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.

The City Different and The Duke City Letterboxing

Okay, since I couldn't get one of the boxes I found yesterday back in place I needed to get in back this morning. So that was our first priority. And then near there was another box that I could find. Thomas and I left our house around 8:00am and drove to the National Cemetery. Thankfully, there was no one around and it was a quick errand. Next, we headed toward Tesuque. We took the exit off of US285 headed toward Tesuque Village and almost immediately stopped at a pullout. Here we looked for On Our Way to Great Wolf Lodge, Colorado Springs, Colorado - Wandering Wolf by The Rodriguez Family. This was a quick and easy find. I stamped in the car and then put the box back in place. We were now done with Santa Fe and we could move on to Albuquerque.

Once we arrived in Albuquerque we made our way to Los Altos Park and the Albuquerque Garden Center. Here we looked for and found Florabunda by Kit. The box is hidden near a bench and it was the perfect spot to sit and stamp. When I was done stamping and the box was back in place we headed on to the next box.

From Los Altos Park we took I40 to Tramway and then took Central headed east and stopped at the Route 66 Open Space (was the site of Little Beaver Town). We followed the clues for Red Ryder by Wronghat. We did fine until we got to his "word play" part of the clue. It took us a little while to work out the clue but we eventually found the box. There are some concrete slabs where I took the box to sit and stamp in. Then I replaced the box and we were ready to go to our next destination.

We had plans to meet another letterboxer for lunch in ABQ Uptown. So we made our way to the Elephant Bar to meet Kit for a relaxing lunch. We had a nice visit with Kit and a delicious meal and it was a nice addition to our letterboxing day. When lunch was finished we decided to call it a day and head back to Santa Fe. Over the last two days I found six wonderful letterboxes - thanks to all who planted them.

An Afternoon of Boxing in Santa Fe

In the last month a few new boxes have popped up in Santa Fe. So today I decided that after running errands I would go out to find these boxes. I got all the clues and mapped out a plan. I then ran all my errands and then had the rest of the day to letterbox.

First box was one off of Delgado Street. I found a place to park and then followed the clues. It was a quick walk and I easily found A Happy California Cow Mooves to Santa Fe by Wendy. After getting the box I found a good place to sit and stamp in. I was the first finder on this box. When I went to put the box back in place I had to wait a few minutes because all of a sudden there was quite a bit of traffic. Finally, the area cleared and I got the box back in it's hiding spot. Now I could head to the next box.

I drove up Hyde Park Road and parked at a pullout for the Little Tesuque Trail. Here I went in search of A Gift From Texas by The Huntress. This box is only a short distance down the trail and of course when I got to the spot there was a woman sitting about 20 feet away. So I walked past her and took some pictures. Luckily, she only stayed a few minutes. I then quickly found the box and took it down the trail to a rock where I could sit and stamp in. Then while I was stamping in (which was about 10 yards off the trail) two different people stopped to ask me what I was doing - very nosy. After stamping in I was able to rehide the box without a problem and then continue on to the next box.

From Hyde Park Road I headed to the National Cemetery. Once I arrived at the cemetery I went in search of USAF Brat Series New Mexico #7 by Flutter Fairy. I arrived at the spot and parked. There were three men (looked like workers) just standing in area, not working, just talking. So I took out my phone and pretended to text and walked around them to the hiding spot. From this spot I couldn't see the men so I guessed that they couldn't see me and I found the box. I took it back to the car to stamp in. The entire time I was stamping in the men didn't move. They just stood there talking. I didn't want to go put the box back in place because I didn't want them to get suspicious. So I decided to go visit Thomas' parents grave. About 20 minutes later I returned to the area to rehide the box and guess what - the men were still there and they had moved closer to where the box was hidden. Now I really couldn't put it back. So I found a bench and sat and played on my phone for another 20 minutes and they still didn't leave. I was so mad, first that my tax dollars were paying these guys to stand around and talk for almost an hour without doing any work and second that I couldn't put the box back in place. I finally decided to take it home and come back in the morning to hide it.

So I called it a day and headed home. There was still one more box I wanted to find but I had wasted too much time at the cemetery I decided I would get it tomorrow. Even with these men blocking my way I still had a great time letterboxing. And I will do a little more tomorrow.

