Maulers and Al-li-ga-torz and Robbers, Oh My! [Day One]

6:00am
Dark
Cold
Kind of tired but with full cups of coffee we headed out for our long weekend of visiting Southern Colorado and to do some letterboxing.

We made a quick stop in Chama and found two letterboxes there - pretty easy finds in a great little town. Still early, so we headed up Highway 17 in search of those other boxes - the ones in Southern Colorado. We crossed the New Mexico/Colorado border and the scenery changed dramatically. Fall is definitely in the air and in the trees. The colors are spectacular and the entire drive to Manassa was wonderful. We made it to Jack Dempsey's Museum and found that letterbox without a problem. Nice carving Kristal and Ron! From here we wanted to head to Mosca and Hooper for three other boxes. Our first venture was Great Sand Dunes (the clue stated it might be missing but we thought we'd give it a try) so we headed to the Zapata Falls Recreation Area. Kind of a long drive and not much out there but worth it. The hike itself is only a half mile one way. To get to the box you have to get to a rock in the middle of the creek - so that means either crossing on smaller rocks or wading. Of course Thomas was not to be stopped. He made it across with only a minor slip and getting only a tad bit wet. He searched for the box but didn't find it so he continued along the creek stepping on small rocks - he goes around a bend and then comes back and tells me to come over. I make it to the other side without incident and go around the bend to find the Zapata Falls. Talk about spectaclar! It was worth the cold, wet feet. I only wish we had found the box, but I'll take the memory.

After that we headed to Mosca and Colorado Gator, Inc. to find Al-li-ga-torz. And boy did we find alligators. We took a tour of the place and it was very interesting - some pretty big snakes and alligators. Worth the visit! And Kristal and Ron did it again - the stamp carving is fantastic. Now we head to Hooper to find Heart and Eagle - an easy find for the box but a little more difficult to see the heart and eagle in the mountain. I'm pretty sure I saw the heart put didn't see the eagle. The day was moving on and we decided we needed sustenance. We headed for Monte Vista and found a quick bite to eat. Once full we started boxing again. We found Movie Manor Mariposa and K'sMoH: Del Norte Series without a problem. But then we had trouble finding Billy Miner. The clue states to find a road west of Del Norte when in fact it is east of Del Norte. After inquiring at a gas station we found that box as well.

Not to be stopped - our goal for the day was to make it to Pagosa Springs and find all the boxes along the way. So far we were 9 for 10. Our next box was Kamp Komfort (I love the story related to the "Vacation" movie. Found this box easy enough. There were still three boxes we wanted to find: Wolf Creek, Jukebox Life Lessons #42 - Rocky Mountain High and French Ingots. Wolf Creek - well, an easy find but snowy and muddy. Jukebox Life Lessons - it was getting dark, found the hole in the rock (getting darker), didn't find the dead tree in a notch (getting darker), found the cross (now dark and we are using a flashlight. We make it to the boulder and find the box. Totally dark now - we stamp in the dark using a flashlight and make our way back to the car. Guess what? We are never going to make it to French Ingots tonight - that will be for in the morning. We head for Pagosa Springs. Ten minutes after leaving the area for Jukebox Life Lessons Thomas has to slam on his brakes for a deer in the road. He swerved and missed the animal by about three feet. We hoped the deer got out of the road safely!

At 8:00 pm we made it to Pagosa Springs and found a hotel room. Now we needed more food - we ate at the Malt Shoppe (excellent hamburgers and shakes). Very full and very tired we took showers and drifted off to sleep. What a fantastic day!

A photo album will be posted as soon as I return home and can download the photos.