Event Day

So today was Event Day - the 7th Annual Tucson, Arizona Letterboxers Gathering took place at Colossal Cave Mountain Park in Vail, AZ. I had plans to get things done before the event so Thomas and I were up early and on the road by 7:15am. We needed to get an early start for a few reasons - the event was about 40 minutes away, I wanted to get a couple of boxes before we got there and I needed to plant a couple of boxes before the event started.

We left the hotel and drove east on I-10, we went a few exits past the one for the event and ended up on the Old Sonoita Highway. We found the trail head for the Arizona Trail and walked for about 20 minutes and found Desert Flowers' Arizona Trail Cactus. It was a great way to start the day - a nice two mile walk in the cool morning air. We got back to the car and headed into Vail. We stopped at the Old Vail Post Office and found History Fans' Vail History. This was a quick and easy find - a real drive by, since I could practically grab the box from the car window. Once I had stamped in we drove the short distance to the park.

Just before entering the park we stopped so I could plant one of my boxes. I left Colossal Cave Logo Microbox a little ways before the pay station. This should be a quick find and you don't have to pay the entrance fee to get the box. I wrote down the clues and then we entered the park. With a park map in our hands we drove all the way to the end of the park to La Posta Quemada Ranch. After walking around the place a bit I found a trail and planted my Night of the Lepus box. I jotted down the clues and returned to the start of the trail and then did a walk through to make sure all my notes were correct. Now that all of these things were taken care of we could make our way to El Bosquecito where the event was taking place. We only arrived 15 minutes late - not too bad.

By the time we got to the picnic area almost everyone was there. So I jumped right in and joined all the exchanging. I got six new exchanges and got to visit with some boxers that I have met on previous occasions. It was a small group and I like that because you get the chance to spend more time with everyone. After getting exchanges and visiting I found two boxes planted in the picnic area. Burritos by Desert Flower and 7th @ Colossal by angel1551us. After that deniserows, AZJokester and I headed off to the front of the park to look for two boxes. We found Colossal Cave Park by leeandnancy and Geology 101: Limestone by Azroadie. We then returned to the picnic area and had a bite to eat. Then a group left and went in search of my two boxes. Thomas and I helped Azroadie and Desert Flower clean up and get their van packed up. We then said our goodbyes. It was a fun and relaxing time and I really enjoy visiting with the Arizona letterboxers.

Before heading back into Tucson we had clues for a series of four boxes by Azroadie - Sonoran Desert Animals 2011 Series. These were placed on a portion of the Arizona Trail off of Pistol Hill Road. The clues said it was about a 40 to 45 minute walk one way. So with water, hats and letterboxing gear Thomas and I headed out. It was a pretty easy walk, mostly flat. We followed the clues finding each box without problems (Azroadie's clues are usually spot on). I would get the box and find a spot where I could sit and not get poked by anything and then stamp in. Once that box was hidden we moved on to the next box. When I found the last box I got a First Finder Card for the series - WooHoo! Now that we had gotten the last box we headed back toward the parking lot. We ended up running into a group of four other boxers on the trail (deniserows, AZJokester, PunkSoulBrother and leeandnancy). After a little chatting they informed me that a ranger had been inspecting my car in the parking lot and I might need to hurry back and check on it. So we parted ways and when Thomas and I arrived at the car there was a paper under the windshield wiper - the one in the photo. Now I am not one to point fingers and place blame but it seems mighty suspicious that these four boxers just happen to be in the parking lot at the same time as the ranger and that the ranger even knew that the car belonged to a letterboxer - I'm just saying - LOL! ;-)

We both were hot and tired so we decided a nice indoor letterbox would be good to find instead of outside in the heat. So we headed into downtown Tucson to Yikes! Toy Store. While I looked for the box Thomas shopped. I found the first box and stamped in. There was a clue in the first box for the second box. So I read that clue and walked around the store - it took me a few minutes to find the box, but once I did find the box I thought that the clue was very clever. So I stamped into that box and got the clue for the third box. This one was a little easier to find as I had been standing right next to the hiding spot while I stamped in. So with all of the stamping done and the boxes back in place it was time to head out. But Thomas had found a few things he wanted - so he paid and we asked the woman for a good restaurant in the area. (Oh, by the way, the owner of the toy store is a letterboxer and everyone at the store knows the boxes are there.) She sent us to Rocco's just down the street. This place had salads, pasta and pizza. We ended up having salad and pizza and lots of water. It was a nice way to end the day.

Thanks to Azroadie and Desert Flower for a great event and thanks to deniserows, AZJokester and Lee for making the day loads of fun.