A Morning of Letterboxing in Santa Fe

Yesterday I looked through letterbox clues and found a few that I hadn't found in Santa Fe. So I planned to head out today and try and find them. I left the house with clues for five boxes, let's see what happens.

I headed out and my first stop was Museum Hill. I was here looking for Pablo and Vincent both by ArnoldZiffel. I followed the clues and easily found both boxes - they were planted close to each other. I used the bench in the clues to sit and stamp in. Both are great stamps and once I finished stamping and put the boxes back in place I decided to walk around a bit and see what outdoor art they had. It has been a while since I have been to the Hill. I spent about 30 minutes walking around and taking pictures then I returned to the car to continue on with me day.

My next stop was Meow Wolf to look for Cat at the Anomaly by hartwolfzell. Finding this box proved to be more of a challenge as there were quite a few cars in the parking lot and about 15 people milling around. There are large sculptures in the parking lot and people were taking pictures. I sat at a picnic table and waited. Then when the people moved away from the area I quickly moved over to the spot where the box was hidden and nabbed it. I went back to the picnic table to stamp in. Thankfully, when I went back to replace the box no one was around. Afterward I took a few pictures and then left to the next location.

The place I went to next is a brewery off of Cerrillos Road. I parked on the side of the street near the brewery and started to walk to the area the clues said to go. But I ended up going back to the car. There were three people unloading a truck and I didn't want to be questioned about snooping around the area. The box I was going to look for was Spring Break Flower by hartwolfzell. I decided to move on and maybe come back later to try again.

So I had one more box to find. The last box was Every Dog Has His Day: Scottie by Yaateeh. My search for this box took me to Frank S. Ortiz dog park. I followed the clues and took a walk along a trail leading away from a playground. When I arrived at the box's hiding spot I had to wait a few minutes as three people came by walking their dogs and decided to stop and chat right where I was. When they finally left I grabbed the box and moved to a different spot to sit and stamp in. When I went to put the box back in place luckily there was no one around and it was easy. I then returned to my car to head home.

I enjoyed the morning letterboxing in Santa Fe and found four really nice stamps - thanks to all who planted.

Letterboxing in Leominster

We are back from Malta and we are spending a couple of days with our friends in Leominster. Today we hung out and visited and we ran errands and we also decided to go out and look for a series of letterboxes.

Deanne printed out the clues for Nightmare Before Christmas by Majical. This is a series of six boxes placed at Doyle Conservation Area. Once we parked we followed the clues and headed down one of the trails. We looked for the first box and didn't have any luck so we moved on to the second box. We found the next four - Jack, Oogie Boogie, Zero and Sally. Then when we looked for the last box we didn't have any luck with this one. So we ended up finding four of the six boxes.

It was a beautiful place with some nice trails and we enjoyed our outing even though it was a bit cold. It was good to get out and find a few letterboxes during our travel - which you can read about at Our Maltese Adventure.

A New Letterbox in Malta

We are still in Malta and the friends we are traveling with are also letterboxers. Two days ago they planted a new letterbox in Birgu. Today we all went to Mdina and Rabat. You can read about that at Our Maltese Adventure. But for the letterbox Thomas and I went out on our own. We spent most of the day in Mdina and Rabat and when we returned to Birgu Thomas and I got off the bus at the first stop.

So we followed the clues they gave us and went to an open area with a trail to find the box. We followed the trail for about a quarter of a mile until we reached a stone wall. And then the clue mentioned a tree pointing to the hiding spot of the box. The clues were dead on and I found From Massachusetts to Malta by lazyletterboxer. I stamped in and then replaced the box. From here we walked back to the apartment.

So, I found two boxes on the small island of Malta. Another country I can add to my list.

One Letterbox on Malta: Found

Yesterday we tried for this letterbox but didn't have any luck. So today we were in the same area and we decided to give it another try. We made our way to Herbert Ganado Gardens. This time we were by ourselves so it was a much more relaxed search. We entered the gardens where the clue noted and then we found a spot to sit and I read the entire clue a couple of times to get my bearings. I noted a couple of landmarks so we walked over to them and then looked for the next landmark. We moved over to that one and then we had to wait. There was a man sitting on one of the benches and he never took his eye off of us. So I sat near where I thought the box was and just looked over to the spot to see if I could see where the box was. I wasn't having any luck. Finally, after about 15 minutes the man left and we could do a proper search. The letterbox we were looking for is More Memories of Malta by wandaandpete. This box is only a stamp glued to a rock. So I turned over about four rocks before I found the stamp. I took it to one of the benches to sit and stamp in. There was no one around when I went to put it back in place. I tried to locate the exact spot mentioned in the clue and I tried to place it under another rock described in the clue. I found a rock but it wasn't exactly as mentioned in the clue but it would work and make sure the stamp was hidden well. I am glad we got back to find this box and now I have another country on my list. You can read about the rest of our day at Our Maltese Adventure.

