Share the Love Letterboxing Trip

I am headed to Evergreen, Colorado to attend the Share the Love in the Heart of Evergreen letterboxing event.
August 10 - 16, 2016

Heading Home

I was up early this morning so I could get on the road and make it back to Santa Fe by the afternoon. I had the car packed by 5:00am and then I checked out of the hotel and grabbed a breakfast bag for something to snack on. By 5:15am I was on the road and heading home. I did have three boxes I wanted to stop and look for on the way home - all were quick drive-bys.  So my first stop was in Como about 10 miles north of Fairplay. I turned off of US 285 and onto CR 33.

I made a stop just as I entered the town at the Como Roundhouse. Here I found The Woodshed's Weird Colorado: Como box. It was hidden at a pullout with an informational sign for the Roundhouse. I found it quickly, stamped in while sitting in the car and then returned it to its hiding spot. I was just after 6:00am when I found the box and the town was eerily quiet. I was glad when I was back on the road. When I arrived in Fairplay I turned onto CR 16 and drove to the Fairplay Cemetery and found Eighth Notes: "Star" by The Woodshed. Another quick and easy find and soon I was back on US 285 heading home. An hour and a half later I turned onto CO 17 and headed to Mosca. From there I took Lane 6 N to CO 150. I turned right here (away from Great Sand Dunes) and headed for the turn for Zapata Falls. I didn't go to the falls today, I just stopped at the sign for the area. Here I found Viva @ Zapata Falls by TeaMomOwlGirl. I had to wait to retrieve the box because two cars pulled in right after me and stopped to read the informational sign before heading up to the falls. Once they left it was a quick and easy find and in no time I was back on the road. I took CO 150 to US 160 and headed to Alamosa. When I arrived in Alamosa it was time for a break. So I stopped to use the restroom, getting something to eat and then fill the car with gas before taking off again. After that break I didn't stop again until I got home. The drive mapped out on Google said it should take about six and a half hours. It took me about eight and a quarter hours to get home. Stopping for three boxes, food, the bathroom and gas for the car added quite a bit of time. But I still got home at a good time - somewhere around 2:00pm. I am glad to be home. I had a great time at the event and found some wonderful boxes. I really hope to get back up to that area again - it was absolutely beautiful.

One More Day Before Heading Home

Today is my last day in the Evergreen area and tomorrow I make my way home. So I decided last night to head back to Flying J Ranch Park and get the last two series from the event and then I will decide what I want to do after that. So I was up and ready by 7:00am and then I had some breakfast before making the drive to the park.

I arrived at Flying J Ranch Park around 8:15am and headed for the Shadow Pine Loop Trail but this time, it was the east loop. The two series I looked for here were Signature Series (10) [retired signature stamps] and Seashore Sights (12) [things you might find on either coast]. The first series started up the maintenance road and then turned onto the trail. I didn't have any problems finding the boxes and the trails were very quiet - I only saw about three people the whole time I was at the park. Along with the 22 boxes in these two series, I also found one bonus box and a series of two boxes that was already in the park - Flying J Ranch Park (2) by Front Range Hiker. So by the time I returned to my car I had found 25 boxes.

I had clues for a box in Conifer and for some boxes out in Reynolds Park. I first stopped at a shopping center and found I Love Letterboxing by Cowdrey Clan.

A quick and easy find and then I was on my way to Reynolds Park (part of the Jefferson County Open Space system). I arrived at the parking area and started to look for a landmark to begin looking for boxes but I didn't see anything that matched the clues. I was supposed to go through a brown gate but there wasn't a gate around. So I read the clue again and decided just to start up the trail and see if the next part made sense.  No sooner than I passed the information kiosk the sky darkened and it started to pour. So I quickly made it back to my car and waited a while to see if it would stop. After 15 minutes I decided to scratch this park and head on back to the hotel to get ready for my drive home tomorrow. On the way back to the hotel I stopped and had something to eat. Once back at the hotel, I organized my things and packed the stuff I didn't need anymore. I even got some things loaded into the car to make the morning easier. When I finished that stuff I sat and logged in all my finds for the day. Then I decided to take a shower before writing this post. Thankfully today wasn't that busy and I got this finished quickly. Now I can finish packing and get to bed early. I want to be on the road around 5:00am so that I can get back to Santa Fe by early afternoon.

