Dam, Rocks, and Indians: Day 5-Page, AZ to Farmington, NM

Apologies to all my one follower who is my wife for not finishing my chronology of our trip.

Following our day in Buckskin Gulch, we then got on the road again and trekked across the Navajo Nation.  We had three intentions for the day: See Monument Valley, see Goosenecks State Park, see four Corners.

We left Page at a reasonable hour and then headed east from there along AZ Route 98 through the Navajo Nation.  And then we took US 160 North East to Kayenta.  And in Kayenta we took  US 163 North to the border.

You must understand, that this is literally all we did.  There is nothing on these highways except the same roadside vendors and the occasional scenic view (with complimentary roadside vendors).  There was maybe one box in the entirety of this section of the Navajo Nation, and we skipped it because it was a scenic view with roadside vendors. 

After heading North from Kayenta, we approached the Utah-Arizona Border where we saw the quintessential view of Monument valley.  Tall buttes and mesas lined up in the distance all made out of red rock (navajo sandstone).  Really cool actually.

To get in the park itself, you must go briefly into Utah, and then turn onto a separate road back into Arizona.  Getting in the park actually isnt that expensive: 5 bucks a head.  We grabbed the official stamp and then decided we would do the driving tour.  The lady at the entrance station explained how we could do this self guided driving tour and it seemed easy enough.  She said that the road was rough, but that the Yeti could probably take it.

That was good enough for me.  I was not going to pay lots of money to be driven around in the back of a flat bed.

 Now I must say this.  Monument Valley is a really scenic and idyllic location.  I think most people should see it in person once, go to the artists point, and maybe do the one short hike that is available.  But, I think once is enough for the sole reason that "rough roads" is the largest understatement in the world.

Granted, I drive a stick shift, and the Yeti has some character flaws, all of which make driving experiences different so pardon my Hyperboles.  But my goodness, that road may have well never existed.  To start the drive, you go straight down a cliff with a rut straight through the middle.  Then you drive on what amounts to the bottom of a dried stream bed.  If you can make it to scenic view 3, you've done good.  But getting up the hill is equally as bad and I overheated my car in the process it was so steep (again, the Yeti has issues so this isn't a miraculous feat, but still).

So although yes the view is very beautiful, trashing your car to see it more than once....debatable. 

After leaving Monument Valley, we continued north on US 163 to the town of Mexican Hat on the San Juan River.  We stopped north of town to look for a box at the towns name sake, a rock that looks like a sombrero (a lot like the toadstools, but maybe a different geological process).  Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful.

From here we took a slight detour to go see Goosenecks State Park.  We turned North West onto UT Route 261, and then almost immediately turned south again.

Goosenecks was really interesting.  I had seen them before at Capitol Reef State Park, but I don't think I had explained the concept thoroughly to either Jess nor Grant.   Essentially, the San Juan River, for whatever reason, carves deep into the ground forming a canyon.  But in this case, the canyon is squiggly (like a goose's neck), so it forms these really long bends one after the other.  I suppose Horseshoe bend could be considered one.

We looked for a bit, walked out to a point (I was looking for a geocache since there were no letterboxes) then returned since we needed to get going if we were going to make 4-Corners.

We returned to US 163 and followed it generally east, joined up with US 191 and then got off onto UT Route 162 in Bluff, UT.  Unlike in the Navajo Nation, this entire stretch of road had signs telling me about all the cool stuff that I was missing.  Forts, National Monuments, Weird Rocks, etc.

We followed UT 162 into Colorado where it turned in to CO route 41.  We made lots of marijuana jokes but only for about an hour an a half, because we soon got back onto US 160 and followed that west back into New Mexico (briefly) and into Arizona.  Unfortunately, we go to 4-Corners just as it was closing, literally.  They closed the gates as we drove up.

Disappointed, we returned to Colorado to cheer up, or more like to cheer me up because there was box just on the other side of the San Juan River.  This was a drive by box by Kristal and Ron, so I knew it would be decent, plus it was our only box of the day.  Interestingly, I found more than just a letterbox, I also found a knapsack lying out in the open and, lo and behold, it had Marijuana and pipes!  Fun for everybody!