Checking on a Couple of Boxes

Today the weather in Santa Fe was incredible. Sunshine, no wind, temperature in the 70s. So I decided to take a drive up Hyde Park Road to check on a couple of my boxes. I drove up to the Aspen Vista Picnic Area. This area has a picnic area and is the start of the Aspen Vista Trail and the Alamo Vista Trail.  I stopped here to check on my Trembling Poplar letterbox. It is approximately 300 steps up the Alamo Vista Trail. I walked slowly up the trail (and it is all uphill) to the area where the box is hidden. For me it is easy to find this spot because the trail levels out a bit and there is one large ponderosa pine tucked in with all the tall aspens. The box isn't hidden at the pine, it is to the left of the pine but using the pine as a landmark works well. I am happy to report that 'ALL' is well with this box. So I returned to my car and headed back down the mountain.

Next I stopped and parked on the side of the road for the Little Tesuque Trail. On this trail I have my Southwest Charm letterbox. I had a couple of reports about this box and wanted to check it out myself and see what needed to be done. So I walked along the trail and found the main box for the series. I was surprised and happy to find that the box was there and in good shape. When I opened the box I found the stamp and logbook but there was no ziplock bag. Thankfully, inside the box was completely dry and that means the logbook was also dry. Unfortunately, I didn't have a baggie so I will have to go back and fix that. From this box I went to check on the charms. I had a note that one of them was missing. I found five of the charms and one was missing. I found an empty film canister but couldn't find the stamp anywhere. I decided I wanted to hide these differently. So I have taken all the charms and marked the clues as unavailable. I need to recarve one of the charms and then decide how to rehide them. I am hoping to get this done in the next couple of days.

It was nice to get out and hit the trails. I need to do more of this and check on my boxes and get them up to date.

Just Jack in Arroyo Hondo Open Space

A week ago I made plans with Agent 86 to go on a hike. I asked him to pick the place, day and time. He decided on today at Arroyo Hondo Open Space.

There is one letterbox hidden there - Harry's Roadhouse by ArnoldZiffel. I decided to carve a stamp and make a box to plant in the area on the hike today. So I worked the last two days and came up with an image and box and now I was ready to plant the box.

I met Agent 86 at the Lower Trailhead Parking around 8:30am. We headed out on the trail and decided to hike in a clockwise direction following the outside loop. About three quarters of a mile along the trail we came to a three seciton wooden fence. We stopped here and I decided to hide Just Jack in this area. I easily found a nice hiding spot and took a little time to jot down some notes so that I could write up the clues when I got home. From here we continued our hike around the loop making our way back to the cars.

This is a great hike with some nice views and I enjoyed the morning solitude.

Finding Boxes Close to Home

Last night I was organizing things to run some errands this morning and I noticed a new box had been planted in Santa Fe. So I added letterboxing to my list of things to do. So after running all my errands this morning I headed over to the Spur Trail near the Community College. I parked and then read the clues and found where I needed to start to find the nine box series planted by ArnoldZiffel and Agent 86 called Dusty. I followed the clues to the first box and quickly found it. I sat on the edge of the trail to stamp in and who should show up - Agent 86. We visited for a bit and made plans to go hiking on Friday and then he continued on his bike ride and I finished stamping in to the first box. This box is the only one with a logbook, the rest of the boxes just have stamps. And, I was the first finder of the series. So I continued up the trail, following the clues and stamping the images into my logbook. Thankfully, the trail was quiet and I didn't have to worry about someone seeing me nabbing the boxes. I spent about half an hour gathering the images and enjoyed my walk along the trail. I really enjoyed the series, very clever - thanks ArnoldZiffel and Agent 86.

A Quick Find in Santa Fe

Today I had a few errands to run and while I was out I added a couple of letterbox things to my list. My first letterbox stop was off of the Old Las Vegas Highway at Café Fina. Here I was looking for Fina of Santa Fe by Kit. I parked, read the clues and went on a short walk to find the box. It wasn't long before I had the box in hand and took it back to my car to stamp in. A nice carve and box and an easy find. Once I was done stamping in I returned the box to its hiding spot and then continued on with my day.