More Event Boxes to Find

Well, I had a great day at the event yesterday and found all of the boxes at the park and nearby cemetery. But there are other series at other parks. There are three series at Fillius Park and one series at Genesee Park and I still had two series to find at Flying J Ranch that I didn't get to finish on Friday. So this morning I woke up at 6:30am without an alarm and got ready for the day. After some breakfast, I headed out for more letterboxing. I first headed to Fillius Park. I parked near a stone pavilion and started my search for two series of boxes - Disney Halloween (3) [Disney related carves] and Retirees (2) [Blackvelvetrav's retired personal travelers].

From the parking area, I took a chained off road following the clues to the Disney Halloween series. I easily found all three. From the end of this series, I continued with the Retirees series. These two took me to the end of the road with a circle turn around. This series had a bonus box that I found on the way back to my car. Once I arrived at my car I went in search of the last series here - Marker Mania! (5) [Carves that required markers to color in]. This series started at the stone pavilion and followed a road with picnic areas. I found all the boxes in this series but it took me a while since I had to color each of the stamps. Each of the stamps took at least three different colors and the placers asked us to be respectful of the carvers intentions and use markers and not just one color ink pad and if we didn't have the time or didn't want to use markers they asked us to skip this series - I totally agreed with that so I had no problem taking my time and doing it the way they asked.

By the time I finished all the boxes in this park I was kind of tired. It had gotten really hot - somewhere around 90°. Thankfully I had my camelback and had plenty of water. When I got back to my car I looked at clues I still had for the area. The last series I had from the event was at Genesee Park - . . . Makes Me Smile (10) [not really sure what inspired this series]. So I followed the directions to the parking area for this series and then headed up the Chief Hosa South Loop to look for the boxes.

I found the first one easily but then had enormous problems finding the second box. I couldn't find the landmarks I needed and eventually read the clue for the third box and realized I was standing next to the landmark for that box so I grabbed it and stamped in. Once I got it back in place I counted steps back the way I had come (the third box's clue said to go 75 steps from the second box). I still didn't find the landmarks so I just started looking under all the rocks in the area but still had no luck. So I started walking up the trail to the fourth box and realized I was hot and tired. So I stood on the trail for a couple of minutes trying to decide whether to continue or stop for the day. Stopping won out and I returned to my car. Once in the car, I decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. Oh, and before I go on I did find three other boxes in the area I was in today but I didn't write about them because they were mysteries. On the way back to the hotel I turned off and grabbed a bite to eat before getting to the hotel. When I got to the hotel all I could think about was a good shower since I had gotten really hot and sweaty on the trails today. When I finished my shower I decided I needed a nap. So I cranked up the air conditioner and crawled into bed. I ended up sleeping for about an hour. When I woke up I logged in my finds (16) for the day and now am getting this post done. I still have one more day here and I want to go back to Flying J Ranch Park and finish the series there and after that, I will decide what I want to do.

It's Event Day!

After a great day of letterboxing yesterday and a good night's sleep I am ready for the Share the Love in the Heart of Evergreen Event. My alarm went off at 6:30am which gave me time to shower, dress, get my letterboxing stuff and have some breakfast before heading off to the event.

The event is being held in Dedisse Park (part of the Denver Mountain Parks system) in Evergreen. From my hotel, it was about a half hour drive to the park. And it being Saturday there was no traffic and the drive to the park was very pleasant. They were just getting things set up so I helped a little and then started with getting the event stamps. When that was done I did a few exchanges and visited for a little while. Then I decided to hit the trail and find some boxes. There were four series of boxes hidden on the trails as well as two other series hidden around the pavilion. There were also a few HIPS boxes in and around the pavilion - some of these were marked as traditional and some were event boxes. There was also another series that has been in the park a while and a single box also in the park for a while. So needless to say there was plenty to do. I started with the Love to Carve (LTC) (14) series [stamps used for LTCs and then donated to the event]. I followed the clues and had no problems finding any of the boxes. I also checked the logbooks I found for any bonuses but there were none in this series. While looking for this series I also looked for the series that was already in the park - In the Heart of Evergreen by Front Range Hiker.  I had found all 14 of the LTC series and four of the Heart series and this put me at the top end of a maintenance road (the last box in the Heart series was back down at the start of the maintenance road) and it was getting close to noon and time for lunch. So I turned around and headed back to the pavilion stopping to pick up the last box before taking a break for lunch. At the pavilion, they had subway sandwiches, chips, watermelon, dessert and water.

