A Couple of Boxes in Albuquerque

This afternoon I needed to be in Albuquerque to pick up a friend at the sunport and I decided to go a little early and pick up a couple of letterboxes. First I wanted to get a box from a series I found a year ago this February that was missing. So I made my way to Rio Rancho to find the third box in the series Filmed in New Mexico. I was familiar with the area and I knew exactly where to go to find the box. So I arrived at the area and read the clues and quickly found the box. I stamped using a log as a seat and then put the box back in place. I took my time walking back to the car by walking along the river. It was very nice and quiet so I was enjoying my walk. Once back in the car I decided to head over to the BioPark to look for Stung! I parked and read the clues but I as having a little trouble finding a landmark but then I walked a little further and found what I was looking for. And after taking two more steps I actually could see the box. I grabbed it and took it back to the car to stamp. Once I was done I returned the box to its hiding spot and went back to the car. Now it was time for me to get to the sunport and pick up my friend. If I keep up this finding one or two boxes each time I go to Albuquerque maybe I will get them all in a couple of monthes

Letterboxing in DC

I am in Washington, D.C. with Thomas. He is here for the AASHTO Washington Briefing and I have tagged along. While he is attending the conference I am doing lots of site seeing and some letterboxing. You can read about all my adventures at Washington DC.

I first tried to find a letterbox on Tuesday, February 25 at Union Station. I arrived at Union Station and entered where the clues for the box told me to and once inside I sat and read through the rest of the clues. I then followed the clues and made my way to the hiding spot. It was a little uncomfortable (which turns out to be a theme when letterboxing in DC) since there was a door for employees to go through. Checking the area I didn't find any box. Now, I am not sure if I was in the right area or if I was just really nervous that someone would walk through the door or not. I made a half hearted effort to find the box and then left empty handed to continue my sight seeing.

Then on Wednesday, February 26 I did a little more letterboxing. There is a mystery box hidden in an area that I was near. To be honest, when I solved the clues I was a little confused by them and I wasn't sure I had them right. But I attempted the box but things really didn't make sense but I tried anyway. Unfortunately I got stopped by security when I tried to go where the clues said to go and he directed me elsewhere when he asked what I was looking for. So I decided it was too uncomfortable and the box wasn't worth getting into trouble for so I left and continued with my day.

My next letterboxing adventures were on Thursday, February 27 when I took a walk around the Mall and the Tidal Basin. Finally I found my first letterbox in DC. I looked for and found The Tiny Lotus at the Botanic Gardens. Luckily there was a group of school kids and they distracted the staff so I was able to grab the box and I found a table and chairs in a different room of the conservatory so that I could sit and stamp in. Getting the box back in place was just as easy as nabbing it and then I was good to continue on. I then attempted four boxes around the Tidal Basin. Three of them I couldn't find, not sure if I was in the wrong place or not but I didn't find the boxes. But I did have some luck - I found Eye Have a Dream. Thankfully there was a bench nearby where I could sit and stamp in. After hiding the box I continued on to look for a few other boxes. When I arrived at the locations for the other boxes I felt too uncomfortable to look for them. There were lots of Rangers around and some cameras. I decided that no boxes are worth getting stopped by security so I aborted the searches and just enjoyted the memorials.

Well at least I found two boxes and I can add Washington DC to my letterboxing map.

8th Anniversary Letterboxing

Today marks my 8th anniversary of letterboxing. Back in 2006 I found my first letterbox (Silver Eagle's Santa Fe Trails Microbox) and 8 years later I still love looking for boxes. On my anniversary I like to do a little letterboxing to celebrate. I had originally had plans for a full day of letterboxing but plans change. Thomas and I have guests from England staying with us and it didn't seem right for me to disappear for a full day. So I opted to stay in Santa Fe to find two recently planted boxes. This turned out to be a very quick outing and I found two nice stamps. We spent the morning and early afternoon with our friends and then just before dinner I headed out to nab these two boxes. I found ArnoldZiffel's My Favorite Swine: Maxwell and Undocumented Pig? not too far from my home. I pulled into the parking area and read the clues. From the car I could see the hiding spots for both boxes so I left the clues in the car and went out to grab both boxes. It didn't take me long to find them and then I took them back to the car to have a comfortable place to sit and stamp in. Like I said, these are two nice stamps and I enjoyed putting them into my logbook and celebrating my 8 years of letterboxing. Once done with the stamping I put the boxes back together and returned them to their hiding spots and called it a day. Thanks ArnoldZiffel for planting these boxes. I am looking forward to more letterboxing anniversaries.

