Six State Sweep Letterboxing Trip

Thomas and I traveled to the Golden Treasures Event in Golden, CO and continued our trip to Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah and back to New Mexico.
August 24 - September 5, 2007

The Photos

We traveled through six states (New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah) during this trip and I took a ton of photos. It was time consuming going through all those photos but it was worth it. I eventually picked a good group to use to create a slide show. I think it represents our trip pretty well. Click on the picture to view the slide show.

The End

After a great day of hiking and boxing in Moab yesterday Thomas and I were reluctant to leave. But I guess every great adventure has to come to an end so that you can start another. So this morning – early (6:30am), we headed out. We took Hwy 191 south from Moab and had a couple of scheduled stops along the way. First we stopped at the rest area at Hole in the Rock. There were suppose to be two boxes here but Box #1 went missing so we searched for Box #2. It was right where it was supposed to be . . . and what a great stamp. Thanks Kat! Further along on Hwy 191 we stopped for kennamtn’s Wilson Arch box at Wilson Arch. I got a few pictures but we didn’t find the box. Not sure if it was missing or we just missed it. Next we wanted to see Newspaper Rock and search for another of Kat’s boxes. We saw the rock, took pictures and found the box – this is an incredible stamp – the little detour is well worth it. We also tried to find Indian Creek Letterbox but we just couldn’t follow the directions in the clues. We just couldn’t get good bearings. We did search in a couple of areas we thought might be the right spot but they weren’t. After about 30 minutes we decided we needed to get back on the road. For a while it was just driving – nothing exciting, there was a little road construction part of the way. We arrive in Cortez, CO and decided to stop for lunch and to look for a letterbox. We had a very quick lunch and then went on a short hike and found the box. Now we are just driving, well Thomas is driving and I am typing this last blog of the trip. We are just passing Abiquiu Lake so it shouldn’t be too long before we are home. I also got most of the pictures sorted for a photo album or slide show. Hopefully I will get that up soon. I hope you enjoyed our little adventure. We sure did!

Arches, Portal Trail and Moab

No alarm this morning but we were still up by 6:30am. We showered, dressed and had breakfast. Then we headed for our first destination - Arches National Park. Once we arrived at the Park we stopped at the entrance to get kennamtn's Arches box. A quick and easy find and a nice way to start the day. We drove into the Park and made our first stop at the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint. Of course I took a bunch of pictures and then we headed to the next stop. We made our way to Balanced Rock and walked to the observation area, again I took pictures. Next we took the drive up to The Windows Section. I took a few pictures along the way but I really wanted to see Double Arch. So we parked and started the short hike to the Arch. We climbed all the way to the top and enjoyed the views. It was spectacular! The only other thing we wanted to see in the Park was Delicate Arch. We enjoyed the scenery along the drive and slowly made our way to the parking area for the Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint. We walked the trail to the viewpoint and I took some pictures. We didn't hike the trail to the Arch because we were planning some letterboxing and knew there would be some hikes. So once we got some pictures of Delicate Arch we headed out of the Park. We really enjoyed Arches and will probably make another trip here soon.

Our next destination was The Portal Trail off of Potash Road. We parked at the Jaycee Campground and started our hike. We found one letterbox really fast since it was at the beginning of the trail. After stamping in we continued up the trail. We hiked for a while and looked for some landmarks from the clues we had. We weren't finding any. Eventually we stopped and assessed the situation and we concluded that somewhere we had gotten off the trail. We continued up to this ridge since we knew we were looking for an overlook. Well we found an overlook but no sign for the overlook we were searching for. So we decided to head back down. We hadn't gone very far when Thomas noticed a trail and once we got on that trail I started noticing the landmarks. So with a little detour we eventually made it to the overlook. Incredible views of Moab from up there. I found the two boxes up there and stamped in. Thomas just sat and enjoyed the view. We both needed the rest since the hike was all uphill and longer than it should have been. On the way down we stopped twice to find two letterboxes. This brought our total boxes on this trail to five. We returned to the car, very hot and tired.

