Alphabetical New Mexico Series - Finally Complete

Quite a while back (sometime in early 2007) I got an idea for a series of letterboxes. The idea was to plant a series of 26 boxes related to people, places and things of New Mexico - thus was born the Alphabetical New Mexico Series. For those of you who don't know me let me explain something - I am very anal retentive. So before I could actually think of getting out and planting boxes I needed to do some research. I used Google, a page from some tourism guide called 'From Adobe to Zozobra, a book called "New Mexico: A New Guide to the Colorful State" and countless travel guides to cities and towns all over New Mexico. From this I compiled a list for each letter of people, places and things that would work for each letter - and for each letter I had multiple items. After compiling the list I then started looking for information and images. When I would find an image I liked and some very interesting information or place I would make a decision on that letter. Finally I had made some final decisions on about five letters so I started carving. Once the stamps were ready I worked on the logbooks and then decided which ones to plant first. I chose the closest place.

So on October 16, 2007 I travelled to Angel Fire and Eagle Nest and planted the 'V' and 'E' boxes. And so this started my journey to plant these 26 box. The rest of the boxes were planted on September 5, 2008; September 7, 2008; January 31, 2009; March 12, 2009; October 2, 2009; June 26, 2010; July 3, 2010; July 17, 2010; September 6, 2010; October 27, 2010; October 30, 2010; October 31, 2010; April 26, 2011; April 27, 2011; April 28, 2011 and March 20, 2012.

The total number of days between Thursday, October 18th, 2007 and Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 is 1,616 days.
This is equal to exactly 4 years, 5 months, and 3 days.
The total time span from Thursday, October 18th, 2007 to Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 is 38,784 hours.
This is equivalent to 2,327,040 minutes.
You can also convert 1,616 days to 139,622,400 seconds.

I told you I was anal. It took me this long to actually get all 26 boxes planted. There were some things that got in the way. Traveling for vacation and letterboxing, planting other boxes not related to the series, work, a detached retina and four surgeries and multiple other things besides the fact that I was being very picky about the items I choose for the letters and then finding the images I wanted to carve. So here are the boxes I planted in the series. If you click on the letter it will take you to the clues and if you click on the name it will take you to some information. I hope everyone has as much fun finding these boxes as I did planting them and I really hope you learn something new about New Mexico as you find these boxes.

A Atomic Bombs
B Billy the Kid
C Crow Canyon
D Dorsey Mansion
E Eagle Nest Lake
F Farmington
G Pat Garrett
H Ham the Space Chimp
I Inscription Rock
J Jemez State Monument
K 'Black Jack' Ketchum
L Aldo Leopold
M William C. McDonald
N National Solar Observatory
O Orchard Ranch
P Pancho Villa
Q Quarra
R Roadrunner
S Sandhill Crane
T Turquoise Trail
U UFO Museum
V Vietnam Veterans Memorial
W White Oaks
X X Prize
Y Yucca
Z Zuni Pueblo

Out Planting in the Wind

This past weekend I worked on carving a stamp, making a logbook and putting a box together. The box I worked on was Alphabetical New Mexico: Y (Yucca). This was the last box in the series and I was determined to get it done by the end of this week. So today I headed out to plant this box. I wasn't really looking forward to going out to plant this box because the wind has been pretty bad and it was blowing pretty hard this morning. But I was determined to get this done. I only had the idea to plant this box on the beginning of the Atalaya Trail that starts at St. John's College but not exactly where on the trail. Once I parked I walked to the information board at the trailhead and started walking . I walked for a while taking little side trails but I didn't want to go very far, so I ended up just walking in all directions trying out hiding spots along the way. Eventually I found the right spot and and I placed the box. I then sat on a rock and made some notes and then walked from the box to the trailhead adding to my notes. Then I sat in the car and made more notes and then wrote out the clues. Of course before I drove away I felt compelled to check the clues so I made one last walk to the box. I think they will work but if anyone who goes to find the box finds a problem please let me know so I can fix it. I am so glad I have finally finished this series and have all 26 boxes in place. I also survived the wind, I just hope my allergies don't kick in.

The End of Another T.A.L.E.

Well T.A.L.E. 9 and my letterboxing adventure to Houston has come to an end. This morning I made my way to Hobby Airport and checked in for my flight. I grabbed a cup of coffee and a muffin and found a spot to sit. I had quite a bit of time before my flight so I took out the laptop and worked on some emails and then on the blog. I had a very full and busy few days in Houston. I want to thank all the Texas Letterboxers for their hospitality and for their amazing letterboxes. I had a blast and I really enjoyed the event and Brazos Bend State Park. It was good to see a lot of familiar faces and meet some new boxers. I just looked through my logbook and I am enjoying reliving the trip through the amazing stamps I collected. Already I am anticipating the next event - T.A.L.E. 10 - at the beginning of March next year. If you want to read about my trip go to Getting Wild in Texas for T.A.L.E. 9 to get more details about what I did while in Houston.