This Would Be Cool If I Weren’t So Damn Lame
Monday, March 16th, 2009No, I didn’t die.
It wasn’t fair to leave town for three days with no warning, I know. I have no excuse other than the fact that I sort of had visions of updating my blog via my IPhone. Except that didn’t happen because we were out in the middle of nowhere and my phone didn’t get any reception.
You’d think that I would have figured that out beforehand, right? You know, considering the fact that we drove three-and-a-half hours to Pinos Altos, New Mexico to “rough it” in the woods.
“Rough it” meaning only a 20 gallon water heater in our beautiful cabin in the mountains, of course.
“Roughing it” being the joke that my family and I were throwing around all weekend, since childhood memories of vacation hold visions of camping for days on end. Being chased away by huge bears that ripped out the car window. And severe thunderstorms resulting in a collapsed tent with freezing water puddling in my sleeping bag. My dad and the forest ranger calling Search and Rescue because my mom and us kids got lost in the mountains without water during a hiking trip gone wrong. Ah, memories.
I tried writing in a notebook with (*gasp*) an actual pen… but I just didn’t get very far with that. In fact, in case you were wondering, the title of this blog was referring to what I wrote down while trying to journal like I did once upon a time. Ah, those prehistoric times when I had to use a pen to jot my thoughts down. I was really missing my laptop.
The smores we were cooking by the fireplace in our cabin were way more interesting than the lined paper, hence why I wrote like two paragraphs before my hand cramped up like an arthritic old cuss from the sheer strain of holding a pen.
The hiking with James carrying April in a backpack was a bit of a distraction from writing as well.
As were the incredible Cliff Dwellings, which I have seen so many times throughout my years, yet never cease to take my breath away.
Stepping into the grounds of ancient peoples sends shivers down my spine. There I was, missing my laptop and cell phone reception, in the very place where people had to hunt and grow their food, hand make their clothing, and had no choice but to birth naturally and breastfeed their young.
Although I have visited these ancient ruins with my family half a dozen times, even my parents and brother (and sister… who you can’t see in this picture) have the same reaction every time we step foot in that amazing place.
I made sure to document the fact that I was there, too, since I’m usually the one snapping the photos.
I figure the eyebrows (clearly in desperate need of painful plucking) fit right in with the whole “roughing it” description of the weekend.
Oh, and James and I can never resist the cheesy self-portrait photo op:
So after a day of hiking and viewing incredible markings of past life, it decided to snow on our way back to the cabin. We got quite a laugh while following my parents’ car. My mom, being a true kid at heart, decided to half-hang out the window to catch snow flakes while my dad swerved along the dangerous narrow mountain road.
I wish I’d gotten a picture, but the visibility was pretty bad.
The next day, we spent more time hiking, this time on the Catwalk. If you’ve never been there, you have to check it out. It’s a relatively easy hike, only a few miles, through the mountains and over all sorts of super fun bridges.
If you’re a dork like me, bridges can be *really* exciting.
And of course, I had to snap a few pictures of my sister, Kathryn, and her man, Scottie, along the way:
Kathryn and I also discovered on this trip how much we look alike. It kind of freaked us out when we realized it. Minus my sister’s cool nose ring, of course. Man, I gotta get me one of those.
So there you have it. That’s where I was all weekend.
Hope you enjoyed my pictures and recap. Sleeping in my own bed was really nice, but I’m kind of sad the weekend is over.
Current Mood:
Cool
Alarmed