Except because I am a good adult (and in the Navy) I did not bring it back to the car.  Because I have no qualm with drugs and am a letterboxer, I hid the knapsack better than I found it. 

We then took US 160 back through New Mexico, past 4-Corners, and into Arizona and the Navajo Nation.  From here, we followed the road roughly south to Teec Nos Pos where we picked up US 64 going east.  And shortly enough we were in New Mexico again, but still in the Navajo Nation.  Interestingly, the entire length of this roadway had hitch-hikers up until we left the Navajo Nation.

That night we stayed in Farmington, New Mexico.  There are actually a lot of letterboxes in this area, and some time we will probably return, but for this night we simply kept it simple and walked to a Village Inn for Free Pie Wednesday.  (Although apparently they dont like pedestrians in Farmington).

Dam, Rocks, and Indians: Day 4-Page, AZ and Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

For this day, we had intended to go and tour Antelope Canyon, the scenic slot canyon that is a default background for most computers.  Jess had been researching things to do in the area and she thought that this would be a really cool day trip (other choices included a boat tour of Lake Powell).  However, because Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Territory, and there is sacred traditions associated with the canyon, the Navajo have exclusive rights to touring it.  In short, if you want to see Antelope Canyon, you must go through the Navajo.

Now there are a plethora of tour companies from which to choose from and a plethora of timeslots.  Prices ranged from (supposedly) 20$ per person in the early morning to over 100$ per person  in the afternoon (when lighting is "just right").  Not wanting to break the bank on this one side trip, we decided we could go for the 20$ morning tour.
 We received an email confirming our reservation informing us to be at a parking lot around 8 am.

Now before continuing it must be understood that Arizona operates on a non-Day Light Savings Time Zone, so half the year we are in the same time zone as the pacific coast, the rest of the year with the Rocky Mountains.  At this time of year, we happen to be aligned with the Pacific.
The Navajo/Hopi Reservation (which is all the north-east corner of Arizona) is, however, on Day Light Savings Time, which means they are always aligned with Mountain Time.
Page Arizona is right on the line, and, depending on which cell tower you are hitting and everyone else is using, can be in both time zones (although officially it is in Arizona time).
This proved to be quite a headache and for the middle part of the trip we did not really know what time it was.

That being said, we decided to err on the side of early and arrived at the parking lot at 9 o'clock Arizona time.  And no one was there.
We drove around a bit, seeing if we could do anything to kill time (which you cant because its all on Navajo Territory) and showed up a little later.  Still no official people.
There were however several other vehicles parked out front of the gate looking skeptic.
We waited, and eventually a tour truck arrived.

The driver of said truck got out to unlock the gate; a man walks up to him, presumably to ask when the tour starts/what's going on; the driver gives the cold shoulder, opens the gate barely, drives the tour truck through, and quickly shuts the gate; guy continues to try to get an answer; vague hand motions from Navajo while trying to lock the gate so no one can park; man leaves and is immediately replaced by another man; another tour truck arrives; more secretly letting only the truck in.

Clearly, there were either no tours from the parking lot, we were too early, or these guys just really didn't like us.  By this point I was annoyed and since we hadn't paid anything, we opted to go back to the hotel and reevaluate the day.  But first we stopped at the Horseshoe Bend to get some more pictures.

*Aside- If you are in Page and think it is a great idea to go see Coyote Canyon you may wish to reconsider.  Even if you manage to navigate the tour companies, be advised that your tour will be crowded, expensive, and rushed.  And the closer you are to the noon hour (best lighting) it will be more crowded, more expensive, and more rushed.  And since June-July are the only times when the noon hour is actually the "best lighting", the rest of the year isn't even that spectacular.  Instead consider Buckskin Gulch.*

After reaching the hotel room, I recalled and researched the Buckskin Gulch that the ranger had referred us to the day before.  The pictures looked pretty cool and there was a letterbox near there and it was a slot canyon (the deepest slot canyon actually), so we packed a lunch and decided to give it a try.

Best Decision Ever.

