Christmas in New Mexico, Part Dos
Here is part 2 of my Christmas trip to New Mexico – this time we headed from Santa Fe (read more about our incredible 5 days in Santa Fe here) to Angel Fire to go skiing. We even made a slight detour to stop in Taos on the way and found an amazing little pit stop.
The 3-hour drive was absolutely incredible. Everywhere we looked, we got to bask in the beauty of two things we never see back home in Louisiana – snow and mountains. Louisiana is so flat, even a small hill makes my heart flurry. But full-scale, serious mountains take my breath away.
I mean…..aren’t those views incredible????
In Taos we stopped at this adorable, historic little shopping center called John Dunn House Shops. They had tons of little stores, restaurants, galleries, and boutiques. We got a bite to eat and bought some souvenirs here before continuing on our way to Angel Fire.
We finally made it to the Angel Fire Ski Resort which, like everything else, was beautiful. I quickly learned that I suck at skiing, so I stuck to the green slopes exclusively. When I thought I was a little bit more skilled (I wasn’t) I decided that a blue slopes would be a good idea (it wasn’t) and that I could maybe master it (I couldn’t). It was a near death experience.
So skiing wasn’t my forte. Falling down and getting snow all over your face gets old. Standing in line for the ski lift gets old. Peeling sweaty thermals from your body at the end of a long day of skiing is gross. My favorite part of the whole process was riding the ski lift up the mountain and seeing the amazing views. Holy cow.
There was a guy we met from Quebec wearing nothing but a t-shirt and pants (while we were in approx. 7 layers) who made the double black diamonds look like child’s play. I realized that I’m much more of a “watch people ski from the table of the restaurant on the slopes while drinking some nice, warm hot chocolate” kinda gal. To each their own. We were only at the resort for a couple of days though, so I didn’t get too burnt out on skiing.
Our vacation came to a close after our short time in Angel Fire, and it was time to hit the road and head back to Louisiana. Visiting New Mexico was truly an amazing experience. It is a truly unique place with a very unique culture. There is a great mixture of modern and traditional, but you really get the feeling that traditional has endured and has even come out on top. The towns seem relatively untouched by time, and they have an amazing art scene. I’m a bit bias, but I recommend New Mexico in the winter (even though I’m sure its amazing in the summer and I would love to visit again).
We came back with wind burnt cheeks and tons of Native American artwork! What more could ya want?!
