Searching Counties & London Bridge

Thomas and I are taking a road trip through Arizona. The main goal for the trip is to finish two series of boxes. Both of these are about the counties. One is by Azroadie (Arizona 15) and one is by Squatchis (Arizona Counties). Hopefully when we return to Santa Fe I will have completed both series.

November 10 - 16, 2016

Day 7 - Kingman to Santa Fe

We wanted to get an early start this morning so that we didn't get home too late. I had a few things I wanted to get done on the way. There were a few letterboxes to find, driving down a portion of Route 66 (from Kingman to Seligman) and checking on one of my letterboxes. After getting ready, packing and loading the car we had a little breakfast before hitting the road around 7:00am.

Route 66 - Kingman to Seligman

It was cold and overcast as the sun started to come up and soon into our drive it started to drizzle and then that turned into flurries. We arrived in Hackberry and pulled over around mile marker 80 to find Azroadie's Hackberry 66 box. It was an easy find that was done as it started to snow. When I had the box in hand I went back to the car to stamp in. When done I ran back to the hiding spot to replace the box and while the snow was getting heavier. The next stop was the Hackberry General Store for SnakeDoctor's Hackberry 66 General Store. We pulled up in front of the building and parked. There was no other cars around and the store was closed. I wasn't sure if the owner knew about the box but I didn't feel right about walking around the place snooping for a letterbox - so we decided to forego this one and head over to Valentine. We stopped at Keepers of the Wild Nature Park for two boxes. Both have the same name - Keepers of the Wild. One is by Desert Pirates (planted in June '07) and the other is by SnakeDoctor (planted in Oct '15). SnakeDoctor had told me that she wasn't sure if the older one was still there. I guess that there has been some attempts, but I decided to give it a try. It was still snowing there but not too hard. Thomas parked on the side of the road near the spot where the box was suppose to be hidden. I read the clues while in the car and found the landmarks I needed. When I felt I knew the spot I got out of the car and started looking. I found the box quickly, or at least I hoped it was the box. The container is a plastic reusable water bottle (at least that is what it looked like to me) and the top was broken and the bottle was filled with water. So I dumped the water and pulled out the ziplock bag with the stamp and logbook and dumped water out of that as well. The logbook was soaked so I left it in the bag. I did this while standing out in the snow. Now that the water was out of the box I got in the car and put the box on the floor. I grabbed the stamp (a plastic store bought image) and stamped in. I wiped down the box as well as I could and put everything back into the container. I didn't have any supplies to clean up the box. I decided I would write to SnakeDoctor to let her know and find out if it was the right box and maybe she could fix it up on one of her next outings. I put the box back where I found it and made some notes so that I could let SnakeDoctor know. Then we drove to the entrance and parked near the fence. Here I found SnakeDoctor's box. This is a much better box. Nice carves and hidden well. Since it was still snowing I stamped in while sitting in the car. I quickly got the box back into place and we continued on. Continuing on Route 66 we drove to Grand Canyon Caverns. We stopped here to look for HappyFeet'08's Grand Canyon Caverns letterbox.

Seligman, Arizona

The box is planted near a wooden cut out of a dinosaur. It was an easy find and I took it back to the car to stamp in. The snow had stopped but every thing was wet so it was easier to stamp in while sitting in the car. After getting that done we continued on Route 66 to Seligman. We stopped at a small little park to look for Wronghat's Water letterbox. Again this was another quick and easy find. After stamping in and getting the box back into place I decided to walk around the town a little and take some pictures. About 20 minutes later we were back on the road taking I40 east. During the drive between Seligman and Williams it started snowing again. So we decided to exit to Williams on Route 66 to get something to eat. It was just after 10:00am when we stopped for a little breakfast. After a relaxing meal we headed out again and by this time the snow had stopped.

Back on I40 we continued our drive east. The next planned stop was at Houck near an old trading post that is now closed down. I found RIclimber's RIclimber Visits Arizona! hidden at the base of the sign for the trading post. This box was a micro box and only contained a stamp - no logbook. It was a quick stamp in and then we were driving again. We stopped only a few exits down at Lupton and drove to the Arizona Welcome Center (that incidentally has a sign on the door that it is closed permanently). I followed the clues and found Public Hand's Southwestern Pottery. I took it to the car to stamp in and then replaced it. We were in and out of there in no time. 

Almost as soon as we got back onto I40 we entered New Mexico.

Snowy Scene near my Alphabetical New Mexico: Z Box

When we arrived in Gallup we took NM602 south to check on my Alphabetical New Mexico: Z (Zuni Pueblo) letterbox. I got a note that the lid was missing and I didn't want the box to be sitting all winter exposed to the elements. When we arrived in Gallup it had started snowing again and by the time we arrived at my box it was snowing hard. Thankfully all I needed to do was put a new box (stamp and logbook and container) in place and grab the old one. I am glad we made the stop. The lid was missing and the bottom part of the box was cracked and broken. At least the finders were kind and made sure the stamp and logbook were double bagged and closed completely so that the logbook was in tact. The place had a great layer of snow so I took some time to take a few pictures.

View along I40

Now it was time to head for home.