The next stop was on Canyon Road. My main reason here was to check on artTrekker's Artful Southwest series. Two of the three boxes are hidden on Canyon Road - Santa Fe Style and Little Pot. Artful Southwest was still in place but Little Pot was gone (along with the post it was hidden on). While on Canyon Road I also checked on my Goodbye MOM box. All is well with this one. I returned to my car and then drove to check on the third box for Artful Southwest - Cathedral Moon. This box is also missing. I then sent artTrekker a note which hopefully we help her to get them replaced when she visits Santa Fe over Easter.

Well, that's all the letterboxing I did today. It was nice to get out and find and check on boxes. And soon I will be in Arizona for their annual event - really looking forward to the event.

A SPOOKtacular Event Day!

Well, today was the day - the Santa Fe SPOOKtacular Letterboxing Event Resurrected has gone off without a hitch. I was up early to get my potluck dish complete and to get all my things together. Then I was off. Before getting to the event I made a quick stop to check on one of my boxes. Once that was done I headed to the event. When I arrived there were already people milling about. I brought in my dish, put my clues on the clue table, and hid a HIPS box.

Then I gathered any clues I needed and made a plan. I was a little concerned about the weather because it was overcast and a little windy. Thankfully, the rain held off except for a few drizzles at different times of the day. After saying hi to a few people Astro D, Bell Motel and I headed out to find one box just out the back gate on the trail. When we tried to find the box it wasn't there but as we turned to leave someone was walking up returning the box. So we sat and stamped in then replaced the box. At this point we all went our separate ways. I returned to the house to get a seven box series hidden around the outside of the house. When I finished this series I decided to sit at the event stamp table and stamp into those since there was no one there. I was about halfway through the boxes when I was joined by a few people. I had carved the event stamps for this event and our first SPOOKtacular event back in 2007 so that was three boxes I didn't need to stamp into. But I ended up getting the following event stamps . . . All Wrapped Up, Dobby the House Elf, and Mr. Pumpkin Head by ArnoldZiffel; Learning New Things That Might Be Helpful and Scary House by CorgiLover; Creepy Cryptex and Mr. Potato Head by Seekers Two; Booooo! and Spooktacular by C4; and Spooky Santa Fe by Kit. All great stamps. I then did some exchanges and personal travelers before finally taking a break and having a little lunch. After eating I headed out to the trails for one new box. I met up with Astro D and Bell Motel at the box and we all stamped in together. Then they headed off for more boxes and I returned to the house. I finished getting exchanges and personal travelers and then spent some time visiting. Then rubberpeace asked me to take her to my boxes on the furthest trails. So I drove her to those boxes and she stamped in while we talked. Then we returned to the house to finish off the day.

The event turned out great. It was a smallish gathering but extremely fun. The traditional boxes I found today were . . . Batter RIP, Posada's Calaveras, and Cozy Cone Motel by Bell Motel; Bob Bob Bobbin, A Halloween Carve, and Scary Monster & Super Freak by Astro D; Wild Things, Raven, Creepy Critters, Evil Eyes, and Devil's Tower by ArnoldZiffel; Dr. Frankenstein's Monster and Quoth the Raven by BirchMoon; Count Floyd by Wronghat; and La Llorona by Sunny Delight. The Exchanges I got were . . . Kit, ladyval, NMLeisa, CorgiLover, californiabluefrog, and sparkyNM. The Personal Travelers I received were . . . Corgis Were Here by CorgiLover; and Winter Solstice and Tiny Travelers by californiabluefrog. The attendees at the event were . . . Kit, NMLeisa, californiabluefrog, rubberpeace, CorgiLover, Sunny Delight, C4, Seekers Two, Wronghat, Semicolon, Wisconsin Hiker, Martini Man, ladyval, sparkyNM, Highwayman, The Great Wuga Wuga, Bell Motel, BirchMoon, Agent 86, ArnoldZiffel, Astro D, and lionsmane. It was a great group and a great event.

Planting Boxes for the Event

This morning I met with Astro D and ArnoldZiffel and Bell Motel joined us to plant boxes and get last minute things done for our Santa Fe SPOOKtacular Letterboxing Event Resurrected. We spent a little time talking about things and stamping in to some of the boxes. Then we all hit the trails and went our separate ways to plant the boxes. I hid three of my boxes around the outside of the house before we left for the trails and then I planted my next box just a short ways from the house on one of the closer trails. My last three boxes I walked to the furthest trail from the house and planted them there. Once I was finished and I had made notes I made my way back to the house. When all of us were back we spent some time putting together some goodie bags and then discussed what we needed for the event on Saturday. By the time I left everything was in place and we are now ready for a SPOOKtacular event.

