Letterboxing and Book Arts in Los Alamos

Today Astro D invited me for a day in Los Alamos. The plan was for a little letterboxing, some lunch and a book arts show at the libraray. I was looking forward for a day away from my normal routine.

Deer Trap at Deer Trap Mesa

I met Astro D at her house and we were on the road at about 9:30am. We had a nice drive up to Los Alamos and headed for our first stop. We decided that while it was cool out we would go on a little hike and look for a letterbox. So we made our way to the trail head for Deer Trap Mesa. We parked and took the trail passing the deer trap and climbing over some rocks with toe holds. After the rocks (which is the only hard part of the trail) the trail levels out and is an enjoyable hike with great views. We saw quite a few wildflowers including Yucca and Indian Paintbrush.

Indian Paintbrush

At about a half mile the trail splits and we took the south arm of the trail. In no time we had reached the end and the area of the letterbox. We stood at the end of the mesa and read the clues and looked at a picture to determine the location of the box. I followed some landmarks and did some searching but was having trouble finding the box. You know there are a lot of dead trees and live trees mixed together so I just had to search until I found the right group of trees. It only took about 10 minutes to find the box and then find a nice shady place to sit and stamp in. We stamped in to Second Saturday Seekers: Leave No Trace. It had gotten a little warm on top of the mesa without any trees to shade us but it was okay. After stamping in and replacing the box we made the trip back to the car.

View from Deer Trap Mesa

After our little hike and letterbox hunt we decided to head out for a little lunch. So Astro D drove us to Daniel's Cafe and we had some great sandwiches and a nice relaxing sit and visit.

Book Art

Once we were done with lunch we headed over to Mesa Public Library to see a book arts exhibit. The exhibit we went to see was Bound Under the Influence by Suzanne Vilmain. This was a wonderful exhibit and had some great pieces. We spent about an hour going through everything wishing that we could pick up some of the books and thumb through them. We finished going through the exhibit and then decided to head back to Santa Fe. On the way out of town Astro D stopped and a mini golf course and park so that I could find a box that she had already found. It was a quick and easy to find J Letterbox. We sat on a bench while I stamped in. Once this box was back in place we made our way back to Santa Fe. It was another enjoyable day letterboxing with Astro D.

The Beginning of the End

Things in letterboxing have been strained for me lately. Too much negativity and I always seem to come out the bad guy. So I have made some changes. I no longer log any of my finds on Atlas Quest or Letterboxing North America. And I am keeping my blog private. Since some people think that they should have access to anything they want and go around restrictions I feel that I need to retire my boxes. I am tired of getting rude comments and being disrespected. I put a lot of effort into planting a box and I feel that I and my boxes deserve a lot more respect than they are getting. So today I took a drive and a walk around Santa Fe and picked up a few of my boxes and they are now retired. At a later date I may replant some of them but I am not making any plans for the near future. As of today the following boxes are no longer available.

A Sad Day

New Mexico Centennial
Goodbye Mom
Alphabetical New Mexico: Y (Yucca)
Dreams of Eames
Anisoptera
Paws and Purrs: Puppy
Paws and Purrs: Kitten
Put a Little Love in Your Heart

I have also decided that when I go out letterboxing and find a box I will not be stamping in to the box's logbook. I was recently accused of stealing a box just because they saw that I stamped in before them. I won't let that happen again. So I will continue to letterbox but I will be mostly anonymous.

Potter, More

Today I was doing things around the house and I took a break to check emails. I noticed some new boxes placed in Santa Fe, these were two Harry Potter boxes. Well actually two series of three boxes each. These boxes were boxes for the fourth and fifth books in the Harry Potter series. So I gathered my things and printed out the clues and headed to Monica Lucero Park.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Once I parked I read the clues over again and then headed out. I headed east on the Arroyo Chamisa Trail and only after a few yards I found the first box - Hungarian Horntail. An easy find and I sat at the edge of an arroyo while stamping in. I hid the box and continued. It was only a short way down the trail where I found the Golden Egg. This was just off the trail and I sat on a low cement wall to stamp in. The next box - The Triwizard Cup was the last box in the series for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This box held the logbook for the series and my First Finder Certificate. I found a large piece of cement and sat and stamped in. After I hid the box I headed for the second series which continued on the same trail.