We didn't need to stop for anything (there are some boxes along I40 around Grants but we had decided that they would wait until another trip. So we just drove and drove and drove. The weather went from snow to overcast to sunny and then back to snow between Gallup and Santa Fe. We finally arrived home around 6:00pm to some very happy dogs. I hope they missed us because we sure missed them. This trip was incredible! We saw places and things that we had on our list to do and places we had never been. We found some great letterboxes and vistied with friends and made a few new ones. I have to say that traveling through Arizona in November is wonderful. It wasn't too hot or too cold - even though there was some snow it wasn't anything major and didn't deter our trip or plans. As usual we had a great time but it is nice to be back home.

Today's Stats . . .
Starting Time: 7:00am; Ending Time: 6:05pm
Total Time for the Day = 11 hours 05 minutes
Miles Driven = 556
Roads Taken: Sycamore Avenue ➛ Stockton Hill Road ➛ Andy Devine Avenue ➛ Route 66 ➛ I40 ➛ Route 66 ➛ I40 ➛ NM602 ➛ I40 ➛ I25 ➛ NM599 ➛ Browncastle Ranch
Weather: Dark/Cold → Drizzle → Snow → Snow/Freezing Rain → Overcast/Cold → Flurries → Snow → Sunshine → Snow → Overcast/Windy/Cold → Sunshine → Snow
Temperatures: AM ▸ Kingman = 39°; Noon ▸ Holbrook = 40°; PM ▸ Santa Fe = 28°
Letterboxes Found = 7; Letterboxes Attempted = 7

Day 6 - Kingman, Lake Mead and Hoover Dam

Well the event is over and we are moving on. We were up early this morning and left Lake Havasu around 6:45am. It was still dark and a bit chilly but in the warmth of the car it didn't matter. From Lake Havasu we took AZ95 north to I40 and then continued east to Kingman. The drive was uneventful. Early on a Sunday morning there was no traffic and the drive was quite relaxing. A little over an hour later we were making our way into Kingman. We exited to Beale Street (US93) and then turned onto Fort Beale Drive. A mile later we turned onto a road with no name and parked at the end. From here we took the Camp/Fort Beale Trail Loop to look for Squatchis' Arizona Counties: Mohave County letterbox. So we started down the trail and began following the clues. I am not sure what happened but I had some problems locating the gradual left turn and then the gradual right turn as the trail made lots of turns. Eventually I stopped and decided we had gone too far. So we retraced our steps but I wasn't able to locate the next landmark - the rock outcropping. Thomas kept going back and forth and climbed up the hill looking for a lone creosote bush. I decided to go back to the beginning and see if I could get things to work out. So I concentrated on the gradual turns - I decided to check every rock outcropping after every right turn. On my second try I found a rock outcropping and stood on the top rock, then found a lone creosote at the listed compass reading. So I walked up to it and found another rock outcropping immediately to the north of this bush - and guess what - I found the box. Sometimes I think that I think too much about the clues instead of just reading them one line at a time and follow them that way. I found a flat rock nearby and sat there to stamp in. It was a beautiful (if not chilly) morning and a great way to start the day. After I got the box securely in place we returned to the car. By this time we were hungry and decided that it would be a great time to stop for some breakfast. Today was a much simpler day - not as much driving and not as many letterboxes to find. So we took our time enjoying our breakfast.
Eventually we continued our drive north on US93 and made our way to Boulder City, NV.

Lake Mead Sign

Here we did a couple of easy drive-by boxes but our purpose here was to visit Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We entered the park on Lakeshore Drive and stopped at the entrance booth to pay our fee and get a map. We took Lakeshore Drive and the turned onto Northshore Drive - we didn't really have a plan so we just drove. We ended up at the Redstone Picnic Area.

Lake Mead

We stopped here and took the half mile loop trail for a nice short walk around a large red sandstone outcropping. This is a simple hike and has some signs along the trail that talk about the geology. We also stopped at other locations just for some pictures. Our last stop in the park was at the Alan Bible Visitor Center.  We spent about 45 minutes hear walking through the exhibits, getting the passport stamps and picking up some postcards and a patch and pin. 

Leaving Lake Mead we turned on to US93 and a few exits down we headed off US93 to Hoover Dam and the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.

The Dam from the Bridge

We stopped at the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge Plaza first. We followed the concrete path where you can read all about the design and building of the bridge. This path eventually leads you up to the bridge where there is a walkway where you can get a great view of the dam. Today on the walkway was very windy - we had to take off our hats and sunglasses so they wouldn't blow away. But I still enjoyed the walk and the view. We then returned to the car and headed to the dam. Our initial plan was to stop and walk along the dam but we changed our minds because it was very busy and the parking was expensive.

Lake Mead from the Dam

There is free parking on the Arizona side of the dam but it is a walk back to the dam. Anyway, we drove across the dam and got a great view of the bridge and then we had to turn around and head back to the Nevada side to get back on US93. Thomas and I had taken a tour of the dam years ago so we didn't do that on this trip. I would like to plan a trip back to the area and maybe stay in Boulder City and spend more time at the dam and at Lake Mead and find out what other things there are to do in the area.

