So we've reached the point where my journal entries have run dry. It seems that the days' adventures have left me wan at bedtime, fatigued to the point where scribbling in a notebook has become a Herculean task. But I will attempt to catch up with caffeine driven laptop memoirs at every rest stop I pass by. What can you expect? Less rambling, more pictures, and hopefully I can be caught up by Wednesday (our projected arrival in The Valley).
Where did we leave off?
Waking up in Amarillo, was it? Well then, at this point in the journey we leave behind flatland and meander up into the high terrain.
The environment becomes noticeably wetter as we begin our entrance into New Mexico
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| The Road Behind Us |
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| The Road Ahead... |
Taos was our next destination, and we could see snow on the approach. That's right, a mid May snow storm loomed over the mountains we were ascending. Looking off at Capulin, an extinct New mexican volcano, we were tempted to make a snowy summit, its peak was vehicle accessible, but it was cold where we were at, so elevation was not our friend in this moment.
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| Pit Stop? We drove on... |
Driving through a canyon, we stopped for a photo op of a bluff as snowflakes descended upon us.
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| It's colder here than it looks! |
Oh you don't believe me? Well, lets fast forward to a few minutes later, as we exit the canyon and ascend a few hundred meters...
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| Cold enough for ya? |
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| How bout' now?! |
Fortunately, our arrival into Taos was met with a break from the wet weather. I threw on my jacket and walked the pup around town. But wasted no time taking pictures and idiotically fumbling with the camera settings I still don't understand (an indecision I now regret). I could describe Taos for you, but you wouldn't want to visit it if I did. You see, it was an awkward time for Taos, and for me especially. In this ski town, having no snow (except a few inches upon my arrival), the town center was void of the young, cool, active crowds. So it was just me and the locals. I could not tell the Mexicans from the Native Americans, and either way, I did not fit in here, even with, or maybe because of, my thick and distinguished mustache (See Bottom for Selfie), and while everybody seemed nice, there was lacking a certain mountain town vibe that welcomed you to hot choc and warm blankets. Oh well, I hit the grocery store and went straight back into the mountains. I knew the next few days would bring several inches of snow, so I sent an E-mail update to several peeps and hunkered down for the snow storm*
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| In Taos hunkering down involves a cold one |
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| This took way too long to make |
* I say storm...But this was more like a very light drizzle of snow
Over the course of an entire night in the Carson National Forest however...it added up to this...
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| Good thing I'm in park here |
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| No School Today...We be Snowed In homie! |
When we woke, we scraped the windows and kicked the icicles off the Van... We had enough of this *#&$^%* (<-What's That?) An exclamation one might scream if they spent a night in 4 inches of snow in the Carson National Forest only to wake up to...guess what? More snow fall!!!
So we got the heck out of there with a quickness!
The Following pics are sequentially what we saw as we made a hasty exit from Taos, NM
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| You guys go ahead...I'll wait in the car |
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| Quack! |
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| Can we go yet? |
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| Selfie; My, how Taos has left me pale! |
Overall, Taos is worth a stop, but for us it's on to Albuquerque. And since I'm retro active journaling here, I can promise Albuquerque was Awesome! So good, I didn't even have time to take pics. Hah!
Well, This post took way longer than expected. Signing off from Las Vegas (stay tuned for Albuquerque, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, and Sin City)
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