A Day of Letterboxing in Albuquerque

Back in December ArnoldZiffel arranged a dinner meet for the Santa Fe and Albuquerque letterboxers. We all had a great time but we realized we didn't get to visit very much with the way the tables were arranged and the fact we were in a restaurant. Days later Astro D and I talked and we both felt we needed another get together so we could all visit more. So Astro D got to work and in no time she arranged for a get together in Albuquerque. Today seemed to work for everyone and so we scheduled it and ended up meeting in a local coffee shop. But before the meet up I decided to go early and get in some letterboxing.

I haven't had the time to get to Albuquerque in a while to letterbox so I had quite a few boxes to choose from. Last night I got things ready and mapped out all the boxes. I ended up leaving Santa Fe around 9:00am and made my way south to Albuquerque. My first stop was at Sunset Memorial Park to find Grumpy Grinch's Fierce Fisherman. This was a quick and easy find and once I had the box in hand I took it back to the car to stamp in. When I was done I had to wait a few minutes for this one car to leave before I could put it back in place. Once it was hidden I continued on my journey. I drove to Tingley Beach and parked in the far parking lot. I walked from the parking area into the bosque and followed the trail for a short distance to a bird blind. I was on the search for Wronghat's Go N2 Serendipity BoX. It didn't take me long to find it and then I sat near the river to stamp in. Once the box was back in place I walked around the area just enjoying the quiet. I only saw one person during my time in the bosque. After about 30 minutes I decided to return to the car and continue with my day. Back on Tingley Drive I went a little further to a pullout parking area across from where the elephants hang out at the zoo. I was looking for Pachyderms Backdoor by Wronghat. I read the clues and started looking for the box. I wasn't having any luck but I kept looking anywhere I thought the box might be. Unfortunately I didn't find the box and it was time for me to go and meet the group.

So I headed over to Napoli Coffee on Carlisle. I parked and while I was getting my things out of the car I noticed other people showing up. Once in the place we put some tables together and we ordered drinks and snacks. The group consisted of Wronghat, Semicolon, ArnoldZiffel, Agent 86, BirchMoon, Astro D, Speleo and myself. We had a great time visiting and talking about letterboxing. I talked with Wronghat about the Pachyderm box and what I did wrong - he gave me some insight and I decided to try again after our visit. We all talked about different boxes around the state and talked about boxes we have found and we passed around logbooks. It was a great visit and I hope we can do it again sometime soon. After a couple of hours we all headed off in different directions to continue our day.

I returned to the Tingley Drive area to try again to find the Pachyderm box. I reread the clues and this time I realized what I had done wrong (with Wronghat's help) and I easily found the box. I took it back to the car to stamp in and then had to wait a little while because a group of people had stopped to talk right near the hiding spot for the box. Eventually they left and I was able to get the box back in its hiding spot. From here I made my way to Central and then to Old Town. I parked in the parking lot between San Felipe and Romero and went in search of Astro D's Breaking Bad in Burque: Dog House. The box is hidden in the parking lot and I found it fast and then sat on a bench to stamp in. It was such an open area I thought I would have problems with lots of people but I didn't see anyone and I was glad about that. I stamped in and then replaced the box. I was now ready to continue on. When we met at the coffee shop Astro D let us know she had just placed another box. So I got the clues from her and now it was a good time to go and find this box - Breaking Bad in Burque: Los Pollos Hermanos. I got to the location easily enough and parked. I read the clues while sitting in the car and tried to find the location of the box from inside the car. I wanted to find the location while in the car because the box is hidden off of a very busy road and I just wanted to make a bee line to the box and then take it back to the car to stamp in. Everything seemed good and I left the car and headed towards the box and as I went around a tree I encountered a turkey. I jumped and screamed and was thankful there wasn't anyone around to see or hear me. The good thing was that I scared the turkey when I screamed so he ran the other way. That made it easy to get the box and take it back to the car. After stamping in I walked back to replace the box making sure there was no turkey around - he wasn't, and it was easy to get the box back into place. Now I headed to the UNM area and specifically to the Observatory. I drove into the parking area and made my way to the spot where the box was headed. I was a little concerned looking for this box because the parking lot was empty and I was out there in the open where anyone passing could see me. I was a little worried that campus security would pass and ask me what I was doing. Fortunately no one came and I was able to find Star Wars Anniversary and stamp in without incident. After replacing the box I got back in the car and looked at the time. It was already 5:00pm and it was starting to get dark. I decided to look for one more box and then find something to eat for dinner. I drove to Coronado Mall and easily found C4's Mother and Daughter box.  I parked right next to the box which help protect me from being seen while I nabbed it and took it back to the car to stamp in. I quickly stamped in and then replace the box. By this time it was dark and I was hungry.

