Sonoran Desert Animals 2008 Series LbNA #: 37883
CluesTrail difficulty: fairly easy; dirt & a little rocky desert trails.
Stamps hand carved.
Status: alive and well on January 23, 2010.
These boxes are in Tucson Mountain Park a little west of Tucson. From I-19 take Exit 99 and go west on Ajo Way for about 5 miles. Turn right on Kinney Road and drive for about 3.9 miles. Turn left into the Ironwood Picnic Area and drive all the way to the end and park.
Please be sure the contents are double ziplocked when you put them back in the boxes (i.e. the stamp is in a ziploc, the book is in a ziploc, and the two are in the larger ziploc bag), and all of it placed INSIDE the box. Please rehide all the boxes well under the rocks and covered with some brush & plant debris so that they can not be seen from any direction. After replacing the boxes, please take a different route back to the trails to help prevent creating “wildcat” trails.
Gila Monster Letterbox: From the large charcoal grill under the very huge Ironwood Tree, walk roughly north on a trail down to the wash, up the steep slope on the other side. At the top of the slope there are trails going off to the right, left, and straight ahead. Go straight through the two large Palo Verde Trees. You will soon arrive at a major trail junction (a small rock cairn there). Continue straight across the junction. In a little while you will drop down into a moderately large wash. Just after going up the other side, you will see a tall armless Saguaro Cactus on the right side with a dead tree on ground between the Saguaro and the trail. From this Saguaro, go at about 26 degrees (from mag. north) for about 50 steps to a large Palo Verde Tree with an armless Saguaro sticking up through it. The box is under the backside of the tree under a flat rock covered with some brush.
Harris’ Squirrel Letterbox: Return to the trail, turn left, and return to the trail junction. Turn left. After stepping over a dead Saguaro that fell across the trail, continue to the first Saguaro Cactus with arms on the right side of the trail (it has 5 smallish arms, most arms on its west side). From this Saguaro, go at about 310 degrees for about 60 steps to a medium size Ocotillo. The box is behind it, behind a piece of Saguaro skeleton, and under a flat rock.
Checkerspot Butterfly Letterbox: Return to the trail, turn right, and continue straight across the trail junction. After walking for a while, just before the trail dips down into a shallow wash, look to your left for a tall armless sickly looking Saguaro with an “offset” in its trunk about 6 ˝ feet up. Now, look to your right for a dead Saguaro skeleton with drooping ribs. From this skeleton, go at about 300 degrees for about 20 steps to a tall armless Saguaro with a moderate size Palo Verde Tree behind it. The box is under the back side of the tree under a flat rock covered with some brush.
Cactus Wren Letterbox: Return to the trail and turn right. After crossing a fairly deep major wash, continue for about 130 steps to a major trail junction (two small rock cairns there). Turn left. You will be walking through a Cholla Cactus forest. Go to the first armless Saguaro on the left – it is about 11 steps off the trail. From this Saguaro, go at about 128 degrees for about 77 steps to a large lone Palo Verde Tree. The box is under the back side of the tree under a flat rock covered with some brush.
Bobcat Letterbox: Return to the trail, turn left, and continue straight (left) across the trail junction. In a short distance at another junction, continue straight. Walk for a while until the trail makes a fairly major turn to the right. Walk for about 60 more steps. Look to your right for a large Saguaro with 9 arms; it is about 21 steps off the trail (this is the first large Saguaro with arms on the right after passing the trail junctions). From this Saguaro, go at about 340 degrees for about 51 steps to another large Saguaro with about 6 arms. On its right is a large Palo Verde Tree. The box is under the back side of this tree under a flat rock covered with some brush. [A letterboxer has reported to me that this Bobcat box and its contents have been chewed on by an animal, probably a coyote, and the stamp has some damage. At the request of this letterboxer, I am going to leave it that way as an example of "a box about an animal, worked on by an animal"! (I did replace the box, log book and ziplocs.)]
These boxes were placed for the 4th Annual Tucson Letterboxers Gathering.
Please let me know if a box needs attention: http://home.att.net/~azroadie/letterboxing.html
Please record your find at www.letterboxing.org/ or at www.atlasquest.com/ .
If you live in Arizona or New Mexico or have an interest in letterboxes in those states, you are invited to join the Letterboxing Southwest Discussion Group. Go here to join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LetterboxingSouthwest/ .
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Before you set out, please read the
waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.
Please be sure to reseal baggies and boxes carefully so that they stay dry
and rehide boxes in their original location, completely hidden from view. |
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