A Little Further West and then Back to East

For some reason I didn't sleep that well last night (I usually don't have problems sleeping) and I was up at an ungodly hour this morning - 4:30am. Well I was awake at that time but I didn't actually get out of bed until 5:00am. So I showered, got dressed, packed and loaded the car. I then went to the hotel lobby and had some breakfast. With all that I was still on the road by 6:30am and found my first box by 6:50am. I actually enjoyed it - it was so quiet and peaceful, no traffic and no people. It made hunting for boxes much easier. Especially since my first two boxes of the morning were on the Northern Arizona University campus. I found Riordan Mansion and Old Main. Both had terrific carvings and were hidden in beautiful areas. It was a great way to start the morning. The other thing that helped me was that last night I looked up all the locations in Flagstaff where there were boxes and put the addresses into my Garmin GPS. It sure helped me to navigate my way around Flagstaff. From NAU I headed for Thorpe Park, well not actually Thorpe Park but near it. I had to find an area with a very tall flagstaff. It wasn't difficult - the flagpole was pretty obvious. I had to walk a short way down a trail from the flagpole and pass a pond and then take an urban trail for a few steps to find the box. I enjoyed the walk but was a little dissapointed to find a store bought stamp. It was all good though and continued on my quest. I arrived at Buffalo Park, read the marker with the statue of a buffalo and then entered the park to begin my search. I followed the clues and arrived at the spot where I thought the box was hidden. Man oh man is this a busy park. There were so many people out there walking or running - I had to wait almost 15 minutes before I could even attempt to look for the box. Luckily there were some great views of the San Francisco Peaks and I was able to take pictures until the coast was clear. Unfortunately I didn't find the box. I looked rather quickly the first time because there were people coming down the trail and I didn't have time to give the area a thorough look. After another five minute wait I had the chance to look much closer but still came up empty handed. For the placers sake I hope I was either in the wrong place or I just wasn't looking careful enough because of all the people around. Anyway, it was time to move on. I made my way to the Museum of Northern Arizona and quickly found the trail I needed and started walking. It was only about a 10 minute walk to the box but it was in a beautiful area. Kind of a little canyon with lots of vegetation and rocks. I had the place to myself so I took my time stamping in and just enjoyed the moment. But all good things must come to an end and I had to be on my way. Last night when I went to bed I hadn't decided exactly what I wanted to do today but while I was eating breakfast and while I was out boxing in Flagstaff I decided to continue going west on I40 for a little further and see what might happen.
Back on I40 heading west my plan was to stop in Bellemont to find Azroadie's Historic Route 66 box. I always enjoy his carvings! I exited the interstate at Bellemont and made my way to the frontage road. After a couple of miles I was on Route 66. I drove until I reached the parking area for the 1931 alignment of Route 66 and began my walk. I didn't have to go far and I easily found the box. I sat under the tree where the box was hidden and stamped in. Again I found myself totally isolated - not another soul in site. So after rehiding the box I decided to walk further down the trail just to enjoy the peacefulness of the morning - that is what the intention of the trip was all about. When I got back to the parking area I studied the map on the board and then consulted my map and decided I could continue my drive on Route 66 pretty much all the way to Williams so that is what I did. I drove to Parks and then continued until I arrived at Deer Farm Road. There were two boxes at Deer Farm and there was petting zoo as well. Both boxes are hidden out in front of the farm so I found them both and went to sit at a picnic table to stamp in - it was nice to have a solid surface to stamp on. I finished and rehid the boxes and then entered the farm (I thought it was a little expensive for what if was - and you had to pay extra for food to feed to the deer). Anyway, I walked around and it was neat to have all these deer come up to you for food and get to pet them. When I ran out of food they actually started pulling on my shirt - they were like your pet at home trying to get your attention to feed them. I ended up spending about 45 minutes just hanging out with the deer. They also had other animals - potbellied pigs, goats, reindeer, mules, camels, llamas and a bird that barks. So I left the farm and drove to Williams. I needed to find the depot for the Grand Canyon Railway. I found a spot to park and walked to the depot. It was pretty quiet there and it was easy to retrieve the box. There was a bench nearby so I sat and stamped in and enjoyed the warm day. After hiding the box I walked through the depot and then headed to the main part of Williams. I found a place to have a quick lunch and while eating I decided it was time to head back to New Mexico. I was having a great time and feeling pretty relaxed - the trip had accomplished its purpose. So I filled the car with gas and drove down Route 66 to return to I40. In Williams Route 66 makes a loop (each part a one way), so when I made the turn to loop around almost immediately the traffic came to a standstill. Well it didn't actually stop it just slowed to a crawl. It wasn't long before I realized what the problem was. They were having a car show and one lane was totally blocked off and filled with incredible cars for quite a ways. The traffic was moving so slow I was able to take a few pictures from my car window. Once I reached the end of the car show the traffic eased and in no time I was back on I40 - this time heading east.

