I19 South and Tucson

I had a pretty busy day yesterday and a late night. So I ended up sleeping in and I finally left the hotel around 9:00am. This morning I decided to drive south on I19 to get a county box and visit a national park. I had clues for quite a few boxes between Tubac and Tucson but I wasn't sure how many I would look for - it would just depend on time.

My first destination was Tumacácori National Historical Park just south of Tubac. I loved it here. Interesting history, beautiful ruins and incredible views. On top of that there was a woman making tortillas from scratch and they were so delicious. I spent about an hour here wondering around, taking pictures and relaxing. Finally after a short time in the gift shop I headed out. I did look for a box near the park but I didn't find it so I headed back to I19 and drove north to Tubac. I exited and tried to make my way to the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park. But there was a festival going on in town and there was no place to park. I asked a police officer if there was a place I could park near the Anza Trail. He directed me down a road to a nearby park. I found a sign for the trail and I started walking. I didn't go far and decided to stop and read the clues for Azroadie's Anza Trail box. The starting point was a kiosk and I hadn't seen one but fortunately I met up with a couple and they said they had seen a small kiosk about 3/4 of a mile down the trail. So I reread the clues and started looking for landmarks in the clues. It didn't take me long to find the landmark that lead me to the box. I found a nice place to sit and stamp in. I only had a short walk but I did enjoy my time on the trail - I think I would enjoy spending more time exploring it.

Next I drove north on I19 passing the border checkpoint and then exiting at Amado. I made my way to Elephant Head Road and to the parking area for the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. The lot was empty so I parked and then followed the clues for two boxes. I easily found both boxes - Jolly Mon's Juan Bautista de Anza Trail and spunkyturtle's Elephant Head. It didn't take me long to stamp in and then I returned to my car.

At this time I decided to return to Tucson and do some letterboxing in town. I ended up at Kennedy Park. Here I looked for Azroadie's Sonoran Desert Animals Series 2013. There were four boxes in the series and once I had found all of them I returned to my car. There were other boxes in this area but it was pretty hot out on the trail and I was getting a little tired. And there was still one box I wanted to get today before I finished letterboxing. So I left that park and headed out to Fort Lowell Park. I headed out on the trail following the clues I had for two boxes. After a short walk I found two boxes by Squatchis - Arizona Counties: Pima County and The California Column: Capture of Tucson. After stamping in and then rehiding the boxes I returned to the car. I took some time to make a couple of phone calls and then it was time to head out to the pre-event dinner.

AZJokester planned a dinner tonight at El Corral and I left Fort Lowell Park and headed there. I was a little early so I just sat in the car and handled a few emails. Finally it was time to get something to eat. It was a great evening - good food, good company and great conversation. Around 8:00pm I decided to head back to the hotel. When I arrived at the hotel I followed clues to one more box that is hidden in the hotel. I quickly found the box and decided to take it back to the room. I have stamped in but I think I will replace it in the morning. It was a wonderful day but it is time to rest. Tomorrow is the event and there are some other boxes I want to get before the event starts. Hopefully I can get some much needed rest.