So we headed back into Moab for a bite to eat and some rest. We ate at a great little pizza place - ZAR Restaurant. After eating Thomas wanted to return to the hotel and do a little swimming, so that is what he did. I went in search of some letterboxes in town. I found Happy Birthday - Ten Years Box and Downtown Moab. I searched for ARRTOY KPRA but I was unsuccessful. I am pretty sure I was in the right place but the rocks were moved and the hole empty. I wrote the placer and I am just waiting to hear back.

Another great day on our vacation. We are both tired and have made this an early evening. Tomorrow we head for home.

Movin' On to Moab

Well this weekend went by way too fast. We had a great time but we have to start heading back to Santa Fe. I guess all good trips must come to an end sometime. But the time isn't now - we still have a few days to go. Sunday morning we loaded the car and headed back south. It was still dark so we didn't get to see much until we were out of Montana and into Idaho. We left Montana via Lost Trail Pass. The Idaho side of the pass was beautiful and we enjoyed the drive to Salmon, ID. In Salmon we stopped for some coffee and to fill the car with gas - we also picked up a map of Idaho to see which way we wanted to travel. We decided to go southeast to Idaho Falls and hit I-15 which would eventually take us to Salt Lake City. When we arrived in Idaho Falls we did a little letterboxing. We found a couple of boxes in Idaho Falls, three in Blackfoot, two in Pocatello and one in Malad City before leaving Idaho and entering Utah. We enjoyed the drive through Idaho and were a little surprised to find that some of the landscape reminded us of New Mexico. During our trek through Idaho I filled up my logbook. Luckily I had another with me. I am now using a beautiful logbook made for me by my letterboxing buddie - Astro D. Thanks D for the logbook - it is working out great.

Since we had stopped for a few letterboxes and something to eat during our drive through Idaho it put us getting to Salt Lake City a little late. We were tired - so we found a hotel and called it a night. I can tell you that Thomas and I were both asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow. We didn't set the alarm - we decided to just get up when our bodies told us to. So by the time we woke up, got dressed and had breakfast it was 10:00am. I love visiting capital cities so we made time to go downtown in Salt Lake and see the Capitol. From there we searched for two letterboxes close to the downtown area. One of the boxes gave us an incredible view of the city. It was amazing. After having out fill of downtown we headed to Wheeler Historic Farm. Thomas was having issues with allergies today and had a really bad headache, so he opted to sit under a tree and rest while I went letterboxing. So I headed to the back of the farm to find Farmin' Fun Fer All. It was an easy find and I found a bench to sit on and stamp in. While I was stamping in I watched a woman go to the hiding spot and look for the box. Of course she didn't find it because I had it. So I called her over and we had a great chat. This was her very first attempt at letterboxing. She was really excited to actually meet another letterboxer out on the trail - and so was I! In the year and a half that I have been letterboxing I have only met two letterboxers out on the trail. So we did a quick exchange and went on our seperate ways. I then went in search of the On the Farm Series (4 boxes). I found the pig, but didn't find the goose, then found the sheep and cow. Thomas and I were getting back into the car when I saw a family with papers in hand and they headed right for the sheep. I watched until they had the box in hand and then made my way over to them to meet the second letterboxers of the day on the trail - what are the odds of that. We talked for a little while and did an exchange. One of the kids was celebrating his 4th birthday and he was so excited. So I said my goodbyes and Thomas and I left the Farm and Salt Lake City headed for Moab.

The drive to Moab was pretty uneventful. There was little traffic, we got a little rain and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery. As we got closer to Moab we stopped to find Dino Dig. It was short drive off the highway and had the beautiful views. I stamped in and we sat for a short while just enjoying the area. It was 6:30pm and we wanted to get to Moab and get settled in a hotel. We decided to stay at The Gonzo Inn. I think it is a great little place. A little different and a whole lot more intersting than the regular chain hotels. Thomas decided he wanted to go for a swim and I went for a walk along Main Street. I didn't get very far (maybe a mile or two) when it decided to start raining. So I made my way - very quickly I might add - back to the hotel. After showering I worked on logging my finds and this blog. Tomorrow we do some letterboxing and head to Arches National Park.