It was an uneventful drive and I didn't stop until I reached Gallup. By this time I was tired of being on the road and decided to find a hotel for the night. Tomorrow I will head back to Santa Fe - I may stop in Albuquerque for a few boxes but we'll see how things go when I get there.

A Vulture, Stoned Wood, Teepees, Ghost Town and Lava

I continued my westward journey this morning back on I40 heading into Arizona. I got a pretty early start and found my first box in Sanders. The box is called Voracious Vulture and at first I thought that it was missing and that my day was starting off on the wrong side of the stamp. The first thing I noticed was that a tree that was mentioned in the clue was gone (well not actually gone - just cut back - and the branches were piled up off to the side). But I looked for the box using the other clues and I found a pile of rocks but no box. So I started looking around and found the box out in the open about ten feet from where it should have been. After stamping in I rehid the box in the original spot and I hope I hid it well enough now that the tree is gone and the area isn't as concealed. Back on the highway I headed for my next destination - Holbrook. But I got distracted. I saw a sign for the Petrified Forest and since it has been at least 15 years since I last visited this place I decided to take a detour. I wasn't really thinking and forgot that Arizona doesn't follow Daylight Savings and it wasn't quite 7:00am. I ended up having to wait about 15 minutes for the park to open. It was worth it. I forgot how incredible this place is. I drove the entire park and stopped at almost every pullout and took tons of pictures. It was a wonderfully relaxing morning. I got to the park before the crowds and was able to enjoy the drive with traffic. When I got to the end of the park I decide to take US180 to Holbrook instead of driving back through the park and hitting I40. Best idea of the day, a nice quiet drive.

Once in Holbrook I made my way to the Wigwam Motel to find 'Sleep in Wigwam!' and 'Wigwam Motel - Nakii'. I loved both boxes and I didn't have any problems finding them. After stamping in and rehiding the boxes I walked around and took pictures. It got me thinking - I wish I could go back in time and spend two or three weeks visiting towns like Holbrook and driving Route 66 in its heyday. Okay enough daydreaming - on to the next box. I had to drive a few miles south of Holbrook to find a Convoy left by Kristal and Ron. It was an easy find and I was on my way again. I rejoined I40 and drove about 50 miles just to visit some ghosts. Well actually just a ghost town - I didn't actually see any ghosts. As I exited the highway and made my way into Two Guns I was taken aback. Quite a few buildings and all of them falling apart. I drove up to the building with a sign advertising Mountain Lions. From here I began my search for the letterbox. I ended up near a bridge sitting on the edge of Canyon Diablo while stamping into the box. When I first got to the area I was a little worried because there seemed so many spots where snakes could hide. So before walking around I read the clues and threw rocks near the area to make sure no creepy crawlies were there. Once I knew it was safe I reached for the box. I actually enjoyed sitting there - it was kind of peaceful and relaxing - just what I needed. After spending about 30 minutes walking around I headed for Flagstaff.

