I sort of told you the end before I told you the beginning. Why, you ask. Because the end has pictures! And you guys haven’t gotten pictures in quite some time!

Originally, the trip to New Mexico involved four boys. Unfortunately, a friend of one of the guys passed away, and he had to fly to Arizona during the week of the planned trip. This, however, freed up space in the car whereupon one of the guys, Blake, asked me if I’d like to go.

I was reluctant to say yes. I had to use a day of vacation, and I wasn’t sure how the other two guys, Cory and Batt, would feel about me being the only girl on the trip. Thankfully, we had a place to stay, free of charge, so the only costs were gas and food. Then, Blake dropped the bomb.

There will be mountains. And snow.

I live in Texas. Snow is not something we experience regularly. In fact, I can probably count the number of times I have seen snow in my state on one hand. Given the opportunity to inexpensively see snow – it was impossible to decline the offer.

Friday, Blake, Cory and I piled in the car headed north to Norman to pick up Batt and then headed west to New Mexico. We arrived on Saturday morning around 5 am, and within minutes, everyone was fast asleep. When we finally all woke up, we had breakfast. While Cory and Batt had aspirations of playing beer pong and renting skis, Blake and I drove to Red River. We spent the afternoon wandering into and out of little shops with no real purpose – just enjoying the snow and the quiet mountain town.

Sunday morning, Cory and Batt went skiing. Because Blake has a bad knee, I stayed behind with him, but rather than sit in the living room and stare out the gargantuan windows at the simply breathtaking mountains, we hopped in the Tahoe and drove to Taos. In Taos, we procured a hairdryer since mine impolitely crapped out. I didn’t want to get home late on Monday evening or early Tuesday morning and have no hair dryer for work! While we were there, we visited a bunch of ski shops and the Taos Pueblos. Did you know people still live in pueblos? This is like – dirt floor, cook in a clay oven, real deal, folks. It was astounding. Sunday evening, Cory and Batt met up with us in Taos. The four of us then picked up Batt’s girlfriend, Lindsey, and her dad, who happened to be vacationing in the area.

Monday, we were up with the sun. Okay – I was up with the sun… I picked up the house as quietly as possible, showered, and packed before the boys ever woke up. We re-fueled the cars that stay at the house, and by 10, we were once again crammed into the two-door car, headed east.

In seventy five hours, some true colors came out – some that were expected, some that were not expected. All in all, the trip was very good. You can’t really capture the beauty of any of it in a photograph. Panoramic, snowy mountains lose their luster when confined to a 5 x 3 photograph. That aside – Taos is by far one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and I’d encourage you to go, if you’re ever in the area.