Hoover Dam Bridge Bypass Silhouetted

Here are some links for more information about the dam and bridge . . .
Hoover Dam Bridge: Top 10 Engineering Facts
The Hoover Dam Bridge
Hoover Dam Bypass
Expansive Hoover Dam Bridge Opens
Mike O'Callagahan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
Visiting Hoover Dam: A Traveler's Guide
Hoover Dam Travel Guide

As we drove back to Kingman the weather started changing from sunny and beautiful to windy and overcast. By the time we arrived in Kingman it had started to rain - a drizzle at first and then a steady rain. We were both hungry so we decided to get something to eat before heading to the hotel. We drove down Route 66 (Andy Devine Avenue) and found El Palacio. This is a chain restaurant with six locations in Arizona and Nevada. It wasn't the best Mexican food I have had but it was still very good. The service was excellent and we enjoyed our dinner. After eating we set the Garmin for the hotel and hit the road and the rain had stopped. We checked in and got our things into the room and got settled. An hour later the wind picked up and we could hear it howling from our 4th floor room. The rain also started again and developed into a downpour.  Thankfully we were warm and cozy in our room. Tomorrow we are headed home - we are ready -it has been a long and busy trip.

Today's Stats . . .
Starting Time: 6:15am; Ending Time: 6:05pm
Total Time for the Day = 11 hours 50 minutes
Miles Driven = 387
Roads Taken: AZ95 ➛ I40 ➛ Historic Route 66 (Andy Devine Avenue) ➛ US93 ➛ Lakeshore Road ➛ US93 ➛ I40 ➛ Stockton Hill Road ➛ Sycamore Avenue
Weather: Dark & Chilly → Sunshine → Sunshine → Overcast → Sunshine/Windy → Drizzle → Rain → Cold & Dark with Wind & Rain
Temperatures: AM ▸ Lake Havasu = 43°; Noon ▸ Lake Mead National Recreation Area = 62°; PM ▸ Kingman = 41°
Letterboxes Found = 3; Letterboxes Attempted = 3

Day 5 - Event Day in Lake Havasu at the London Bridge

We are still in Lake Havasu and today is the 2nd Annual Home of the London Bridge & UK Fictional letterbox event.

Peter Pan

The event didn't start until 10:00am so we slept in and then stayed in bed reading for a couple of hours before getting ready and heading out. The event was being in the shadow of the London Bridge in the garden behind the Visitor Center.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

By the time we had arrived there were already a good number of people there and the exchanges had already begun. So I jumped right in - I got the event stamped and then started exchanging and answering personal travelers questions. After about an hour we headed out to find boxes. There were three boxes hidden in the area that were by different planters and I got to those first. After getting those stamped and put back into place I moved on to the series of stamps that were placed for the event. SnakeDoctor and her team had planted 25 boxes in the area around the London Bridge.

Oliver Twist

The event had the theme of the London Bridge (the area we were in) and UK Fictional (literature and movies taken place in England). The series was divided into two groups - the East Enders (placed on the east side of the bridge) and the West Enders (placed on the west side of the bridge). It seemed that everyone was looking for boxes on the east side so Thomas and I walked across the bridge and started there. Four of the 25 boxes were on this side. We found Mary Poppins, Paddington, Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings. It took us about 40 minutes to find all the boxes then we walked back across the bridge. As soon as we got back on the east side we started the marathon boxing for the remaining 21 boxes.

Chronicles of Narnia

We read through all the clues and tried to figure out which boxes were in the same general vicinity and tried to find those. About 1:30pm Thomas decided that he had enough boxing for the day and decided to walk back to the hotel (only five blocks away) and take a nap or read. Of course, I continued on - meeting up with other boxers and finding boxes. I found my last box at around 3:30pm. The boxes I found on the east side of the bridge were Alice, Hogwarts, Brave New World, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, 1984, Around the World in 80 Days, Dr. Who, The Tardis, Dalek, The Darlings, Peter Pan & Hook, 2014, Mr. McGregor, Oliver Twist, Much Ado, Peter Pan, Second Star and Sherlock Holmes. There were no other boxes in the area so I went back to the garden and sat and visited until around 4:15pm. Then I drove back to the hotel to clean up and get ready for dinner. I also did some logging in of the boxes I found and around 5:15pm Thomas and I left the hotel to meet everyone for dinner. We had dinner at Mudshark Brewery. The meal was very good but I think we overwhelmed the waiter - we ordered our meal at 5:45pm and didn't get it until 6:35pm. It was a great time talking with everyone and exchanging letterbox stories.

A View of the London Bridge While Out Letterboxing

The event was incredible - the location, the boxes, the carvings, the clues, the people and the theme. I had a great time and I am hoping I can make the event next year. SnakeDoctor has already scheduled it - A Gathering of Boxers in Parker, AZ at The Desert Bar (aka the Nellie E Saloon) just south of Lake Havasu. Tomorrow we leave for Kingman.