Once in town I made my way to a park to hunt for a series of three boxes. Unfotunately there was a "Trail Closed" sign where I needed to go. So I changed my plans and headed out to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Two boxes here and I decided to look for the one that was further in the park. So I drove to the parking area for the Lava Flow Trail. I picked up a trail guide and headed out. I needed to find post #11. The trail was a little confusing and it took me a while to find the landmark. Once there I looked for the next landmark - a pine tree shading the trail and the next, a tall snag. So I walked up to the snag, located the compass bearing and found the box. I was a little skeptical that I would find it because on AQ there were three attempts on this box, but it was right where it should be and the view from the box was of the crater and it was beautiful. After rehiding the box I drove back to the entrance and pulled into the O'Leary Campground. I parked and headed up the trail to the lookout. I only had to go in about a quarter of a mile to reach the landmark. I found the box, stamped in and put the box back in its hiding spot. I decided that I was done letterboxing for the day and wasn't sure when or if I would ever be back to this park so I continued my walk for about two miles before turning around and heading back to the car. It was still pretty early so I drove back into the park and hiked the Lenox Crater Trail. By the time I got back to the car I was tired and decided to find a hotel and get some rest. I am not sure what I am doing tomorrow I will see how I feel when I wake up.

I40 and Route 66 to Gallup, NM

We have been doing a lot of work around the house and both our jobs have been very stressful lately. Both of us have been feeling that stress and we decided we needed a little break from the day to day stuff. Thomas went camping for a few days with some friends from work and since I had quite a few days off myself I decided to head west for a few days of letterboxing. I had some things to do this morning and an appointment at 1:00pm and decided to hit the road early this afternoon. It was a beautiful day in Santa Fe, clear skies and the temperature was about 89 degrees, so I figured it would make for a good road trip. The drive from Santa Fe to Albuquerque was a little strange. There was a lot of traffic and it was moving quite slow. The normal speed limit is 75mph but at times we were only going 35mph. And there were a lot of cops out - I counted 10 police cars just between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. As I made my way into Albuquerque the temperature was at 94 degrees - I didn't stop here - I just merged from I25 to I40 and headed west. I40 wasn't too bad - I usually don't like I40 because there normally is a high volume of 18 wheelers - today not so many. My first find of the day was at a rest area along I40. I really liked the clues for this box. The placer video taped the area where she placed to box with the intention of using it to write the clues - she ended up just using that video as the clues. And the stamp was really nice - a very good line drawing of a car driving along and someone throwing a letterbox out the window. The only bad thing was the area - there weren't really any great views and the rest area could use some sprucing up. Anyway it was a nice diversion from driving. After stamping in and rehiding the box I continued on my way.

My next stop was at the Continental Divide. There is an exit off of I40 with some curio shops and a Continental Divide marker. The box was hidden off the side of the road under a juniper tree. There was a dilapidated old hogan nearby and the views from this area were spectacular. I found the box, stamped in, rehid the box and took some pictures and never once saw another person. The only thing around was the traffic on I40. My intention was to continue on and make my way to Flagstaff tonight. But as I was driving away from this box I realized that it was already after 5:oopm and decided I wanted to find two more boxes in Gallup and then call it a day. I really am not in an hurry to get anywhere at any particular time - I just wanted a nice relaxing get away.

So I arrived in Gallup and exited onto Route 66. I passed the famous El Rancho Hotel (a lot of celebrities used to stay here) and made my way to Tiny Tooter. This box is hidden under an old caboose just off of Route 66. This was an easy find and a quick stamp in. I liked the caboose and especially the map that was drawn on the side of it. One more box to go - I continued driving down Route 66 until I reache Kitchen Ranch (this restaurant has been around since the early 1950's). The box was hidden just off the side of the parking lot of the restaurant. Another quick drive-by find and I was done for the day. After rehiding the box I looked for a hotel.

I have now checked in and had some dinner and a good shower. I have also wrote in my journal and logged in my finds. It was a nice afternoon and a very relaxing start to a few days of getting away from the same old grind. Oh, and the temperature in now 65 degrees.

Letterbox Check-Up

This morning I decided to do some checking on my boxes in the downtown Santa Fe area. I am happy to report that all of the boxes are alive and well but there are a few little things I need to report.

