Chimney Rock is Active Again

I planted my first letterbox on April 15, 2006 at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM. I remember being very excited. Thomas and I had been up to Ghost Ranch numerous times and every time we hiked the Chimney Rock Trail. The views from the mesa are spectacular. You can see the entire Ghost Ranch compound, Abiquiu Lake and Cerro Pedernal. It is amazing the beauty you can see from atop this mesa. And you get a bird's eye view of Chimney Rock. This first box - Chimney Rock - was special since it was the first box I planted. I was very happy with my carving (it was my second carving - the first being my signature stamp) and the logbook. We hiked the trail up to the top and walked aroung the mesa looking for a spot to hide the box. We found what we thought would be a good spot and placed the box and covered it with rocks. After hiding the box we made our way down to the parking area and headed home. I wondered if the box was hidden well enough and if it would last and when it would be found. A few people found it - only one person logged in a find, another person sent me an email but never logged it and a third person told me in person that they found it. So as far as I know those were the only three finders. I hadn't heard anything about the box in a while so one day I decided to drive out to Ghost Ranch and check on it. I was disappointed to find that the box was gone. Unfortunately, my inexperience in hiding boxes was evident - the spot I picked was not very good. So then and there I decided that since it was my first box I wanted to replace it. I walked around the mesa scoping out possible new hiding spots and thinking about how I could hide it better. After an hour up there I decided it was time to head home. I should have worked on the new box immediately but I guess I needed to do other things and before I knew it time got away from me and it wasn't until today that I was able to get back out there and rehide it. I worked on the stamp about a week ago and finished the journal two days ago. Thomas and I had plans to go today but then we ended up getting some snow and we almost cancelled the trip. But when we woke up this morning it was clear and beautiful and we felt that it would be okay to hike. We had a very nice drive out to Abiquiu and when we arrived at Ghost Ranch we checked in and headed for the trail. We took our time and enjoyed the hike up, we stopped often to take pictures and check out the views. We arrived at the top and we immediately checked out rocks and bushes for a good spot. We wanted to stay close to the trail but also wanted some place safe. This time I think we did a much better job hiding the box and I feel it will last longer. After getting the box hidden we walked around the mesa and took more pictures before heading back to the car. To complete the day we stopped in at the Abiquiu Inn for some dinner before heading home. I am glad we didn't postpone the trip - it was a beautiful day and we had a great time. I have updated the clues and the box is waiting to be found.

A Day of Replanting

Today I headed out to Cerrillos Hills Historic Park even though the wind was blowing and it was pretty chilly. I needed to replace a box that had gone missing and I need to find a new home for another one that I had to remove from its old hiding place. I knew I would get the one box replaced but I wasn't sure if I would find a spot for the other box - but I had it with me just in case. I arrived at the parking area and found that I was the only one around. My first task was to replace my missing box - Felis concolor. I wanted it in the same area because I really love the views and the peaceful quality of that spot. It is off on a little side trail that doesn't get much traffic and you can sit on a rock ledge and just enjoy the box, the views and the quiet. So I made my way up the Mountain Lion Trail (now renamed the Jane Calvin Sanchez Trail) to the old hiding spot of the box. I looked around and eventually found a new spot for the box. It is very close to the old spot but in a much better spot - I hope it doesn't go missing again.

After the box was hidden I took some pictures and then returned to the main trail. I continued along the trail to a spot with a bench and I just sat and enjoyed the views. I didn't stay long because the wind started blowing harder and it got colder. So I returned to the parking lot. But instead of leaving I walked up to the Analemma to read about it and take some more pictures. At this time I noticed a trail just past the sculpture. This trail is pretty new, I don't remember seeing it when I first planted my box. So I made my way up the Village View Trail. The trail is very easy and not very long and it ends at an overlook with a bench and a sign that talks about Cerrillos, The Early Years. From this overlook you can see the village of Cerrillos and the Broken Saddle Riding Co. This seemed like a good spot for Los Vaqueros. In case you hadn't heard I had to remove this box from Albuquerque because it violated their Open Space Rules. So I needed to find this cowboy a new home. What better place for a cowboy than somewhere with a view of horses. So I walked around, sat on a few different benches and eventually found a new hiding spot. I think he will be happy here.