So I spent some time eating, getting more exchanges and finding the boxes around the pavilion. I found a series by Blackvelvetrav - Wizard of Oz (12) and a bonus for the series and I also found another series by Blackvelvetrav - Halloween Town Celebrates Christmas (5). I found three other boxes in and around the pavilion - Management Job; The Heart's a Wonder; and Love, Love, Love. My count for the day at the end of lunch was 40 boxes.

Now that lunch was done I gathered my things and set off in search of two other series. I had to walk back up to the top of the maintenance road to start the next two series (they were planted one after the other). So I walked the trails and found Misteaks(13) [supposedly these stamps were carved by someone and abandoned as a mistake] and Winter Wonderland (8) [winter themed stamps]. I had a great time walking the trails, it was beautiful and peaceful (I only encountered four people on my afternoon walk) and the weather was perfect. Now I had collected 22 (one was a bonus) more stamps and ended back at the pavilion. So I visited for a little while and then went in search of one more series hidden not too far from the pavilion - Are We Lost? (5) [based on the TV show]. This didn't take me long and I was back at the pavilion in no time. I had a snack and visited some more and around 5:00pm I left to go find one more series before calling it a day.

I said my goodbyes and got into my car and headed to Bear Creek Cemetery (aka Evergreen Cemetery) just down the road from the park. I drove into the cemetery and parked at a stone and timber shelter to begin my search. I followed the clues which took me on a nice walking tour of the cemetery. Here I found Do You Love a Good Mystery? (16) [stamps related to mystery stories] and two bonus boxes for the series. There was also another box in the cemetery that had been there before the event and I found that one too - A Fool's Birthday PREsent by Front Range Hiker. This added another 19 boxes to my total - which for the day ended up being 86 boxes - not a bad day!?!?!

I finished up at the cemetery around 6:30pm and headed back to the hotel. It was around 7:15pm when I got to my room. After a shower and a snack, I logged in all my finds and kind of organized all my letterboxing stuff. And then I sat down to write this post. Now that I am done I am going to bed to rest and I am not setting an alarm. I have plans for tomorrow but I don't need to get up early.

***Here are some other links for Denver Mountain Parks . . .
Denver Mountain Parks | Visit Denver
Denver Mountain Parks | all about this historic park system
Denver Mountain Parks Foundation | Part of our past; a gift for our future.
Denver Mountain Parks | History Colorado
Denver Mountain Parks - Go Hike Colorado
Denver Mountain Parks Map

Pre-Event Letterboxing and Picnic

Last night when I went to bed I decided that I wanted to sleep in so I didn't set an alarm. At 3:30am I woke up with a terrible headache. I got up and took some medicine and then went back to sleep. When I woke up again at 8:00am thankfully my headache was gone.

So I got up and got ready for the day. Tonight there is a pre-event picnic at the Flying J Ranch Park (part of the Jefferson County Open Space system) in Aspen Park and the hosts had planted a few series of boxes there and they sent out the clues to these boxes early. I had these clues printed out and so I decided to go out and walk the trails and find these boxes. After a little breakfast, I got in the car and made my way to the park. It was nearly 11:00am when I parked and walked over to a picnic table to figure out what I was doing and where I needed to go. There were six series of boxes hidden here and there were three other boxes that were already in the park before the event.

