Taos 2014 version 2.0

So we started the year off in Taos, and we ended it in Taos. In January of last year (ha!) we went on a last minute adventure to Taos, and then we both took the last week of the year off and I coerced Brendon into going skiing again. I think he's conceded at this point that it might need to be an annual winter thing. IT'S JUST SO FUN. And going to Taos feels like coming home. I love those mountains, so much.

Altitude sickness struck again, worse than last year. I lost the whole first half of our first day skiing. How stupid is that? But thanks to carbs, water, and time, I skiied all afternoon. This was Brendon's second time skiing and this go 'round he felt more comfortable! I started dragging him down blues on our first day and I may have forced him down (half) a black with me the last day. We got some good skiing in! The snow was exponentially better than it was last year. Not powder by any means, but still so much better. It was also, WAY COLDER. Like in the teens! The last day was the best day, the weather was great and we skiied the heck out of the mountain. Plus, it was New Year's Eve! Best way to wrap up the year!

Skiing means lots of warm layers. And lots of warm layers mean real terrible fashion. I had on another pair of pants under those long johns. It was cold.

Throwback. My name in my gloves from when I was a youngster. Because that's what happens when you're a kid. Your name gets written in stuff to keep it straight from the other kids.

By the end of the last day, we were pooped. We skiied real hard, plus skiing three days in a row is intense! I think next time we'll have to take a day off in the middle to rest.

Best tortilla soup in the world!

On New Year's Eve they do fireworks on the mountain, and they have skiiers ski down with flares in their hands. It is actually way cooler than it sounds. It was really really neat. Also, these folks were talented! They skiied moguls, in the dark, with flares instead of poles. Impressive. Also visually very cool. The fireworks show after was crazy. The longest fireworks show I've ever seen. Or maybe that's because it was like nine degrees and we were standing outside. Also, fireworks in the mountains are pretty epic. The echos were nuts and the light reflecting off the snow was really pretty.

What an awesome night. For dinner that evening we ate at this place called the Love Apple, which was seriously straight out of pinterest. We're talking mismatched vintage plates, burlap curtains, garlands, and rustic wreaths. Even the waitresses' hair was braided in these insane updo's that screamed pinterest. Cutest place ever, and the food was on point. They have this vegetarian pate... wooo! Taos (and New Mexico in general) is so veggie friendly! We ate really good this year. Old Martina's Hall was also a highlight! Anyway, after dinner we hung out at the hotel, and surprise, I didn't make it to midnight. I passed out around 11, and Brendon woke me up at midnight to do our little poppers we got... then I passed out again. When you're used to waking up at 5am, midnight just doesn't happen! And that's okay. We woke up the next day, had some breakfast, and then skedaddled out of town!

And oh my gosh the drive back. So Taos was so cold because this "artic blast" came through that week. It also came through Texas! We saw a little snow in Texas when we went up, but coming down, it was crazy. Snow and ice covered everything (including the roads) from far west Texas to the west side of the Hill Country. Everything was white. Like far more snow and ice than New Mexico! We saw car accident after car accident and even got stuck for half an hour while they shut down the interstate. It was slow going, especially since we took a lot of back roads. Cars upside down, 18-wheelers in fields, it was nuts. But we made it safely home, slowly but surely, thanks to Brendon's excellent driving and the Bruce Wayne's almost new tires. It was a learning experience for sure.

But anyway, Taos, we love you we love you we love you. You are such a magical place full of the friendliest people. We cannot wait to see you again. You are more than worth braving the snow and ice!

Taos 2014

As what can only be the most impulsive thing we've done in years, a week or so ago we went on a ski trip! We took 6 days off together the week before school started for Brendon; our vacation started on Tuesday and on Saturday we decided to go skiing. We booked everything in this awesome package deal and then just went!

The drive was about 12 hours. We left at 3am, and got to Taos around 2pm, yay for gaining an hour! The drive was stupid pretty, once you left Texas. Texas, you are too big! Taos is kind of situated in a circle of mountains, so we had to go through one set before getting to the ones we were aiming for. Heaven! But unfortunately, I am a huge wiener and suffered from a bit of altitude sickness the first day we were there. Gross. Going from basically sea level to 8,000 feet was too much! But I chugged water like crazy and was just fine the next day to hit them slopes!