We drove north from Page on US 89 for about 40 minutes, stopping briefly at the Glen Canyon Ranger Station, to an unmaintained road heading south into the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.  This road, although unmaintained and nasty is not impassable.  It is rutted and has stones, but as long as you can drive your vehicle with care, you do not need a high clearance vehicle (there were lots of smaller cars and even a bus at the trail head).

We first stopped at the Arizona-Utah border to get a box at the terminus of the AZTrail then returned to the trailhead for the Wirepass Trail.  We paid a small fee (6$ per person) and then hiked the trail.
This is the same trail that one would take if they were going to "The Wave" in Upper Coyote Buttes, but instead of going up on top of the sandstone, we stayed in the river bed.  Eventually the river bed cuts deep into the sandstone forming very steep walls on either side, often called a slot canyon.  This particular slot canyon (Buckskin Gulch) is the deepest in the world with walls up to 500 feet high (or deep depending on perspective) and sometimes as narrow as your shoulders.  The walls are so high and narrow, that the floor in some areas never sees direct sunlight and often has standing water as a result.  (After rainstorms one may have to wade through waist deep water, but only for thru hiking).

We only went about two miles into the canyon but took several hours.  It is possible to thru hike the canyon (something I do want to do) from Wirepass Trailhead to Whitehouse in Paria Canyon (21 mi) or all the way to Lee's Fairy (50 mi), but one need only to go a mile to get the true effect and beauty.

We had lunch in the canyon and then left the way we came.  On the way back to Page, we made two stops, one at the Paria Canyon Ranger Contact Station (to get stamps and check to see what maps of the area they have) and then at a short trail just off of Highway 89.

This trail leads to some rock formations called "Toadstools" due to there resemblance to mushrooms.  They are created by a hard (dolomite?) rock layer that protects a column of soft white sandstone from being eroded away, much like the way the hoodoos in Bryce canyon are formed.

Finally, we made a drive through the Glen Canyon NRA by Lake Powell on the way back to Page

We grabbed a less than satisfactory dinner at a sushi bar and then went to bed.

Dam, Rocks, and Indians: Day 3-St. George, UT to Page, AZ

Day 3 was our one day in a formal National Park.  Since our only intention was to visit Zion National Park, we spent a leisurely amount of time at the hotel, slept in, actually ate breakfast, etc.  We considered going to some of the nearby state and regional parks and looking for some of the many boxes in the area, but opted to simply box on the way to Zion.

We left the hotel and got on I-15 only to get off right away on Utah Route 9.  We followed this rather scenic road and the paralleling Virgin River into the town of Virgin, where we stopped to grab a blue diamond box and one other excellent carve.  We then continued on our way and into Zion Canyon.

Previously, I had been to Zion with my family in the summer of 2011 and I anticipated the experience to be roughly the same.  Much to my surprise, the tram that runs the scenic road into the canyon only runs during the summer.  During the winter, and thus the off season I guess, you drive your own vehicle down the canyon.  Of course this lead to some confusion as I thought that would mean bumper to bumper traffic and so thought about hiking the length of the canyon.  Of course, that would have been ridiculous and near impossible and we realized that shortly and drove the canyon, which turned out to be not very crowded except at trailheads.

Unfortunately, we did not do that much hiking.  We hiked the trail at the very end of the canyon, but otherwise just drove in and drove out.  Mostly it was because of parking but also slightly a time issue.  In the future, I would like to return to Zion and actually do more hiking.  For sure hike Angel's Landing, and maybe do some backpacking.

We then left Zion through the east and the really long tunnel and then took US 89 south to Kanab, Utah.  In Kanab we stopped at the ranger office to inquire whether or not we could go hiking in North Coyote Buttes to go see "The Wave" in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.  Of course, there were no more permits, as I expected.  In order to hike the wave you have to either preorder three months in advance, or show up at the Kanab office the day before you want to hike, at about 8 AM, and be part of a lottery.

Fortunately, just because we didn't get the permit, doesn't mean we couldn't go hiking in Vermillion Cliffs.  The ranger, informed us of some other nice hikes we could do if we were so inclined.

We got our National Park Stamps and then continued on US 89 to Page, AZ.  We actually got to our hotel, which overlooked Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam, before dark.  That meant that we were able to go south on US 89 just a bit to Horseshoe Bend overlook.  A small hike just off 89 that overlooks a goose neck bend in the Colorado River.