It just so happened that I could see a Panera Bread not far from the box so I decided that is where I would have dinner. I ended up having black bean soup and thai chicken salad. While I ate I surfed the net on my iPad and just relaxed after a great day of letterboxing. I left Panera around 7:30pm and needed to find something to do until 11:00pm - that is when I needed to pick Thomas up from the airport (he was returning from a trip to New York City for work). Once I was in the car I started thinking where I could go and sit and play on the computer for a while. I remembered that there is a Satellite Coffee on Central not too far from the airport. So that is where I headed. Playing on the computer, drinking coffee and having a little snack helped to pass the time but around 10:15pm I needed to move - I was tired of just sitting. I made my way to the cell phone waiting area at the airport and parked. At first I thought I would just sit in the car and wait for Thomas to call but I was antsy so I ended up walking around the perimeter of the parking area about five times. As I headed back to the car (fyi - I was the only one there) my phone rang. Thomas had landed and was heading for the baggage claim - he said he would call once he had his suitcase. I waited about 10 minutes and then decided to head toward the pick up area. Thomas called just as I was making the last turn. We got his things in the car and we were on our way home.

It was a great day in Albuquerque and I found some wonderful boxes. Also Thomas is home after five days away - a wonderful way to end a fantastic day.

On Our Way Home From Farmington

After a great day yesterday and a good night's sleep we slept in this morning and it was 9:00am before we left the hotel and started our journey back to Santa Fe. We left Farmington and stopped to fill the car with gas in Bloomfield before hitting US550. We drove for a short distance and then turned into the Angel Peak Scenic Area. I had clues for three boxes in the area (later I found out that there was another box) at three different places. First we stopped at Sage Picnic Area and found C4's Angelic. A quick find, but I had to kick the rock loose since it was a little frozen. I sat in the car to stamp in because the temperature was in the teens. After replacing this box we continued up to Castle Overlook and found Sunny Delight's Castle Rock box. Again this one was frozen a little but I was able to loosen the rock and get the box. I sat in the warmth of the car to stamp in and then returned the box to its hiding spot. Then we drove all the way to the end to Angel Peak Campground and parked at the picnic area. We started following the clues but I got confused almost immediately. The clue says to go to the lookout tip and I figured either there would be a sign or the path would lead to only one spot. I was wrong on both accounts. There was no sign anywhere for a 'lootkout tip' and the path went in a couple of directions. We did try and look around at three areas that seemed to match some of the clues but we came up empty handed. We spent about 25 minutes looking for this box but gave up because we got too cold. We did spend a little time taking pictures and enjoying the peace and quiet - we were the only ones there on a cold Sunday morning.

