A Day on the Road

It was a dark, cold and snowy morning . . . as I left Santa Fe to make my way to Arizona. But a little cold and snow doesn't stop a letterboxer. My day turned out to be a real adventure - snow, cold, wind, rain, traffic, mud and letterboxes.

Once I got out of Santa Fe the snow stopped and the roads cleared. I thought that the day would be great. I was doing fine and I arrived in Socorro - I found the first box easy enough but by the time I got to the second box the snow was coming down hard and my hands were freezing. I got the box back into place and cranked the heater up in the car and headed for the next stop - Hatch, NM. The Chile Capital of the World! This should have been an easy find - but when the wind takes your clues it becomes harder. After a few minutes of chasing my clues, a cactus intervened and caught them. Funny, but the cactus was about two steps from the box. So much fun!

From Hatch I headed down Hwy 26 to Deming - I just had to find that Cabinet Box (a box hidden in a filing cabinet in the middle of the desert) - Hmmmmmm! It was easy enough to find - but opening the file drawers proved to be a challenge. And so much mud, and in the desert. The logbook was soaked and pretty much useless. I cleaned the stamp and box and replaced the logbook and the ziplock bags. Now my car is covered in mud and do you think I could find a car wash - NO! I also went to Spring Canyon and found the Ibex Box - an easier drive, no mud and the wind seemed to relaxed for a while - a very enjoyable time.

Now I headed to Arizona and the rain started - it rained off and on for about an hour, then stopped. I decided to go to the Willcox Playa Wildlife Viewing Area. It started out fine and I found the box, but while stamping in it started to rain. Thankfully I had a jacket with a hat and could cover my journal and the letterbox jounal. A fast walk back to the car and I was warm and dry again. I decided that it had been a long day and I wanted to get to Phoenix before it got too late so I got back on the Interstate and drove - until I got to Tucson. Wow! The traffic was terrible - it took me almost an hour to get through town.

Well I made it to Phoenix and checked in to the hotel. After a good shower and something to eat I feel great. I am looking forward to hunting boxes in the Phoenix area tomorrow. And tomorrow night I will be in Tucson. I'll keep you posted on the letterboxing adventures.