I started my checks on Canyon Road. I parked at the beginning of Canyon Road near Paseo de Peralta and started my walk. I parked very near one of the boxes and checked on it - it was in place and everything associated with the clues was accurate so I moved onto the next box. I only had to go a little ways for the next one and it was in place. Unfortunately when I reached for the box I hit it and pushed it out of reach for my hand. My hand was a little too big to reach in so the box may be a little too far back for some people to reach - I hope to rectify that problem. (Note: this box is hidden next to a telephone pole - there is a yellow, metal, half-circle sleeve next to the pole. That covers a pipe inside. The box is suppose to attached to the inside of the yellow metal not to the pipe inside. Unfortunately, it was on the pipe when I reached in and that is how I hit and moved it too far back. Please attach it to the yellow part inside when replacing it - Thanks!) I am hoping that someone with a smaller hand can get to the box and place it more in reach. Time to continue on. I reached my next box and had to make a decision. The clue for this box is a photo collage and about a week ago I was on Canyon Road and noticed that a major landmark for the box was gone. After looking at the photo clue and looking at the hiding spot I made the decision that the box was still findable so I left it in place. At some point later on I may move it but we will see. I was still on Canyon Road so I checked on an artTrekker box - it was in place and safe - I don't know why I checked on it because I knew it was safe because Astro D had checked on it recently. Now I took a side road and headed toward downtown and on the way I checked on another box - absolutely no problem with this box. I made my way to Alameda and checked on a box hidden along this road - it was in the right spot and safe so I continued on. From Alameda I walked into the downtown area just skirting the Plaza and checked on a box that I had not checked on in quite a while - this box doesn't get many finders so I was a little nervous that it might be missing - but alas my fears were for naught - the box was there and well hidden - that made me happy. From here I moved a little further away from the Plaza and checked on a box that I have had a few problems with. The sculpture that I originally use for the box was taken away and since the box was attached to the box was also taken away. Luckily rubberpeace happened to see them taking a part of the sculpture away and got a phone number so that I was able to retrieve the box. Then when I went to rehide the box I ended up knocking my head on a statue. I eventually moved the box to its current location and not long ago received a note that it was missing. Astro D and I went and checked on it and sure enough it wasn't where it should have been. But Astro D's keen eyes spotted it right in front of us in the open - so we moved it to the correct spot and I am happy to report it is still there. The next box took me on a little walk even further away from the Plaza. I love this spot, it is peaceful and has great views. The box was in good shape and right where it should be. Now I headed back to the Plaza area. I checked on another artTrekker box and it was in place so I moved on to my next box. This box went missing once and I replaced it almost in the exact same spot so I get really nervous that it may go missing again. But when I sat on the bench and reached under it there was the box. I only had one more to check on and this one is just off the sidewalk at a pretty busy intersection and can be hard to be discreet. So when I reached the area I stood there, looked around and when the coast was clear I reached in and found the box. WOOHOO!!! All the boxes were in place, that made me very happy. Now, you may have noticed that I haven't mentioned any box names and I have been very vague about the spots. All of my boxes that I checked on today are mysteries or semi-mysteries so I didn't want to give anything away. But now you know that if you look for any of my boxes in downtown Santa Fe they should be there.

The other thing I did while checking on these boxes was to look for another statue for another box. I am about to retire another signature stamp and need a place to hide a new box. I found only three statues that could possibly work - I need to have a metal surface near the statue that can hide a magnetic key holder. It can be really hard to find good spots, especially ones that allow the finder to be discreet and that will not be noticed by the casual walker-by. Hopefully soon I can hide a new box and post those clues. I had a good walk and am happy that all those boxes are alive.

