That is very kind of you. Check your AQ mail!
But the main point... of which I accidentally veered off-topic (as always), is to celebrate Romana (and subsequently you and Doctor) joining the AQ family, and we're all very fortunate you did!

Hi there folks
I have been in Albuquerque area for about a year and just started doing my letterboxing again. Would love to meet some fellow letterboxers, grab a cup of coffee, exchange ideas and experiences. Please let me know of any events.
Thanks Cottonwoodlady

Clue has been updated

The original location of Advent of Mass Market Printing is closing down for a year so the clue has changed. If you have cached clues please save a new copy

The monsoons this summer re-routed the Santa Cruz River and made access to this box difficult. New location is a stroll from a new parking location between Tubac and Tumacacori.
https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?boxId=276817
Pat

I had a planting party of one this past month. It was good to get back out on some trails after nearly two years of recovery from knee issues (and at my age one ever knows when the next thing is going to come along.). Most of the 20 are in the Tucson Mountain Park area. The ones labeled 2-4 miles are closer to 2. The five that aren’t in TMP are essentially drivebys and can be done in one day if you want to do them as a series.

This month the early mornings have been a glorious time to be out in the desert in spite of the afternoons being unseasonably warm.

I’m headed back to my sewing machine for awhile. Covid has been a good time to use up leftover material in the studio closet. A second scrappy quilt is in the making.

Enjoy my desert gifts.

Someday when I can travel home again, I hope to find these!! Someday.....

Trails open today even though bathrooms are scarce. The two boxes I went hunting for were in good shape in spite of fire debris around and some on top of one box location. The were on the Sunset. Turkey Run is mostly ok too. Evidence of ground clearing near Summerhaven and some burning further out.

Other boxers going today to check on other parts of trails.

So don’t assume the boxes got burnt up this summer.

Any chance you'll be out to check on any of my backcountry boxes?
(said mostly in jest)

Squatchis

Ha! Slim to zero. Will have to be someone much younger.

To Squatchis - Nope!
Cody Stone is most likely gone - trailhead closed and slope is fully burned.
You’ll just have to come down here and check on them yourself!!
Pat

Yes, lots of trails open, more than I expected.
Butterfly Trail, Box Canyon & Rose Canyon still closed on 11/1
Road past Ski area closed to the top.
Sunset, Marshall Gulch & Aspen trails are open
Summerhaven, all businesses open.
Trail up Turkey Run (past Summerhaven VC) open
Everything below Rose Canyon area appears to be open.
Saw more green than expected. Closed areas clearly marked by Coronado NF.
Pat

I went today with Desert Flower and Family Tree Shaker to get some boxes I couldn't two years ago. Of the 7 C's series Three survived well, three were so much ash almost couldn't tell they had been there except for a divot in the ground and a metal ring from a log book. The 7th was melted to a rock and while the box and log book are sad, the stamp survived. Of the big rodeo series all survived well with one unknown. It is in the Wilderness area which is taped off and badly burned.

I felt we did well to find what we did. There is still at least one more series I need to go try and find. Will report back.

I had been up on the 50 year trail earlier and the boxes up there were not affected by the fire.

Thanks for the report. We planned on getting those as well and didn't know about the fire. Someday we'll feel safe traveling down to there again.

Even with today being a holiday it felt ok to hike there. A little too peoply for my liking but not bad. The trails themselves are clean and a lot of debris has already been hauled out. Those areas still closed are clearly marked.

By "there" I meant Arizona.

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?boxId=254075

New location, drive-by S of Oracle, AZ

This series was planted for the 4th Annual Tucson event, also at Ironwood Picnic area. As many of you have discovered the trails have been named and signed since this series was planted. All but one box has the original logbook, a who’s who of letterboxers. With new trails the order was changed to make the route a bit shorter and ending closer to your car.
New clues - February 2021
https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?boxId=66784

This series was planted for the 4th Annual Tucson event, also at Ironwood Picnic area. As many of you have discovered the trails have been named and signed since this series was planted. All but one box has the original logbook, a who’s who of letterboxers. With new trails the order was changed to make the route a bit shorter and ending closer to your car.
New clues - February 2021
https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?boxId=66784

Hello Southwesterners,
While in Arizona this winter we did a pretty good job of making it to our letterboxes that needed maintenance. But we didn't make it to the box in Buckeye. If anyone is going through there, would you consider stopping and giving Amaryllis a new box? (2 tabs are broken off) I can mail you a replacement box, if you like. I don't know what size that box is. The stamp was carved by Maude.

Anyway, please let me know if you can help me out. :-)

Check your mail

I need some help with a project... if you have a few minutes to spare PM me for the details
Thanks
Kathleen

Thanks, Steph for making the 18th Annual Tucson Area Letterboxing Event a reality! Great location, so good to see so many old (local veterans) and new boxers from around the country.
And thanks for expressing interest in hosting next year’s event!
Pat

Couldn't agree with you more Pat. It was great to see everyone again after these past few years. Stephanie, thank you for pulling it all together and making it happen. Thanks to everyone who planted boxes for us to find, even if it meant climbing a mountain.

Back in 2014 when Ryan was hiking the Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZT) I planted the initial AZT Wild Things box for him to find as he came through the Tucson area.
Today I completed the alphabet, and a few extras. The boxes stretch along the 800 miles of the trail from Mexico to Utah. Trail mileage cited in the clues is not always accurate, the trail is being re-routed to improve the route which causes mileage to change. I do not plan to adjust the mileage in the clues, as that information is not dependent on finding the box.
Access is always along a 2 WD road and usually a short walk. Please feel free to extend your hike to experience more of the trail.
Search for;
AZT Wild Things:

It's definitely an awesome trail and one worth visiting even before there were letterboxes to hunt for! This is just the cherry on top. =)

-- Ryan

Last weekend I planted and re-planted boxes near El Rio Preserve in Los Morteros. A local letterboxer warned me that a county archeologist had indicated nothing should be placed in there to preserve the area.
I moved the 2 boxes I had planted. New clues are posted.
SCV: Anza NHT
https://www.atlasquest.com/boxes/clue/?boxId=351228

Anza NHT: Camp - recarved
https://www.atlasquest.com/boxes/clue/?boxId=277024

Another box in a new location
Anza NHT: Auto - recarved
https://www.atlasquest.com/boxes/clue/?boxId=289568

Sorry for the confusion for anyone who printed the clues as originally published.

Save the Date - Jan 28, 2024 for the 20th Annual Tucson Letterboxing Event - “20 years of Friends, and Counting...”
It will be held about an hour east of Tucson in St. David, Arizona, at the Holy Trinity Monastery. There will be an indoor hall to gather and hiking trails which border the San Pedro River to find boxes. Sign up now to get updated information about the event as details are provided.
https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?eventId=4751

Hello!
For our Susquehanna Sojourn event this year, we are seeking a stamp from each of the 50 US states. We have 60% of the states claimed, but we are still missing several from the Southwest region. If you live in (or have lived in) Nevada, New Mexico, or Oklahoma, and you'd like to contribute a state stamp to our event, please check out the details and sign up in our tracker:
https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?trackerId=11387

Any questions, please AQ message Eiryn or me.
Thanks for considering this!
~TS

I have a carry around size file box full of containers to give away They are various sizes and styles. Some have ready to go logbooks. Free to the first person the pick it up in Tucson (not just say they want it). Must take entire box or none. Private message me for pick up details.