't be taking up an RV space. I pointed out to them that there were other spots and no other RV's in the vicinity that needed the space and that I wouldn't be long. So I started walking to the area where the box was suppose to be but I couldn't look for it because the man was following me. He kept telling me to move my car and get the "HELL" out of here. I decided to just go into the building and he finally left me alone. Fifteen minutes later I returned to my car and left. I didn't look for the box because the man was glaring at me from his RV and I decided that if they saw me they may take the box out of spite. This totally reinforced in me how rude RVer's are - I have had other issues with them. Anyway it was time for me to go and meet Thomas.

Yellow Salsify

Purple Fuzzy Flower

 Once I had gotten Thomas we decided to get a bite to eat and then we would head out to Crow Canyon. We drove from Aztec on US550 to US64 in Bloomfield. Then we took US64 east through Blanco to CR 4450. We drove to 5 Mile Bridge and when we crossed Largo Wash over the bridge whe noticed how wet it was. So we stopped and decided it would be foolish to drive 20 mile out and then try driving through the wash in this condition. The possibility of getting stuck was monumental and neither of us want to take that chance. We ended up returning to the hotel and Thomas had a headache so he decided to take a nap and rest and I decided to go out and do some letterboxing. I headed out to Animas Park off of Browning Parkway. I parked near the big red building and then set off on the trails. I wasn't sure how many boxes I would look for but I had enough clues to keep me busy. I started my search from the Riverside Nature Center and not far down the trail I found Which Way is the Bus Traveling? by Sunny Delight.

Animas Park

This was a quick and easy find and there was a bench nearby to sit on and stamp in. Then I continued on my search and eventually found Aspen's Osage Girl in Navajo Country. I stamped in and replaced the box and then started looking for Aspen's Hubie and Bertie's Hitchhiker Hostel. I had a little trouble translating the clues but eventually found it. As I sat and stamped in the wind picked up and the sky clouded over. When I was done stamping in I went and put the box back in place. The box is a larger box and it was hidden in a very large pile of river rocks. As I was restacking the rocks to hide the box one of the rocks moved and smashed the middle finger of my left hand. I had a few choice words at this time. My nail was bleeding and I kept squeezing it to get as much blood out from under it as possible. Luckily I had some napkins in my letterboxing bag which helped. But I decided to call it a day as my finger was throbbing and bleeding. So I returned to the car and made my way to the hotel. At the hotel I washed my hands and got some more blood out from under my nail and then put a bandaid around it. I am hoping that the nail won't eventually fall off. It is a little darker than my other nails but not bad and I took some aspirin and it is feeling better. After getting cleaned up Thomas and I headed out for dinner. Now we are relaxing in the hotel and ready for our drive home tomorrow. We don't have any plans to letterbox on the way home so it will just be driving.

I had a good time in the Farmington area and found some neat boxes and saw some interesting places. And now I have a better idea of the boxes and the area so next week I can do a lot more letterboxing.