Visiting Friends in Ravalli County

On Thursday morning Thomas and I left West Yellowstone to head up to Stevensville to visit our friends (A.J. and Linda). Of course we wanted to letterbox along the way. Our first stop was just outside West Yellowstone at Fir Ridge Cemetery. We were searching for Batty Girl’s Blue Spruce letterbox. It was a quick and easy find! Thomas and I thought that the cemetery was a bit odd. It wasn’t the usually manicured cemetery. It was kind of overgrown and wild. It actually seemed more fitting than those overly trimmed ones. Now Thomas says I have to come and bury him here – I’m not sure, it is a very long way from Santa Fe. Instead of heading up Hwy 191 to I-90 we decided to take a more scenic route and headed northwest on Hwy 287. We followed the Madison River for most of the way – it was an absolutely beautiful drive. Although I was a little skeptical about our choice at first – we passed an area with signs for Avalanche Area and also passed Earthquake Lake. This didn’t seem like the place we wanted to be. Just joking – we really enjoyed the drive. Along the way we stopped in Cameron for the 45th Parallel Series – McAtee Bridge letterbox. Another quick and easy find. Eventually we made it to I-90 and found our way to Butte. We stopped again in Homestake – just a quick little detour off the interstate. We found the Homestake letterbox and then headed to Butte. We stopped at the Visitors Center to look for a box but we were unsuccessful. I wrote to the planter to see if it was missing or if we just missed it. But no word back as of yet. We continued on I-90 and made two more stops – one in Warm Springs (where we got three boxes – one was missing) and then in Drummond at a rest area (found one more box). Finally we arrived in Missoula and stopped for lunch. After lunch we called our friends to let them know we were about an hour away. We had found seven letterboxes so far and decided that we didn’t want to stop for anymore, so we headed down to Stevensville. We had a nice dinner and just sat out on the porch and talked – a nice evening and visit with A.J. and Linda.

Our goal for Friday was to see the Bitterroot Valley. A.J. wanted us to drive from Stevensville to Hamilton and stop along the way to try some letterboxes. We were also planning to meet his mother in Hamilton and then go to the Ravalli County Fair and Rodeo. We had an early lunch in Stevensville and then drove to Corvallis. This was to be our first stop for a letterbox. We needed to find some businesses in Corvallis to get the names and use certain letters from the names and find the location of the letterbox. Once we had the information we headed to the spot – unfortunately we didn’t find the box – I think it was missing because the area was totally clean – no rocks and no box. I wrote to the placer asking if it was missing but haven’t heard anything back yet. So since we didn’t find the letterbox we went for ice cream. I had a great Huckleberry Milkshake. So next we headed out to Soft Rock Road to find Heart of the Bitterroot letterbox. It was right where it should be but exposed. I saw it from the trail about 100 yards away. This was A.J.’s first letterbox. He seems interested but we will see. He and his Mom may get involved – they bought store stamps to start with and they have a copy of The Letterboxer’s Companion. We wanted to try for one more letterbox before heading to the Fair. We arrived at River Park in Hamilton and went on the hunt for Chocolate Moose. There are moose in this park at times but we didn’t see any while hunting for this box. We found the box, stamped in and then A.J. took us to a great little candy store. Not that we needed candy after the ice cream but we went anyway. After each getting a couple of pieces of chocolate we headed to the fair. We walked around for a little while and then stopped and watched a hypnotist. It was interesting – not sure if I really saw any of the participants go under fully – but it was entertaining. A.J.’s mom arrived and we made our way to the rodeo grounds. I haven’t been to a rodeo in a long time – it was enjoyable and I think that some of these guys that ride the bulls are truly insane. After the rodeo we went for a very late dinner and didn’t get back to the house until around midnight.
This morning we slept in and took our time getting ready. We had a quick and simple breakfast and watched a little of the U.S. Open. Around 11:30am we (A.J., Linda, Maggie, Thomas and myself) all jumped into the car and off we went. We decided that we were going to head to Lolo and go to the Lolo Hot Springs. And of course look for letterboxes along the way. So I had A.J. and his mom (Maggie) look at the clues and put them in order of our travel direction. So we stopped at the Florence Bridge Fishing Access. We found one letterbox by Storm Crow but we were unable to find a second one. We tried two spots and never found that box. So we moved on to our next area. We arrived at Fort Fizzle Historic Area and followed the clues. We got to the area and lifted the rock and no box. There was a hole that was imprinted with the shape of Tupperware but no box. I am pretty sure that we were in the right place. Now we were one for three. Our next stop was Elk Meadow. Again we found the spot and an impression where the box had been – we even found a broken off piece of the box but no box. We also found the skeleton of a deer about two feet from the hiding spot and then the fur and one leg about four feet from the spot. Not a very pleasant search. I had two new boxers with me and they were getting a little discouraged. But we kept plugging along. We arrived at Lee Creek Campground and searched for the next box – WooHoo! – we found another box. After stamping in we decided to do an exchange. We arrived at Lolo Hot Springs at 4:00pm. One more box before some relaxation. Just a short little walk up the road and we found out third box of the day. So we were only 50% for finds today. But I think the new boxers were happy with this. We all changed into our swimming suits and hit the hot springs. (*We spent about an hour and a half going back and forth between the hot bath and the pool. After changing we decided to stop for dinner and then head home. It was a little after 8:00pm and Thomas and I got our things packed and arranged since we leave early in the morning to make our way through Idaho and into Utah. Here it is after midnight and I am just finishing this entry. A.J. and Maggie seemed to be just as enthused about letterboxing as I am. Notice I said enthused and not obsessed – although I think the latter is probably more true) They asked so many questions and wanted to see how Atlas Quest and LbNA worked. It was all quite energizing and it was extremely nice to spend time with other people that were just as excited as I am about this hobby. Well I need some sleep so I can be alert on the drive tomorrow. Talk to you all soon!