A Day With the Dead

Astro D had a series of two stamps that she had placed at our Santa Fe SPOOKtacular Letterboxing Event back in 2007. She had decided not to leave them at the place we held the event, so she took them home and marked them as unavailable. She had always planned to rehide the boxes and had picked out a new spot. But as we all know life can get in the way of plans and the boxes remained unavailable until today. She found the boxes in her closet a while back and decided it was time to get them back out there. So yesterday she called me to see if I wanted to accompany her when she went to replant them. And I decided it would be a nice outing and I like the trail she wanted to place them on so I jumped at the chance to go with her. The name of the boxes are Cancion de Amor and La Catrina and the series is called Day of the Dead. So she decided that a good spot to put Day of the Dead boxes would be on a trail to a ghost town. Our destination today was the Glorieta Conference Center and the trail to Glorieta Ghost Town.

I arrived at Astro D's house at about 9:00am and we chatted a bit and then hopped into the car and started our trip. On the way to Glorieta we pulled off the Interstate at a little Civil War Memorial/Museum. I have passed this place quite a few times and never even noticed it. It was a little strange and a little interesting. We only spent a little time here before heading out, but I think I might stop again next time I am in the area. We arrived at the conference center, parked and headed for the trailhead. We had a leisurely walk and just talked about everything and nothing. At one point we thought we may have passed the landmark that Astro D was wanting because we were talking and not paying attention. One of the nice things about the walk was all the wildflowers - they were everywhere - it was wonderful. Eventually we reached the first old car and Astro D searched for a spot for one of the boxes. I took some pictures while she hid the box and wrote the clues. Once we were done there we headed back the way we came. There was still one box to plant (and on our way we passed a tree that would make a good landmark) so we walked back to that tree and looked around for a spot to plant the box. We eventually found a good spot, hid the box and Astro D jotted down the clues. Now it was back to the car. We left the conference center and decided to check out a Civil War Site. We both had read about a battlefield that had been closed to the public but was recently opened. We found a fenced parking area and a couple of plaques but not really any hiking trail or battlefield. Not sure if we were in the right place - I will have to do more research.

By this time it was a little after noon and we were both hungry. We were going to stop at Real Food Nation but they were closed so we ended up at Harry's Road House and had lunch out in the courtyard. We relaxed and talked and ate - it was a nice lunch. After lunch we drove around town, stopped at Cost Plus, went look at a couple of statues and then ended up back at Astro D's to end the day. It was a great letterboxing outing and is always fun spending time with Astro D - thanks Astro D for a great day.

A Mini Meet with the Travelin' T's

The Travelin' T's (Sha, Ann, Carter and Max) are in Santa Fe for a little vacation. So Astro D arranged a little mini meet at her house for us to get together and visit. It was the Travelin' T's, Astro D, The Great Wuga Wuga (who grilled some really good chicken), rubberpeace, rbrhorno, Highwayman and myself. We had a nice little dinner of grilled chicken, grits and salad. For dessert Highwayman made a choclolate cake (it is called Texas Brownie) - it was a request from rubberpeace. We had a great time talking and sitting out in the backyard on the deck - it was such a nice evening (the day had been pretty hot), cool and breezy. We had the ¡Bienvenidos! 2009 event stamp for everyone to stamp into and the Travelin' T's brought along and hid Bird Takes Flight. This is a very clever letterbox that moves around and the clues are posted on Twitter. So we all got to stamp into that box as well. And then there was the obligatory group photo. Carter and Max were great - such well behaved kids - it was a pleasure hanging out with them. I hope that the Travelin' T's have a great time in Santa Fe.

Astro D got this shot of rubberpeace enjoying Highwayman's chocolate cake - is this not the perfect advertisement.