From Angel Peak we got back on US550 and headed to CR7900. As we made the turn we noticed a woman selling bread and biscochitos.  We bought one loaf of bread and one package of biscochitos and then continued on CR7900 to look for three boxes. At the intersection of CR7900 and CR7950 we parked in a parking area near the first box and Thomas waited in the car while I went in search of Macao in Chaco. I made it to the spot only to find the box exposed and open. The logbook was laying next to it and there were three crayola markers in the box but no stamp. I picked everything up and looked around the area but I was unable to find the stamp. I put everything there back into the box, covered it and then put it back in its hiding spot. When I returned to the car I made a note on the clue sheet to contact the placer about the mess. We then continued on CR7900 for two more boxes. First we stopped at a windmill and found BFF - a quick and easy find, I stamped in the car and rehid the box and then we were on our way. The next box was a few miles down the road near a small hoodoo that the placer described as a turtle. I quickly found Chaco and took it back to the car to stamp in. After replacing the box we turned around and made our way back to US550. Along the way Thomas noticed some hoodoos off to our left so we pulled into the area and took a few pictures.

When we got to Cuba we made a stop to see if we could move the frozen rock to find the box we missed yesterday but it was still being obstinate and we called it quits ad moved on. We continued our drive and somewhere around San Ysidro we stopped at a pullout with a great view of Cabezon Peak and found ArnoldZiffel's New Mexico Centennial Stamp. After stamping in and getting a couple of pictures we were on our way again. In Bernallio we stopped for a late lunch and the completed our drive to Santa Fe. It was a great overnight trip and it was nice just to have a little getaway.

Spur of the Moment Trip to Farmington

Last night Thomas came home from work and announced that he wanted to do something this weekend. He said we could leave in the morning and come home Sunday and asked where I wanted to go. I asked him if he felt like letterboxing since I had quite of few clues for boxes in the Farmington area. He said that would be fine. So we got things together and packed overnight bags before going to bed.

This morning we got up at 6:00am and got a few last minute things ready and then we hit the road. We drove south on I25 to Bernalillo and then took US550 through Cuba and up to Bloomfield. As we drove we enjoyed the lack of traffic since it was early and it was a Saturday. We didn't make any stops until we reached Cuba. We decided to stop here and have some breakfast. We ate at the Cuban Café and took our time and talked and sipped our coffee. We really didn't have anything planned or needing to get anywhere at any certain time so we just relaxed. After about an hour we got in the car and decided to look for a few letterboxes before leaving Cuba. I read the clues and made a mental list of landmarks and we were on our way. The first stop was at the post office. I wasn't too keen about looking for a letterbox around a federal building but when we pulled into the parking lot it was empty. The box was easy to find and I don't think anyone could see me. I took the box back to the car to stamp in and when it was time to put the box back the coast was clear and I easily got the box rehidden. We then continued through town looking for landmarks. The next box was a series of four boxes and they were planted at different gas stations in town. We found three of the four boxes and I stamped in while sitting in the car. For the fourth box we found the right spot but the rock was frozen in place and we couldn't budge it. We decided we would continue on and we would have to look for it at another time. So we left Cuba and continued on our drive.

Not far out of Cuba we turned on to NM96 and drove to La Jara and stopped at the post office. The place was closed and no one was around so it was easy to grab the box and return to the car to stamp in. After replacing the box we returned to US550 and then stopped near the Apache Nugget Casino to look for another box. We were supposed to find an elephant doing a handstand. Well I never found an elephant but after some searching we did find the box. It was a little work to scramble up a snow and loose rock covered hill but I did it and grabbed the box. There was no where to sit and stamp in so I went back down the hill to the car and stamped in there. That meant when I was done I had to traverse the hill again. I did it and then we were able to continue on our way. Before arriving in Bloomfield we made one last stop at CR7500 to find Wronghat's Vicissitudes. This was a quick and easy find. I stamped in while sitting in the car and then returned the box to its hiding spot. I then walked around the abandoned house and took a few pictures. Next we made the last little bit of the drive to Farmington.