Today's Stats . . .
Starting Time: 9:45am; Ending Time: 7:30pm
Total Time for the Day = 9 hours 45 minutes
Miles Driven = 4
Roads Taken: London Bridge Road ➛ AZ 95 ➛ Swanson Avenue ➛ AZ95 ➛ London Bridge Road
Weather: Sunshine & Cool → Sunshine → Sunshine → Sunshine & Cool
Temperatures: AM ▸ Lake Havasu = 62°; Noon ▸ Lake Havasu = 76°; PM ▸ Lake Havasu = 48°
Letterboxes Found = 28; Letterboxes Attempted = 28

Day 4 - Lake Havasu City and a Little North

Today we were in the Lake Havasu area so thankfully there was very little driving. And since we didn't have to cover a certain distance we could take our time getting started. We slept in and eventually got out of bed around 7:45am. Then after dressing and getting some breakfast we got some things and left the hotel to do a little letterboxing and maybe some sightseeing. I only needed one more county to complete Azroadie's Arizona 15 Award so that was my first priority. The box I needed was for Mohave County and was located in Topock - about a 40 minute drive north. So we headed there. We drove AZ95 to I40 and then I40 west to exit 1. This is the Topock-Oatman Highway (aka Historic Route 66) and part of historic Route 66. We drove along this road for about 2 miles and then parked in a pull out on the right side of the road. After following a couple of compass directions we found Azroadie's Topock 66 box. I stamped in and then stamped the image again but this time onto the form for the Award. WooHoo!!! - I finally had completed the challenge - I now had found one of Azroadie's letterboxes in each of Arizona's 15 counties.
So once the box was back in place we returned to I40 and headed back east. We passed the exit for Lake Havasu and went a couple of miles further where we took the Franconia Road exit.

"X" Marks the Spot on Franconia Road

From the exit we turned north and drove a little more than a half mile and parked near a railroad underpass. From here we walked about another half mile to find Tepee-AZ's Franconia Road Gravesite box. This box is planted in the area of a train collision near Franconia. We followed the clues looking for the box where "X" marked the spot. We located landmarks and took a compass reading and started walking in that direction and immediately found the spot - there is an actual "X" made out of wood that is stuck in the ground and the box is hidden under rocks at its base. Of course I had to take a few pictures and then I stamped in, replaced the box and then we made our way back to the car. We left that area of Franconia Road and we continued on this same road going south. The drive was slow as we were on a dirt road with lots of ruts and bumps. Then there were the clues we were following looking for landmarks as we moved along. Seven miles later we arrived at a water tank and a falling down windmill. I quickly found Tepee-AZ's Franconia Windmill hidden at the base of the real windmill. It was peaceful out there as I sat and stamped in. When the box was back in place we drove the seven miles back to I40.

Yesterday I noticed a new box planted at a rest stop in Yucca - which wasn't all that far from where we were. So made the short drive to the Yucca exit and then turned around and headed to the Haviland Rest Area. Here I found Jaybirders' Magical Vacation. I was the first finder on this box - and I expected to be the first since the box hadn't even been listed for 24 hours yet. The box is hidden in the back of the rest area near the fence line so I was pretty much hidden from sight. There was also a electrical box that was on a cement base. There was ample space around the edge for me to sit and stamp in. After stamping in and getting the box back in place I made my way back to the car and then Thomas and I made the short drive back to Lake Havasu.

We arrived in Lake Havasu 1:15pm and realized we hadn't had lunch yet. So we made a quick stop for some food to take care of the hunger and then decided to go to S.A.R.A Park to look for some boxes. We arrived at the trail head parking and started following the clues for SnakeDoctor's 9th Annual Plant a Letterbox Day Series. This is a series of nine boxes. We spent about two hours on the trail looking for the boxes. There were a few places where we had a little trouble with the landmarks and it took us a while to find the boxes. We only got to six of the nine boxes because we were running out of time. So we called it quits after I stamped into the sixth box and replaced it. From there we just made the walk back to the car. It was now about 4:15pm and we wanted to go back to the hotel and clean up before dinner.

Once at the hotel we got washed up and ready for dinner and we still had some time to spare so I ended up logging the finds for the day.

Our First View of the London Bridge

At 5:15pm we headed out to the place for dinner. The restaurant is situated at the east end of the London Bridge at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the bridge. Since we were early we took a walk over the bridge and enjoyed the views then headed to Burgers by the Bridge to meet everyone for dinner. We had a great time visiting with people and the burgers were great. I even got some exchanges and personal travelers during the tow hours we were there. Finally around 8:00pm Thomas and I said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. We had a great day letterboxing in the Lake Havasu area and were happy that we didn't have as much driving as we had the last few days. Tomorrow is the event and I am looking forward to it. So now I need to get some rest.

London Bridge Lamp Post at Sunset

Today's Stats . . .
Starting Time: 8:45am; Ending Time: 8:20pm
Total Time for the Day = 11 hours 35 minutes
Miles Driven = 101
Roads Taken: AZ95 ➛ I40 ➛ Topock-Oatman Highway ➛ I40 ➛ Franconia Road ➛ I40 ➛ AZ95
Weather: Sunshine & Cool → Sunshine → Sunshine → Sunshine &  Cool
Temperatures: AM ▸ Lake Havasu = 60°; Noon ▸ Yucca = 74°; PM ▸ Lake Havasu = 54°
Letterboxes Found = 10; Letterboxes Attempted = 10

Day 3 - Phoenix to Lake Havasu City

After a long day yesterday and a good night's sleep we are ready for our third day of traversing the great state of Arizona. Our destination for the night is Lake Havasu City where we will spend three nights and attend an event. After a little breakfast and getting the car loaded we were ready to start out day. Last night we got into Phoenix too late to go to South Mountain Park to get Squatchis' Maricopa County box so we wanted to do that first thing this morning. So from the hotel we headed to the park. When we arrived we saw a sign stating that all roads to summits were closed. We stopped and talked to one of the employees and they told us that due to storm damage in August of this year the roads would be closed indefinitely.
Since we couldn't look for the box we left the park and headed south/east on I10. A short distance along we exited onto AZ347.