After sitting and looking at the views for a while I decided I needed to head back home. I walked back to the car and I felt very good about the hiding spots. Now that both these boxes have new homes they would like to receive visitors. Make sure you look up the new clues before heading out and I am looking forward to people finding them.

Solving a Puzzle and An Impromtu Mini Meet

About a month ago rubberpeace and rbrhorno were in Oregon doing some letterboxing and they met with X Marks the Spot. In order to find most of his boxes you have to meet with him to get a book with the clues. He ended going out with them while they looked for some of his boxes (he wanted to see how people interpreted the clues). They were a little worried at first that they might have some trouble but it actually turned out okay. They said they found some incredible boxes that involved some amazing woodworking. During their excursion they talked about one of his boxes that he sends out to people. That box is Cryptex! and they found out where the box was and contacted someone so that we (rubberpeace, Astro D and I) could get on the list to receive the box. Well, while Astro D and I were in Texas attending T.A.L.E. 6 rubberpeace received Cryptex! in the mail. So rubberpeace and rbrhorno started working on the clues. They figured the first part out rather quickly and then seemed to get "stuck" on the second part. Astro D and I got emails that seemed to exude PANIC. The emails included everything they had tried and Astro D and I were supposed to try and figure out the rest. So we started thinking about it and when we arrived home we emailed each other with different suggestions. But nothing seemed to work - so Astro D, rubberpeace and I made plans to meet today for lunch to figure it out. In the meantime Astro D picked up the box from rubberpeace and she and The Great Wuga Wuga tried opening it. It wasn't until Sunday morning when they tried some of the passwords again that they got the box opened. It seems that it was a little stuck and we think that we actually solved the puzzle right away but just couldn't get the box open. Maybe by trying different passwords The Great Wuga Wuga loosened things up. So in the end it all worked out and when we met today we were able to stamp in. It turned out to be a lot of fun and an incredible box. We are hoping we can receive some of his other boxes.

Stamping into the box wasn't the only thing that happened at lunch. I received a phone call while at the restaurant and it was Kristal and Ron. I had gotten an email from them about a week ago saying they were going to be in Santa Fe and hoped we could all get together. It worked out great since we were all together already. I gave Kristal the directions and they met us at 8:15 Early. We did exchanges, gave them suggestions for boxes to find and just chatted about letterboxing and their upcoming trip out to Washington. Then they were off to find boxes.

It was nice day, I enjoyed seeing the Cryptex! letterbox and it was great to meet up with Kristal and Ron. This is why I love letterboxing.

Slide Show for Texas Heritage Trip

I have finally gotten my pictures organized and created a slide show of Astro D and my trip to Texas to attend TALE6. I think I have captured the trip pretty well except for the actual event. I was having so much fun I actually forgot to take pictures that day. Even so I still think the slide show is pretty good. By clicking on the picture you can view the slide show and read about the trip. It was a good trip and we all had a lot of fun but it is good to be home.

T.A.L.E. 6 Here We Come

Tomorrow Astro D and I are headed to Texas to attend the T.A.L.E. 6 Texas Heritage Letterboxing Event in Weches, TX. We will be traveling from Santa Fe to Abilene, then to Waco and then on to Rusk. We will attend the Event on Saturday, March 7 at MissionTejas State Park. From there we will go to Austin and then on to San Angelo to visit Astro D's mom. It should be a great trip and we will get to see some friends along the way and hopefully find lots of great letterboxes. You can follow along by clicking on the map. And we will be placing some letterboxes along the way for our Texas letterboxing friends and I am also placing one of my Alphabetical New Mexico boxes - U: UFO Museum.