Yellowstone

The trip so far has been very busy and we have been on the go since we left Santa Fe. So this morning we decided to sleep in, we ended up arriving at Yellowstone National Park at about 9:30am. We entered the park from the west since we stayed in West Yellowstone. We decided to do a loop drive today and stop at any place that caught our attention. Our first stop was at Lower Geyser Basin. We walked the boardwalk and enjoyed all the steam, bubbling mud and different colors surrounding the geysers. Once we finished the walk around we decided that we wanted to get to Old Faithful. So no more stops until then. We arrived at the perfect time - we only had to wait 10 minutes for Old Faithful to erupt. We watched the geyser until it quit erupting and during the entire time I kept snapping photos. I didn't get any that I thought were great but I did get some that I liked. After that was done we decided to hike the Observation Point Trail. A nice little hike that gives you a great view of the geyser basin. From there we continued on to Solitary Geyser and watched it erupt 3 times (it shoots up about 4 feet every 5 to 7 minutes). We then returned to the boardwalk and just in time to see Old Faithful erupt again. We continued around the boardwalk watching all the geyers spewing up water and steam. Once around and then we headed to the Old Faithful Inn for lunch. What an incredible place - just beautiful. After our lunch we drove around to West Thumb and hung out at the lake for a short time and then continued on up to Lake Village. Here we hiked the Elephant Back Trail for a couple of miles. We were watching the time because we really wanted to see Upper and Lower Falls. So we headed up to Canyon Village. We enjoyed the stop at Grand View. The view of the canyon from here is spectacular - it is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We next made our way to the Brink of Lower Falls - an easy walk all downhill which made the return trip pretty hard. From here we decided to hike a little more so we took the North Rim Trail all the way over to the Brink of Upper Falls. This was a pretty level and easy hike. Pretty much that was our day in Yellowstone. We saw tons of buffallo - a lot of them just walking along and on the roads. We also saw a few elk today as well. We headed back to West Yellowstone for dinner.