View from the abandoned site of Freeman

We took this road down to I8 and then headed west. Our first stop was for Azroadie's Freeman box. This box is located just east of Gila Bend in the abandoned town of Freeman. It was a quick and easy find and we were back on the road in no time. We continued along I8 until the Sentinel Rest Area west of Gila Bend. There are two boxes here - Grumpy Grinch's Cow Catcher and Azroadie's Volcanic Field. Both were a little ways away from the buildings and easy to find. I got both stamped into my logbook and then tucked away into their respective hiding spots and then we were ready to continue on. I was keeping an eye on the time because we had a long way to go to get to Lake Havasu and I also needed to get Azroadie's and Squatchis' county boxes (this was priority and the real purpose of the trip). Our next stop was Spot Road just east of Dateland. There were two boxes in the area. Azroadie's X Marks the Spot (Road) which was very near the exit and LazyD's Round House Letterbox which was 3+ miles away on a dirt road. To save a little time we decided to forego the Round House box. We found Azroadie's box easily enough and I stamped in while sitting in the car because there was a short period of some wind and I was having trouble keeping hold of my clues. After getting the box back into place we returned to the interstate and headed for the Dateland Travel Center. We first looked for AZJokester's Where in World is Dateland, Arizona?. Unfortunately we didn't find this box. So we took a break and went into the Travel Center and looked around the gift shop and then we decided to try the date shake. We ended up getting a small that we shared. I liked the flavor of the shake but I could of done without the bits of dates that kept clogging up the straw. I had read rave reviews about these shakes and they are good but I don't think I would stop for one on future trips in that area - for me it was a "Been There, Done That" kind of thing. Back on I8 heading west we soon exited onto old US80 just before getting to Tacna. At this exit we found Azroadie's Mohawk box which is planted near or in the abandoned site of Mohawk. Another quick and easy find and soon we were back in the car continuing on our drive. Soon enough we were getting in to the Yuma area. We took exit 12 to Fortuna Road and then turned north onto US95. Five miles later we arrived at an abandoned bridge - the Henry Harrison McPhaul Bridge.

The Bridge to Nowhere (McPhaul Bridge)

We found The Bridge to Nowhere which was originally placed by Milk Money but has since been adopted by Desert Flower. After stamping in I took a few pictures and then we headed into Yuma to the Yuma Territorial Prison Historic Park. First we looked for Squatchis' Arizona Counties: Yuma County. The walk to this box was along the Colorado River. It was a pleasant and peaceful walk. I had no trouble finding the box especially since it was out in the open. I was glad it was there because anyone passing by could have seen it. I stamped in and then made sure to hide the box a lot better. Once I was satisfied with the hide we returned to the parking area and then looked for Azroadie's Yuma Prison. I had a little trouble finding this one, it took me three tries starting at the beginning to find the box. I think I was rushing because we still had a ways to go and time was slipping away from us. It was 2:50pm when I finally found the box and stamped in. I then got it back into its hiding spot and we headed back to the car. We realized we hadn't had any lunch so we stopped for a sandwich and then began the last leg of our journey.

We left Yuma via I8 and crossed over into California.

Ogilby Road

A short distance later we exited onto Olgiby Road. At first we were skeptical about going this way. For about 15 minutes we didn't see any other human life and the road was in really bad shape. There were cracks everywhere and the edges where crumbling apart. Then we crossed a railroad track and we saw two trucks with workers. And a little later we encountered road construction. Once past the construction the road changed to CA78 and we were suddenly driving along with quite a few other cars. We both felt that the landscape along this road was a little strange - sort of 'alienish' - that is the only way we could describe it. I am not saying it was bad, just different. Finally we arrived at I10 where we headed east back into Arizona. Once back into the Grand Canyon State we took exit 1 at Ehrenberg and turned onto the Ehrenberg-Parker Highway. Six miles later we pulled off the road and drove up to two abandoned sites. We walked over to the one on the right and then I climbed up the hill and took a compass reading and quickly found Squatchis' Arizona Counties: La Paz County. By this time the sun was much lower in the sky and I was moving really fast - we still needed one more box before heading to Lake Havasu. From the time we parked and I found the box and then stamped in and put the box back into placed and made my way to the car took all of seven minutes. We then retraced our route back to I10 and headed east to Quartzsite. A few miles east of town we exited onto Gold Nugget Road and made our way to a kiosk not even a half mile from the interstate. By this time it was completely dark and there were absolutely no lights in this area. So with clues and flashlights and a compass we began our search for Azroadie's Gold Nugget letterbox. Since we couldn't see any landmarks we had to completely rely on the compass readings and steps. Thankfully we got to the first landmarks without any complications. Then we took the next compass reading and walked the listed number of steps and arrived at the box - again without problems. Thomas held the flashlights and I stamped in. I was trying to rush since it was pitch black and a little creepy out there but I took a deep breath and made sure I stamped in well and then made sure the box was hidden properly. Now we needed to find our way back to the car. So I just reversed the compass readings and we headed back. We ended up about 100 feet to the right of where the car was parked. Thank the universe for electronic keys. We pressed the button to unlock the car doors and that made the lights come on and we were able to get to the car safely. We were extremely happy that we were done with that. We headed back to I10 and then exited at Quartzsite onto AZ95. We still had an hour and a half drive to Lake Havasu City but that was fine since we didn't need to stop for any other boxes. It was around 8:00pm when we arrived in town and we were both hungry. So we stopped for a quick bite and then drove to the hotel. We were both so tired and ready for bed but when I walked into the lobby to check in there were already six people in front of me. Forty minutes later we had room keys, had unloaded the car and were in for the night.

