Welcome to the CABQ Open Space 35 geocache series! This eight geocache series commemorates the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division’s 35th Anniversary, recognizes this special community milestone, and is designed to provide information to the geocaching public in a variety of areas, as described by the geocache titles. Solve for the Anniversary Commemorative Coin Passphrase with clues from all eight geocaches, and earn a 35th Anniversary Commemorative Coin!
A Bosque is a type of forest habitat that forms in corridors found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States. It derives its name from the Spanish word for woodlands. The most notable southwestern U.S. Bosque is our 300-mile long ecosystem found along the middle Rio Grande that extends from Santa Fe south to El Paso, Texas.
Trees. The most common trees in the Bosque are the cottonwood (woodlands) and salt cedar (stands); both representative of Bosque habitat types. Trees also found in the Bosque include Juniper, Russian Olive, Siberian Elm, Willows, Black Locust, and White Mulberry.
Because there is often only a single canopy layer and because the tree species found in the Bosque are generally deciduous, a wide variety of shrubs, grasses, and other understory vegetation are also supported.
Shrubs include Desert Hackberry, 4-Wing Saltbush, Apache Plume, Chamisa, NM Olive, Wolfberry, False Indigo, Snakeweed, Sumac, and Indian Root.
Grasses. A wide variety of grasses are represented, including Bermuda, Indian Rice, Foxtail Barley, Blue Gramma, Sideoats Gramma, Tall Fescue, Johnson Grass, and Silver Bluestem.
Flowers. Common Bosque flowers include Scorpion Weed, Spectacle Pod, Globe Mallow, Nightshade, Puncture Vine, Fleabane, Sunflower, Dandelion, various Asters, and Yerba Mansa.
Cacti. Cacti variants include several different versions of Prickly Pear and Cholla.
This geocache is located near the southern segment of River Loop Trail.
Find all eight "CABQ Open Space 35” passphrase geocaches, and solve for the Anniversary Coin Passphrase with clues found on the inside of each geocache. Use the following template for the clues —
Passphrase: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
To claim your Anniversary Commemorative Coin, please go to the Montessa Park CABQ Open Space Administration Office, and provide the Coin Passphrase to a CABQ Open Space employee.
NOTE: the Montessa Park Office may only be accessed Mon-Fri, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
A complete list of the geocaches in the CABQ Open Space 35 series may be found within the CABQ Open Space 35 #1: CABQ Open Space Division; GC859AW description page.
Starting at the CABQ Open Space Visitor Center, roundtrip for geocaches #2 - #8 along River Loop and Canopy Loop Trails is approximately 2.25 miles (see Spoiler Pic ‘OSVC and Bosque Trail Access’ map). Please stay on designated trails and limit your off-trail travel as much as possible, in order to protect our special and delicate Bosque ecosystem.
Revised CABQ Open Space Visitor Center Hours (as of 23 Oct 2023):
Tue - Sun: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Enjoy the series search, and your stroll in the CABQ Open Space / Bosque!