Shaking the Snowglobe

The sun rose on our red rock canyon-surrounded lodge and I walked to a 7am Yoga Class. While I was envisioning an energizing flow with some other lodgers backdropped with a view of the morning over the Colorado River, the reality was me and the instructor, Bri, in the basement’s John Wayne room surrounded by old Western stills. Bri asked how I was feeling and if there was anything I was hoping to accomplish – I said that I’ve been skiing and driving a whole bunch so something stretchier would be nice! She led an awesome class focused on gratitude and our hip flexors – I came out of it smiling and ready for the seven hour drive to Taos.

Alex and I jumped into the Colorado River, which was a cold and muddy affair, but well worth it for the energy boost/being able to say we did it. We tidied up and hit the road, with a plan to hit Moab Coffee Roasters and the local outdoor gear trading outlet. At the gear store Alex and I both scored a couple of deals; Alex snagged a snazzy hiking shirt and I grabbed a Kavu fleece. The clerk told me, “Finally! I was waiting for when someone would score this one!” I also grabbed a lightweight windbreaker so I no longer have to borrow/steal Alex’s (as in my roommate Alex, also blonde and Austrian). Your welcome Alex!

Our main stop on the trek south was Mesa Verde National Park (thank you to Grace’s Oma for the suggestion). We arrived and the park ranger asked us if we had any questions, and our reply was whether he had ideas for a quick 30 minute sight seeing tour in the park for a couple of boyos on a roadtrip. “You won’t see anything in 30 minutes,” he replied. So instead we spent a little under two hours driving deep into the park, admiring the fact that when the park opened in 1906 the early visitors would hike the entire 20 miles up the Mesa where indigenous peoples seasonally settled as early as 7500 BC. At the 20 mile mark, a lookout onto a cliff side dwelling that was built in the 11th century capped a stunning and learning filled journey into the park.

We stopped in Durango, Colorado for some fuel, both for the car and ourselves. We ate carnitas burritos at Nini’s Taqueria while admiring their ten different homemade hot sauces (customers can spin a hot sauce wheel if they are paralyzed with all the options). I went for Mango Habanero and ended up buying a 16oz tub to bring down to Taos, along with a pair of Nini’s Taqueria biking socks….Durango is apparently world renown for its gravel biking; they host the Iron Horse event, which challenges participants to race a steam engine over two mountain passes into Silverton (the race started as a bet between two brothers over a candy bar). We left super satisfied and ready for the final four hour stretch.

The drive was beautiful, and capped off our already checked off views of sprawling plains, distant mountains, and red rocks with some lush greenery in the San Juan Forest. Entering into New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, we noticed with immediate effect the magic take hold. The nostalgic red brown soil brightened up the side of the road, and the forested white cap hills a few miles away were catching the rosy sunset. I’m sure it is a very fair mental picture of New Mexico to be arid and flat. But this colorful, hilly, forested New Mexico is blazed into my brain from my past five trips here, along with the feeling I’ll be around close friends laughing for an entire long weekend. Enchanted indeed, Alex DJ’d us through the final hour to Arroyo Seco. The front door was a very welcomed sight, even more was the heated hot tub and leftover coronas in the fridge. We cheersed under the desert stars, taking in the comforting reality of being back in Taos with more friends on the way. Michael and Collin arrived shortly after with Costco groceries in hand – Michael is already preparing his award winning chili.