A very long day but we accomplished our goals and I had gotten all the county stamps for both Squatchis and Azroadie that I needed. I think tonight we will sleep well and we don't have to get up early to be anywhere tomorrow - we are staying in the Lake Havasu area for a couple of days.

Today's Stats . . .
Starting Time: 8:30am; Ending Time: 8:05pm
Total Time for the Day = 11 hours 35 minutes
Miles Driven = 370
Roads Taken: I10 ➛ AZ347 ➛ I8 ➛ Olgiby Road ➛ CA78 ➛ I10 ➛ AZ95
Weather: Sunshine & Cool → Sunshine → Sunshine → Sunshine
Temperatures: AM ▸ Phoenix = 53°; Noon ▸ Dateland = 70°; PM ▸ Lake Havasu = 62°
Letterboxes Found = 10; Letterboxes Attempted = 12

Day 2 - Flagstaff to Phoenix

Today did not come off as smoothly as planned but nonetheless we still had a good time. Last night when we arrived in Flagstaff it was snowing. There wasn't a big accumulation on the ground but as the temperatures dropped ice began forming on streets, sidewalks and in parking lots. Getting our things from the car into the hotel proved to be a bit slippery. Thankfully we didn't have any problems. We hoped that this morning we would not have any problems on the road as we made our way south. As usual we were up early, we got dressed and organized and the loaded up the car. We then had a bit of breakfast at the restaurant before heading out. By 7:15am we were on the road to Sedona. We usually take AZ89A from I17 but as this road goes through a canyon with lots of trees shading the road we thought it might still be icy this morning so we drove a little further south on I17 and then exited onto AZ179 - this took us north into Sedona. We drove through town and turned onto Schnebley Hill Road and parked in the lot for the Huckaby Trail #161. Back in April 2014 I had hiked this trail and attempted to fine Azroadie's Quercus letterbox. The clues said to look for a bench on the right but after hiking for about an hour the only bench I saw was on the left. So I returned to that bench and tried to follow the clues for the box but kept coming up empty handed. The next day I talked to Azroadie about the trail and told him about the bench being on the opposite side and that the clues didn't seem to lead to the box. The next week he went to Sedona and checked on the box. He realized that the trail had been rerouted and changed. So he reworked the clues for the renovated trail and let me know that he had updated them.

View from Huckaby Trail #161, Sedona, AZ

So when I planned this trip I knew I wanted to return to this trail and get this box - 1) because it is an Azroadie box and 2) the views from this trail are magnificent. So after parking and getting our supplies Thomas and I hit the trail. You leave the parking area and walk on a pretty level trail for a bit and then it gradually dips down into wash and then you climb back up on the opposite side. I guess it took us about 10 minutes to reach the bench. And the new clues were spot on and we easily found the box - I thought back to last year and realized I was no where near the box. We stamped in and enjoyed the early morning solitude and the views. Now that this box had been logged we returned to the car to continue with our day. As we left the parking area a light and message popped up on the dash letting us know that the rear passenger tire was low on air. So we stopped at the first gas station and filled that tire and checked the other three. Once they were all to the normal pressure and the message had disapphttp://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/prescott/recreation/horseriding-camping/recarea/?recid=67313&actid=104eared we filled the car with gas and got back on the road sometime around 10:20am.