All the boxes were hidden on the Shadow Pine Loop Trail. This trail is divided into two parts by a maintenance road - so there is an east loop and a west loop. I decided to start with the west loop. On this side, there were four series and one other box. I think it was near 11:30am when I started my letterbox search. The trail was peaceful and beautiful and I really enjoyed my time out there. It was also pretty busy - I don't remember how many hikers and bikers I saw during my time on the trail. The four series I found were - Beer and Ice Cream (5) [pretty self explanatory - stamps related to beer and ice cream], Air Mail @ Flying J (18) [this series consisted of stamps donated from retired postal rings], Dog Days of Summer (10) [again self explanatory - all about dogs] and Just Passin' Through (8) [celebrating creatures who travel through the park on migratory routes]. All were incredible and had some very nice carvings.  There were maybe one or two logbooks per series so you didn't have to keep logging in which was nice. In the back of some of the logbooks, there was a note - "Are you paying attention?". S

o the first two times I saw that note I looked in the front and back of the logbook for a bonus clue but didn't see anything. Then the third time I found a clue in the middle of the logbook written where the person who had placed the box had logged in. And so I found a few bonus boxes (which were hidden very near the box the clue was in) along the way. During my time on the trail, I did get a little wet due to it drizzling on and off for a short time. It wasn't bad and it didn't keep me from letterboxing. I also had the bejeezus scared out of me at one of the boxes. I was sitting there minding my own business stamping into a logbook when I heard a big noise behind me and to my left. So I stood up and looked around but didn't see anything at first, but then I saw some bushes move and I started backing away. I still didn't see anything, just the movement of the bushes and then a minute later a deer crept out from the bushes. I think I scared her as much as she scared me. We both ended up calming down and I finished stamping in and she went on eating. When I was done I got a quick picture of her and then continued on with my letterboxing. Besides the boxes in the series, I found three of the bonus boxes (not sure how many I missed) and one box that was already in the park - The Flying V @ Flying J by Front Range Hiker. So to sum it up I found a total of 45 boxes in about four hours. I really enjoyed being out on the trail - it turned out to be a great day. The last four boxes of the fourth series take you down the maintenance road back to the information kiosk and parking area - there are also picnic pavilions around this area. So it was time for the Share the Love Pre-Event Picnic so I found the correct pavilion and made my what there. I decided I had enough of boxing on the trails and wanted to just sit and visit. Some of the other people made a quick appearance and then disappeared onto the trails. While at the pavilion I did find two more boxes (bringing my total for the day to 47) hidden in the area but mostly I just visited. Around 7:00pm I decided to head back to the hotel and grab a shower and something to eat. Once I arrived at the hotel and cleaned up I went out and grabbed a sandwich and then came back to my room and logged in finds. Now that this post is done I can get some sleep for the event tomorrow. I really had a great time today and found some amazing stamps and now I am really looking forward to the event.

***Here are some other links for Jefferson County Open Space . . .
Jeffco Open Space System Map
Jefferson County Open Space - Go Hike Colorado
City & Mountain Views of Jefferson County Colorado - Jeffco Open Space

Continuing on to Evergreen

This morning I woke up in Poncha Springs and got things ready for another day of driving. I ended up leaving the hotel around 8:00am and headed to my first destination - Salida. I took US 50 and as I drove I looked for a small cemetery along the way so that I could search for a letterbox. I ended up making two passes looking for the place but unfortunately I never found the cemetery so I just continued on the Salida. It was only a five mile drive so it didn't take long. When I arrived in town I made my way to Riverside Park. This park is really nice - there is a walking trail along the river, an amphitheater and plenty of beautiful areas to sit and relax. Once I parked I grabbed my letterboxing things and started following the clues which had me follow a paved path along the river. I arrived at the location for the box but then I got confused about where to look. The area wasn't large so I just searched but came up empty handed. When I got back to the car I had to make a decision - look for one more box in the area or continue my drive. I chose to continue my drive. Instead of taking US 50 back to US 285 I decided to take CO 291 until it merged into US 295.