It was really nice and cool a very easy hike. Except the sun was setting at this point, which made taking pictures difficult.  We then returned to Page, grabbed a box overlooking the Glen Canyon Dam and then grabbed dinner at a Grill Diner then went to sleep.

Dam, Rocks, and Indians: Day 2-Lake Havasu City, AZ to St. George UT

We began our second day of travel by avoiding the continental breakfast.  I am not even sure if the hotel we were staying at had a continental breakfast.  Instead, I held scurvy at bay and ate an orange.

The first order of business was to see the London Bridge.  Supposedly the second most visited thing in Arizona (after the Grand Canyon of course), the London Bridge, built in 1831, was auctioned off by the city of London in 1967.  Arizonan resident Robert McCulloch then bought the bridge in an effort to draw investors to his community called Lake Havasu City.  He had it transported over piecewise to Lake Havasu where it was rebuilt in three years.  

We parked near the bridge and found a box by Jolly Mon, an Arizonan, and then walked across the bridge and then back.  We couldnt stay long though since we had to visit so much more.  Some other time it would be nice to return and explore the lake.

We then left Lake Havasu City and continued north on AZ Route 95 to I-40.  We then made a detour west on I-40 to get an AZRoadie box near the Route 66 community of Topock thus fulfilling my Mohave County letterbox.  That leaves only the Yavapai box before I complete the Roadie challenge.

We then returned to I-40 and headed east to Kingman.  Surprisingly, there was very little traffic on the interstate, perhaps because it was Monday.  In Kingman, we took a side street to a local trail loop on the  north side of town.  This loop supposedly takes you near the site of Beale Springs, or Fort Beale, a historic site founded in the 1850's by Lt. Edward Beale when he set about plotting a road through northern arizona along the 35th parallel. 

Regrettably, I did not take the time to hike the loop in its entirety, or even research the area.  I was simply looking for a trail on which I could plant my Mohave county box and then move on.  Again, some other time it would be nice to return and explore the region.

We then got on US Highway 93 and headed north through the very sparse and boring Mojave desert.  With the exception of the occasional historical marker and Joshua tree, this highway is straight and flat and is only useful in that it leads to the Hoover Dam (and Vegas if you're into that).

 About four years ago, I had been at the Hoover Dam with friends and at that time all traffic along US 93 had to cross the dam as the memorial bridge was still under construction.  Since then, the bridge has been completed. 

We crossed over into Nevada and then went to the dam to do the tourist thing: walked across the dam, took lots of pictures, joked about skateboarding.  By far one of the more interesting segments is the
star map that (rather confusingly) depicts the stars on the day that the dam was dedicated so that in the case that civilization falls and is rebuilt, future societies may know exactly when the dam, "this feat of civil engineering" was built.  Also interesting is the art style ornamenting the dam (what I have determined since to be Art-Deco).  For whatever reason, it draws imagery (to me) of both strength but also foreboding and formidibality.

We took a tour of the dam and the powerplants which were interesting, but pricy.  Our tour guides were interesting, one being very short with a woman's voice and the other being an old Hoosier with a slurring almost incomprehensible speech pattern.

Following touring the dam, we returned to US 93 only to get off at the Lake Meade Recreation Area.  I had no desire to drive through Las Vegas and intended to instead reach I-15 via the scenic route.  What I did not realize was how large Lake Meade truly is.  The roads going around are 77 miles long!  But I can not complain.  The area is very scenic and odd.  As you drive through you will catch glimpses of the lake and the surrounding mountains, but nestled inside the park are all sorts of stranger mountains.  Deep burnt red rocks on top of black rocks.  Red and white sandstone.  Later in our trip, Mitchel would describe it as "being on fire".

One other reason for driving through Lake Meade was for historical reasons.  During the Territorial days of Arizona, the northern half of Mohave County, Arizona and all of Clark County, Nevada were part of one single county called Pah-Ute County, Arizona.  The county seat was in the Mormon town of Saint Thomas, Nevada.  In 1866, all lands west of the Colorado were given over to the state of Nevada and later in 1871 Pah-Ute county was dissolved.

