Lunch and a Letterbox

Entrance Sign to the Park

 Yesterday was my birthday and Astro D asked if she could take me to lunch today and then we could go and find a letterbox. Of course I said yes. So after running a few errands this morning I met Astro D at The Ranch House at 11:30am for some lunch. I had a pulled pork barbecue sandwich with homemade potato chips and Astro D had a chicken tortilla salad. We had a nice visit and got to catch up on our recent trips and just life in general. Once lunch was done we jumped into the car and headed north on I25. Our destination was Villanueva State Park. Both Astro D and myself have been living in Santa Fe for over 20 years and neither of us have been to this park. We were both excited to see the area. The main road into the park isn't very long from beginning to end and the visitor center, camping sites, and picnic areas are congregated into two general areas. Either along the main road which borders the Pecos River or on a loop above the main road. There are a few hiking trails that take off from these two main areas. In general the accessible part of the park is pretty compact. Anyway we arrived and paid our fee, then headed to the visitor center for maps and brochures. We left the car parked in front of the visitor center and walked across the road to a beautiful metal bridge that lead us across the Pecos River. This started our search for Road Junkies' Big Buffoon Bags Big Balloons letterbox. Arriving on the far side of the bridge we turned right and took about 60 steps. At this point we found the box. We decided to sit on the trail in the shade and stamped in. Once the box was back in place we walked around and took a few pictures. Then we drove through the entire park just to get a feel for the layout and what the park had to offer. We left the park and drove through the town to see what was there. The entire area is really nice and we enjoyed our time there. But all good things must come to an end and we headed back to Santa Fe. It was a perfect outing and a nice little extra to my birthday. Thanks Astro D for lunch and letterboxing.

Bridge over the Pecos River

A Late Afternoon Find

This afternoon I was catching up on emails when a new letterbox appeared in Santa Fe. This box was Strategic Air Command by Wronghat. The box is placed at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. I printed out the clue and Thomas and I decided to go look for this box, take a short hike and then go out for dinner.

Santa Fe National Cemetery

So around 5:00pm we gathered our things and headed out. We were a little concerned about the smoke from the nearby fires but it turned out not to be a problem. Once we arrived at the National Cemetery we followed the clues and found the spot to park. Then I found the marker I needed and from there the rest of the clues were easy. I nabbed the box and found a nice spot to sit and stamp in. The cemetery was quiet and peaceful and we didn't see anyone else at this spot. The stamp is terrific and this is another great Wronghat box. I was also the first finder for the box and I got an LTC first finder card. I then rehid the box and returned to the car.

Tesuque Creek

We left the cemetery and decided to head up Bishop's Lodge Road to CR72A and to the Tesuque Creek Trail. We walked for about 40 minutes and then found a spot to sit and relax before making the return trip back to the car. Our little hike lasted just over an hour and we enjoyed the peacefulness of the area. A wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

After our hike we headed back into Santa Fe to get something to eat for dinner. We ended up at Five Star Burgers at DeVargas Mall. Thomas had a green chile cheeseburger and I had their burger of the month - the caprese burger (a beef burger topped with mozarella cheese, tomato, fresh basil and a balsamic glaze). It was delicious and a great way to end the day.

And to Wronghat - thanks for planting such a wonderful box in Santa Fe.

Finding Boxes in Santa Fe

Ever since my return from Minnesota I have been extremely busy and haven't been able to do any letterboxing. Today I was off from work and I didn't have any appointments or errands. So I decided to head out and find a couple of letterboxes that are hidden here in Santa Fe. I left home and made my way to Governor Miles Road to find a box by ArnoldZiffel, Art in the Round - Santa Fe. I followed the directions and parked. The clue said to look down to admire the art. I have to say I wasn't sure what I was looking for but I continued following the clues to find the box. Finding the box was easy and I grabbed it and found a spot to sit so I could stamp in. Once I opened the box and saw the stamp I realized what art I was supposed to see and everything made sense. I stamped in and then replaced the box so I could continue on for the next box. I have to say I love this stamp, it is a great carving.

Sena Plaza

For the next box I made my way to the Plaza. Whenever I visit the downtown area I usually park across the street from the Capitol and then walk. so that is what I did. I parked in the parking lot for the old PERA building and then walked to the Plaza and made my way to Sena Plaza. This is a courtyard with lots of different things. There is La Casa Sena, Goler Shoes, Todos Santos Chocolates, Zephyr Clothing, Sock Magic, and other shops in this area and there is also a beautiful garden. I got there just a little before lunch and there were already a few people sitting outside at La Casa Sena so I had to be really sneaky. I pretended to be taking pictures and was able to grabbed the box without anyone noticing. I took it back to a bench to sit and stamp in. This box is called Santa Fe by C4. It is a nice carving and a very sneaky hiding spot. Once I finished stamping in I had to repeat my faux picture taking to rehide the box. After the box was back in place I left Sena Plaza and walked around the Plaza and eventually made my way back to the car. It was a nice morning of letterboxing in Santa Fe and I would like to thank ArnoldZiffel and C4 for two nice boxes.