Santa Fe, Sandia Crest, Cedar Crest and Edgewood

Last weekend we did some letterboxing in Albuquerque, Tijeras and Edgewood. We ran out of time to hit Cedar Crest and Sandia Crest. So we had a couple of clues remaining and we decided to head out today and get some more letterboxes.

We started in Santa Fe. There is a series of three boxes about a mile from my house and I somehow put off going out to get them.

So first thing we headed to Santa Fe Brewing to get Plant a Beer 2017: Santa Fe Brewing (series of three boxes) by ArnoldZiffel. The boxes are hidden along a dirt road next to the brewery. These were quick and easy and then we were on our way out of Santa Fe. So we headed south on NM 14 and made our next stop at Cerrillos Hills State Park. This was a quick stop - I just needed to check on my Felis concolor box. We made the short hike up the Jane Calvin Sanchez Trail and got to the ridge to check on the box. Everything is okay except three of the latches on the box have broken off. I made sure the baggies were zipped tight and the lid was secure on the box with the one latch and then put the box back in its hiding spot and covered it well with rocks. We then headed back to the car and back to NM 14.

We continued on NM 14 until we reached NM 536. This road is also known as Sandia Crest Scenic Byway and leads up to Sandia Peak. Once at the top we parked and looked for Where's George Series Box #293: Albuquerque Beam Me Up Scottie.

We followed the clues but couldn't find the box. So I texted Astro D to see if she had any insights for me. I looked in the spot she told me and still no box. Unforturnately, I think it is gone. So then we headed inside the Sandia Crest House to look for Sandia Crest Rosy Finch by cottonwoodlady. I had looked for this one before but didn't understand the clues. The placer changed her clues since then and this time I was able to find it. I stamped while sitting on a couch facing a wall of windows with some fantastic views. We put the box back in place and drove back down the mountain. Back on NM 14 we next headed for Ale Republic to find Hail to the Ale! by Kit. There is a parking area across the street from the brewery which is a parking area for the John A. Milne/Gutierrez Canyon Open Space area. The box is hidden across the road from the brewery by a post making it a quick and easy find. I took the box back to the car to stamp in and then went back to replace it.

From here we continued on NM 14 to I 40 and took the interstate east to Edgewood. We exited and then turned left onto NM 333. We drove a little over a mile to an abandoned Indian Curio shop with an horno, a railcar and a "STANDARD" sign. Here we looked for and found Retribution Road by Kit. Again, I stamped in while sitting in the car and then returned the box to its hiding spot. The story of Retribution Road is interesting and it is a story about Route 66 that I hadn't heard before.

Well, we had another great day of letterboxing and found some great and interesting boxes. Thanks to all who planted them.

Cross Country Without Skis

This morning Astro D and I headed up Hyde Park Road for a little hike and some letterboxing. We had talked about doing this a week or so ago and made our plans for today.

I met her at her house at 9:30am and we headed up the mountain. Our first stop was at Hyde Memorial State Park to look for a box that was planted at the beginning of the month. This box is Fennboree 2017 by Brave Bonnie Bonsai and Miley Mystery Machine. We parked across the street from the entrance to Group Shelter 3 and walked over to the shelter. We followed the clues and made our way to the grill. This is where the clues started. Next we were to go down some stairs and then take 26 steps. But right away we encountered an obstacle. A very large tree had fallen and had landed across the stairs and over the bridge next to them. So we climbed over the tree and followed the rest of the clues. I was a little confused because there was a picture of a tree with a sign next to it and I assumed that that was where the box was hidden. But I was wrong, and Astro D continued along with the clues and found the box. We found a place to sit and stamp in. The box was nice but the stamp is double sided and by the time we finished I was covered in ink. After stamping in and replacing the box we made our way to the car. Once in the car I used two wet wipes to clean my hands and still ended up looking like I washed my hands with ink. Oh well, one of the hazards of letterboxing. We continued on . . .