The city of Saint Thomas, of course, continued to exist and thrive.  (The Mormons actually ended up leaving for economic issues, but new residents moved in shortly)  That is until the construction of the Hoover Dam when it became clear that the community would be at the bottom of Lake Meade.  The residents were forced to leave there home and the city soon was under water.

Since the construction of the dam and formation of Lake Meade, however, the water levels have gone down substantially and permanently uncovering the ruins of Saint Thomas. on the north end of Lake Meade.  You can access the town via a short hike (approx. .7 miles).  We of course opted to do this.

The hike is very interesting.  Since it is only recently uncovered, there is no old growth and so the only plants are bushes and reeds.  The ground is also littered with sea shells.  The town itself is quite frankly indescribable.  It of course resembles a ghost town and only has foundations left, except it is quite clear that the remains are "modern" compared to the ruins of mining ghost towns like La Paz.  There is clearly a city plan with a "main street" leading down an avenue of trees with buildings on either side and wells scattered about.  There is even what appears (by comparing a picture at the trailhead) to be the remains of the school building with collapsed columns lying about.

Interestingly, all the trees and buildings are leveled and chopped down.  All the trees appear to have been cut before the town was flooded which suggests that the city was perhaps leveled.  Maybe in an effort to prevent obstacles in the lake.  I have not found any resources to confirm or deny this.

After leaving Saint Thomas, we went down the road to Valley of Fire State Park a fairly large section of pocketed sand stone.  The wind has literally sand blasted this section of rock and left it with all sorts of natural features.  We got into the park later than anticipated and so only did a driving tour grabbing two boxes while there.

We then continued up to I-15 only sustaining the loss of my storage bin's lid.  We then took the I-15 east to St. George, Utah where we grabbed Papa Johns and "celebrated" Saint Patrick's Day by sleeping.

Dam, Rocks, and Indians: Day 1-Tucson, AZ to Lake Havasu City, AZ

Today (Sunday March 16, 2014), was the beginning of Jess, her brother Grant, and my's grand Spring Break road trip through northern Arizona and surrounding states.  Grant was flying in from Des Moines , IA via Minneapolis, MN.  Of course, one can not simply fly into Phoenix without some slight hiccup; Grants flight was delayed for maintenance by an hour or so, but at least he didn't lose his baggage, and driving through Phoenix was not as bad as it could have been.  We even managed to grab In-N-Out before leaving the Phoenix area, just so Grant could have a taste.

Our first leg of the journey was to take I-10 West from Phoenix to the California border.  There are many boring roads, and this is one of them, in my opinion.  Granted, there are plenty of mountains to view, but for the most part they are in the distance and not very novel in any way.  There are also, simply no towns or cities between Phoenix and Blythe.  This makes it so that there are relatively few letterboxes between each end.

Fortunately, there is at least one in La Paz County.  And more fortunately, it is an AZRoadie box which I need to complete my Roadie 15 challenge, wherein I have to get one of Roadie's boxes in each of the 15 Arizona counties.  Over the past year I have been slowly checking the counties off and at the beginning of the trip I only had 3 left and I deliberately planned the trip so that I could at least get two more.

Once we got to the Arizona-California border we turned north off of I-10 onto a little known, little traveled road that runs from the pseudo-Ghosttown of Ehrenberg to Parker.  I chose to take this route for one reason only.  The Ghost Town of La Paz, Arizona.

Essentially, La Paz, Arizona was a gold boom town founded in 1862 along the Colorado River.  It had a substantial population, enough so that it was even the county seat of Yuma County from 1864 to 1870.  Then the Colorado River moved more westward and the gold dried up.  What population remained moved to nearby Ehrenberg and the town disappeared.  Then in 1983, Arizona Congress passed legislation creating the 15th county, which residents decided (for what reason I havent a clue) to name there county after the long dead town of La Paz.

As I am completing my county letterbox series, I found it then appropriate to leave the La Paz county  box somewhere near the ghost town.

