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Ruidoso, New Mexico: More spontaneous travel

There is never a dull moment. I'm becoming more and more of a non-planner these days. For example, I am writing to you from the hotel room (that my husband currently lives in) at Holloman AFB. My detailed weekly itinerary has written that I was to be on the road back home at 0930. However....I have decided to stick around until Ryan finishes his flight, so we could have lunch together. It may be a few weeks before we see each other, so adding on 4 extra hours isn't going to kill me! 

The most spontaneous part of the weekend was our little get-away. Wednesday night, as I was packing Ryan requested I bring along my backpack and some camping gear "just in case we go backpacking". 

To be honest, I wasn't all that keen about going backpacking this weekend. The winds have been nasty (40-50 mph), with dust storms. I also know that the mountains near Alamogordo, NM are quite cold. 30's at night. 

But, I don't like to turn down a potentially fun adventure - so I toughened up, packed up my sleeping bag, got my hiking gear ready, and went into it with a smile! 

We filled up the car Friday morning, with intentions of hiking about 6-7 miles in, and setting up camp for the night. As we were getting ready, Ryan questioned my morning routine of doing my hair & makeup. But I decided I wanted to look cute being a mountain woman. (Glad I made that decision)

The further we got up into the mountains, the faster the temperatures dropped. At 1 pm, the temps dropped from 72 F to 46 F. We also saw collections of "white stuff" (snow) on the mountains under the pine trees as we drove up the mountain. 

This is where we started making jokes. "You know, they do have some really nice cabins for rent! And resorts to stay at! How funny would it be if we rolled into one of those with our backpacking gear. No one would ever know we cheated!

We decided to stop in Ruidoso (a cute little mountain town) for lunch before we continued our journey. We looked around at all the neat boutiques, fun restaurants, cozy cabins......and this is where Ryan said, "Well, you didn't do your hair and make-up for nothing, right?" 

Within 15 minutes we were on our i-Phones on turnkey.com...trying to find a cabin to rent for the night. All of them were booked up, due to spring break. But we were able to find one cabin, where the guests left a night early - and we scored! 

All I had was my dorky, convertable-hiking pants, hiking boots, and a hard-shell jacket on for day of exploring this cute mountain town. I kind of looked like Dora the Explorer. 

But we found a cute boutique, I snagged a shirt & a new pair of jeans....I happened to have some heels in the car. And I was ready for a night out on the town! 

I'll let the pictures take over here. 


This is a view of the streets of Ruidoso, NM. I wish I had taken a picture Saturday morning - as that mountain-top had even more snow. (It rained all night Friday....thank God we weren't camping!)

We took some funny pictures by the fireplace, with cocktails, backpacks on ;)



Notice the bed with the shopping bags on it...this made me laugh. We were supposed to be backpacking, and here I was buying clothes. (Ruidoso has the cutest clothing boutiques - and very reasonable prices!)


Happy faces! (Look at that mustache he is sporting. It's "Mustache March" in the Air Force. I just loathe it. I cannot wait for April!!)


The next morning, we found a lake nearby - and went for a walk. It was about 39 degrees, with gusting winds. (that's cold for us Arizonans!) So we didn't spend as much time as we wanted here.


We finished our exploring of Ruidoso that morning at the cutest little coffee shop called "Sacred Grounds". If you ever are in the area, I highly recommend. We spent a few hours here reading (Ryan studying), people watching, and catching up on life. I ordered the most delicious steel cut oatmeal breakfast. And the cappuccinos were perfect! 










Comments

Lisa's Yarns said…
Oh fun! I am so glad that you changed your plans as camping would have been SO cold! Burr! That mountain town sounds so cute. Good thing you are prepared for anything and had heels in the car. ;) Sounds like a wonderful weekend together!
Marlys said…
I loved the pictures and it was such a beautiful area! I'm glad you didn't spend the night on the mountain and it all turned out perfect! Love that little cabin you found! This assignment for Ryan has really given you some unique experiences! Big smile!!!

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