A Letterboxing Event in Santa Fe

Back in May of this year, Astro D, ArnoldZiffel and I met to plan a letterboxing event. We talked and came up with some ideas and then tweaked those ideas into an event. We spent the summer planning Letterboxing with Altitude. Things were divied up and we all did our part over the summer to check on boxes, carve stamps, reserve the location and send out notices. We decided on Hyde Memorial State Park and before we knew it things had fallen into place and the event was upon us. Today was the event and it turned out great. Lots of folks showed up - boxers came from all over New Mexico (Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Galisteo, Farmington and Tijeras) and from Colorado, Arizona and Texas.

I arrived just before 8:00am at the gate and had to wait for the Ranger to open up the area. Thomas was with me and while we were waiting a couple of people showed up as well. About 8:10am we were at the group shelter and setting up. The event was actually scheduled for 10:00am but people started arriving soon after we were set up. Everyone gathered at the shelter and visited. There were exchanges, personal travelers and event stamps. Throughout the day people would head out to letterbox and then return to visit or get exchanges. There were plenty of incredible boxes for the event and most of them are staying around.

The day turned out fantastic. We had great weather and the aspens were already showing a hint of yellow. Letterboxing in Hyde Park and along Ski Basin Road was wonderful and I recommend that anyone planning a visit to Santa Fe put that area on their list. You will find some great boxes and enjoy a beautiful area. Thanks to everyone who attended the event and for traveling to be here with us. We hope you had a great time and hopefully we can have another event in the near future.

A Little Letterboxing and Final Preparation for Our Event

This morning I joined Astro D and ArnoldZiffel to get some final things done for the Letterboxing With Altitude event tomorrow at Hyde Memorial State Park. We met at Astro D's house and then drove up to the park. First we checked on three boxes Astro D had planted a few days ago to make sure her clues were good. Then ArnoldZiffel planted two boxes she had with her. Next we checked on the four boxes I placed two days ago. Thankfully my clues were okay. So now that all the boxes we needed to plant were in place and the clues were good we decided to go to Group Shelter #2 and go over things for tomorrow. We went over the list of things we needed to do and everything is in place. I will arrive at the shelter around 8:00am and get some things ready and be there in case anyone wants to get an early start and needs any assistance. Astro D and ArnoldZiffel will get to the shelter around 9:00am and the event officially starts at 10:00am. After we talked I took Astro D and ArnoldZiffel back to their car so they could leave since they had things to do. I decided to stay in the mountains and do a little letterboxing.

There are two series of boxes I wanted to look for - one by Astro D and one by Front Range Hiker. My first stop was at Forest Road 102 to look for Finbar's First Road Trip by Front Range Hiker. I parked in a pullout near the junction of Hyde Park Road and FR102. I quickly found the first box -
We're Going For a Ride and found a place to stamp in. After stamping in and replacing the box I walked down FR102 a short distance and found Are We There Yet?. This was another quick find and there was a log to sit on and stamp in. Then I replaced the box and started walking down the road and then I heard a noise and stopped and listened. It sounded like a gunshot, so I waited and then hesitatingly continued a little ways. I then saw a red truck and a man shooting at something in the trees. So I turned around and went back to my car. I waited a few minutes and I saw the truck coming up the road. Now I felt a little more comfortable so I drove down the road to the last box - Home and Happy. I was feeling better now that the shooter was gone and I found the box and stamped in. I replaced the box, got back in the car and returned to Hyde Park Road. This series of stamps is amazing and I am glad I took the time to find them. Now I made my way back down Hyde Park Road to the Big Tesuque Trail. I parked, crossed the road and went down the stone steps. I followed the clues for Astro D's Sangre Series. In no time I arrived at the first box - Ole Man Winter. I took the box and found a place to sit and stamp in. I was amazed at the carve. I finished stamping in and replaced the box and then continued to the second box. I found So Very PC quickly, stamped in and replaced it - all the while thinking that this carve was even better than the first one. Continuing along the trail I arrived at the third box in no time. I found Bright-eyed and Feathery-tailed in a beautiful meadow. When I opened this box I couldn't believe how incredible this carving was. I stamped in and looked at my logbook and was in awe of the three beautiful carvings I had just found. Eventually I replaced the box and made my way back to the car.

