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.

Monday, February 11, 2019

Windy Albuquerque Letterboxing

After the event in Tucson I have been wanting to get out and do more letterboxing. There have been lots of boxes planted in Albuquerque that I haven't gotten yet and I decided I needed to get out today and find a few of them. I also wanted to go and scout some locations for possible letterboxes I want to plant. So this morning I gathered my things and headed south. When I left Santa Fe it was 29° and it was snowing - I checked the Albuquerque weather and it didn't look like they were getting snow. It snowed until I got to La Bajada and then it was clear - until I got to Santo Domingo. The snow started again and continued until I reached San Felipe and then it cleared again. It stayed clear the rest of the way to Albuquerque. I went to a couple of places and looked for possible places to hide letterboxes - it was pretty cold while I was walking around - not sure what the temperature was but it was cold enough to make me hurry my little butt along. So after about an hour and a half of checking out a couple of areas I decided to go and look for a few boxes.

The first box I looked for was Friendship Lei by gs10530. I went to the park and followed the clues. At first I was a little confused and looked in the wrong area but then I got my bearings and headed in the right direction. As I was walking along I kept my eye out for a SPOR by the cinder block wall. I found the spot, well, I actually saw the box. It was sitting out and had two small rock sitting on top of it. As I headed to get it a woman came out of a gate in the wall about 10 feet from where the box was. She was walking her dog and so I just kept walking. I then took another path and headed back in the direction of the box. The woman kept watching me as I walked around. Finally, she headed back to her gate and so I walked around and headed toward the box. But as I approached I saw her standing by the wall watching me. So, again I couldn't get the box. She kept staring and watching so I walked over to her and asked if there was a problem. She said "No!". So I asked why she was staring at me and if I was trespassing and if the park was private and only for the use of the people living around the park. She again said "No!" So I asked her to quit staring and watching me and told her she was creeping me out. She didn't say anything but she stayed standing at the wall watching me. So I sat on a near by bench and watched her. She eventually went inside her house but by this time I decided it was time to leave and if I tried to get the box she would probably be watching me from her window. So I returned to my car and headed to another location.

My next stop was Sunset Memorial Park to look for Maxie Had Moxie by Silver Eagle. I followed the clues and easily found the box. The box has been there since September but it turned out that I was the first finder. It was still a little cold and it had gotten windy. I was lucky because there was a was that helped block the wind while I stamped in. Then I put the box back into place and was ready for the next location. So from this cemetery I headed to another cemetery. This time I went to Fairview Memorial Park to find another Silver Eagle box - The Deputy Sheriff. This was another quick and easy find and this time I stamped in while sitting in the car. After returning the box back to its hiding spot I moved on. The next box brought me to the 66 Diner. I parked in the lot and read the clue - which is actually pictures. I was a little nervous and walking around trying to find the box as there are windows looking out and there were quite a few people inside that might see me stalking around the building. So from the car I scoped things out and was pretty sure I had eyed the hiding spot. So I took out my phone and pretended to talk while I walked around and reached for the box. Thankfully, I found it on the first try and took it back to the car. After stamping in I began worrying again about putting it back and having someone inside seeing me. But I pretended with the phone again and put it back and then I decided to head inside and get a milk shake. While I waited for the shake I looked around and realized that most of the people weren't even looking out the windows and that it wasn't that easy to see the hiding spot from inside and sitting down. Oh well - it was done and all was good.

So I found three boxes today and had a nice time. I also may have found at least one good place for a box - we will have to see. Now I was ready to head home. But I will have to get to Albuquerque again soon because there are still a few more boxes to find. Maybe at the end of the week.

Sunday, February 03, 2019

It Was a Wild and Fun Rodeo!

We are home from our six day letterboxing trip. We had a great time and really enjoyed the 15th Annual Tucson Gathering: Rodeo! at Catalina State Park. The event was fun and it was nice to see old letterboxing friends and to meet some new ones as well. There were lots of great boxes and stamps and I enjoyed the hiking and hunting. The park is beautiful with many miles of trails and incredible views of the Catalina Mountains. Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man put on a great event and were the perfect hosts. During the trip Thomas and I hiked a little over 40 miles in those six days and we found 75 boxes. Besides the big event on Saturday we also enjoyed the NPTC Western Meet-up and the Padre Kino's Quest at Tumacácori National Historic Site. You can read all about our trip at Letterboxing Rodeo in Tucson.
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