Angel Fire, NM. March 24th - 31st

Since our original plan was to just visit Taos, I'll give my two cents about Taos. Taos, with a population of about 6,500, is much smaller than Santa Fe, which has a population over 80,000. But the topography and buildings are similar. Almost all brown, adobe style. Taos has a little more "funky" to it. Free spirited and laid back. Both Santa Fe and Taos have a growing homeless problem due to significant increases in rent prices, lack of affordable housing, high poverty rates, high substance abuse rates and low education rates. But both of them also have high-end areas and celebrities that have homes there.

Now lets talk about Angel Fire, NM. We LOVED this place. What a surprise since we didn't even have it on our original itinerary. The area is beautiful and it'll surely be even more beautiful in a month or so when everything greens up and is in full bloom. The full time population is only about 1,200 but it grows significantly during ski season and summertime.

We enjoyed something different everyday we were here. One day we did the one-mile walk around Monte Verde Lake with the dogs. The next day, Melissa and I did about a 5 mile hike on the Lady Slipper Trail in the hills above the lake. We couldn't pass up the the Enchanted Circle drive, so the whole Crew made a day out of it. It's a 84 mile loop that takes you past Wheeler Peak, which is New Mexico's highest peak at 13,161 feet. It also goes through Eagle Nest, Taos, and Red River. Beautiful drive. We had lunch in Red River, which is a very cool ski town with a great vibe.

Sunday we visited the Vietnam Veteran Memorial that's just a few miles from the resort. The family that built the memorial had purchased 800 acres to build a resort, but after losing their son in Vietnam, they sold all but 5 acres and built the memorial. Very well done and worth the visit. Touching to say the least.

On Monday, Melissa insisted that we celebrate my birthday. I got a 90-minute massage at the resort in the morning. We went on a 90-minute horseback ride in the afternoon. Hot tub and cocktails after the ride. Then to dinner at Zeb's Restaurant and Bar. I loved the entire day. Thank you dear!

I told you about the resort in my last post so I won't bore you, but we found out that one family owns the resort, the ski area, and the local country club. They've done a wonderful job of making all the properties top notch. Even with everything we did here, we still had plenty of time to enjoy the resort. They have some nice touches like waffles delivered to your RV on weekend mornings, smores on certain evenings, and ice cream sandwiches on certain afternoons. In the summer, the resort hosts lots of events. We enjoyed the hot tub almost everyday and even made time for a jigsaw puzzle.

After a disappointing stay in Santa Fe, Angel Fire was such a welcome find!

We adjusted our itinerary again when we left. We spent one night in Albuquerque, but then skipped Gallup and went straight to Sedona, AZ. Our drive was a wild ride, which I'll tell you about in my next post.

Enjoy the long weekend!