I continued my drive back down Hyde Park Road and returned to Group Shelter #2. Here I was going to look for 4 boxes. I started with two that began at the volleyball area. I followed the clues and they took me to a small shelter. I didn't find the boxes because there were some people camping there and I didn't feel comfortable searching around the shelter with all their things there. So I turned around and walked over to the big group shelter. From here I followed the clues to a box and was a little surprised to find two boxes hidden together. I stamped into both and then replaced them. Then I went to look for one more. I walked down the trail a bit and quickly found the last of the four boxes I had wanted to find. I sat and stamped in and then replaced it. At this time I decided I was done for the day. I wanted to go home and get a few things ready for tomorrow. I have done that and I am ready for the event. Stay tuned for a report on everything that happened at the event.

Our Dartmoor Trip Has Come to an End

We are home from our fantastic trip to Dartmoor. To keep a record of this trip I started a blog just for Dartmoor back in September 2013. I made a post each month leading up to the trip and then I posted each day of the trip. The blog is up to date and I plan on making at least one more post just to finalize any post trip information. We had a great time and were fortunate enough to get to Cranmere Pool and Duck's Pool. We met some great local boxers and found plenty of boxes. We got our Dartmoor 100 Patch and lifetime membership card while there as well. If you want to read about our activities you can go to lionsmane goes to dartmoor. I highly recommend to any letterboxer that you take a trip to Dartmoor. Not only for the boxes but for the history of letterboxing and the beautiful moors. It truly is a magical place and I hope to make it back there someday.

A Couple of Quick Finds

I had some free time today and decided to go out and find a couple of letterboxes in the area. After getting my stuff together I headed north on I25 to Pecos. The Bear Team placed a box at one of the pullouts with a Pecos National Historic Park sign. I arrived there and thankfully there was no one else there and there wasn't much traffic on the road. This made it easy to find and nab the box. I read the clues while sitting in the car and located the spot where the box was hidden. I made sure there was no one around and I went and grabbed Last Wagon Wheel of the Santa Fe Trail. I went back to the car and stamped in and then I replaced the box - this was a quick and easy find. Now it was time to return to Santa Fe and look for one more box.

To get to the next box I took the Old Pecos Trail exit and made my way to Museum Hill. A couple of weeks ago AutumnsFolly visited Santa Fe and left a PREsent. This means that she planted a box and the stamped was carved by preboxed.  I arrived at Museum Hill, parked and then followed the clues to find Kokopelli's Dance. Thankfully there is a bench very near the box which was a perfect place to sit and stamp in. Once I was done I replaced the box and then decided to take a walk around Milner's Plaza - they have an outdoor exhibit of some great sculptures.

Thanks to The Bear Team and AutumnsFolly for leaving us these letterboxes.

Letterboxing in Galisteo

Back at the end of May and the beginning of June Children of the Forest planted a couple of boxes in Galisteo. I have had the clues printed out for a while but never seemed to find the time to get out there and find them. So today I decided I needed to get out of the house and take a drive. From my house I take NM 14 headed south and then CR 42 - it is a nice, pleasant drive. I arrived in town and made my way to the cemetery (well cemeteries) - there are two and they are across the road from each other. First I went to The Old Catholic Cemetery and found Guardians of Galisteo: The Old Catholic Cemetery. This was an easy find and I found a spot to sit and stamp in. After I put the box back in place I walked around the cemetery and took a few pictures and then headed across the street to find the next box. The gate to this cemetery (The Old Galisteo Cemetery) was locked so I couldn't go in and take any pictures but I was able to get a few from outside since the wall around the cemetery is pretty low. I then followed the clues and found my second box - Guardians of Galisteo: The Old Cemetery. This box is hidden outside the cemetery and I sat against the wall while stamping in. Once the box was back in place I walked back to my car and headed home. It was a great little drive and a nice outing. Thanks Children of the Forest for these two wonderful boxes.