The next series is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. After crossing Camino Carlos Rey I walked about 200 steps and found The Phoenix. This box was near a fenced in area with a private property sign. The box was hidden on the outside of the fence and I nabbed it and found a nice place to sit and stamp in. Once the box was back in place I continued east on the trail. Not far along the trail I arrived at a turquoise railing and then a bench. Behind the bench was a juniper that hid the next box - Extendable Ears. I took the box back to the bench to stamp in. After stamping in I had to wait a little while because the trail suddenly got busy. After about five minutes I was able to hide the box and continue. The final box was another quarter mile up the trail and hidden near a coyote fence. I found The Hog's Head and I took the box over a cement landing and sat and stamped in - this was the third and final in the series which held the logbook and another First Finder Certificate. I rehid the box and got back on the trail headed back to my car.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

It was a beautiful afternoon and I really enjoyed the walk. Along with finding six boxes I also found two hitchhikers. And I left one hitchhiker in the last box. Thanks ArnoldZiffel for planting this great series.

A Fury of Letterboxing Before a Graceful Exit

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift - that's why we call it the "present." 

Eleanor Roosevelt

This quote was a favoirte of Hi Desert and was on her profile page on Atlas Quest.

 On April 3, 2012 the Santa Fe and New Mexico letterboxing community lost one of our own. Hi Desert with all her enthusiasm for life and letterboxing passed gracefully from this world but not before making a big impression on all of us here in New Mexico. During her short letterboxing stint (about two years) she embraced the hobby with more gusto than I have ever seen. She planted 23 boxes in New Mexico, Texas and Colorado and she found 296 boxes in New Mexico, Texas, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Colorado, Georgia, South Carolina, California, North Carolina, Michigan and Italy. I know she met many letterboxers along the way and I am sure each has a great story about the meeting. I have a couple of stories myself.

Hi Desert (Jane Gaziano)

One of those was when she was in Savannah with her family and was having trouble finding a letterbox that I had found a short time before. She called Astro D to asked if she thought I might be able to help her. So Astro D called me and gave me Hi Desert's phone number and I called her to see if I could help. Now this box wasn't a mystery box or anything - there was just a little problem with the step count (well really the length). Hi Desert was a vertically challenged letterboxer and her steps took her no where near the letterbox. I told her what I had to do to find the box and in no time she had found it. I can't tell you how appreciative she was. She went on and on about me taking the time to call her and help out when I didn't think it was any big deal.

The other is of our one and only meeting. We met for lunch with Astro D and rubberpeace at Mucho's here in Santa Fe. Her enthusiam about this hobby was infectious and her energy (in the face of her health issues) was inspiring. She embarrassed me a little because she gushed about my boxes she had found and how much she enjoyed finding them and then she got up and came around the table and gave me a big hug. Thinking about it now makes my eyes water.

Here are some links related to Hi Desert.

Meeting Hi Desert
Another Dam Letterbox
Hi Desert AQ Profile Page
Hi Desert AQ Tribute Page
AQ New Mexico Board Thread from Astro D
AQ New Mexico Board Thread from Wronghat
New Mexican Obituary
Berardinelli Obituary
Berardinelli Tribute Wall

Farmington Letterboxing Trip - Part III

Today was our last day in Farmington and it wasn't a full day - we planned on doing some letterboxing and then heading back to Santa Fe by 11:30am. We all met for breakfast around 7:ooam and then we returned to our rooms to get our things and then we piled into the truck and it was time to letterbox.

Astro D and rubberpeace

Last night at dinner we planned out what we wanted to do today so we were ready to go this morning. Our first stop was Ricketts Park which is home to the Connie Mack World Series. There are two letterboxes here but only one available at this time. We looked for the one that is unavailable first - the box is Connie Mack World Series by Aspen. The clue states that the box is only available during the world series for a week in August but we noticed that there was a find logged in January of this year. So we thought maybe the box had been left in place but we didn't find it. Then we moved on to the next box - Baseball Reflections by RNR. This was an easy find and we took it to a picnic table to stamp in. I forgot to mention that it was a little cold this morning and the picnic table was aluminum so we got quite a little shock when our tushies hit the bench. Anyway we stamped in and enjoyed a great carve by RNR. We then rehid the box and headed for the next destination. We made our way to the Boys and Girls Club to find AAUGH! by BirchMoon. Another quick and easy find and we stamped in while sitting on a low wall. I love this stamp because it is from the comic strip Peanuts - one of my favorites. After we got the box back in place we got back to the truck and went to find the next box. This box is Arkham City Riddler: Box 2 by BirchMoon. I can't tell you where we went to find this one because it is a mystery. But is was a nice place, a nice stamp and a nice hide. Once the Riddler was back in place we made our way to Vietnam Veterans Park so that Astro D could find my Alphabetical New Mexico: F (Farmington) box and so rubberpeace could find The Lucky Box. Both boxes were found and they were stamped into and then we made our way to our last stop.