We arrived in Farmington and made our way to Lions Wilderness Park. There were quite a few boxes here and we felt it would be a good place to start. First we drove to the amphitheater area and searched for two boxes. Both were pretty easy to find and weren't far walks. The first one I found was right on the side of a road near a parking lot. So I went and retrieved the box and brought it back to the car to stamp and then after stamping I walked back and replaced it. The second box was a little walk down a road that was blocked from motorized vehicles so Thomas stayed in the car and I walked the short distance to the box. I found it easily and then took it back to a picnic table to stamp in. I was done in a short while and replaced the box and then returned to the car. From here we drove to the disc golf course area of the park. A while back I solved a puzzle clue by Sunny Delight called Charlie Brown Christmas Dance Scene. I was determined to look for this box since solving the puzzle took a little bit of time. This is actually a series of seven boxes hidden in and around the disc golf course. We started at the first one and had to wait a little while for a group of four to finish the hole. Once they left we followed the clues but didn't find the box. I am not sure if it was there and we missed it or if it is indeed missing. So after about 15 minutes of searching we decided to continue on for the other six boxes. After about 2 hours of walking all over the course and following clues we found the last six boxes without any problems - well maybe a couple of problems - at a couple of the boxes we had to wait for groups to play through with their frisbees. The boxes took us around the course and we started and ended up at the parking area. We got in the car and drove toward the exit of the park but before leaving we turned toward a picnic area to look for one last box in the park. I wasn't sure whether we would find the next box because there had been an attempt on it recently but since it wasn't on a long hike we decided to look for it. I followed the clues and easily found the box without any problems. I took the box back to the car to stamp in and then returned it to its hiding spot. Now we were ready to leave the park. I had clues for a box at Sandalwood Park just down the road from where we were. So we headed there. We parked and started following the clues. There was a comment that a finder had made on AQ that some of the landmarks were missing - mainly pink flags marking the trail. But we decided to try it anyway. We gave it a good try but never really located anything in the clue so we decided to call it quits and head to one last place before calling it a day. Our next stop was at San Juan College to look for a couple of boxes. There were two in particular that we searched for - RNR's Professor Stevens and BirchMoon's Numb3rs. We knew the area we needed for RNR's box but BirchMoon's box had very clever obscure clues. Instantly I found the first number in the clue for Numb3rs and we were on our way. These clues took us to the courtyard for the Little Theatre. This is where Professor Stevens is hidden. So we concentrated on those clues and quickly found the box. I sat on a bench and stamped in while Thomas looked for the next number for the other clue. After stamping in I replaced the box and joined Thomas. It took us a few minutes to locate the next number and we were now getting the hang of looking for the numbers. The next clue I figured out quickly and we continued on our walk to find the box. The last clue was a little difficult but we bumped into a security guy and he was able to give us some insight (we did not tell him we were letterboxing, we told him we were doing a scavenger hunt). A little while later we found the box. I stamped in at a nearby bench. After stamping in I copied the clues for the bonus box (I am not giving anything away here - she mentions the bonus box in the clues) and then we returned the box to its hiding spot. Thomas and I sat down again and tried to make some sense of the bonus box clues. I wasn't getting anywhere looking at the clues so we got up and walked around looking for something that made sense. By this time the sun was starting to go down and it was getting a little cold. But we kept trying but we found absolutely nothing - no sign of anything that made sense with the clues. We finally decided to give up since it was getting dark and hard to make out things - so we walked back to the car and headed out for something to eat. After dinner we checked in to the hotel and relaxed. We had a great day and tomorrow we start making our way home.

A Holiday Mini Meet in Santa Fe

Tonight we had a little mini meet in Santa Fe at Blue Corn Café. The meet was arranged by ArnoldZiffel and it was a way for all of us to meet the newest Santa Fe letterboxer - Speleo. We were scheduled to meet at 4:00pm and I arrived just a tad before because I had finished all my errands and didn't have anything to do. But I didn't have to wait long before ArnoldZiffel and Agent86 arrived. We got a table for 10 and waited for everyone else to arrive. So those that attended from Santa Fe were ArnoldZiffel, Agent86, Speleo, Astro D, The Great Wuga Wuga, rubberpeace, rbrhorno and myself (lionsmane). And it was a pleasure and a surprise to have Wronghat and SemicolonNM show up from Albuquerque. We had a great time visiting and making exchanges. It has been a while since we have had a good get together for all the boxers in the area. The food and company was great and I hope we can do this again soon. You can see some photos that Wronghat took at Speleo Meet in SF Photo Album.