As you know, I have an unhealthy obsession with the mountains. And Taos is my favorite. Taos is where we skiied as a family growing up, and taking Brendon there to share something I love so much was really, really, wonderful. I hadn't been in eight years and not much had changed (except you're allowed to snowboard there now!). Luckily, skiing is just like riding a bike and although my body hurt after way more than it did when I was a teen, I still had my skiing "skills" and skiied down that mountain like a champ right off the bat. Also, I didn't break anything! The last time I went (when I was seventeen...) I hit a patch of ice at the very bottom of the mountain right by the ski lifts (so everyone could see) and flew threw the air, possibly did a flip, and broke my arm. Hella embarassing, especially for a super cool teenager who thought she was the best skiier EVER. There was none of that this time. I sat down a little while trying to ski and look up at Brendon at the same time, but other than that, nothing touched the ground except my skis. Thank the snow gods.

This was the first time Brendon had ever skiied (!!) and he did SO WELL. Brendon is one of those people who is obnoxiously good at everything, so of course he picked up skiing like it was nothing. He took only two hours of ski school and then skiied the mountain with me the rest of the day. The second day I snuck him on a blue, and the third day we skiied almost all blues. I WAS SO PROUD! I could go on and on about this. He was so awesome. And I am so glad because it would have been a lot more boring for me if he hadn't been. ;)

The first two days the weather was AHHHH-mazing. Very warm for the mountain, sunny and clear and just generally beautiful. The bad news was there wasn't much snow which meant ice, ice, ice, ice! If you are a skiier you know what I mean. No powder. That terrible crunching sound. Luckily we still had a blast and Brendon couldn't tell the difference since he hadn't been before.

The last day we skiied, we had WEATHER. It snowed off and on most of the day. The fun thing about being in the mountains is you're up there with the clouds, so it would be cloudy and dark and snowy then all of a sudden, boom, the sun! And then it was incredibly windy. Like so windy it would stop you while you were skiing down a hill. The good thing about the weather was, yay snow! Which meant fresh powder! But the bad thing was it also brought insane winds, which basically picked up all the powder and threw it in the air. So still icy, if not more so. It was tough to see at some points, white out style! It was pretty rough skiing, but it was challenging and fun and we skiied the hell out of the mountain anyway. We got the most skiing in that day and it was awesome. We skiied and skiied and skiied, even though at some points I thought my hands were getting frost bite and we'd have to amputate. It was so fun, y'all. GAAAAH, SO FUN.

Powder! And snow! And blue skies! Before the wind insanity.

Also, things I love about skiing? Ski lodges! And the food there! Goodness it was all very good! Taos was so veggie friendly! We were a little nervous about finding yummy things we could eat, but it was so easy and it was all so good!

I cannot get enough of that hair. Or that boy. My favorite thing to see coming down the mountain.

Leaving was emotional for me, as leaving mountains always is. I feel so at home there! My heart is so happy up in the mountains. Leaving was hard, hard, hard! But we will be back. It was such an incredibly wonderful trip and I'm so glad I was able to share something that makes me so happy with Brendon. I think it made him happy too, so bonus!

And here are the shots that were taken by the "professionals" that we paid an arm and a leg for. The first was taken while it was sunny, the second on the last day during a snow storm! Also, those blue ski pants? Totally a boys extra large. I outgrew my pants from high school (hips happened) so had to track down a new pair. And apparently ski pants are hard to find in Austin. But if you shop in the childrens' section it's a teensie bit easier. And they matched my 10 year+ old jacket perfectly. I looked like a blueberry. And a child. Violet Beauregarde. But you'll never lose me on the mountain!

Can we go back? Please? I want to vacay for life. How do I do that? Thank you Taos for another wonderful ski trip. I love you. For realsies.

If you are interested, we stayed at the Columbine Inn and ate at the Station Cafe 3 one 6, Tim's Stray Dog Cantina, Eske's Brew Pub, Amizette Inn and Restaurant, the Bavarian, and Rhoda's Restaurant. Our lodge was wonderful and all the food was delicious. Seriously. Way to go Taos! For throwing this trip together last minute, it sure did go smoothly. Skiing was something I didn't think we'd get to do for a few more years, so making this happen was like the best surprise trip ever. Last minute trips are the now my favorite thing. MORE PLEASE.