Home From the Arizona Journey

After seven day on the road we are back home. Our journey into Arizona took us all around that state. We visited the following cities . . . Springerville, Show Low, Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott, Florence, Phoenix, Dateland, Yuma, Ehrenberg, Quartzsite, Lake Havasu City, Topock, Kingman, Hoover Dam, Hackberry, Valentine, Seligman, Williams and Lupton. I was able to complete my Azroadie Arizona 15 Award by finding an Azroadie letterbox in each of the 15 counties in Arizona. I also was able to get all the Arizona Counties series by Squatchis except for Maricopa County (due to the road to the box is indefinitely closed). We visited Lyman Lake, tasted date shakes, saw the Bridge to Nowhere, walked across the London Bridge, drove a good portion of Route 66 in Arizona and found a whopping 67 letterboxes - two of which were in the dark. We both really enjoyed the trip as we got to see quite a few things we had never seen and it was quite relaxing. I had planned things for us to do but nothing was written in stone - we played it all by ear. If time was running short we would eliminate things so that we could get to our final destination each night. It all worked out well and you can read about the entire trip at Searching Counties & London Bridge.

A Road Trip Through the Grand Canyon State

Tomorrow morning Thomas and I are leaving for an eight day road trip through Arizona. I have been working on finding boxes for two series in that state. One isn't really a series but a challenge/award by Azroadie. He has a link on his website for Arizona 15 Letterboxing Award. For this, you need to print out a form and then find one of his boxes in each of the 15 counties. You stamp the image on the form and when you complete the form you send it in to him and he sends you a certificate and a stamp image. The other series is by Squatchis (Arizona Counties) - he planted a box in each of the 15 counties. You stamp the image into an outline of the map of Arizona and its counties. The images are the names of the county. When you stamp the image it fits the exact shape of the county. He also has an overlay with asterisks that mark one of the letters. When you have all the letters you have to figure out where a bonus box is hidden for The Lost County (Pah-Ute County).

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Arizona

When I started planning the trip and looking for clues I noticed that there was an event in Lake Havasu. So I tweaked the trip so that we would be there for the event - 2nd Annual Home of the London Bridge and UK Fictional. This will be our first trip to this part of Arizona and I am looking forward to this part of the trip. I have checked the weather and it looks like it is going to be perfect for the entire trip. By the time we return home we will have put about 2000 miles on the car. It should be a fantastic trip and you can read about the adventure at Searching Counties & London Bridge.

Letterboxing at Cochiti Lake

When I woke this morning I realized it is actually winter now in New Mexico. Yesterday we woke up to snow (a lot in the mountains and a little in town) and then this morning the temperature was 25° and there was a layer of ice on the windshields of the car. After I got dressed I started the car and defrosted the ice on the windshield and then headed out for my morning walk. My plan was to do my walk and then head out to find a couple of letterboxes at Cochiti Lake. I have been walking every morning on the Spur Trail in Rancho Viejo. This morning I did a ten mile walk and when I returned to the car (the temperature was now 44°) I made my way to I25 and drove the 20+ miles to the Cochiti Recreation Area. The area was very quiet and I was the only one there. First I went to the overlook area and parked. I walked up to the pavilion at the overlook and took a few pictures and then headed out to find Wronghat's Pueblo de Cochiti box. It was a short walk to the box and I found it easily. I found a spot to sit and stamp in and enjoy the view of the lake. I noticed that across the lake there was still a bit of Fall color. Once I was done stamping in I got the box back into its hiding spot and then walked a little further down the trail to take a few more pictures.

I returned to the car and then headed over to the Visitor Center (which has never been open when I am there). I took the Nature Trail behind the building and went in search of a letterbox placed by Wronghat with a stamp carved by Mim. I like this trail because it is a pretty easy walk with some incredible views. I easily found the box and sat on the trail (completely blocking it - there was no one else around so I wasn't worried about being in the way) and stamped in. After stamping in and getting the box into its hiding spot I walked a little further down the trail for some more pictures. I then retraced my steps back to the car and made the short drive back to the house. It was a great day to letterbox. A beautiful sunny day at the lake with a bit of a chill in the air. Thanks to Wronghat and Mim for two great boxes.