Shepard Girl

We arrived at San Juan College and began our hunt for three boxes. The first box we looked for was San Juan College. We read the clues and started looking where we thought the box might be but we came up empty handed and we also felt that the clues didn't really match the area we were looking in. So we moved on to the next box. Astro D found the box quickly and we sat at a table and stamped in to Kanji Series #2: To Study (appropriately hidden at a college). After getting this one back in place we wanted to find the Bookstore and look around. We entered into the Student Union and began our search for the Bookstore (and I used the word 'search' because that was what it turned out to be). We went upstairs and followed signs until we came to one that pointed for the Bookstore downstairs. We gave up on the Bookstore and went in search of Zodiac #1: Aries by BirchMoon. We had to find a statue in front of the Little Theatre and then follow the clues to the box. Once we finally located the Little Theatre and the statue it was a quick and easy find for the box. We stamped in while sitting on a low wall and then put the box back in place. Now we had to figure out how to get to the Bookstore and look for San Juan College again. We returned to the Student Union and followed signs again but no luck - we then asked three people for directions before we finally arrived at the Bookstore. And once we arrived there the clues to San Juan College got a little clearer. So we looked for the box. But we still didn't find it. So we decided to call it quits and go into the Bookstore. While Astro D and rubberpeace looked around I decided I wanted to try one more time for the box. So I left them in the Bookstore and went out to find the box - and I did just that. When they came out to meet me they found me sitting at a table stamping in. I found out that they had completely given up on the box and had just thrown away their clues.

Cuban Cafe

This same thing also happened yesterday when we searched for Desert Discs at Lions Wilderness Park. Anyway, after stamping in and laughing a bit we put the box back in place and headed for the truck.


It was time to say goodbye to Farmington and head back to Santa Fe. We made the drive to Cuba where we stopped for lunch at the Cuban Cafe. We had a great lunch which included the best homemade chips and salsa. We also had a great talk about the trip and all the great boxes we found. Then it was time to make the last bit of the drive home. Astro D and rubberpeace dropped me at home and our trip came to an end. We would like to thank BirchMoon, Wronghat, RNR, huginn and Aspen for all the wonderful boxes they have placed in the Farmington area. We would also like to thank Kaw and BirchMoon for meeting us for dinner - we had a great visit. You all made this a great trip to the Farmington area.

Oh, and today I hit another milestone. When we found the Kanji Series #2: To Study letterbox it marked my 500th letterbox I have found in the state of New Mexico. WooHoo!

Farmington Letterboxing Trip - Part II

So it is day two in Farmington and we had a lot planned. After breakfast at the hotel we gathered our things and piled into Moby (Astro D's Land Cruiser) and we headed out for a day of letterboxing. Our first destination - Crow Canyon.

Crow Canyon

We headed east from Farmington to a little past Blanco on US 64 and then turned south on Co Rd 4450. We drove a little over 20 miles to our destination at Main Petroglyph Panel in Crow Canyon. We walked the short distance from the parking area to the petroglyphs. There are two letterboxes here - Aspen's Crow Canyon and my Alphabetical New Mexico: C (Crow Canyon). Astro D and I found Crow Canyon on a previous trip but rubberpeace needed to find that one. And both Astro D and rubberpeace needed to find my box. We walked along the trail and we all took pictures with Astro D and rubberpeace taking a break to find the boxes and stamp in. I really love this place. It is a bit of a drive and out in the middle of nowhere but it is so beautiful and peaceful the drive is worth it. After all the pictures were taken and the boxes back in their hiding spot we made the trip back to civilization. We drove to Bloomfield and stopped for lunch. We ate at Triangle Cafe. It was a nice lunch and it gave us time to plan out our afternoon letterboxing.

Farmington Lake

The afternoon was busy and windy. One minute it was cloudy and the next the sun was out, one minute it was warm and the next we needed jackets. But no problem, we are letterboxers and we persevered. We really had a great day and a lot of fun. We letterboxed around a lake and in parks. We perused all four seasons, learned a little Japanese and studied local trees. We hunted horcruxes, spent time with frisbee golf and cheered for Women's basketball. We even found some Easter Eggs while letterboxing in Lions Wilderness Park - I guess they didn't count the eggs before they left.

