The City Different and The Duke City Letterboxing

Okay, since I couldn't get one of the boxes I found yesterday back in place I needed to get in back this morning. So that was our first priority. And then near there was another box that I could find. Thomas and I left our house around 8:00am and drove to the National Cemetery. Thankfully, there was no one around and it was a quick errand. Next, we headed toward Tesuque. We took the exit off of US285 headed toward Tesuque Village and almost immediately stopped at a pullout. Here we looked for On Our Way to Great Wolf Lodge, Colorado Springs, Colorado - Wandering Wolf by The Rodriguez Family. This was a quick and easy find. I stamped in the car and then put the box back in place. We were now done with Santa Fe and we could move on to Albuquerque.

Once we arrived in Albuquerque we made our way to Los Altos Park and the Albuquerque Garden Center. Here we looked for and found Florabunda by Kit. The box is hidden near a bench and it was the perfect spot to sit and stamp. When I was done stamping and the box was back in place we headed on to the next box.

From Los Altos Park we took I40 to Tramway and then took Central headed east and stopped at the Route 66 Open Space (was the site of Little Beaver Town). We followed the clues for Red Ryder by Wronghat. We did fine until we got to his "word play" part of the clue. It took us a little while to work out the clue but we eventually found the box. There are some concrete slabs where I took the box to sit and stamp in. Then I replaced the box and we were ready to go to our next destination.

We had plans to meet another letterboxer for lunch in ABQ Uptown. So we made our way to the Elephant Bar to meet Kit for a relaxing lunch. We had a nice visit with Kit and a delicious meal and it was a nice addition to our letterboxing day. When lunch was finished we decided to call it a day and head back to Santa Fe. Over the last two days I found six wonderful letterboxes - thanks to all who planted them.

An Afternoon of Boxing in Santa Fe

In the last month a few new boxes have popped up in Santa Fe. So today I decided that after running errands I would go out to find these boxes. I got all the clues and mapped out a plan. I then ran all my errands and then had the rest of the day to letterbox.

First box was one off of Delgado Street. I found a place to park and then followed the clues. It was a quick walk and I easily found A Happy California Cow Mooves to Santa Fe by Wendy. After getting the box I found a good place to sit and stamp in. I was the first finder on this box. When I went to put the box back in place I had to wait a few minutes because all of a sudden there was quite a bit of traffic. Finally, the area cleared and I got the box back in it's hiding spot. Now I could head to the next box.

I drove up Hyde Park Road and parked at a pullout for the Little Tesuque Trail. Here I went in search of A Gift From Texas by The Huntress. This box is only a short distance down the trail and of course when I got to the spot there was a woman sitting about 20 feet away. So I walked past her and took some pictures. Luckily, she only stayed a few minutes. I then quickly found the box and took it down the trail to a rock where I could sit and stamp in. Then while I was stamping in (which was about 10 yards off the trail) two different people stopped to ask me what I was doing - very nosy. After stamping in I was able to rehide the box without a problem and then continue on to the next box.

From Hyde Park Road I headed to the National Cemetery. Once I arrived at the cemetery I went in search of USAF Brat Series New Mexico #7 by Flutter Fairy. I arrived at the spot and parked. There were three men (looked like workers) just standing in area, not working, just talking. So I took out my phone and pretended to text and walked around them to the hiding spot. From this spot I couldn't see the men so I guessed that they couldn't see me and I found the box. I took it back to the car to stamp in. The entire time I was stamping in the men didn't move. They just stood there talking. I didn't want to go put the box back in place because I didn't want them to get suspicious. So I decided to go visit Thomas' parents grave. About 20 minutes later I returned to the area to rehide the box and guess what - the men were still there and they had moved closer to where the box was hidden. Now I really couldn't put it back. So I found a bench and sat and played on my phone for another 20 minutes and they still didn't leave. I was so mad, first that my tax dollars were paying these guys to stand around and talk for almost an hour without doing any work and second that I couldn't put the box back in place. I finally decided to take it home and come back in the morning to hide it.

So I called it a day and headed home. There was still one more box I wanted to find but I had wasted too much time at the cemetery I decided I would get it tomorrow. Even with these men blocking my way I still had a great time letterboxing. And I will do a little more tomorrow.