Of course, finding the Ghost town is half the battle.  There are no definitive websites that give exact locations and direction to how to get there.  The best I received was 5.8 miles north of I-10.  What few maps I could find were not very detailed (all the more reason to get the Ghost Town book I saw at the NP bookstore) and the historic marker that is supposed to mark the site has address marked "undisclosed".  Not even a geocache! To make matters more complicated, most of the area is on the Colorado River Indian Reservation.

But, after some extensive research and google map hunting I got the general location of the ruins.  And when we drove there, I wasn't too far off.  What I thought was the town proper turned out to be the remains of an Indian Concentration Camp (or so says the memorial, I personally think it might by La Paz).  But we did find some old gold ore processing sites even one with a completely intact hopper.  Appeased (but not content) I decided to leave the box near this location if only for the sake of my wife and brother in law.

From the plant site, we continued up the road to Parker, AZ and joined up with AZ Route 95.  As we neared Lake Havasu, we took a slight detour to cross the Parker Dam and go into California, just to say we did.  Parker Dam is the "deepest dam in the world" although it doesn't look like it as most of the dam is covered by water on both sides.  We looked for a box by Snake Doctor, but it appeared to be missing.

We then finished our journey by continuing up AZ Route 95 to Lake Havasu City where we stayed at a rather sketchy Travel Inn and had dinner at a nice restaurant.  All things said and done, we drove just over 300 miles from Tucson to Lake Havasu City.

February Fiesta and Friends

And without even batting an eye, January became February, and we still continued to letterbox as much as possible.

As was previously stated in a previous post, AZBluelion has been meticulously attempting to get all Atlas Quest boxes within a 30 mile radius.  Why? Because it's fun, but also he wanted bragging rights before the annual Tucson Letterboxing Gathering.

So, with only 8 days left, we made a mad rush to get as many as possible.

Starting on the first, we (AZBl, TMWNN, Jess and I)went out to the east side of Tucson to get what boxes remained in the Rincon Mountains.  This included a slightly illegal box in Saguaro NP, hiking to a waterfall that apparently is frequented by nudists (too cold that day fortunately) and ten miles of off-roading through the Reddington Pass to get to a rather obscure part of the AZTrail.  Then, because we had time to kill, we climbed the first leg of Agua Caliente Hill to get two more boxes.

The next day Jess and I kept the ball rolling and hiked to the Pima Canyon Dam, to get the 10k Charmer.  By far one of my favorite series, if only for how well spaced the boxes were and how pleasent the hike was (the carves are good too).  We had also been charged with replanting the final stamp.  Along the way we found a Geocache the was blatantly hidden (so glad letterboxes are NEVER like that :p) and decided to help ourselves to the goodies.  I traded out my crappy carabiner for a nicer one and Jess put some gum in for a much needed trail mix bar.

Then on Tuesday (the fourth) the whole gang plus TMWNN's new girlfriend Sonoran Señorita went out to finally finish the Abscraps series.  But first we got another Family Tree Shaker box located near some old mineshafts.  Then, in the dark, we climbed up a rather steep unofficial trail to reach the official trail that the last Abscraps was on.  Not the most fun but rewarding.  We ended the night with the ever famous pork chop challenge at my favorite restaurant, Cody's beef and Beans.

The rest of the week was spent preparing for the gathering.  On Friday night we took all of our boxes and planted them in Oro Valley Riverfront Park.  There only five in all, and all we're going to be temporary.  There was my contribution of a Father Kino stamp, AZBl and KM's one time Keep it Wheel stamp, and TMWNN's Desert Dangers series, a set of three Spider-Man characters.  All quality carves in my opinion.  We wrote the clues that night in preparation for tomorrow.

I personally, wrote my clues to be challenging.  Not directions but actual clues.  Controversial for sure, but if people didnt get it this year, there's always the future years.

The gathering itself was great.  There were 50ish people, lots of food, and quite the plethora of new and historic boxes. We met new letterboxers from the SW like Arnold Ziffel and TeepeeAZ and caught up with locals.  We also ran into some of our favorite and most respected letterboxers while on the trail.