We found the following boxes this afternoon - Le Quattro Stagioni Series, Kanji Series #1: Child, Juniper, Road Apple Rally, He Strikes, Harry Potter Horcrux Series #3 - Salazar Slytherin's Locket, Desert Discs, Sandalwood, Women's March Madness 2012 Series, Lion's Pool, Pinon and The Green Man. Some really great boxes were found today but we all agreed that Juniper was our favorite find. I can't really say why because it would give things away but it was worth hunting for. We took a break for dinner at Three Rivers Brewery (yes the same place we ate last night - it was really good) and after finding a few more boxes we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we will do a little letterboxing in the morning before heading back to Santa Fe.

Farmington Letterboxing Trip - Part I

We are at it again. Astro D, rubberpeace and I are off on another letterboxing trip. A couple of months ago we took a letterboxing trip to Gallup. You can read about that trip at To Gallup and Back (Part I) & (Part II). This time we have headed a bit further north and will be in Farmington. It has a been a couple of years since we have been here and there are quite of few boxes for us to find. We will see how we do over the next three days.

Wildflowers

Astro D and rubberpeace picked me up at a little after 8:00am and we started our trip. We drove south on I25 to Bernalillo and then took US 550. This is where our letterboxing began. Our first stop was about 13 miles up US 550 at Big Chief. This is a defunct gas station/store. There is an historic marker there for the New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative - this one honors Trinidad Gachupin Medina. Near this marker we found Big Chief New Mexico by ArnoldZiffel. This was an easy find and a quick stamp in and then we were on our way. We drove only a short distance and then turned into the Ojito Wilderness and White Mesa Bike Trails so that rubberpeace could find Wronghat's Wind Down at White Mesa. It was a short but nice walk to the box. And while rubberpeace stamped in I took pictures of the area. From here we had a great view of Cabezon Peak. After this box was back in hiding we continued on our trip. The next stop was at the Perea Nature Trails, again for rubberpeace to find a box. This box is Black Mesa Inbound. Another quick stamp in and then it was time to hit the road again. [Astro D and I had found both these boxes on earlier trips.] Still on US 550 and just a short drive up we stopped for Stone Faced by RNR. This was placed near a mesa that has a profile resembling a rhinoceros. We all needed this one so we took the short walk and nabbed the box. We sat and stamped while the wind started getting worse. Once we were done and the box was back in place we continued our trip. We made it to Cuba a short time later and stopped at the Visitors Center to find another Wronghat box - Calder in Cuba. This was a quick and easy find and we stamped in at a picnic table near the box. By the time this box was back in place it was time for lunch. We had a really good meal and a nice visit at El Bruno's. Their sign said "Excellent Mexican Food" and I agree - we had an excellent lunch. Now that we were full and rested it was time to get back on the road.

Angel Peak

Our drive to the next box was a little longer than the ones we did this morning but soon enough we arrived at Angel Peak Scenic Area. At this stop it was Astro D that needed a box. We arrived at the Cliffs Picnic Area and she found my box - Angel Peak. The wind was still blowing pretty hard but she managed to stamp in while getting some cover from the juniper where the box was hidden. Once back at the car we returned to US 550 and drove up to Bloomfield. Here we stopped to find Wronghat's Promenade. We found the box at Verde De Rio San Juan Park. It was a short walk along the river to the box and we stamped in at a nearby picnic table. After stamping in and rehiding the box we made our way to the next one. We drove to the starting point for Juneau Alaska NW N.M. but then things got sketchy. We weren't sure where to go and we had some trouble understanding the clues. So we decided not to worry too much about this box and we headed out. We drove up to Aztec and stopped at Riverside Park. Here Astro D needed to find Maine Quarter (rubberpeace and I already had this one). Another quick and easy find and it was on to another box in the same park. That box was PAC-12. This was planted near a walking bridge by the river. We sat and stamped in and then rehid the box.

BirchMoon, Kaw, rubberpeace, Astro D

We decided to head to our hotel and get checked in. The hotel we are staying in is the Towne Place Suites by Marriott. This is a pretty new hotel and the rooms are really nice. We all went up to our rooms to get washed up and put our things away then we headed out again to find a couple of more boxes and then meet some other letterboxers for dinner. We stopped for Frolick in the Garden at Gateway Park. I was the only one that needed this box. I found it easy enough and stamped while sitting on the wall where it is hidden. Once done here we headed to the All Veterans Memorial to find Harry Potter Horcrux Series #6 - Harry Potter by BirchMoon and ArnoldZiffel. The area was quiet and it was a quick find - we grabbed the box and found a spot to sit and stamp in. Once that box was in place it was time to head to the restaurant for dinner.

We met Kaw and BirchMoon at Three Rivers Brewery. We did some exchanges and had a great visit and a wonderful meal. It was a perfect way to end the day. Tonight I need rest, tomorrow will be another full day that is going to start with a drive out to Crow Canyon.