A Little Box Check

Today I had some errands and a meeting in the morning but my afternoon was free. And since I haven't had the chance to do any hiking in the mountains I decided to do a short hike and check on a couple of boxes at the Black Canyon Campground. After parking I walked through the campground and made my way to the trailhead. I was surprised to see quite a few campers - most of the times I have been there the place is pretty empty. I walked the trail and and enjoyed the peace and quiet (even though there were a bunch of campers, none of them were on the trail). When I reached the area where ev∙o∙lu∙tion is hidden I made my way to the box. Now, this box was found just a few days ago but I had been wanting to check on it and change it from a camo bag to a Lock & Lock. I had gotten a message that one of the finders a while back said the logbook was a little damp. So I grabbed the bag and found a log to sit on and I opened the bag to check the stamp and the logbook. Both were in great shape - if the logbook had been damp it didn't do any damage - all the entries were in good shape and so were all the pages. So I moved the contents to the Lock & Lock and put the box back in place and made sure it was hidden well. Once all that was done I made my way back to the entrance of the campground.

One more box here to check on - Pin Up Stamp Swap 2: Tess. Again, this box was found a few days ago but I still wanted to check on it and review the clues. So I made my way down the trail and to the box. Everything was good except for a log that was across the trail - it is gone now, but you can still find the box with the clues. The stamp and logbook and box were all in good shape. So I placed the box back in its hiding spot and made sure it was hidden well and returned to my car. I had a nice walk and enjoyed being in the mountains. Hopefully I can find a little more time to do some more hiking before summer ends.

Letterboxing and Celebrating

Astro D, rubberpeace and I had a great day in Albuquerque letterboxing and celebrating. You see today was rubberpeace's birthday and also her AQ anniversary (5 years of letterboxing). They arrive at my house at around 9:00am and then it was south to Albuquerque. We had lots to talk about . . . Astro D's house remodel, rubberpeace's upcoming trip to Colorado Springs and my recent trip to Alaska, so the trip down to Albuquerque went quick.

We had decided to head to the Old Town area first to find a few boxes and then have lunch and after that we would decide what we wanted to do. So we drove to and parked near the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. The first box we looked for was one that I had already found, so I just tagged along as Astro D and rubberpeace followed the clues to find Wronghat's Spike letterbox. They sat on a nearby bench and stamped in while I walked around taking pictures. Then we went in search for Twinville Trekkers' Beatles Series #21 "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" letterbox. ***Here is a confession - I used the computer and google maps street view to find the location of this box to minimize our walking.*** Anyways, we made our way to the spot and followed the last few clues to find the box. Once that box was in our hands we went to some nearby picnic tables to stamp in. When all three of us were done rubberpeace replaced the box while I took a few pictures and then we returned to the car and headed to Old Town. It wasn't too hard to find a parking spot but it was a little walk to the plaza. Upon arriving at the plaza rubberpeace and Astro D searched for and found Wronghat's Old Town letterbox (I already had this one) and we found a nice shady spot to sit while they stamped in. I ended up taking a picture for some tourist (they asked if I would take a picture of them at the gazebo there in Old Town). Once the letterbox was back in its hiding spot we all headed down the street to the 'Little by Little' plaza to find Flight of Fancy by Vegaspua'a. We had to take some pictures and look around to kill a little time because there was a little tour going on. After about 10 minutes they headed out and left us all by ourselves to search for the box. We had a little problem locating the box at first until Astro D noticed another rock and she found the box. We found a bench in the shade and stamped in. We got the box back under its rock and decided it was time for lunch.

For lunch rubberpeace had stated she wanted to go to Church Street Cafe, which was fine with Astro D and I since we had eaten there before and liked it. We had a great lunch and visit and a break from the heat outside. After a leisurely meal we headed for one last letterbox in Old Town and dessert. We walked a short distance to the next location and found all the landmarks but we were having trouble locating the box. We sat at a table (in the shade) and read the clues, checked the compass and tried again. Still no luck. Then as I was walking around I noticed something that I thought could be the answer to finding the box. I ended up moving a rock and digging a little and I found the box. Which turned out to be a wet and rusted tin. We took it back to a table and after a little work I got it open. The stamp was wet and sticky so Astro D took it and cleaned it off and dried it. Thankfully the logbook was dry. We all stamped in and made sure the stamp and logbook were clean and dry. Then we made a decision and we hoped the planter would be okay with it. We put the stamp in a small baggie, the logbook in another small baggie and then both of those into a larger baggie. And then just to be sure we put all of that into another baggie. When I went to rehide the box the area was swarming with muggles. So rubberpeace and I sat next to the hiding spot and Astro D took our picture and while this was going on I was reaching down and hiding the box. Now that we had taken care of Celestini by Celestini we went for some dessert. We ended up getting chocolate and then heading for the car. Let me tell you that the chocolate was melting before we reached the car.

Our next stop was in downtown at the New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum. None of us felt like actually visiting the museum so we just went in search of the box - Twinville Trekkers' Beatles Series #20 "Give Peace a Chance". It was a pretty easy find and we ended up stamping in the car because it was so hot. We put the box back in place and then headed to Roosevelt Park to find Wronghat's Jillion Gyrations. I love this park. It is so green and full of trees, there is a disc golf course and a playground - it is just a really nice place to hang out. We found the box and sat under a tree to stamp in. We got everything done and got the box back in its hiding spot and headed back to the car. We had time for one more box before heading back to Santa Fe. We opted for the closest box and that was All Quiet by Wronghat. I had already found this one but both rubberpeace and Astro D needed to find it. So we headed to Fairview Memorial Park Cemetery and followed the clues to the box. They used the car to stamp in and then rehid the box.

