This blog chronicles my letterboxing adventures. It includes posts that share my travels that are letterboxing related, the letterboxes I have found and planted as well as the people I have met along the way. There are also photos included to help give a complete picture of the fun I had.

Friday, February 16, 2018

Celebrating 12 Years of Letterboxing

It was 12 years ago today when I found my first letterbox and I am still thoroughly enjoying this hobby. Every year since then I go out on this date and letterbox to celebrate. And today was no exception. This morning Thomas and I headed out to find some letterboxes in Moriarty, Edgewood and Albuquerque. We left our house around 9:00am and headed out on this overcast and chilly morning and headed for Moriarty.

We took I25 north to US285 and then turned onto NM41. Here we began looking for our first letterbox. We were searching for Antelope Playground by Kit. We needed to find mile marker 46. There was a short time when we worried that the box might be missing because they are doing construction along NM41 and the sides of the road were all torn up. But the construction ended about a mile before '46'. So we pulled over and parked, I crossed the road and easily found the box magnetized to the post. I took it back to the car to stamp in. Once done I returned the box to its hiding spot and then looked around to see if I could see any antelope - no luck. So we continued on our drive. About a mile up the road we spotted seven antelope off to our right. So we stopped and I got a few pictures. Then we made our way to Moriarty. Once in Moriarty we made our way to the Veterans Memorial which is near the Civic Center. Here we looked for and found Soldier's Cross by Kit. This was an easy find and I sat on a nearby bench to stamp in. In hindsight, I should have taken the box back to the car to stamp in. It turned out to be quite cold while sitting there stamping in. So I worked quickly to finish stamping in and then put the box back in place. I returned to the car and Thomas had decided he wanted some breakfast. So we headed to the restaurant we usually go to when we are in Moriarty - El Comedor. I guess it has been a while since we have been there because the restaurant is now closed and the place is an antique mall. The woman there suggested a couple of other places and we ended up eating at Chili Hills. After some delicious breakfast burritos we continued on our letterbox hunt. We made our way to McCall's Pumpkin Patch. We parked on the frontage road in front of a large pumpkin house. Then we followed the clues for Pumpkin Patch and Harvest Moon by Kit. Our landmark was a tree/bush just south of McCall's on the frontage road. When I walked to the area I found that the tree had been cut down and there were only stumps remaining. I looked around but did not find the box. So we continued on. Driving west on I40 we exited at Edgewood and drove toward Wildlife West Nature Park. We went a bit further up the road to the Edgewood Open Space. Here I went in search of Red Top Diner by reporter at large & Seeker of Flags. I only had to follow the trail for a short distance and was easily able to find the box. I found a nice spot to sit so that I could stamp in. When I was done I replaced the box and then made my way back to the car. Now we could head to Albuquerque to continue letterboxing.

We drove west on I40 through Tijeras Canyon and into Albuquerque. We then exited at Louisiana Blvd. and made our way to ABQ Uptown and more specifically to Trader Joe's. Here we looked for and found Two Buck Chuck by Kit. This was a more difficult find since the box is hidden at a light post and in the parking area where there is a lot of traffic. I had to wait a bit and then sneak the box out from under the skirt of the post. I took it back to the car to stamp in and when I was done I went to return it to its hiding spot. I had to use a bit of distraction to get it back in place. From here we made our way to Woodward Road and found Hello from Las Vegas by Always on Call. Another difficult find again hidden under the skirt of a lamp post. The only good thing was it wasn't as busy here as at Trader Joe's. Once we were done with this box we headed over to the Barelas Senior Center. I was looking for Mercedes y Angel, mis abuelos by Kit. Again, we had to be extremely stealthy as the box is hidden out in front of the building. But we prevailed and I took the box back to the car to stamp in. When I was done, Thomas took the box back to the hiding spot so that it didn't look suspicious with me hanging around the spot a second time. With that done we headed to our last destination for the day - Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm. We looked for and found Llama at Los Poblanos. There is a nice bench near where the box is hidden where we sat and stamped in. the area was beautiful and peaceful. There were geese and llamas near us and this was a great spot to end our celebration of my 12 year of letterboxing.

I had a great time letterboxing today and found some nice boxes and stamps. There was only one box we couldn't find. I did have clues for three other boxes that we opted to skip for today. Those boxes were at businesses and I didn't feel like dealing with that today. But I did get to letterbox on my anniversary and as long as I find one box I am happy. So today was a good day and I found seven boxes.
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