Oh, I almost forgot we found four letterboxes! And we didn't find one - it was a mystery and I found the starting point but I had problems with the rest of the clue. Maybe next time we are in the area we can try again.

In West Yellowstone we headed out for a quick dinner and then a little ice cream. We decided we needed a walk after that. So we headed out for three more letterboxes - we walked the Riverside Trail and the Rendezvous Trail and we were successful in all three attempts.

Tomorrow we leave this area to head a little north in Montana to Stevensville to visit friends. Of course we will have to letterbox along the way.

Grand Teton National Park

Yesterday morning we woke up in Casper, Wyoming. Thomas wanted to go to the Recreation Center and have his morning swim, so while he was swimming I packed things up and planned our day. The goal was to get to Grand Teton National Park and to find a hotel in Jackson, Wyoming. When Thomas returned from his swim we had a quick breakfast and headed out. The original plan was to drive straight through to Jackson and then see how much time we had. If there was enough time we thought that we could walk around Jackson for the rest of the day. Well, that didn’t happen.

As we were driving I kept looking at things to do in Grand Teton National Park and in Jackson. I also looked over all the clues I had for boxes in Wyoming. I realized that once we got to Riverton that we could go south a little ways to Lander and do a little hiking and maybe find three letterboxes. Our first stop in Lander was the city park. We took a short walk through the park and then crossed a bridge into a different park. Followed the clues and arrived at the area where the box was suppose to be hidden. Unfortunately we didn’t find the box. Not sure if it was missing or if we just couldn’t find it. So we left the park and headed for Sinks Canyon State Park. We parked at the area for the nature trail and enjoyed an easy one mile loop hike. We also found our first letterbox of the day – I have to say I was a little disappointed – the stamp was store bought. Those of you who know me know that I would rather a crappy hand carved stamp over a store bought one anyday. Anyway, there was another box by the same placer just down the road from this one. We debated whether or not to go since I was 99% sure that the stamp was store bought. But we had bumped into a hiker from the area and he told us the hike alone would be worth it. So we headed up the road to the trail for Popo Agie Falls. It was a pretty good hike – all uphill for one and a half miles. We found the box and yes it was a store bought stamp. We continued up the trail to the falls and enjoyed a fantastic view. So it was worth it to take the hike. By the time we returned to Lander it was after lunch, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then made our way to Jackson.

It was only suppose to be about a two or two and a half hour drive, but they are doing road construction all along the road we were on. So we had to stop and wait several times for the lead car to take us to the next stop. Long story short – we got to Jackson at 6:30pm. We checked into the hotel, went for dinner and then went to bed. What can I say – it wasn’t the most exciting day.

Today however was much better. Thomas went for his morning swim while I headed south of Jackson to look for a couple of boxes. I found one box off of Swinging Bridge Road. Unfortunately there wasn’t a swinging bridge. I guess they had to take it down and it was replaced with a Truss bridge, nothing exciting. I attempted another box but was unable to find the turnout that had the trail I needed. I didn’t want to waste too much time because I knew Thomas would be waiting. So I returned to the hotel and we packed the car, had a little breakfast and went to the visitors center to find a box there before we left town. We were successful in finding the box and enjoyed the visitors center – they had a small little museum that was enjoyable.

So we headed north from Jackson and stopped at a fish hatchery to grab a quick drive-by letterbox by Don and Gwen. We didn’t take the time to see the hatchery – we really wanted to make our way into Grand Teton National Park. But one more stop before entering the park. Gros Ventre Slide Geological Area. In 1925 there was a landslide that moved about 50 million cubic yards of material 9000 feet down the mountain and up the other side. It even dammed up a river. We stopped here to see the area and to find two letterboxes. One was by Azroadie (and I always love his carvings) and the other was by Batty Girl (I was the first finder on this one). It was a nice little detour before heading to the park. On the way to the Slide Area we encountered a small herd of buffalo along the road and even in the road - a wonderful site.