A Holiday Weekend in the Centennial State

Thomas and I decided we needed to get away so this past weekend we headed to the Denver area - and more specifically to Broomfield. Thomas' brother and his family live there and we decided to visit for the July 4th holiday. Thomas is going to help his brother with a couple of projects around their house and I am going to do a little letterboxing. We left Santa Fe on Thursday afternoon about 1:30pm. We weren't in any hurry because we were only driving to Trinidad for the evening. So we took a little side trip on our way up to Colorado. There was a new letterbox planted just south of Cimarron, NM by stormcrow at the beginning of the month. So from I25 we exited at Springer and headed west on NM21. This was the first time I had been on this road and it was beautiful. There really isn't much out there but open land with mountains for backdrop and the beautiful blue New Mexico Sky. We really enjoyed the drive. We passed through Miami and stopped by the lake for a couple of pictures before reaching the area where the letterbox was hidden. We found the pull off and I quickly found the box. It was a nice carving of a pine cone and pine needles. And the views from this area were fantastic. After stamping in and rehiding the box we continued on NM21 to Cimarron and made a quick stop at the St. James Hotel. I had read about the hotel and we just thought we would look around. One of the hallways from the lobby has some great pictures of all the people who have stayed there with information about their fate. It was really interesting, but it was time to head out again. From Cimarron we continued a short way to the junction on US64. We took this road north through Colfax. We weren't sure why Colfax was on the map because all that was there when we passed through was the Colfax Tavern (serving Cold Beer according to the sign). We never saw any houses or anything else for that matter). Now that I have access to the internet I found that Colfax is a ghost town. A few miles up the road from Colfax we did see quite a few antelope. Eventually we merged back on to I25 just south of Raton and continued our trip to Trinidad. We had time some time before meeting Thomas' cousins for dinner (they were driving up from Albuquerque on their way to Casper, WY) so we went to look for another letterbox. This one was placed by the boxtops (one of a series of 64 they are working on - a letterbox in every county in Colorado). It was a great little box on a nice walk along the river. During the walk we passed a great mural that covered walls, was under bridges and even on rocks. The only bad part was that there were a ton of mosquitos so I didn't linger when stamping in. Once the box was back in its hiding spot we made our way back to the car. We then did some driving around and looked for a place to have dinner. We found a nice little restaurant and then called Thomas' cousins and gave them directions. They arrived about 20 minutes later and we enjoyed a nice meal and had a great talk. We then went to find a hotel so we could rest up for our continuation up to the Denver area.

On Friday morning we left the hotel around 7:00am and headed for our first letterbox in Ludlow. The box is hidden at the site of the Ludlow Massacre. It was a really incredible lesson in the history of unions. I am really glad we stopped and learned about this.




From Ludlow we continued north on I25 to Colorado City to find Shrek - apparently he went camping. So we made our way to Greenhorn Meadows Park. It didn't take us long to find Shrek. I stamped in and rehid the box and we were able to continue our trip. While walking back to the car we came upon some gophers just running around - I think they were babies and they just sat there when we walked up to them. We needed to be in Broomfield by 5:00pm so we opted to to skip stopping for letterboxes until we got to Castle Rock. I wanted to stop at Castlewood Canyon State Park. I had looked up some things on the internet and I really wanted to visit this park. I also knew that they had placed their own letterbox and I wanted to look for it. So we arrived at Castlewood Canyon and I got a map and the clues for the letterbox and we headed for the parking area. We followed the clues and learned a lot about the canyon and had a great walk. The park was incredible and the views of the canyon were spectacular. It did take us a little while to find the box because one of the landmarks for the clues was missing. It was a very enjoyable walk through the park but we needed to head out if we were to make it to Broomfield on time.

We called Thomas' brother to see what was scheduled and told him we were just leaving Castle Rock and we thought it might take us a while to get through Denver with traffic on a Friday afternoon (and it being a holiday weekend). Surprisingly we made it to their house in a very short time. So we had time to unload the car and get cleaned up before we headed out to Denver. Today is Ashley's (Thomas' niece) birthday and she wanted to have dinner at Casa Bonita. Everyone kept warining us that this was a pretty cheesy place and that we should probably eat dinner before we went to the restaurant. They have all kinds of "acts" going on throughout the evening. Things like divers, magicians, jugglers, puppet shows and other entertainment. The whole thing was like being at DisneyLand. We had to stand in a line to get in and then we were loaded in by going through roped off areas weaving back and forth until you reached the area where you picked up your food and then you were escorted to your table. Even though the place wasn't all that great we all had a good time. When we finally got home we visited for a while longer then everyone went to bed except me - I wanted to get a little blogging done.