After about a half hour I arrived in Buena Vista. I immediately made my way to McPhelemy Park to look for RNR's Retire and Relax box. No problem finding this one and there was a great place to sit and stamp. I enjoyed the park - it was nice and peaceful early in the morning. I replaced the box and continued on my way. Next I stopped at Buena Vista Roastery Cafe. One to get a letterbox and two to get some breakfast. I parked on the street right outside the place and from the car followed the clues to the box. It was obvious where I needed to be but there were quite a few people sitting out on the deck so I couldn't go and grab the box. So I decided to get some coffee and a snack. I sat out on the deck and enjoyed to morning. When I was done eating I had to pass on the box because there was still people sitting right where I needed to get the box. So I decided to go to another location and search for boxes there. At River Park I went in search of a couple of boxes - first I looked for and found Silver Eagle's Princeton Tiger. This box in hidden on the Barbara Whipple Trial. I didn't have to go far to find the box and I found a nice place to sit and stamp in. When the box was back in its hiding spot I walked back to my car and followed the clues for CW Sunseeker's Rafting Teddy's. This was a quick and easy find and while stamping in I had a great view of the Arkansas River and some people rafting. I replaced the box and went back to my car. On the way out of Buena Vista I drove by the Cafe again but it was still busy and I couldn't look for the box. I gave up and continued on my way.

My drive was interrupted about four miles outside of Johnson Village. I encountered some road construction and the north bound lane was at a dead stop. There were six cars in front of me and nothing seemed to be moving. After five minutes cars began coming through the construction area. I was bored sitting there so I started counting the cars coming by. There were 221 cars that passed by me and it took 25 minutes. Then finally it was our turn. There was only one mile of construction and when I reached the spot where the cars in the other lane were stopped I started tracking how far the traffic was backed up on that side - it was three miles of backed up cars. Once I passed all the construction and traffic I started looking for the place for the next box. I was looking for The Woodshed's Colorado Mountain Highway Passes: Trout Creek. I only had to drive about 15 miles before reaching Trout Creek Pass. I turned onto a dirt road and quickly crossed a cattle guard and parked. I easily found the box and sat right next to the tree and stamped in. Then I returned to the car and continued on.

About a mile outside of Fairplay I turned left onto CR 18 to look for a box by TaiChi and ChaiTea. The clues were very straight forward but I didn't find the box. So I returned to US 285 and made my way to Fairplay. When I arrived in Fairplay I drove right through town and started toward Alma. Before I arrived in Alma I turned onto CR 12 and then made a quick left on a dirt road toward an electric plant. Here I looked for and found TaiChi and ChaiTea's B.Y.D. #13: The Great Wall. I quickly stamped in and returned to the car. Then I returned to Fairplay. There were a couple of other boxes in the area but I decided to forego those and continue on my drive. Back on US 285 I drove about four or five miles and then stopped at a pullout at Red Hill Pass. Here I was looking for the Woodshed's Colorado Mountain Highway Passes: Red Hill Pass. From the pullout I read the clues and realized I was going to have to cross US 285 to get to the box. The traffic today along this road had been pretty busy and I was just a little worried about crossing a busy road. So I got out of the car and thankfully the coast was clear and I was able to get to the other side without a problem. I found the box and brought it back to the car (crossing the road again) to stamp in and when I was finished I had to cross the road again to put the box back and then again to get back to the car. I was thankful when that was over and I continued on. My next stop was about 15 miles up the road at Kenosha Pass. There were two boxes here to find. First I looked for Colorado Mountain Highway Passes: Kenosha Pass by The Woodshed. This box is hidden on the informational sign for the Pass. I followed the clues and checked the lower metal bar and quickly found the 'box' but when walking back to the car I opened the box and realized that I had a found a geocache. So I turned around and went back to the sign and put the geocache back and looked for the real box. I found it very near where the geocache was - about a foot away. I then took the box back to the car to stamp in and then replaced it a little further away from the geocache. For the second box I had to walk through a gate and a short distance up a dirt road to the Colorado Trail sign and register box. From there I easily found The Woodshed's Smooth Jazz. I found a place to sit and stamp and enjoyed the quiet area. When I was done and the box was back in place I returned to the car.