Once we entered Grand Teton we headed to Jenny Lake. We decided to ride the ferry across the lake. Once on the other side we hiked up to Hidden Falls and then to Inspiration Point. It was only about a mile and the views were fantastic. There was a great spot to sit and enjoy the falls. At Inspiration Point you got an incredible view of Jenny Lake. Oh, and we found a letterbox. Once back on the other side of Jenny Lake we drove up to Jackson Overlook on Signal Mountain. We took a short hike, enjoyed the views and found another letterbox. Most of our time in the park was just sitting and enjoying the views. I was in awe of the Teton Mountain Range. They are so distinctive - very jagged and pointed! We also enjoyed sitting and looking out over Jackson Lake - the water here and in Jenny Lake is so blue - absolutely beautiful. It was getting late and we wanted to drive up to Yellowstone and try to find a place to stay.

Driving between the parks is exactly like being in the parks - I'm not sure why there is that small distance between them that doesn't belong to either of them. We did turn off the main road and went in search of one last letterbox for the day. We found the box easily enough and while I was stamping in three deer came out of the woods just 25 feet from me. I kind of just froze at first then I grabbed my camera. I just loved that little unexpected pleasure of seeing them so close up. Now on to finding a place to stay.

When we finally reached Grant Village we found that there were no rooms available in the entire park. So our next option was to head to West Yellowstone, Montana. We called ahead and made reservations at a hotel and then began the drive to exit the park at West Yellowstone. The drive was incredible - first there was the reminder of the Wildland Fire in 1988. You could still see trees that had burned although new growth is really beginning to take over. Along the way we saw elk and deer and one lonely buffalo. Just before we reached the exit to the park Thomas noticed the sunset turning a brillant orange. We found a pullout and enjoyed the end of our day.

The Weekend

What a fantastic weekend! On Saturday we were up fairly early and Thomas went to the gym for his morning swim. I organized the day and got things ready then headed down to breakfast. I met up with Diane and John (that's Astro D and The Great Wuga Wuga to all you letterboxers) in the breakfast room at the hotel. We talked and ate and made plans to meet up after lunch. Diane and John headed out on their own and once Thomas returned he and I headed out for a day of letterboxing.

Our first stop was more of a challenge than anything but turned out to be a great surprise. We headed to the Triceratops Trail to look for a box that the clues said was buried under a small landslide. Thomas and I both started digging in the small pile of dirt and rock in the area we thought the box should be. After about ten minutes of digging along the wall and getting down to the original ground level we found nothing. I quit digging but Thomas decided to try a little longer. Five more minutes and he found the box. While I stamped in (at this point I was still shocked that he found it) Thomas was finding another spot to hide the box. So once I finished and got the box back together Thomas hid the box in the new spot and figured out clues that we could send the placer. We had all the info we needed so we headed out to look for our second box. This next box was still in place and a much easier find than the first one. We quickly stamped into The Gold Miner and soon we were on our way. We finished the morning by finding The Colorado Railroad Adventure and Coors Beer Microbox. Both were pretty easy finds and nice boxes.

We grabbed a quick lunch and then we headed out to find a mystery box, and that's all I'm going to say on the matter. Well I will say a little more - the stamp and the handmade logbook were great. So at this point I called Astro D and we made plans to meet at Genesee Park - I won't write the details here - mainly because I'm tired and secondly because Astro D wrote them so eloquently in her blog yesterday. Go to Toast Ranch Ramblings and read . . . the rest of the story.

I did find time to log in my finds and write Front Range Hiker to let her know about Triceratops. To my surprise she had gone to the area and hidden a new Triceratops box. And guess what?!?!? It was under the same pile of rocks that Thomas hid the old Triceratops box under. And FRH didn't even see the old one. Isn't that crazy! Oh well, at this point I was tired and went to sleep.

This morning Thomas and I went out early to the Triceratops Trail to get the new box and to put both boxes together so that FRH could go out and find them both and decide if she wanted to move one of them. We returned to the hotel and had a littel breakfast. Thomas then headed out to the gym to swim and The Great Wuga Wuga, Astro D and myself headed out for a little letterboxing before heading to the Golden Treasures Gathering. We hiked the Braille Trail and found Guide Dog and then headed over to Chief Hosa Campground to look for Little Raven, Too. In May Thomas and I were in the area and we found Esmerelda's Buffalo Bill Cody letterbox - the carving was amazing. The carving for Little Raven, Too was just as amazing - WOW! can she carve. It was a great way to start the morning and the event.