Total, outside of our own boxes, there were 15 new traditional plants plus a series of all the historic event stamps.  the theme was ten since it was the tenth annual! and as Desert Flower likes to say, 12 years ago FunHog planted the first letterbox in AZ, 11 years ago she introduced AZRoadie to letterboxing, and 10 years ago was the first event.  Truly a long lived tradition,

We ended the day by finding a letterbox planted just hours before by the notorious (but respected) FunHog.  Her clues inevitably give us problems as they are intentionally vague.  Fortunately, this one was on familiar ground so we got it with little difficulty.

The next day, Jess and I relaxed for most of the day.  but towards evening! we received an invitation to go to a post event for letterboxers.  We thought, "eh probably not" until we found out that it was across the street.  So we spent the evening talking about this absurd hobby with people twice (or more) our age. 

On valentines day, Jess made an elaborate feast for us of homemade sushi, shrimpies, kani (crab) salad, and pumpkin tort and Jell-O shots for dessert.  But not before we went out and got 4 new boxes planted by people from the gathering.

On the 15th TMWNN, AZBl, Jess and I drove north into Gila county in order to plant my county box in Globe and get the AZroadie box for that county.  Really a fun trip, that took us into a different environment.  Up there, the mountains are countinuous rather than "sky islands" and the rivers actually have water in them.  We saw Roosevelt Lake and "the worlds smallest museum". And we found a rather old box planted in a small town called Mammoth.  This box was planted at the old boxing club, a ramshackle building built by miners back when the town was more prosperous.  We had to ask for directions but that was half the fun.  The man we talked to was a third generation resident of Mammoth, AZ and told us all about the area, including more than we wanted to know about the local whore house.

On the 22nd we spent our first weekend without friends.  But that didn't stop us.  Instead Jess and I took on Wasson peak in the Tucson Mountains.   Eight Miles round trip and quite a bit of elevation gain.  We weren't as prepared as I would have liked, but it was well worth it, and a fairly easy hike, plus two boxes.  We also visited Saguaro NP for the first time in my being here.

And we ended the month just as we started, by boxing.  We're slowly waddling down the boxes we need to get.  Once that's done we'll just have to expand our radius of influence.

January Peaks

While the rest of the continental United States suffered from snow storms, arctic blasts, and the wonderful grip of January, Tucson managed to register 0 precipitation and maintained temperatures in the wonderful 60-70 range.  So, in true letterboxing fashion, we took advantage of our blessings and managed three peak hikes.

The first weekend back, we attempted to hike the Ventana canyon trail to Window Rock.

I had done this trail previously two years ago and had planted my first Arizona Box at the Window.  Unfortunately, the material I used to carve said box was not the greatest for LBxing.  So I asked Jess to carve a new Window Rock stamp.

We set out with the man with no name, AZBluelion, Champ AC, and Sonoran Señorita on Jess' first peak hike.  Nothing like starting the hiking season with a 14 mile hike.

It turns out I may have overestimated both my and Jess' ability to do the hike, but despite it all we managed to do the entire hike together ( albeit with several miles in the dark).

Rather than replace the original stamp at the Window, we instead created a new box called Ventana View.

The following week, the man with no name decided to lead a hike up Mt. Kimball, the peak neighboring Window.  I had recovered enough during the week that I felt up to it.  In addition I had carved a stamp called Santa Catalina that would work perfectly on the hike.  Jess decided to stay home, but AZBluelion came with.  All things said, the hike turned out to be a cinch.  It was only 10 miles round trip and gained the same elevation, but Window prepared us well.

That is to say Myself, AZBluelion, and The man with no name were prepared, other members of the group were not prepared in the slightest, and suffered accordingly.  

Protip: When you go on a ten mile peak hike and the leader tells you beforehand to bring lots of food and water, maybe you should do as he says.

Commonsensetip: If you decide to forgo the Protip and show up at the trailhead without anything at all, and you see everyone else in your group, people who have done this hike several times, with hiking backpacks, camel backs, and trail food, you may wish to reconsider your intention to go hiking.

All things said, it was a beautiful hike and I maintain that it is my favorite hike I've done while in Tucson, I sincerely hope people will get that box.

