TheHamFam finally did the Flagstaff trip. A word to the wise: Do not EVER EVER EVER let priceline.com choose a one-star motel for you. YIKES. Next time, we stick with hotels.com and know what we’re getting into.
That said, Flagstaff was nice. We set out to find 8 letterboxes, but even with our early start, we were only able to search for 4 before we started to run out of daylight. Again, though, we were taken to places we’d otherwise never even have known about, let alone begun to explore.
The first letterbox we searched for was a bust. It’s sort of hard to tell, but there are two squarish holes in that wall that form a tunnel where the box was supposed to be.
Unfortunately, it seems to have been vandalized, what with the crayon graffiti and dessicated book and other debris.
The second one was extra challenging because of all the snow and somewhat vague clues (do you know how many STUMPS with TREES next to the barbwire FENCE there were?!? LOL!), but we found it!
Corey’s hands were cold and sore by the time he pried it out of the rocks and snow.
The third one we attempted was also a bust. We’re pretty sure we found where it was supposed to be, but again the “shady pine trees” and “tall snags” were somewhat ubiquitous. Still, we felt confident that we found the right spot, just no luck. The scenery was incredible, though. I’d never seen a lava flow (cold, of course) before, and it was breathtaking.
This is an area we WILL be visiting again. The lava flows and the crater are apparently just the beginning.
The last letterbox we attempted was there, and was made by one of our favorite artists and fellow letterboxers.
TheHamFam was tickled to find this one hidden similarly to our very first find.
We’re looking forward to another trip like this one, with some slightly better planning, and a better place to sleep. No offense intended to anyone, but I found it difficult to sleep in a room that was permeated with the aroma of curry and mildew, and I was a little disturbed that the only place to plug in the blow dryer was a power strip.
Tags: bad motel, Bonito lava flows, Flagstaff, letterboxing, snow
March 10, 2008 at 5:25 am |
Great pictures! Sorry to hear about the busts AND the nasty motel…blech!