On Saturday morning everyone seemed to have their own plans. Thomas and Chris were going to do some work on the house and Karla and Ashley went to some street fair and then to do some shopping. As for me - I of course was going letterboxing. I got all my things together and headed out. I decided to go to Genesee Park for the morning. I found Big Bison HH Hostel, Beaverbrook, Ambigram #1, What Was THAT?, Where Are The Buffalo? and G is for Genesee. From the park I headed to Wheat Ridge - I had decided to look for part of the SWS series on the Clear Creek Trail. I found Bear Fetish, Roadrunner, Rock Art, Santa Fe Sign, Turtle, Cactus and Cowgirl. During my walk to find the SWS series I was unable to find Roadrunner, Turtle and Cowgirl. On my way back to the car I decided to look for roadrunner again (I had made two efforts for turtle and cowgirl but only one for roadrunner) so I followed the clues and got to the same spot but no box - I decided that those three boxes were missing and I made my way back to the main trail. As I emerged from the trees I saw Front Range Hiker. She was out replacing those three boxes that I couldn't find - so we visited for a short while and I was able to get those last three boxes before leaving the park. Front Range Hiker will be attending El Rancho de los Letterboxes in September and she graciously offered to contribute a letterbox for the event. i am looking forward to seeing that stamp. So we said our goodbyes and I headed back to the car. By this time I was pretty tired and decided to head back to the house and get cleaned up for dinner. We had a nice dinner with grilled burgers, corn on the cob, pasta salad and chips - a pretty good Fourth of July meal. After dinner everyone went to the neighbors house to visit except for me - I was feeling pretty antisocial so I stayed home and relaxed and did a little blogging. Later everyone returned and we had ice cream and cake for Ashley's birthday (we didn't have time to do it the night before) and watched Ashley's CDs of Arrested Development. I have to say today was a good day.

The plans for Sunday were pretty much the same as on Saturday. Thomas was helping his brother while Ashley and Karla did their own thing. I of course was back out there letterboxing. I returned to the Clear Creek Trail but on a different portion to continue my search for the remaining SWS series. So once I arrived at the trailhead I started reading the clues and headed out. It was an absolutely beautiful morning, very peaceful and perfect weather. I ended up walking about three miles and found ten boxes . . . Kokopelli, Moose, Gecko, Arches National Park, Thunderbird, Mountain Goat, Chief, Cougar, Soaring Eagle and Cowboy. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and my two days walking the Clear Creek Trail. By the time I reached my car it was beginning to get warmer. I decided I wanted to do a little more letterboxing so I found boxes that were on the way back to Broomfield. So my next stop was in Arvada. My first stop was Gold Strike Park to find Whar's Me Stuff? - it seems Pete the Pirate had had a few things taken from him and he wanted them back. Luckily I found all three items and I hope Pete is much happier now. This park has the coolest pedestrian bridge and was the perfect place for this series. Now that this problem was solved I headed to Majestic View Park to find three boxes. The School Daze series was planted by wandering newmans to introduce some fourth graders to letterboxing. Unfortunately I only found two. One of the landmarks for one of the boxes seemed to have been removed and with it the box - oh, well. I decided at this point that I was too hot and tired to do any more letterboxing so I headed back to Broomfield to relax and visit with Thomas and the family. Once showered I was feeling better, so I sat down to log in my finds and do a little blogging. While doing this Ashley and I watched Entourage (she had rented Season 2) - I really enjoyed this show - very funny. Later we had a great dinner of shish kabobs, watched a little more entourage and then had some cake and ice cream. We were all in bed at a decent hour since Ashley had to work the next day and Thomas & Chris were tired from all the work they did this weekend. Thomas decided to stay one more day to help Chris get a few more things done so I was going to go letterboxing again on Monday. Especially since I was so close to reaching another milestone - my 1400th box.