We continued our drive up the mountain and made our way to the NorSki Trail parking area. This trail is for cross country skiing but makes for a great hike for the summer. As we were getting our things to head up the trail two vans parked next to us and then a gaggle of little kids climbed out. I was hoping upon hope we wouldn't have to be stuck with them on the entire hike. Our plan for this trail was to hike it (because I hadn't done that), check on a couple of letterboxes and plant one letterbox. Before we left the car Astro D stamped in to the box I was going to plant just to make things easier. So by the time we hit the trail the kids were gone. We took the trail from the kiosk and walked in a counterclockwise direction. Just a short ways down the trail we stopped to check on Inching Along One Letterboxer at a Time. I had originally planted this box for PineTree and had found a large squarish boulder a little off the trail. But the boulder is now gone. Astro D found the box back in November of last year and she realized the boulder was gone and she found the box just laying out in the open. So she found a new spot for the box and sent the new clues to PineTree. But the clues to the box haven't been updated so she is going to try sending another note. We didn't actually check on the box at this point, we just wanted to see what happened to the boulder. We hypothesized that they used it (they had to have broken it up) to line the edge of the trail. So we continued our walk. Now I needed to look for a place to hide my new box. So as Astro D help me to navigate the trails and point out things. We reached a point that I thought would work out well but decided to wait and see if what the rest of the trails held. The trail system is really just one big loop with smaller loops and crossovers. The back part of the trails seemed really confusing to me so I decided to hold onto the box until we arrived back at the first spot we encountered. The hike was really nice - large areas of aspens, lots of wildflowers and peace and quiet. There were trail maps and letters (alphabet) on trees at points were there are crossovers that take you from one side of the loop to the other. When we reached the crossover that is marked with 'D' and 'K' we stopped to look for a good hiding spot for my box. There are lots of aspen in this area so I thought it would make a nice and enjoyable spot for someone to find the box and sit and stamp in. So I planted the box, it is called sci di fondo. I think that the round trip hike to the box is about a mile (maybe more, maybe less). After getting the box planted we continued on to check on the other box already planted on this trail. We arrived at the landmark and checked on Twinville Trekkers' Beatles Series #6 "In Spite of All the Danger". Thankfully the box was there and in great shape - waiting for more finders. Now we continued on and returned to the first box and this time we actually checked to make sure the box was still where Astro D had placed it. We found it and she rewrote the clues so that she could send another note to Pine Tree. It was only a short distance to the car from here and then we were done.

It was a nice outing and I really like this trail. There are some uphill areas but nothing too strenuous, so it made for a pretty easy and incredibly enjoyable hike. Thanks Astro D for a great outing.

Planting a Letterbox for PAL

Today is PAL (Plant a Letterbox) Day. This year's event was hosted by Wronghat and he logged it in as an event - Dozenth Annual International **PAL** (Plant a Letterbox) Day. I had noticed this a few weeks ago and I had been wanting to plant a box but kept putting things off and this event was just what I needed to get me moving.

I had already gathered an image and some information but I still had some things to do. First, I needed to carve the stamp. Second, I needed to find a place to plant this box. And third, I needed to make a logbook and put the box together. Then I would be ready to hide it. So I printed out the stamp image and gathered everything else I needed and got to work. Last week I went out and scouted two locations and then picked one. So now I knew where this box would be hidden.

I got the stamp carved and mounted, then cut the pages for the logbook. I made the covers for the logbook and then did the binding. Once I got started things just seemed to fall into place and before I knew it I had the box ready.

This morning I headed out to hide the box. I knew it would be quick and easy as I had already picked a spot and had it ready for the box. I planted this box on the Winsor Trail near Tesuque. This is the lower part of the Winsor Trail and is a beautiful area.

The trail is pretty easy compared to the sections at the end of Hyde Park Road. I like this trail because there are quite a lot of trees which makes for a shady and cool hike. It is also a gradual and easy climb. And the trail mostly follows Tesuque Creek and makes a few creek crossings. The hike from the parking area is a little over a mile and a half with an elevation gain of only 189 feet. I spent about an hour out on the trail. This included the hike, taking pictures, hiding the box and spending a little time sitting by the creek and enjoying the sound of flowing water.

The box I planted is Animal Crackers: Circus Wagon. I am actually very pleased with the way it turned out. I like the carve and I like the way I did the logbook but mostly I like where it is hidden. A relatively easy hike in a beautiful area with a relaxing flowing creek. I hope the finders enjoy getting the box as much as I enjoyed planting it.

Happy PAL Day to all the letterboxers out there!

Along the trail . . .