Back Home in Sunny New Mexico

This morning started off cold and snowy. When we woke up at 6:00am to get ready to head to the airport in Minneapolis we noticed a light dusting of snow on the cars and ground. The temperature was 30° and we both said it will be good to be back home in Santa Fe. We got our things together and put them in the car and headed to the rental car place. It was only a four minute drive and at 6:30am there wasn't any traffic.

Back in Sunny New Mexico

We turned the car in and caught the shuttle to the airport. There was no line at the Southwest counter so we quickly got our boarding passes and checked our bags in. We arrived at the security checkpoint and didn't have any lines there either so it was a fast check in. We stopped to get a cup of coffee at Caribou Coffee and then settled in at the gate to wait for our flight. Thomas read and I surfed the internet. I had wanted a non-stop flight but there were none available but we got the next best thing. The flight takes us from Minneapolis to Chicago (we didn't have to change planes here, so it was just a landing - unload and load - and then we took off again) and then to Albuquerque. When we arrived in Albuquerque the weather was perfect - sunshine and 73° with a slight breeze. After getting our bags and catching the shuttle to the parking to pick up the car we decided to grab a bite to eat before heading to Santa Fe. We stopped at Taco Cabana for some tacos and then it was on to home. We are now unpacked and resting from the trip. It was a good trip despite the rain, snow and cold weather. We got to do everything we wanted to do and you can read all about it at Letterboxing in the Great Lakes Region.

Traveling to the Great Lakes Region

Thomas and I are headed to the Great Lakes area for a little week long trip - we leave tomorrow morning. Thomas has a conference to attend in Minneapolis for two days and then we are going to travel a little to get some letterboxes and see some State Capitols. We will first be in Minneapolis for three days and I will letterbox and visit the State Capitol in St. Paul while Thomas is at his conference. Then we leave Minnesota and drive to Lansing, Michigan to see the Capitol there and try to get a few letterboxes in that state as well. Next we head back to Madison, Wisconsin to visit the State Capitol and letterbox before we head back to Minneapolis to fly home. I think this will be a nice trip and it is an area that neither one of us has visited. I have also lined up some other things to do like sculpture gardens and the Mall of America. We will be very busy during this trip and you can read all about at Letterboxing in the Great Lakes Region for details and pictures.

My Letterboxing Milestones

Here is a list of some of the milestones I have reached during my letterboxing years. I have had tons of fun letterboxing and I hope to continue adding to this list.