We made the drive back to Santa Fe and when we got to my house rubberpeace showed me how to do her 'map fold'. This is an origami type fold that is used to take a large piece of paper and make it into a more manageable size that can be open to view the whole picture. After that they left to go home. We had a great day of letterboxing and it was a nice way to celebrate rubberpeace's birthday and letterboxing anniversary and I hope she had a great day.

A Letterboxing Outing

Last night Thomas and I decided that we wanted to get out of the house today so we planned for a trip to Chaco Culture National Historic Park. And there just happened to be a letterbox along the way. So about 7:00am we filled our backpacks with water, trail mix, sandwiches, cheese, apples, oranges and strawberries. We also took the letterboxing stuff and the camera. I also remembered to bring my passport stamp book.

The drive was nice, I think we left early enough that we got started before most people were awake. Our first stop was in San Ysidro at the Perea Nature Trail to find Black Mesa Inbound by Birch Moon. It was a quick and easy find and after stamping in and replacing the box we walked the trail - it isn't very long so it was a quick walk. Once we got back to the car we continued our drive north on NM550 to Cuba. We stopped in Cuba to have breakfast. There was only one place open and that was Bobbie & Margie's Cuban Cafe. We had a nice breakfast and the staff was very friendly - we enjoyed it.

So now it was time to head to Chaco Canyon. Driving to Chaco isn't the easiest. It is out in the middle of nowhere and the last 13 miles or so is on a badly maintained dirt road. And today the road really felt like driving on a washboard. There were times we had to go about 5 to 10 mph because the car was shaking so bad. But we made it. We stopped at the Visitors Center (which is a tent as they are building a new one) and paid the fee and got my passport stamps. We also got a map. We then drove down the park road and stopped at the Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito parking area. They had just started a tour of Pueblo Bonito so we joined in. The ranger gave a great tour and Thomas and I both really enjoyed ourselves. After the tour we drove over to Casa Rinconada Community and did our own self guided tour (there was a ranger lead tour but not until 4:00pm). It was an enjoyable day but by 1:00pm it was starting to get hot and we needed to head back to Santa Fe.

It was nice to take this little day trip. Thomas and I use to do that all the time but these trips now don't happen as often as we would like. Maybe we will try to do one or two a month and see how that goes. Anyway, it was a nice day and we got to find one letterbox.

Meeting Hi Desert

For a little over a year now there has been a new letterboxer in Santa Fe and that letterboxer is Hi Desert. Today I finally got to meet her. I had lunch with Hi Desert, Astro D and rubberpeace at Mucho's. It was nice to meet Hi Desert since I have found 12 of her boxes so far. She is so full of energy and you can tell she really loves letterboxing and has been having fun with it. She complimented all of us for the boxes we have planted and how they have entertained her through some health issues. It was a nice lunch and I enjoyed hearing her letterboxing stories and I look forward to more meetings and also to finding more of her boxes. Hi Desert, welcome to the group of Santa Fe Letterboxers.

Lunch with the Travelin' T's

Astro D and I had lunch today with Sha and Anne (Travelin' T's) at Mangiano. They have been vacationing and letterboxing in Santa Fe for the past week. We first met them back in July 2007 when they were visiting Santa Fe. We always enjoy getting together with them whether it is in Waco or Santa Fe or at an event somewhere. We had a great lunch and visit and enjoyed hearing about their kids and sharing letterboxing stories. They have planted some great boxes in the Waco area and I love finding them. Sha has also contributed stamps for the Road Trip box that Astro D placed for my 1000th find and a stamp for Dreams of Eames box for Astro D's 1000th find. I am glad they find time to visit with us, it was good to see them again.

Home Sweet Home

After a long day of customs, airports and planes we are home. Our dogs are laying next to us and won't leave our sides. Anytime one of us moves all three of them follow. I guess they missed us as much as we missed them. I am trying to get some things onto the blog so I don't forget them but to tell the truth I am really tired. It is late and it has been a long day. The trip was fantastic - we had an incredible time, saw some amazing places, had a few wonderful excursions, experienced some tasty food and made some terrific friends. I have to say that this trip is my all time favorite and I hope the memories will last a lifetime. If the memory fails me I can always go to Letterboxing Cruise to Alaska Adventure to refresh it. You can go there as well to read about the entire trip. And if you would like to see pictures I have created four slide shows and you can find them at . . . Alaska 2011 Interior, Alaska 2011 Cruise, Alaska 2011 Ship Tour and Alaska 2011 Vancouver.

Off to the 'Land of the Midnight Sun'

I used this title for this post since Thomas and I are off to an Alaska trip. And since we are going in July we will have plenty of daylight - I think while we are there we will have on average of 18 to 20 hours of sun.

We are taking this trip as part of the Alaska Letterboxing Cruise set up by Mark and Sue Pepe. But we decided to add a couple of days to the beginning of the trip and to the end of the trip. We will arrive in Fairbanks on July 2 at about 10pm. After a couple of days there on our own we will join the group for a trip to Denali and then to Anchorage before boarding the cruise ship in Seward. The cruise goes from Seward to Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Ketchican and then the Inside Passage before docking in Vancouver. Once off the ship Thomas and I will spend a couple of extra days in Vancouver (one of our favorite cities to visit).

I am so excited about this trip and I have done so much research and reading I kind of feel like I have already been there. I haven't planned much for our free time - we will just play it by ear and hopefully we will end up with an incredible experience. This is our first visit to Alaska and one that has been on our 'To Do' List - I am hoping that the trip is incredible and that it will entice us to visit Alaska again. If you would like to follow our trip and adventures go to Letterboxing Cruise to Alaska Adventure.