Making Our Way to Deming

Well, we are on our way to Tucson for the 15th Annual Tucson Gathering: Rodeo! letterboxing event. Thomas and I left Santa Fe at 6:30am and headed south. Thankfully, it was early and there was no traffic in Albuquerque and we easily sailed through town. The drive was uneventful and we stopped in Truth or Consequences for a quick breakfast before continuing our drive. We made a stop at the Fort Selden Rest Area to find a box. I easily found Chile Capital of the World - PAL 2016 by Yaateeh. The box (camo bag) was exposed and pretty worn and had holes in it. I was surprised it was still there, sitting out in the open. I took the box back to the car and stamped in - the box hadn't been found since 2016. Once I was done stamping in I tried to cover it up better and when I was finished you couldn't see the box at all. Then it was time to continue on.

We drove to Las Cruces where I needed to update two of my boxes. First we stopped at the place where I had my Alphabetical New Mexico: G (Pat Garrett) placed. This box went missing a while back and I haven't made it to Las Cruces to replace it, so I made sure to make this stop on this trip. We got the box replaced and I made notes so that I could rewrite the clues. Then we went in search of a letterbox. We easily found Who Really Dunnit? by Yaateeh. This was a quick and easy find and I stamped in while sitting in the car - it was pretty chilly in Las Cruces. After I got the box back in its hiding spot we moved on. Next we made our way to the Scenic View Rest Area off of Interstate 10. This rest area has a giant statue of a roadrunner made out of recycled items. I have a box here that needed to be updated - Alphabetical New Mexico: R (Roadrunner). My original box was still there but it needed lots of work - the camo bag was torn, the logbook had gotten wet and bled through, and the wood mount the stamp was on was warped. I made a whole new box and replaced it today. The clues for both of these boxes have been updated and they are ready to find. While at the rest area I attempted Great Roadrunner by WanderingOkieWomanj. The box was marked as retired but since I was here I made an attempt - didn't find the box. So we left the rest area and headed for Deming.

Once in Deming I wanted to find a box at Spring Canyon State Park (actually a section of Rockhound State Park). But that area is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (seems weird to close the park for two days, not sure what difference it makes to have it closed) so instead we went in search of PAL Day 2018 - Deming Triangles by Yaateeh. It was a long weird drive out to the middle of nowhere. When we arrive in the area we found two concrete triangles and some wooden fencing. One of the triangles had a plaque on it. First, I went and found the box and then stamped in. Once the box was replaced I walked around the area and then examined the two triangles. I then read the plaque and I didn't understand any of it - seemed very weird and a little scary. You can read about them here - Atlas Obscura Deming, New Mexico Triangles and here - Kcymaerxthaere Triangles and here - Cultural Atlas of New Mexico - Triangles. It was an interesting visit.

We were done with letterboxing for the day so we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner at Marie's Italian Grill. After a great meal we headed for the hotel and checked in. We had a great day and I have gotten things ready for tomorrow when we make our way to Tucson.