By this time it was 10:00 and time for the event so John, Diane and I headed for Genesee Park and met Thomas. The event was fantastic! Things went well and time went fast. We stamped the event stamps and then quickly jumped into exchanges. It was great meeting so many nice people. After about two hours of this John and Diane had to head out. They needed to get back to Santa Fe tonight. Thomas and I headed out to find a couple of boxes planted just for the event. We found Genesee Ski Jump and Farming in Genesee. Unfortunately that is all we had time for. So we returned to the picnic area and said out goodbyes. Our goal was to attend the gathering, meet people and do a little letterboxing before heading out and trying to make our way to Casper, WY - and we did it.

We left Golden and headed north. We stopped for a quick snack in Fort Collins and then headed to Cheyenne. Here we drove to Lions Park and found preboxed's Roots Beneath Your Boots letterbox. We enjoyed the walk around Lions Park - it has a small pond and a lake as well as a small botanical garden. After about an hour in the park we decided we had better hit the road so that we could make our way to Casper before it got too late. Well we are in Casper now and settled into the hotel. Thomas is already asleep and I feel that I am right behind him. It has been a long and extremely fun weekend and I am totally wiped out. I want to get some rest because tomorrow we head to Jackson Hole, WY and Grand Teton National Park.

But before I go I want to thank preboxed, allemeyn and Front Range Hiker for a great event. And I want to thank Astro D and the Great Wuga Wuga for letting us hang out with them this weekend. I will be back soon with more about the trip.

Getting to Golden

We left Santa Fe at 5:00 this morning headed to Golden, CO to attend the Golden Treasures Gathering. It was drizzling a little but I was hopeful that it wouldn't last long, and it didn't. I also woke this morning with terrible allergies and pretty much spent the entire day with itchy and watery eyes, sneezing like crazy and a runny nose. Finally the medicine clicked in and I am feeling much better except that my nose is pretty sore from all the sneezing. Looks like the rest of the weekend should be allergy free.

The plan was to stop in Las Vegas, NM and Raton, NM to get boxes. But since we left so early we missed those areas. It was still dark when we got to Las Vegas and the place we needed to go to in Raton wasn't open yet. So we drove straight through to Colorado Springs. The last time we were in the area (May 2007) we attempted a box - we were unable to get it due to the fact that the river was rushing over the bridge we needed to cross. We decided to try again today - still no luck - the bridge is still covered in water and it was moving too fast for me to take the chance to cross. So I checked my list of boxes and found some that we could look for as we made our way to Golden.

Our first stop was a mystery box. I had worked on this one (with some help from my letterboxing buddy - AstroD) and really wanted to find it. I was about 95% sure I knew where this one was hiding. And WOOOOHOOOO!!!!! I found it. The box hadn't been visitied since May 2006, so I am glad I found it so that it didn't get too lonely out there in the middle of nowhere. Our next stop to look for boxes was Bailey, CO. We found Magic Maggie and The Dragon's Lair. We really enjoyed the hikes and the boxes. Now we were getting closer to Golden. Another stop, this time in Conifer, CO. We headed to Reynolds Park to find Packin' It In and then continued on that road to find PlaTe and Fork Included - both boxes were placed by Fork Finders and were in nice locations. It was very quiet and peaceful and a beautiful drive. It was starting to get late and we had been on the road for 12 hours now, but we still wanted to find another box, so we made our way to this mystery location to make our grand total of six letterboxes found today. All in all an absolutely great day (except for the allergy thing).

After finding a hotel and checking in, we went for a quick dinner. Now that I am showered and medicated (for the allergies) I feel rejuvenated. Thankfully! I really wanted to get my finds logged in and get this blog started. Well that is the start of our trip and I probably won't write again until Sunday night (after the event is over).