We retraced our drive along AZ179 back to I17 where we continued our drive south. The drive to Prescott and then a quick stop at CVS for some allergy meds took us about an hour and forty-five minutes getting us to the trail head at about noon. We parked in the lot for the Salida Gulch Trail #95 where we were going to search for the last four boxes in the Fallen Heroes - Granite Mountain Hotshots series placed by SnakeDoctor back in July 2013. I had hiked this loop with Mark & Sue Pepe on Friday, April 4, 2014 where we found the first 17 boxes (the last four had not been placed yet). So on this trip I wanted to get the remaining boxes. When planning to look for these boxes I had looked at the trail map and decided that I didn't want to hike the entire loop again and decided we would take the loop clockwise which would get us to the boxes in a third of the time. We left the parking lot and started on the trail where we passed through a gate and then we came upon an intersection. I remembered we went counter-clockwise last year so I told Thomas we needed to go the other way. Here is where all my planning just evaporated away. We started along the trail and it steadily kept climbing up and up. As we walked I looked for the landmarks in the clues but nothing fit and nothing look like the last time I had hiked the trail. But we continued on thinking we just hadn't gotten to the right spot. After about an hour or so of hiking we came upon a trail marker that said Trail #9263. I looked and Thomas and told him I had royally screwed up - we were on the completely wrong trail. So we headed back down the trail and got to the intersection where we started - here I noticed a trail marker for Trail #9263 and a little ways from that marker I saw the marker for Trail #95. I looked at my watch and saw that it was coming up on 2:00pm. We had hiked for a little over two hours and had nothing to show for it but tired legs (it wasn't a complete loss because we got quite a bit of exercise - about five miles of exercise). I really didn't want to leave without finding these boxes because I wasn't sure when I would have time to return to Prescott to find them later. I decided to just go for it and Thomas decided to find a spot near the intersection and wait for me. Before I left that area I read the clue for the last box and realized it was about ten feet away from where we were standing - so I grabbed the box and stamped in - and Thomas replaced it for me and I headed up the trail for the other three boxes. I read the clues and made a mental note of the landmarks that I needed to look for. As I was working backwards I had to adjust right and left, east and west, etcetera. Shortly I came upon a landmark of a mutli-trunked tree cradling its fallen neighbor. I checked at the base and found the box - this meant that I had missed a landmark somewhere along the trail for one of the boxes.

Petroglyphs along the Salida Gulch Trail #95, Prescott, AZ

I quickly stamped in to the box I found and replaced it and decided to continue up the trail for the next box. This one was a quick and easy find as it was only a short distance from the box I had just found and it was hidden near a rock outcropping that contained some petroglyphs. I didn't want to waste too much time so I stamped in quickly, replaced the box and took a few pictures and then started back to the beginning of the trail. But as I walked back I needed to find this one last landmark and box. The clue stated that this one could be tricky as I was looking for a 4 to 6 inch tall stump with three X's on it. I had missed it on my initial pass up the trail so I walked a bit slower and kept looking. Since I was concentrating on the landmark I hadn't realized that I was arriving at the starting point and I had again missed the stump. I wasn't about to leave without a complete set of this series - so I told Thomas I need to try one more time (thankfully the trail was pretty level and it wasn't that far. This time I kept my head down looking on the left side of the trail for this stump - I also moved along a bit slower than before. About half way from the start of the trail to the petroglyphs the darn stump jumped right out at me - I felt really silly that it took me three passes to find it as it seemed so obvious now. Five minutes later I had stamped in, replaced the box and was heading back to the car having found ALL the boxes. At the car I checked the time - 3:20pm. I calculated the drive time from Prescott to Phoenix and immediately knew I wasn't going to be able to get the remaining two boxes that I had so carefully planned out to get today. One of the boxes is in Phoenix and one was near Florence (which was planned as a major detour - I needed this box to satisfy my Arizona 15 award for Pinal County). All the other county boxes that I needed were along the route I had planned for this trip to complete Azroadie's Arizona 15 and Squatchis' Arizona Counties series. And since we had planned and booked a hotel in Phoenix for the night I knew that it would be easier to get the box there in the morning since that is where we were starting our day tomorrow. So we left Prescott sometime around 3:30pm headed down AZ69. We took this road until it merged into I17 south to Phoenix. As we got into the Phoenix area the Garmin had us exit onto AZ101 Loop - up until this point everything seemed as though we could get to Florence and find the box before darkness set in - boy was I wrong!!! As soon as we merged onto AZ101 the traffic completely backed up. The Garmin had originally told us that our arrival time in Florence would be 5:20pm. The traffic along AZ101 moved at a snail's pace and eventually we exited onto US60 which was no better than the road we had just been on. So we crept along and just past Mesa the traffic began to clear and soon we were traveling along at the speed limit. I checked the Garmin and now it was telling us our arrival time in Florence would be 6:10pm - a whopping 50 minutes later. At this point we both knew that we would be finding this box in the dark. Thankfully we had three flashlights with us. As we made our way into Florence we followed the clues for Azroadie's Olneya box. We finally arrived at the pullout along AZ79 (the Pinal Pioneer Parkway) near mile marker 118. The clue had you park in the pullout and walk down a short road and then turn right. We decided to just drive the short road and use the headlights to help us find the box. This worked out perfectly - we quickly found the box and I stamped in while sitting in the car. After replacing the box we backed out to the pullout and I reset the Garmin for our hotel in Phoenix. The directions took us back up AZ79 and then to AZ79 Business Loop. From there we took AZ287 to AZ387 to I10. A 45 minute drive later we pulled up to the hotel. We checked in and got our things into the room and realized that we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Thankfully there was a Rudy's Bar-B-Q just across the parking lot from the hotel. That suited us just fine and after sharing a 1/2 pound of turkey and a 1/2 pound of brisket we were hungry no more.

Finally we are settled and have tweaked our plans for tomorrow everything is again hunky-dory. Our plan for tomorrow is to get to Lake Havasu by way of Yuma - I know that is not the best route. But remember this trip is about completing the County series. I still need a Maricopa county for Squatchis and I need Yuma, La Paz and Mohave counties for both Azroadie and Squatchis. Thankfully we have more time since none of the boxes we are looking for tomorrow are on long hikes. So I don't foresee any issues in getting the boxes I need and still making it to Lake Havasu at a reasonable time. But I will let you know if things go hinky (I love this word - Abby on NCIS uses it all the time, so now I am adopting it) again. Today was an adventure and we had a great time even if it didn't go exactly as planned.   