One Letterbox on Malta

We are on a trip to Malta and I found a clue for one letterbox. The box is located in Valletta. Today we had planned to spend the day exploring Valletta and you can read about that at A Day in Valletta. But for the letterbox we followed the clues (on a map) and found Crucifix Hill and the Kalkara Steps which lead us to the Herbert Ganado Gardens. Once in the garden we looked for More Memories of Malta by wandaandpete. But the clues got confusing in the garden. We looked in a couple of spots but we couldn't find the box. I was trying to read the clues and get my bearings but the others didn't seem to want to spend any time looking. So we decided to quit looking and move on with our day. I don't think we looked in the right spot and I just needed some more time. Thomas and I will come back another day and give it another try on our own. You can read about the rest of our trip at Our Maltese Adventure.

Windy Albuquerque Letterboxing

After the event in Tucson I have been wanting to get out and do more letterboxing. There have been lots of boxes planted in Albuquerque that I haven't gotten yet and I decided I needed to get out today and find a few of them. I also wanted to go and scout some locations for possible letterboxes I want to plant. So this morning I gathered my things and headed south. When I left Santa Fe it was 29° and it was snowing - I checked the Albuquerque weather and it didn't look like they were getting snow. It snowed until I got to La Bajada and then it was clear - until I got to Santo Domingo. The snow started again and continued until I reached San Felipe and then it cleared again. It stayed clear the rest of the way to Albuquerque. I went to a couple of places and looked for possible places to hide letterboxes - it was pretty cold while I was walking around - not sure what the temperature was but it was cold enough to make me hurry my little butt along. So after about an hour and a half of checking out a couple of areas I decided to go and look for a few boxes.

The first box I looked for was Friendship Lei by gs10530. I went to the park and followed the clues. At first I was a little confused and looked in the wrong area but then I got my bearings and headed in the right direction. As I was walking along I kept my eye out for a SPOR by the cinder block wall. I found the spot, well, I actually saw the box. It was sitting out and had two small rock sitting on top of it. As I headed to get it a woman came out of a gate in the wall about 10 feet from where the box was. She was walking her dog and so I just kept walking. I then took another path and headed back in the direction of the box. The woman kept watching me as I walked around. Finally, she headed back to her gate and so I walked around and headed toward the box. But as I approached I saw her standing by the wall watching me. So, again I couldn't get the box. She kept staring and watching so I walked over to her and asked if there was a problem. She said "No!". So I asked why she was staring at me and if I was trespassing and if the park was private and only for the use of the people living around the park. She again said "No!" So I asked her to quit staring and watching me and told her she was creeping me out. She didn't say anything but she stayed standing at the wall watching me. So I sat on a near by bench and watched her. She eventually went inside her house but by this time I decided it was time to leave and if I tried to get the box she would probably be watching me from her window. So I returned to my car and headed to another location.

My next stop was Sunset Memorial Park to look for Maxie Had Moxie by Silver Eagle. I followed the clues and easily found the box. The box has been there since September but it turned out that I was the first finder. It was still a little cold and it had gotten windy. I was lucky because there was a was that helped block the wind while I stamped in. Then I put the box back into place and was ready for the next location. So from this cemetery I headed to another cemetery. This time I went to Fairview Memorial Park to find another Silver Eagle box - The Deputy Sheriff. This was another quick and easy find and this time I stamped in while sitting in the car. After returning the box back to its hiding spot I moved on. The next box brought me to the 66 Diner. I parked in the lot and read the clue - which is actually pictures. I was a little nervous and walking around trying to find the box as there are windows looking out and there were quite a few people inside that might see me stalking around the building. So from the car I scoped things out and was pretty sure I had eyed the hiding spot. So I took out my phone and pretended to talk while I walked around and reached for the box. Thankfully, I found it on the first try and took it back to the car. After stamping in I began worrying again about putting it back and having someone inside seeing me. But I pretended with the phone again and put it back and then I decided to head inside and get a milk shake. While I waited for the shake I looked around and realized that most of the people weren't even looking out the windows and that it wasn't that easy to see the hiding spot from inside and sitting down. Oh well - it was done and all was good.

So I found three boxes today and had a nice time. I also may have found at least one good place for a box - we will have to see. Now I was ready to head home. But I will have to get to Albuquerque again soon because there are still a few more boxes to find. Maybe at the end of the week.

It Was a Wild and Fun Rodeo!

We are home from our six day letterboxing trip. We had a great time and really enjoyed the 15th Annual Tucson Gathering: Rodeo! at Catalina State Park. The event was fun and it was nice to see old letterboxing friends and to meet some new ones as well. There were lots of great boxes and stamps and I enjoyed the hiking and hunting. The park is beautiful with many miles of trails and incredible views of the Catalina Mountains. Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man put on a great event and were the perfect hosts. During the trip Thomas and I hiked a little over 40 miles in those six days and we found 75 boxes. Besides the big event on Saturday we also enjoyed the NPTC Western Meet-up and the Padre Kino's Quest at Tumacácori National Historic Site. You can read all about our trip at Letterboxing Rodeo in Tucson.