By the time we got up and dressed on Monday morning Ashley was already gone to work. Chris, Karla, Thomas and I had some breakfast and talked about what a circus Michael Jackson's funeral was turning out to be - not a chance that he was going to have a dignified service. Around 8:00am I helped Thomas and Chris load some OSB panels onto the roof so they could finish that project then I left for some letterboxing. Today I decided to stay a little closer to Broomfield so I headed out to Lake Link Trailhead to find GAQLBE08 Mountain to Mountain. This was a nice area and a nice box. The trail went around a small pond - Josh's Pond (dedicated to Josh Cassell 1981-1991 who liked to play in the area) and then up a hill. I didn't walk the entire trail - I only needed to go a little ways and then take a side trail up to a fence. The box was hidden under a rock ledge and while I stamped in I got to enjoy some beautiful views all around. As I made my way back to the car I stopped at a bench. It is part of an Art Bench Project the city of Broomfield had. It is a stone bench with bronze fish on the back and one fish off to the side. One of the fish on top is reading a book to three smaller fish. There is a poem inscribed on the book - see the pictures below. I really enjoyed my walk in this area but I needed to move along.


From here I headed into Westminster and to the Big Dry Creek Park to find This Way 2009 Feet. This was a nice enough park but nothing compared to the places I had been so far on this trip. So I quickly found the box, stamped in, rehid the box and moved along. My next stop was McKay Lake. I was looking for Eagle Feather. I didn't have much of a walk because the parking area for the lake wasn't available due to road construction so the clues sent me to an optional parking area which put me at about 100 yards from the box. I did love the area and enjoyed sitting on the bank of the lake while stamping in - the stamp was a nice carving and I ended up spending about half an hour just relaxing near the water. It was cool in the shade of the cottonwood trees and I was enjoying a little relief from the heat but I was so close to reaching 1400 boxes that I decided to head to one last area. I arrived at the specified location (can't tell you where because it is a little bit of a mystery) to look for The Fools of April by Leviathan. This is a series of three letterboxes - Mime, Clown and Harlequin and if I found at least two I would reach my goal. So I parked, got my clues and headed for the trail. I am not sure if I was just tired & hot or if I was excited about reaching 1400 or what but I was unable to find the first two boxes and I started to doubt whether I was in the right place or not. Then I found the third box - what a relief. I stamped in and then rehid that box, then reread the clues to the first two trying to figure out what I had done wrong. So I back tracked along the trail and almost stepped on a snake - I freaked and this didn't help me any because I found myself back at the trailhead one box from 1400. I sat down on the side of the trail and read the clues again and looked around trying to find a landmark - it took a minute or two and I finally found the error of my ways and I was excited again. The grass had grown and obscured the path I needed a little making it hard to see - but now I was on a mission. I made my way along the trail and in no time I was holding my 14ooth find. WooHoo!!! I was so happy! So I took my time stamping in and enjoyed the milestone. After rehiding the box I continued on for the next box. I was still on the path that was overgrown and for the second time in about half an hour I almost stepped on a snake but I wasn't going to be stopped - I wanted all three boxes in this series. So I found the next landmark and found the box, stamped in and rehid the box. I sat on a bench a little ways up the trail and relaxed (those snakes really scared the bejeezes out of me). Once I was feeling more relaxed I realized how hot I was and decided to call it a day. So I headed back to the house.

When I arrived at the house Thomas said he wanted to try and leave for home about 3:30pm. Our original plan was to leave early Tuesday morning but he had been getting emails about the budget and some meetings that he needed to be at so he wanted to at least get a little closer to home this evening so we could make it home by noon today. While Thomas helped Chris with one last part before we left I got everything packed and into the car except for some clothes for Thomas - he wanted to take a shower before heading out. The project took them a little longer than they thought and we didn't get to leave until almost 5:00pm. We said our goodbyes (except for Ashley - she was still at work - sorry we didn't get to see you before we left) and headed out. We did get into a little bit of traffic on I25 near downtown Denver but it wasn't too bad. Somewhere around Castle Rock we stopped for dinner and then drove until Pueblo where we decided to stop for the night - that would give us a four hour drive today and we could make it home in time for Thomas to go to his meeting. We checked into the hotel and had a good night's sleep. This morning we were up really early and on the road by 5:30am and we made it home around 9:45am. It was a good trip and we both enjoyed ourselves but now it is time to get back to work.