Letterboxing~Hawk Watch Trail

Last week, my neighbor, horseback-riding, letterboxing friend, Val~AKA~Fantastyk Voyager (her awesome Trail Name), and my twin sons and I went in search of a local letterbox, not far from our home, in the rugged and beautiful Sandia Mountains.

This letterbox was called Letterboxing is for the Birds and was placed on the Hawk Watch Trail by a group of Girl Scouts. We've found several of their boxes already and always enjoyed their creativity, hide locations, and their fun spirits. Ironically, my previous post shows a photo I recently took of a hawk flying over our ranch. These mountains are the route many raptors use for migration, so it's quite common to see them flying overhead.

This is where we were heading. About a 2 mile hike straight up on switchbacks and sandy trails surrounded by cholla, mesquite, juniper, prickly pear and desert scrub oak.
My jokester boys decided to show their excitement as we started out. Notice my one son, Jem, in flip flops. He lives in them and refuses to wear anything but sandals. My husband jokes that when he grows up he should work in Hawaii, so he never has to wear anything but shorts and sandals. Jem thinks that would be a great idea. He's a laid back summer kid.
Jax had a little mishap along the way when he slipped and scraped his knee. He seems to like having scars and scabs to show off, so I sometimes think he assists in finding injury creating opportunities.
This is the valley, looking down on the Village of Carnuel, just before I-40 heads west out to Albuquerque.
As we got higher, the rocks became much larger. We always have a blast rock scrambling together.
I really enjoyed the rock formations, too. This gulley created a wind tunnel, which felt great on this hot day.
Jem and I were taking a break in the 'wind tunnel' while Fantastyk Voyager and Jax hiked farther up towards the letterbox.
They found it!!

Excited Letterboxers!!

Val~AKA~Fantastyk Voyager took this cool photo of Jax up on the rocks.
Then after enjoying the beautiful day and gorgeous views, it was time to head back down. Fantastyk Voyager took this photo of Jax and I heading down the mountain.

And here's a photo of Fantastyk Voyager searching for precious stones.

Jax~The Mountain Boy! He's so silly. And he loves the camera.

One last shot of where we were, taken from the Hawk Watch TrailHead.
(These photos were pulled out of my photo files and were taken before my beloved camera was stolen)