Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Time to play catch up after our long hiatus from updating our blog...



Back in February we drove from Albuquerque down to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. There was not much to see in the city of Carlsbad except for the NP, but it was worth the trip.

Outer entrance to the caverns. The bat flight happens here, fortunately we missed it. 

On the way home from Carlsbad we drove through Roswell, NM, home of the infamous UFO incident of 1947. And of course, we could not pass up the opportunity to visit the International UFO Museum and Research Center. You can read more about the incident and the conspiracy here. 

Also on our drive back to Albuquerque, we stopped by Billy the Kid's gravesite in Fort Sumner, NM. Oddly enough, the grave is behind bars today because people desire to steal it every couple of years. 

Red River, NM

The whole group

We took a trip to Red River for a weekend full of skiing when friends from Mississippi came to town. Michael Wright, Jess Kilic and KC Dodder flew in from Jackson on a Thursday and we headed north to the mountains for the weekend. It was a fun weekend at Red River for Mardi Gras in the Mountains.

View from the top

The Brothers-Clay, Michael, KC and Chase

Torch Light Run (Flaming Skiers)

Those crazy people were burning perfectly good skis as a bonfire!

Caution: Cows

Santa Fe, NM

St. Miguel's Church

Since moving to New Mexico, we've learned that Santa Fe is a pretty popular place to go on the weekends. So far we've made a couple of trips from Albuquerque. Next time we go, we plan to take the train that goes straight from downtown Albuquerque to the center of downtown Santa Fe.

One of the things we really wanted to see in Santa Fe was the Loretto Chapel, home of the Miraculous Staircase. This staircase is significant because it baffles scientists and architects. The mysterious builder of the staircase used no nails and no center post. Originally, there were no handrails, but they were added due to safety concerns.

The Miraculous Staircase

Tomasita's is the best Mexican restaraunt that we've eaten since being in New Mexico. They've got great green chili, that isn't too spicy for us out-of-towners, and the best frozen margaritas around. It's a local favorite that we will definitely be returning to at some point in the near future.

After a long day of conquering Ski Santa Fe

And of course the main attraction for us is the ski resort which we will visit multiple times. Our friends from Mississippi who now live in Albuquerque, Chase and Brittany Dudley, joined us on our first of many ski trips to Santa Fe.

Chase and Brittany on one of our favorite ski runs

Clay, Chase and Brittany

Christine and Clay

After a long day of skiing, we went to Marble Brewery and enjoyed some pizza, good beer and shuffle board.

Albuquerque, NM

After a relaxing Christmas break in MS, we finally made it to Albuquerque in the middle of January. We are planning on stay here until the middle of April so we will get to experience some of the winter and spring weather. The city of Albuquerque sits at about 5,000 feet above sea level, so we are still adjusting to the altitude a little. But, no matter where you are in the city, you are bound to have a great view.

Drive into ABQ

We are staying at a bed and breakfast downtown which is located right on the famous Route 66 close to lots of restaurants and shops. Clay even rides his bike to work most days because we live so close. The Downtown Historic Bed and Breakfast is best known for the Spy House where Soviet spies exchanged information about atomic bombs during WWII. The owners host a Murder Mystery dinner each month (that we haven't tried yet) and they also have weddings in their beautiful courtyard.

Sandia Mountains at Spain Park

We've been taking full advantage of the weekends exploring the city and going skiing. Sandia Peak Ski Area is conveniently located right here in Albuquerque, and then Santa Fe Ski Resort is about 45 minutes away.  

View of the city from Sandia Peak

Skiing at Sandia Peak Ski Area

Riding trails along the Rio Grande

Enjoying a warm day outside

Beautiful sunset overlooking ABQ

Boone, NC

Claire Cothren drove up from Athens, GA to meet us to do an overnight hiking trip on the Tanawha Trail that runs along the Blue Ridge Parkway right outside of Boone, NC. We took a few side trails off the main trail completing a total of about 16 miles in 2 days.

We saw lots of deer as soon as we got on the Parkway. They were not even scared of us.

The view from High Balsam Shelter overlooking the Parkway.

Stopping for lunch at High Balsam Shelter

The three of us at Flatrock View.

                         

                                                                         

 A side trail led us to find an old plane crash from the 1970s.

One of the ladders up to Calloway Peak.

View from top of Calloway Peak

There was a 30 foot drop right behind us which was a popular location for hang-gliding and repelling.

Linn Cove Viaduct