A side trip to Taos
Third up today -- Dickie Joe and Jenny both beat me by a little, they were still building the fire. I cleared some fresh snow from the main staircase and brought in some extra logs. Sleepers arose, breakfast was cooked and eaten, and general plans were laid for voluntary travel to nearby Taos later in the day. I picked up a paperback Nan had been reading, got quickly hooked, and we began a reading competition, even though she had a 300 page lead on me (she's gonna win).
A little after noon, about half of us left for Taos in three trucks -- the main purpose being to get the celebrants out of the house so it could be fully decorated for the night's dinner party. The road from Angel Fire to Taos is (of course) twisty and uphill, but it was clear of snow and an easy drive. To my surprise, Taos town is not the famous Taos ski resort -- that's about 20 miles northward. The town is an art colony. There did not appear to be a building over two stories, and studios and artsy-craftsy stores (little ones) were in abundance. There was also a crafts fair at the civic center. We reached a group consensus to meet back at the trucks at 4:00, and I was off. Crafts fairs usually don't do a lot for me, but I found some nice gifts for next month. I continued shopping -- two bookstores failed to provide a copy of Val's request, Shogun, and stupid me didn't think of getting her some other trashy airport novel. But I made up for that gaffe by finding her, another request, a belt (she had completely forgotten to bring one, and no one had a spare). It was a bit too large -- my Swiss Army knife solved that (always have a Swiss Army knife handy) -- but handsomely decorated with cowhide trimming. She loved it. Yes!
I rounded up a few other future gifts, and got some marshmallow snowmen as a treat for the kids, who have been very good on this trip. On the whole, Taos was an interesting diversion for the proximity.
Our truck was selected to pick up some needed provisions, so driver Mike found a supermarket, and we were soon back on the road with beer, coffee filters, more beer, aspirin, more beer, olives, toothpaste, and more beer. (I thought the beer volume a bit much, but Mike knows the family better than I do. Besides, most of it was Newcastle Brown Ale, a truly fine brew, which I won't be able to resist completely.)
The sun was setting as we headed back, just escaping under the cloud cover, lighting up the tops of the ridges to our left, golden against the gray-purple skies. Very lovely. As we approached Angel Fire, we saw the first of Jenny's signs, so we pulled over and I removed it, and then we gathered up every other sign we could find, all the way up the mountain. We also collected Mary's balloons, which I attempted to pop, but they were so cold they went "puff" and slowly, slowly deflated. Interesting -- physics and thermodynamics at work.
Icicles are best when eaten raw.
And then, over the footbridge to the ski slope!While we were gone, Val took Amalie and Carson out to slog about in the snow again. They had a blast, and even saw some deer higher up the ski slope (about which I didn't learn until I reviewed the pictures). When I got back, Carson was totally zonked in one of the comfy chairs -- Val said he hadn't merely fallen asleep, but had essentially passed out, hoping for hot cocoa. She went to prepare it in the kitchen, and returning mere minutes later, he was out; and stayed that way until just before dinner.
Nothing beats an inflatable for belly-flopping.
Carson checks out the wildlife.
Play hard, sleep hard.Back to the lodge at last, we found many of the grandkids working on the more complicated decorations in the garage, under the direction of Mary, who really is quite good at this sort of thing. Tables upstairs had been arrayed in tablecloths, runners, gold trimmings, candles, and balloons (a helium tank had been brought along). A 20-minute DVD movie crafted by Kyle and Karissa, with pictures supplied by various family members, recounted the happy couple's fifty years of marriage -- it was quite good. And then, dinner.
Champagne balloons galore!(Carefully weighted to prevent high-rafter escapes.)
Beautiful table centerpiece.But first, the king and queen had to be arrayed with sashes and crowns, and toasted by eldest offspring Mike. Spaghetti, ziti, meatballs and sausages, salad, and garlic bread were available in ample supply, along with wine and juice. The documentary re-ran all during dinner. Afterward, some gifts -- a gag bag from Mary (candies, pickled herring, a pecan roll -- nice but silly stuff), and the canvas reprint of their wedding picture from Val. Tummies stuffed, the formal celebration over, folks drifted off to books or games or conversation. I fell asleep quite early -- too much spaghetti, probably -- and woke in the middle of the night, read for a few hours, and dropped off again.
The evening's royal couple.
Katrina gets Carson with ticklation!
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