The next day, because we weren't even feeling wasted already, AZBluelion Jess and myself decided to do yet another peak hike, albeit a much less strenuous one (4 miles RT).  This time it was Babad Doag, or Frog Mountain, a small mountain off the side of the Catalina highway.  AZBluelion has been methodically working through all the boxes in Tucson, as have Jess and I and this hike was some of the few remaining.

Of course on top of all these trips were our weekly evening excursions to the Robles Pass Park where AZBluelion, The Man With No name, Jess and I have been slowly finishing Family Tree Shaker's Abscraps series.

We also took a weekend to go and get the boxes in Madera Canyon. Some hiking, but mostly "off-roading" in the yeti.  Included was a trip to the ghost town of Helvetia or at least it's grave yard.

There was also a mini golf game between AZBluelion, Katalina Madelina, Jess and myself, but I'd rather not talk about that.

All in all a good month of hiking and letterboxing.  Looking forward to February.

Braving the Cold: Christmas in the North (reverse Snowbirding)

Following the completion of my 5th semester at University of Arizona (which went well thanks for asking), Jess and I departed for colder climates.  We flew from Mesa, AZ to Cedar Rapids, IA in order to visit family for about three weeks, and then return in time for spring semester. 

The day we left, we intended to plant my "Fort Barrett, AZ" stamp at the supposed location of the Fort.  However, the weather (which is a reoccurring character throughout this narrative) had different plans.  Instead, the night before, it decided to be wet and cold and make all the roads leading to the fort impassable.  So much for that plan. 

We made it to the Mesa Gateway Airport in time (after a short Krispy Kreme stop), and were anxious to be moving along.  There had just been an ice storm in CR, and a snow storm was close behind, so we had about a three hour window to land in CR before we were blocked out.  Fortunately, we managed to leave without much delay and land without delay.  Getting into the terminal itself was a tad time consuming but what use is there in complaining.  To greet us was Jess' entire family with some of my family waiting for dinner.

After landing, the entire break went by rather quickly.  First, we visited Jess' Mom's parents and family in Laurel, IA for two days and celebrated Christmas there.  Then we celebrated Christmas with my immediate family at home.  Then down to North Liberty, IA to celebrate with Jess' Dad's family.  All before Christmas!  During this time, the temperature stayed in the single digits with bitter winds. Then on Christams day, Jess and I left with my family to go to Muskegon, MI to celebrate with my Dad's parents.  They had just gotten about 12 inches of snow (on top of the existing 8) the night before.  But fortunately Michigan is "warm" in winter, staying in the 30's.  Then we went across the state to St. Clair, MI to visit my Mom's parents and family.  Again, warmer, but with less snow.

While in the St. Clair area we visited the Port Huron Museum, which was having an exhibit on the 100th anniversary of the winter storm of 1913, a killer snow storm over Lake Huron that sunk many ships and killed hundreds of sailors. 

My family made it back to Iowa in time for New Years, which we celebrated rather quietly considering the past two years Jess and I began dating and I proposed.

Then Jess and I left with Jess' family to go for two days to Hannibal, MO and Quincy, IL for a basketball tournament that Jess' sister was in.  It was during this time that "Snowstorm Ion" and the "Arctic Vortex" decided to hit the midwest.

So with subzero weather with strong winds....Jess and I decided to try and introduce Jess' parents to Letterboxing...at night.  Not the best decision on my part, but we did manage to find two that night and a third the following day, and I think Jess' dad is still interested and is talking of planting a letterbox or two in CR.

Following the basketball tournament, we returned to Iowa just in time for the real cold to set in.  -50 degrees with windchill.  Jess and I spent Sunday catching up with some friends and teachers from our "church", and spent the rest of our time enjoying our families.  

Altogether it was a wonderful experience.  It was Jess' and mine first Christmas as a married couple and it was nice to see all the different ways that our families celebrate the season.  It was nice to see family again and spend our time with them.  But I am also glad that we are able to come back to Arizona.  Not just because it is sometimes 100 degrees warmer here, but because this is where our family is now.  And even if it is just the two of us for now, I love every moment of it.


P.S.  For those who are living in or visiting the Arizona area, we managed to bring back three Hitch Hikers back with us and planted them right away in Apache Junction.  Just in case you wanted a little incentive to brave the "Arizona Winter".