Today's Stats . . .
Starting Time: 7:15am; Ending Time: 8:30pm
Total Time for the Day = 13 hours 15 minutes
Miles Driven = 321
Roads Taken: I27 ➛ AZ179 ➛ AZ169 ➛ AZ69 ➛ AZ101 Loop ➛ US60 ➛ AZ79 ➛ AZ287 ➛ AZ387 ➛ I10
Weather: Cold → Sunshine  → Warm
Temperatures: AM ▸ Flagstaff = 26°; Noon ▸ Prescott = 50°; PM ▸ Phoenix = 59°
Letterboxes Found = 6; Letterboxes Attempted = 6

Day 1 - Santa Fe to Flagstaff

Well we are off for our Arizona adventure. We were up early and got everything loaded into the car quickly. We left Santa Fe in the dark and cold as we headed south to Socorro. After an uneventful two+ hours we arrived in Socorro and made our way to the library. Here we were looking for Strangelove's Check It Out letterbox. The library wasn't open yet and that was good - the box was hidden outside and I didn't have to worry about people inside looking out. Unfortunately after about a 15 minute search I came up empty handed. Hopefully I just missed the box and it is there - I wrote to the placer and I hope they will check on it and let me know. So we got back on the road and headed for Pie Town. Driving US60 is wonderful - great scenery, very little traffic and relaxing. It took us about an hour and a half to get to Pie Town but we made a stop a little ways outside of town at the Continental Divide to look for Wronghat's Pie Dichotomy box. I was a little surprised to find that I was the first finder on this box considering that it was planted last December. It was hidden well but easy to find. I brought it back to the car to stamp in since it was a little chilly to sit outside in the wind. I stamped in, snatched the first finder card and then rehid the box. Soon we were back on the road. We continued along US60 as we passed through Pie Town then Quemado and soon crossed over into Arizona.

After about an hour's drive we arrived in Springerville and made our way to Becker Lake Wildlife Area. We quickly found Azroadie's (carved by Milk Money) The Wrangler box. It was still windy but not as bad as in Pie Town so I sat near the hiding spot and stamped in. Once the box was hidden again we continued our drive. From Becker Lake we drove to Lyman Lake State Park. After paying the day use fee we parked near the dam.

Lyman Lake

With the clue and letterboxing gear we walked across the dam to find Squatchis' Arizona County: Apache County. The wind had really picked up here and I had to hold tight to the clue so it wouldn't blow away. Once we were across the dam we followed the clues and after traversing rocky terrain we found the box. I sat behind a huge boulder to stamp in so that I would have some protection from the wind. After stamping in and putting the box back in place Thomas and I walked around the area and I took a few pictures. We didn't last long because the wind was making it cold as it blew across the lake - so we quickly walked back across the dam and got into the warmth of the car. Our next stop was in Show Low.

Our first stop in Show Low was to gas up the car and then secondly we needed some lunch. So after consulting google we headed over to The House. We both got the Chicken of Club sandwich with homemade chips and iced tea. We took our time and had a nice relaxing visit. While we ate it drizzled on and off but by the time we were done eating it had cleared. So we headed out to find our last box of the day. As we parked at the trail head for the Blue Ridge Cave Trail it began to drizzle again.

Meadow along the Blue Ridge Cave Trail

It wasn't bad but with the wind and the rain it was getting cold. So we donned caps and jackets and started down the trail. Thankfully the rain stopped and we enjoyed our walk to the box. The area was beautiful and serene. During our walk we crossed a stream and watched horses walking around on the neighboring property. We easily found Azroadie's Ice Cave box. I didn't dawdle stamping in because I wanted to get back to the car before the rain began again. Once back at the car we took our caps and jackets off and then got back on the road.

A Rainbow to end the Day!

Five minutes later the rain started again and it was more than a drizzle - I was glad it held out while we were finding the box.

Now that we were done with boxing for the day we were headed to our final destination for the night - Flagstaff. The drive was interesting - first it rained, then the sun came back out and the wind picked up, then the rain started again and slowly turned into snow. A short way before Flagstaff the snow stopped and it was clear as we made our way to the hotel. It was a great day. I am now complete with Apache and Navajo counties for both Azroadie and Squatchis' series. We will get some much needed rest so we can continue our adventure tomorrow.

Do you see a lion face in these rocks??? Or is it just me???

Today's Stats . . .
Starting Time: 5:45am; Ending Time: 5:10pm
Total Time for the Day = 11 hours 15 minutes
Miles Driven = 513
Roads Taken: I25 ➛ US60 ➛ US180/191 ➛ AZ77 ➛ I40
Weather: Dark & Cold → Sunshine & Wind → Drizzle → Sunshine → Rain → Snow
Temperatures: AM ▸ Santa Fe = 34°; Noon ▸ Springerville = 58°; PM ▸ Flagstaff = 30°
Letterboxes Found = 4; Letterboxes Attempted = 5