A Mini Meet with AutumnsFolly

A few weeks ago I got an email from AutumnsFolly that she was going to be doing some work in Santa Fe and she wanted to get together for an exchange. So I got in touch with a few other letterboxers in the area and let them know and we eventually decided on meeting at a restaurant after work one day. I let AutumnsFolly know about it and she set up an AQ event called Hooray for Santa Fe and a mini meet was scheduled. We met at Bumble Bee's Baja Grill and had a nice meal and visit. There were six people that attended  . . . AutumnsFolly, Astro D, rubberpeace, trilla_marion, Highwayman and myself. After dinner and exchanges AutumnsFolly and trilla_marion wanted to do a little letterboxing in Santa Fe. So Astro D and I took them to Museum Hill. The four of us walked around the area so they could find the boxes in the area. We spent about an hour and finally had to call it quits when the sun started to set. It was a great mini meet and we really enjoyed having AutumnsFolly and trilla_marion in Santa Fe.

Finding, Planting and Maintaining Boxes

Since we are having an event on September 20 (Letterboxing with Altitude) we have decided to try and check on all the boxes off of Hyde Park Road. I have done a few but I decided to head up today and do some more checking, planting and finding.

The first stop was at a pullout between mile markers 5 & 6. There is a trailhead across from this pullout which is the start of the Little Tesuque Trail and the Burn/Juan Trail. Unfortunately there are no signs anywhere on the trail to mark this, but there is a wooden post at the start of the trail. Not far down the trail I checked on a box I had found quite a while ago - Heroes on the Line - which is still there. Then I went a little further and found a box - Gnome Day 2014: Amelie's Gnome by ArnoldZiffel. I easily found the box and sat down to stamp in. It is a great little stamp and I enjoyed finding this box. After replacing it I was ready to plant some new boxes. At first I thought I was going to take the Burn/Juan Trail off of the Little Tesuque Trail and plant the boxes there. But after walking the trail for five minutes I realized that the trail was nothing but uphill and decided to return to the Little Tesuque Trail. I spent about a half hour to forty-five minutes walking the trail looking for hiding spots for a couple of boxes. I had an idea of what I was looking for but finding just the right spot was a little harder than I thought. Eventually I found a spot for the main box and I got it hidden and the clues written down. Then I continued along the trail to look for another area for a few more boxes - this is where it took me a while. Finally I made a decision and got the rest of the series hidden - this box is called Southwest Charm. Now that I had the boxes in place and the clues jotted down I could return to the car and continue on with my plans.


Driving along Hyde Park Road I stopped in at the Hyde Park Visitor Center. I picked up some brochures and paid my $5 fee. Then I drove a little further up the road and stopped at a pullout with a fence and a bridge. Here I looked for Wronghat's WrongHyde box. I only had to walk a short distance before I found the box. There was no one around so I found a nearby spot to sit and stamp in. I always love his carvings and I loved the play on locations that he used on the stamp. After stamping in and replacing the box I walked back to my car and headed up the road. My next stop was at Aspen Vista Picnic Area to plant another box - Trembling Poplar. For this box I took the side trail right near the gate - this is the Alamos Vista Trail. About a week ago I had hiked this trail and I had scoped out hiding spots so this time around it didn't take me long to get this box hidden. Once the box was in place I found a spot to sit and write out the clues. While in this area I decided to check on a box on the Aspen Vista Trail. So I took the short walk up the trail and then the side trail to find Astro D's Aspen Vista box - I am happy to report that it is alive and well. Now it was time to head back down the trail and make my way home. It was a good day . . . I found two boxes, planted some boxes and checked on a couple of boxes . . . I loved my time driving and hiking along Hyde Park Road.