Family and Skiing - El Paso and Taos

Jason and I headed up to El Paso on January 29th. We didn't get to go this past Thanksgiving because of our puppies, so we were ready when the end of January came along needless to say! It was a great time visiting with everyone; we even celebrated Christmas! Jason and I headed up to Taos, NM for a week of skiing that following Monday when everyone went back to work/school. We then got to spend the following weekend in El Paso again before heading back to Houston! Below are a lot of pictures from our trip.






Here we are at Carlos and Mickey's; one of our favorite places to go when we are in town. Their Texas Margaritas are fabulous!

Our first night in Taos we headed to Eske's Pub for some good food and locally brewed beer. Our bed and breakfast was right next to the historic plaza, so we walked to dinner every night (which was great b/c we didn't have to drive in the snow at night). Some of the art in Taos was so amazing as well; I was in awe of peoples' talents!

Tuesday morning we headed to the slopes for some skiing! It was a beautiful day with great weather. The snow was good quality; a little icy, but not bad at all.

This is a picture of a frozen waterfall off of one of the trails. You could see and hear the water still running behind the wall of ice. It was so peaceful and beautiful to watch.

Tuesday night we headed to Antonio's for some more great food. I ordered their 'signature dish' and it was great! It was the most interesting concoction I've ever had, but they did a great job.

Every night we'd come back from dinner and fix a fire to enjoy as we would wind down for the night. It was a real treat to enjoy.

It snowed all day on Wednesday which was just perfect! Fresh powder was falling everywhere which really made skiing great. The temps were good too, but at times the wind was way too much at the top of the mountain; Jason and I had to jump off the lift and hurry to the slope ASAP!

Wednesday night we went to Joseph's Table which was another wonderful dinner treat! We both had very interesting and excellent meals. One of the best parts of traveling I think is trying all the unique dishes I don't get (or take the time to try) back home.

We played in the snow a little on our walk back to the Inn :)

So Thursday was the best day of skiing all week (except our bodies were getting pretty tired by this time!). The snow had past and the clouds were low lying and meandering through the mountains. We'd be at the top of the mountains; sky crystal clear and see the clouds below us. So beautiful and peaceful. I am so thankful God has allowed me to witness such beauty He has created! This is one of the best parts of skiing I think. How some people can see this and question there is a God is beyond me.

After skiing on Thursday we stopped off at the Rio Grande Gorge. That was such a neat experience. In this northern area of New Mexico, the Rio Grande has created a canyon/gorge; similar to the Grand Canyon, only much smaller and narrower. Around 1965 they completed a bridge that allows the major highway system to continue despite this gorge. Jason and I stopped at the rest stop/visitor center and walked on over to the bridge in which they have created walkways on each side. We headed out despite our bodies trying to tell us this didn't feel so 'natural'. It was beautiful. About the time we got out half way we saw a semi-truck coming in the distance! As soon as he got his first tires on the bridge, the whole thing started to shake! He passed us and even after he completed his travel across, this 1/4 mile bridge was still shaking with us on it! It was really interesting to say the least.

Here are a few pictures I took from our Bed and Breakfast; La Posada de Taos.

On our way out on Friday, we stopped off at a beautiful church and took some pictures. We also stopped off at another part of the Rio Grande for some photo opps below.

Last, but not least, here are two pics taken from on top Transmountain in El Paso. You can see part of Juarez in the distance of the first one and then part of New Mexico in the second one.