Road Trip

Carl and I took our first vacation together this past week. While we were in Marfa a couple of months ago we decided to take a week long road trip to New Mexico. Both because I'd never been and he's been a lot and wanted to show me some of his favorite spots.

Neither of us had been to Taos, though, so we decided to start the trip there and then head south to some of Carl's favorite camping and climbing spots.

I took notes during the trip so I wouldn't forget the details but there is no way this blog will live up to the actual experience. So many of the details won't be as amusing to others but Carl and I crack ourselves up so we had a great time.

Brace yourself. This post is a doozie.

Day 1 started with a 13 hour drive to Taos. I (of course) brought along many hours of car ride entertainment - audio books, crosswords, book of questions and snacks aplenty. Miraculously the long drive went by quickly. We got to Taos around dinner time and got food from a local restaurant that Kelsey and her parents recommended.

Day 2 was spent being lazy in the morning - sleeping in, making breakfast and planning our day. We decided to hike up Taos ski valley and picked a short 7.5 mile round trip hike. This may be the most intense hike I've ever done. Not only because we started at 9000 feet elevation (and climbed over 2500 more) and my breath was harder to catch but it was steep and windy.

It was a beautiful hike and Carl was very patient with my need to take many breaks. I almost stopped about 50 feet short of the top because I was just so tired but I pushed through (mostly because Carl was going to go with or without me) and I'm so glad I did. The hike took us over 4 hours and we were pretty worn out that night. We went out for a nice dinner and were asleep by 10ish (a theme throughout most of the trip).

Day 3 led us out of Taos after stopping in town for some coffee. We drove through Santa Fe and made a quick stop in Albuquerque at REI and Whole Foods to stock up on camping, climbing and food supplies.

We got to The Enchanted Tower around 6pm and set up camp. Now I've been camping before. In fact I lived in a tent for almost 2 months in Americorps but we had bathrooms and showers accessible. This was a bit more primitive. We had to pump and filter our own water from a cow trough, shower outdoors by letting the water heat up in a sun shower and there were no bathrooms to speak of. I was prepared for this so it didn't bother me. What I wasn't prepared for was the mass amounts of flies and wannabees (our names for the flies who look like bees but are really just more annoying flies).

Day 4 started after a great night of sleeping in the tent with a cool breeze. We slept in and got up to make coffee, bacon and eggs. This is when the flies and wannabees swarmed in. There were so many it got to be comical - watching Carl and I use our flip flops to swat them away. During this time I managed to spill hot coffee on myself (twice) and get stung by a bee. I was pretty close to tears of frustration but was really trying to stay positive.

We packed up our stuff and began our hike up to the climbing spots. I'm still trying to stay positive and focus on making the most of the day. The fact that there were less flies at the higher altitude of climbing helped my mood but it still took me awhile to bounce back.

I've only climbed a few other times and still have a lot to learn. There's so much about climbing that's mental. Clearly you need physical strength too but you need to understand how it works and get past your own fears. Carl was (as usual) very patient with me - even when I wouldn't even look him in the eyes because I was trying to (not very successfully) fight back tears.

I managed to bounce back from my sour mood (which I think Carl was most appreciative of) and got a good last climb in, improved my skills in belaying him so he could have a few good climbs and had another early night to bed after hot dogs, apple sauce and cookies for dinner (yep, we ate like 5 year olds).

Day 5 started much better - less flies due to our much earlier wake up. We both love leisurely mornings with many cups of coffee and good breakfasts. So mornings have always been a great time for us to spend together.

We decided, since we were having an early start to our day, that we'd leave this camp spot a day early after an afternoon of more climbing. This day of climbing was so much better! I did two climbs right away without the hesitation, fear and insecurities I had from the day before. I was so proud of myself and loved how proud Carl was of me. He then, once again, had an amazing climb. He is so confident and skilled in climbing that I love watching him do it - everything from the process of how he'll do it to watching him actually succeed. His dedication is pretty inspirational.

So we hit the road in the early afternoon with the plan of driving about 5 hours to the next camp site in Sitting Bull Falls in Lincoln National Park.

Unfortunately we didn't make it. We knew there had been a terrible fire in the park in late April and was temporarily closed. It remains closed 6 weeks later so we tried to come up with an alternate plan. Then the lightning and heavy rain set in. At this point, we're near Carlsbad, NM and it's 10pm. We can either stay in a hotel or persevere and drive through the night. After a quick meal at Sonic (and a jump start from a local) we decided to drive straight home - an approximately 8 hour drive.

Carl did most of the driving but thanks to an audio book, some delirium and good music, we got home safely at 7:30am. We crashed out for a few hours and now get an entire weekend in Austin before going back to work on Monday.

While the day by day recap gives you all the details of what we did, where we went and how far we drove (almost 1900 miles), it wouldn't be me if I didn't summarize the most memorable parts of the trip with a list:

1.our first food stop in Lampasas and being served by a woman wearing blue glitter eye shadow (at 8am)

2. playing the longest game of trival pursuit (90s edition) EVER

3. drinking the smallest espresso ever at a restaurant in Taos

4. going to bed before sunset

5. hearing a bear (and later having nightmares that I heard many other animals)

6. stopping at Camel Rock outside of Taos (trust me - it's not worth the stop)

7. the names of the towns we passed (I can't write them without offending someone)

8. the morning that I spilled coffee, was stung by a bee and surrounded by flies - all within 5 minutes of waking up

9. car games that included 'listography: your life in lists', which was a gift from Jess. My love of lists actualized. Carl may have rolled his eyes but he willingly participated.

10. eating sea salt and vinegar chips - a staple in mine and Carl's diet, especially on road trips

After spending almost an entire week together with some days where we had no contact with any other people, I think it's safe to say we not only got along, but we didn't get sick of each other. But I think we're both happy to be home, out of the car for a bit and using plumbing again.
Our next vacation is only 4 weeks away, though, so I can't complain too much about going back to work. Maybe just a little.....