We’ve spent a lot of time in Northern New Mexico – Taos, Santa Fe, Red River, Las Vegas, Cimmaron, Clayton, and everywhere in-between. While it’s beautiful there, we’ve always been curious about the mountains further south, so we arranged an extended weekend for exploration. The plan was to do the usual Colorado trip, then head south to explore the area around the Lincoln National Forest. It was time to break in one of the new cars as well and with a kid and relatively responsibility-free weekend, it didn’t seem right for the new Hyundai Kona to sit at home.
Continue reading South by NorthwestTag Archives: New Mexico
Taos In A Day Is A-OK
… Or scoping out the future in a hurry
This was going to be a 48-hour round-trip for in-person viewing of potential properties in the northern New Mexico area. The first of what may be many trips to the northern New Mexico area with the goal of putting the noise, crappy climate, and congestion and insanity of Dallas / Fort Worth and north Texas behind us. We have a collective 3 decades or more of living here and it’s time for a change of scenery.
Not without complications, of course. Driving in and out in that time would leave us about 15 minutes to check out any potential listings. Our trip had to be packed into Saturday morning through Sunday evening, with as much of Saturday as possible devoted to the Taos and Rio Grande valley area. COVID had started to recede, but restrictions were still in place, and DFW <-> New Mexico flight routes were going to be a challenge.
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There’s Blood On Them Skis …
… Or Taos Again?
Northern New Mexico has become our go-to escape hatch. After the humid flatlands of north central Texas for almost 20 years, the wide open vistas and mountains, dry air, and minimal population are like a cool drink of water. Not tired of it yet – will take a few (hundred) more trips to do that.
After a long, long, long year of camping out in home offices and generally avoiding the public, we managed to block a few days for skiing. We had patiently waited for New Mexico to move in and out of various phases of lockdown and quarantine requirements – we’d driven through but been unable to stop other than getting gas and coffee, and looking longingly at the southern end of the Rockies. As some sort of stability approached, our future home state began attempting to open up the resorts to revive the economy. Having been over a year since we last saw mountains and snow, excitement was high, tempered by the worry of navigating mask requirements and protocols.
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Plague Travels Under Open Skies
In early 2020, our world was turned upside down with the news of a global pandemic. We were one of the last groups of travelers allowed on the slopes in Breckenridge that year, and as we drove home in the middle of March, we tuned into the unbelievable news. Ski resorts in Colorado and New Mexico were closing down for the season. Restaurants in most states would limit their service to takeout only. Masks, at first were discouraged. Then encouraged. Then required, depending on the state. And then fought over. Arriving home in Texas that March, we resigned ourselves to the idea that we’d be stuck at home for a while, along with the rest of the country (and in fact, the world).
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Santa Fe, because Dave’s getting married
A year after our first trip to Santa Fe, we had the opportunity to return for a wedding. There wouldn’t be a flight for this trip like the previous one. We would need to get to Santa Fe in a car, which created a challenge since days off from work weren’t available. Santa Fe is about a 10 hour drive from home. But… we enjoy road trips – how difficult could this be?
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graveyardsandghosttowns 