Finds

Milestone	Box Name	Planter	City, State	Found
1st	Santa Fe Trails Microbox	Silver Eagle	Santa Fe, NM	02/16/2006
100th	Float Your Boat Canada: I Pulled It!	chocolate bunny	Belcarra, British Columbia, Canada	08/05/2006
200th	Olga Little	Esmerelda	Durango, CO	10/01/2006
300th	The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	dewberry	Tomball, TX	10/21/06
400th	Clay Menagerie: Box #3 Laguna	artTrekker	Tesuque, NM	02/16/2007
500th	Two Chess Pieces	artTrekker	Mystery Box	05/28/07
600th	Grow Where You Are Planted: Hawaiian Palm	night writer	Gilbert, AZ	07/14/2007
700th	Izzy	auntie&Hoosiers3	Lander, WY	08/27/2008
800th	Watchful Birds	Wanda	Skidmore, TX	01/28/2008
900th	Along the Bluebonnet Trail	Lone Star Quilter	Bastrop, TX	03/01/2008
1000th	Road Trip!	Astro D	Pilar, NM	09/13/2008
1100th	Coelophysis	Jags	Windsor, CT	10/18/2008
1200th	Scout Series: Oh, To Be A Tiger	Barefoot Lucy	Rusk, TX	03/06/2009
1300th	Summer Fun at Lake Murray: The Currents	Penguin Patrol	Ardmore, OK	04/03/2009
1400th	The Fools of April: Clown	Leviathan	Westminster, CO	07/06/2009
1500th	What My Sister REALLY Wants For Her Birthday	Hodgindaz	Lincoln City, OR	10/10/2009
1600th	Sycamore Reservoir Trail Series - Prison Camp	Azroadie	Tucson, AZ	02/14/2010
1700th	The Beetle	Chunna	Wareham, MA	05/14/2010
1800th	The Lights at Night Series: Pt. Judith, RI	mudflinginfools	Harpswell, ME	08/07/2010
1900th	Clayton Lake	Stormcrow	Clayton, NM	09/06/2010
2000th	Go Kazan	RJWata	Mystery Box	02/16/2011
2100th	Brown Mountain	Azroadie	Tucson, AZ	03/25/2011
2200th	Patsy Ann	sewsewbizzy	Celebrity Millennium, AK	07/09/2011
2300th	Constellations: Corvus	LyssaGirl	Augusta, MO	09/17/2011
2400th	A Brain, A Heart, A Home, The Nerve: Have A Heart	I Dig Toasters	St. Louis, MO	09/25/2011
2500th	NFL Series, Box 1, Houston Texans	Gators88	Houston, TX	03/02/2012
2600th	Second Saturday Seekers, Leave No Trace	The3DT's	Los Alamos, NM	04/24/2012
2700th	Betsy Ross	codgillfish	Philadelphia, PA	07/27/2012
2800th	Paladin	Wronghat	Albuquerque, NM	02/16/2013
2900th	Burnet Rumble	Princess S	Burnet, TX	03/03/2013
3000th	Bless My Family	Sunny Delight	Chimayo, NM	09/25/2013
3100th	Beverage of Choice: The Ginger People	Open Space	New Caney, TX	10/19/2013
3200th	Plutospective	Earminator	Flagstaff, AZ	04/02/2014
3300th	Blackadon #2 - Kangaroo	Mark	Ivybridge, England	08/29/2014
3400th	No. 1 - Dapedium	Dartmoor	Widecombe-in-the-Moor, England	09/03/2014
3500th	Texas Independence Tidbits: Overdue	topcrop	Washington, TX	10/23/2014
3600th	Which? C Sharp M or A Sharp M	The Woodshed	Denver, CO	11/08/2014
3700th	Tribal Treasure	Grumpy Grinch	Austin, TX	03/06/2015
3800th	Navajo Lake Fish - Mama	C4	Navajo Dam, NM	05/26/2015
3900th	Bear's Den Quartet: Sleepyhead	the lazy letterboxer	New Salem, MA	06/06/2015
4000th	London Bridge & UK Fictional: The Darlings	SnakeDoctor	Lake Havasu City, AZ	11/14/2015
4100th	Camp Woodshed: Mystery Carols #59 - What Child Is This?	paper trail	Parker, CO	12/05/2015
4200th	Air Mail @ Flying J: Band Leader	Front Range Hiker	Aspen Park, CO	08/12/2016
4300th	Winter Wonderland: Tied With A Bow	Front Range Hiker	Evergreen, CO	08/13/2016
4400th	Santa's Busy Elves: Grumpy Elf	The Woodshed	Parker, CO	12/03/2016
4500th	Pinto Line	ArnoldZiffel	Santa Fe, NM	01/12/2017
4600th	Egyptian Hieroglyphics: Sema-Union	The Woodshed	Larkspur, CO	08/16/2017
4700th	Phunny Pharaoh's: Smurfette	The Woodshed	Castle Rock, CO	08/19/2017
4800th	Courthouse Conundrum	cezannie	Prescott, AZ	10/14/2017
4900th
5000th	Donald to the Rescue	The Woodshed	Parker, CO	08/03/2018
5100th	Hidden Mickeys: Musical Mickey	The Woodshed	Parker, CO	08/03/2018
5200th	Princess Promenade: Bear Queen	The Woodshed	Castle Rock, CO	08/03/2018
5300th	Adventure Land: Fight Scene	The Woodshed	Parker, CO	08/04/2018
5400th	Disney Oddities: La Ratatouille	The Woodshed	Parker, CO	08/04/2018
5500th	Oro Series: Olympic Gold	Azroadie	Tucson, AZ	01/31/2019
5600th	Ya'at'eeh	Wronghat	Nageezi, NM	10/25/2019

Plants

Milestone	Box Name	City, State	Planted
1st	Chimney Rock	Abiquiu, NM	04/15/2006
25th	Honor, Loyalty and Peace	Santa Fe, NM	10/08/2006
50th	New Mexico's Eternal Flame	Santa Fe, NM	10/06/2007
75th	Texas Heritage: Eugene C. Barker	Weches, TX	03/07/2009
100th	Sportsman's Paradise Series: State Tree	Mystery Box	03/31/2010
125th	Angel Peak	Bloomfield, NM	11/01/2010
150th	Giacomo Casanova	Venice, Italy	11/03/2012
175th	lionsmane's 10 Year Letterboxiversary	Santa Fe NM	02/16/2016
200th	NM Scenic Byways: Enchanted Circle - Questa	Questa, NM	09/04/2017

A Letterboxing Day in Santa Fe

Yesterday I got an email from ArnoldZiffel asking if Astro D, rubberpeace and I wanted to meet for lunch. So we scheduled to meet today at 11:30am. I had a few errands to run today and I also had clues to two letterboxes to find in town. So I left home this morning with all my letterboxing stuff and my list of things to do.

Swine

So in between my errands I made a stop to find a letterbox/geocache hybrid. I parked at the Santa Fe Spa and went in search of Bit of a View S.F. placed by angel77ra. It was an easy find and I sat and stamped in enjoying the view. After stamping in I returned to my car and continued my errands. Once my errands were done I went in search of one more letterbox before meeting everyone else for lunch. I made my way to Letrado St. and found a parking spot near the box. The box I found here was ArnoldZiffel's NOT My Favorite Swine. I took the box back to the car to stamp in. I really loved this stamp and the concept. I won't say too much about the box because when you find it I think you will get a chuckle out of it and it will be a great surprise. I replaced the box and drove to Felipe's Tacos to meet ArnoldZiffel, Astro D and rubberpeace for lunch. We had a great visit and a nice lunch. I really loved my letterboxing day in Santa Fe.