Another 25 minutes of driving brought me to Bailey. I had clues for six boxes in Bailey and I made my first stop at Coney Island Hot Dog Stand. There are two boxes here but unfortunately I couldn't look for them. The place was busy and there were people all around so I decided to just move on. I then drove to McGraw Memorial Park. Here I looked for and found Camp IdRaHaJe by the Fantastic Four. I found a bench to sit on and stamp in. While sitting there the sky started to darken and by the time I got the box back in place and walked back to the car there were drops coming down. But I wanted to stop one more place and I hoped that the rain would hold out. When I arrived at Horn Cemetery I was hopeful because the rain had stayed away. So I followed the clues to one of the boxes and no sooner than I grabbed the box it started to rain. Thankfully there was a gazebo to sit under to stamp in. When I finished with that box I quickly hid it and then ran for the other two, I had kind of scoped out the hiding spots so it was quick to run and grab them and bring them back to the gazebo. So I stayed pretty dry while stamping in and the rain had slowed to a drizzle so that I didn't have any problems getting the box back in place. So I found three boxes a the cemetery - Blowin' in the Wind by The Woodshed, A Mother's Panda Love by Cowdrey Clan and Mr. Mario by The Woodshed.

My original plan was to stop in Pine to do some more letterboxing but the rain was having none of that. As I left the cemetery the rain became a downpour so I decided to put the hotel address into the Garmin and call it a day. It took me 45 minutes to get to the hotel and I am glad it rained because I was really tired and I don't think stopping in Pine to letterbox would have been a good idea. So I checked in and unloaded the car. Once I was settled in the room I called Thomas to let him know I was okay. Then I decided to go and get something to eat. There was a Mexican restaurant just in front of the hotel so I ended up there - I decided I didn't want to drive any more. I had a nice meal at El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant and then returned to the hotel. Once I showered I felt much better and had a little more energy so I could log my finds and write this post. I think I will sleep in tomorrow and when I wake up I will decide what I am going to do for the day.

The Start of My Letterboxing Trip to Evergreen

Today I started my trip to attend the Share the Love in the Heart of Evergreen Event in Evergreen, CO. I left Santa Fe sometime around 6:00am and took NM 599 to US 285 - and I was staying on US 285 all the way to Evergreen with a few side trips for some letterboxes. Last night I got packed and had everything ready for this morning so I could get an early start. That worked out great and when I left home the sun was just barely starting to peek out and there was no traffic (exactly the way I like starting a trip). As I drove the sun came out and it was the start of a beautiful sunny day. The first two hours of the trip were just driving. I did stop at the Colorado border and got a picture of the Welcome to Colorful Colorado sign. My next stop was a short drive away at the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad in Antonito, CO to look for Jo Z Ro Z's Get on Board! letterbox. I parked where the clues said to park but had trouble finding the landmark I needed. I walked all over the place but couldn't find the short, wooden rail fence with two cross posts. Finally I found it - it was blocked by a tour bus and overgrown tree branches. Once I had the box I took it to a nearby picnic table to sit and stamp in. I really hoped that having trouble with the first box wouldn't become a theme for the day. I stamped in and then replace the box and continued on my drive. My next stop wasn't far away - about 2 miles (a five minute drive). I made my way to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Conejos to find Oldest Catholic Parish in CO (another box by Jo Z Ro Z [from this point on she will be known as 'Z'] - the first nine boxes that I found today were hers). I parked at the Parish Hall were the clues said to park and I quickly found the box. I took it back to the car and stamped in. While I was stamping in a man parked right next to me and when I was ready to put the box back in place I had to wait. I couldn't believe that he had parked right next to me when this large parking area was totally empty. Finally he left and I was able to get the box hidden again without incident. I left here and went to my next destination near Sanford. I was looking for Z's Pike's Stockcade. [I guess that the actual Pike's Stockade is quite a bit further up the road from the box.] This was another quick and easy find hidden near a sign on the side of the road. The box is hidden on a back road and there was no traffic - I did not see one car while I was there stamping in. So there was no problem retrieving or rehiding the box. But on the way back to US 285 I encountered a traffic jam . . . of goats. There were about a dozen goats just sauntering down the road. They didn't seem to be bothered by me and took their time moving off to the side so I could pass.
Back on the highway, I headed for the next box which was a mystery clue that I had solved. Going for this box was my first side trip of the day. Unfortunately, I didn't find the box. Not really sure what I did wrong but I am pretty sure I was at the right location just maybe not the exact hiding spot for the box or it may be missing. Oh well, time to continue on. So I headed to Monte Vista to the Information Center to find Folly's Flower by Z. This was a bit tricky because the box is hidden right near the front door on the main street in town. So I pretended to take pictures and I was able to grab the box without giving anything away. I took it back to the car to stamp in and then had to fake picture taking again to hide the box. Once the box was back in place I drove to Alamosa. While in Alamosa I looked for four boxes (all by Z). I only found two of the four (The Iron Horse and Ute Symbol at Wayside) and quickly stamped in and returned the boxes to their hiding spots. The two I missed (Santa has misplaced his hat! and All Aboard!) I think are missing. I found the hiding spots with SPORs but no boxes. Next I took my second side trip of the day and headed along US 160 to Fort Garland. I drove into Fort Garland and easily found Z's Ute Symbol #1a at Fort Garland. I quickly stamped in while sitting in the car and then returned the box to its hiding spot and then continued to the next box. I headed back the way I had come on US 160 and stopped at the Blanca-Fort Garland Community Center to find Z's Phantom Ute Chief. Another quick and easy find and in no time I was back on the road heading back the way I came. I made another stop at the US 160 & CO 150 to find Z's Sea of Sand! and after stamping in I continued my drive up CO 150.