Following Your Gut Instinct

Recently a reporter from the Albuquerque Journal contacted me about doing a story about letterboxing. I was hesitant at first because I was unsure if the publicity would hurt the hobby. I eventually consented and the article appeared in the February 15th Sunday Edition Living Section. You can read the article on Astro D's blog at 15 Minutes of Fame. Well this week I realized that I should have listened to my gut instinct and not done the article. It seems that I violated some rules and placed a letterbox too far off the trail. I received an email from a Specialist with the City of Albuquerque's Open Space Division. You can read the General Rules and the Geocaching Guidelines (which also apply to letterboxes). So I have now retired my Los Vaqueros letterbox and removed it from the park. This letterbox already went missing once when planted close to the trail and I felt it needed to be further away for the safety of the box but then that meant putting undue stress on the landscape. I did try and find a place that fit the guidelines (no more than two feet off the trail) but it just didn't work out. Now I am not saying that the article was the problem - I actually broke the rules but the box had been in place since March 2007 and there had been no problems. By making the hobby, box and location public it brought undue attention to it and thus compromised it. Well no more interviews for me and I will definitely be extremely careful about where I place boxes.

Three Year Letterboxing Anniversary

Today marks three years that I have been letterboxing and even though I have now found 1147 letterboxes I can still remember that first find like it was yesterday - Santa Fe Trail Microbox by Silver Eagle. After finding that box I knew I was hooked. So in three years I have found boxes in 18 states and in Canada, I have visited tons of places I probably would never have gone to and I have met some of the nicest people around.

To celebrate this anniversary I pretty much did only things related to letterboxing this weekend. On Saturday morning I planted a new letterbox - Siddhārtha Gautama and replaced a missing letterbox - New Mexico's Eternal Flame. Later I joined Astro D and rubberpeace for lunch. We talked about rubberpeace's recent letterboxing trip to the Oregon Coast and some of the neat letterboxes she found and we talked about the upcoming trip to Texas that Astro D and I are taking to T.A.L.E. 6 - Texas Heritage (You will be able to read about it at Texas Heritage Letterboxing Trip).

On Sunday I received a call from Astro D asking if I had read the letterboxing article about us in the Albuquerque Journal (I knew about the article but hadn't yet picked up the paper). So after hanging up I went to the store and got a paper and after reading the article I talked again with Astro D. We both thought they did a great job with the article - thanks Carolyn. If you go to Toast Ranch Ramblings you can read about our 15 Minutes of Fame from Astro D's point of view. The rest of the day I did some carvings and looked up clues for the Texas trip.

Today - the actual anniversary date of my first find - I went out to letterbox. The first place I visited was Camel Rock in Tesuque. In January Fantastyk Voyager placed a letterbox there and I patiently waited until today so that I would have at least one box to find. So I found Camel Rock, stamped in, took some pictures and then headed south to find one more box. I drove the Turquoise Trail (Hwy 14) to Tijeras. I was looking for the Monkey Cave letterbox placed by TwinvilleTrekkers. This box is placed off of Hwy 337 at a man made cave that was created by UNM Geology students as a test pit. The cave got its name from monkeys that escaped testing in 1973 from Lovelace Foundation at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque and ended up living in the cave. I parked at a pull off on the east side of the road and I could see the cave from my car. I got my letterboxing stuff and walked down into a little canyon and then back up to the cave. A short and easy hike (except the last bit to the cave - a lot of loose rocks made for unstable footing) up to the cave. I peeked my head into the cave but didn't actually crawl in and I took a few pictures. Then I turned my attention to the letterbox. It was hidden by a big boulder near the cave. I stamped in and rehid the box. Then I just sat there and enjoyed the peaceful morning.

I had contemplated finding other boxes but decided that I was done for the day. I still had an hour drive back home. So I headed north on Hwy 14 and arrived home a little after 1:00pm. It was a great way to celebrate my third anniversary of letterboxing.