I drove about 20 miles to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Visitors Center. I paid my fee and then got my National Park Cancellation Stamps. I also bought a book and a patch and then headed out to see the dunes. I drove a short distance to the main parking for the Dunes. I grabbed my camera and headed out. This was my first visit to the Dunes and I didn't really know what to expect. so I walked out on a trail which led to the Medrano Creek and the Dunes. At first, I just stood on this side of the creek and took some pictures but then I decided to walk out onto the Dunes like most of the people were doing (the creek wasn't very wet so it was easy crossing. As I walked I saw a young boy playing in the creek while his mother sat on a log in the creek and watched him. I also saw two guys playing with a frisbee and one man sitting and meditating. As I got up to the Dunes themselves I saw people sand boarding and sledding. After taking a few pictures and enjoying the views I headed back to the car. When I got to the car I had to take off my shoes and dump out sand before getting back on the road. I definitely need to make another trip out to the Dunes.

From the Dunes I took Lane 6N to Mosca. At the corner of Lane 6N and CO 17 I stopped at a wooden alligator cutout to look for TeaMomOwlGirl's Later Gator box. Thankfully there was no traffic and it was a quick grab. I took it back to the car to stamp in. When I was done I replaced the box and continued on my way. I took CO 17 until it merged into US 285. As I got on to US 285 it started to rain. It was only a drizzle at first but it soon turned into a downpour. I made a stop at Poncha Pass to find The Woodshed's Colorado Mountain Highway Passes: Poncha Pass. Since it was raining no one else had stopped here so I could look for the box without problem. I found it quickly and thankfully it was hidden on the sign with an overhang to protect me from the rain. I took it back to the car and stamped in then replaced it back in its hiding spot. Then I continued on making my way to my destination for the night - Poncha Springs. By the time I arrived in the town the rain had stopped so I decided to look for one more box before going to the hotel. I stopped at the Jackson Hotel to find Z's Jackson Hotel - 1878. I was a little concerned about looking for this one because there was a window near the hiding spot. But I didn't have any problems retrieving the box. I stamped in sitting in the car and then replaced it.

Now it was time to call it a day. So I drove a little further up the road to the Poncha Lodge. The owner checked me in and I made it to my room in no time. I got some things out of the car and into the room. It had been a long day so I jumped in to the shower, put on my PJs, logged in my finds for the day and am now writing this post. I think I need to get to bed now so I can continue my drive tomorrow to Evergreen.