Middle Fork Lake Trail

Because the boys had rested enough from the 4.5 mile hike Wednesday, they allowed me to find another hike for them Monday.  Like how I said “allowed”?  Dad‘s cows were still in pain but he said he was ready to do another hike. I found a hike near Red River on Wheeler Peak that I thought would be good for us. Plus, Burke could go with us. It was another 4.5 mile hike but that was the total up and back. I thought the guys would like it because of the creek running alongside the trail and the lake at the top. This trail was beyond amazing and what I had expected from.  Instead of complaining right away like Collin usually does when we go hiking, he did not say one word the entire time that was negative about the hike. I could not believe it! He really had a good time playing near the water and checking out the creek every chance he could. I really enjoyed all of the different waterfalls along the way.  The most amazing sight was when we finally got to the top and saw the lake. It was beautiful! It’s not as big as Williams Lake on the same mountain but it’s still beautiful in its own way.  We stopped to have a snack and enjoy the scenery. Collin got in the water a little bit and shouted because it was so cold. Dad skip rocks near Collin which splashed on him and they both thought it was funny. We wished we had packed a lunch so we could stay longer but we will have to do that another time. We hiked back down and had just as much fun. Burke did great the entire time. 

This was such a great trail that we will have to do again.

Tennis Anyone?

While dropping off some things from the house at a local thrift shop, I found to very nice tennis rackets for $35 total. I thought it would be fun to teach Collin to play tennis especially since we have access to tennis courts at the Club in Angel Fire. 

We made it a family event because Dad went with us. He is really good!  I had no idea. Collin did well but did have trouble not holding the racket like golf, baseball or ping pong (we have been playing a LOT of ping pong). He hit a few of the balls over the wall but learned to not hit so hard. We had a really good time playing in great weather and looking at the surrounding beautiful scenery while doing it. We agreed that it was so much fun to play again before we leave and head back home. 

Feel My Pain?

I wanted to show my family some of the trail I ran for the endurance race the prior Saturday.  We invited our new friends, Tiffany and Tripp, to go with us. Instead of hiking up the mountain, we road the chairlift up to hike down the 4.5 mile Enchanted trail on the Angel Fire bike/ski mountain. The boys hit it off quickly and hiked a little ahead of us. It was really steep at first so we all went very slow. He boys found a hiking stick each to help them stay on the trail. 

We did have to stop several times to rest and give our legs a break. The boys would find rocks and try to sharpen the sticks they found. About a mile from the end, the scenery really changed. We hiked along a cold stream. Both boys just had to step in it and even drink from it. Yuck!  

We eventually made it to the end of the trail....tired and hungry. Hey all were VERY impressed that I had RAN down that part of the mountain AND ran up it at the start of the race. I especially wanted Collin to know what I had ran and just how challenging it was. 

We are the the Mexican restaurant at the base of the mountain. Later, Tripp came to our house to play. They played hide-n-seek, road the go cart, played video games and just had fun. I am so glad they got along and that Collin found a friend to play with while we are in Angel Fire. 

Disguised Hiking

The only time Collin likes hiking is when I don’t call it  hiking. Even going for a walk does not elicit throwing a fit like hiking does. When I told him that I found several large bones on a hiking trail while running one morning, he was all for hiking that trail but only to find the bones.  We did end up hiking about 2.5 miles until we finally found the bones. It look like it was one deer that was attacked in his bones were spread over a 30 foot area. both Collin and dad were very interested in the bones and how they got there. We did end up taking several of the vertebrae and a portion of the ribs only because it didn’t have any meat on it. Disgusting! They wanted to take them back to the house and make an area to display the bones. Boys!

Tennis Anyone?

Because we have access to tennis courts near the treehouse, I thought it would be fun to play some tennis while on vacation. I found two VERY nice, used  tennis rackets at a local resale shop which was ideal in case tennis didn’t go over so well with the family. I have not played tennis since I was a little girl when I used to play with my grandfather. Thought it would be fun to teach Collin how to play. Collin was on board with learning to play instead of his usual complaining about doing something new.  I wondered how long that would last once we got on the court. 😉

Dad went with us and sat out the first few rounds are practicing because we still only had the two rackets. I wondered how much of Collin’s ping pong playing would mess up his tennis.  I did have to work on him not hitting it too hard like a baseball and also hitting it high up in the air. At least he was OK with going after all the balls that he hit outside the court. We played for about an hour between the three of us. Collin did really well for his first time. I also had fun playing with Dad. I had no idea that he knew how to play so well. Learn something new every day!

Go Cart Fun

Collin has more confidence and loves to drive the go cart daily. He likes to drive around in our circle and also drive up and down the street in our neighborhood. He likes to drift and go over he bumps around the yard too. 

Mimi even got to be a passenger a few times. I think she liked it mainly because her grandson was driving. 

Here is what I was doing while they were riding and Dad was driving his dirt bike. Ahhh!

Hot Air Balloons Over Angel Fire

Ever since we did it last year, I have looked forward to seeing the annual hot air balloon event in Angel Fire in June. I especially loved sharing this experience with my mother this time. She was not going to go when she found out that we had to leave before 7 AM but I think she was glad we encouraged her to go.

There were at least 30 balloons and several new ones compared to last year. We saw our favorites but also added some new ones to that list as well.

I just love seeing all the vibrant colors as they were being blown up and sending in the sky. 

Gold Mining Tour

We did one of the best guided tours I have ever been on near red river, New Mexico. I generally don’t like guided tours because I like to go at my own pace but this was beyond my expectation of the tour. Our guide, Cowboy (his nickname), was exceptional. Not only was he knowledgeable about the trail, but he was also very courteous and entertaining during the four hour tour. 

What I did not expect was to learn about the history of gold mining in Northern New Mexico. We learned that the area where we started the tour was called Elizabeth town and had 2000 to 5000 people in the 1860s. Elizabeth was one of seven children born and I house that we got to drive by. The land is still owned by a descendent of her which made it even more interesting to drive on.

Winding through the trails, we drove by several gold mines. We stopped at a few of them and learn how the water and hydraulics was used to shift out the gold as it ran from the top of the mountain all the way down to what is now near the Red River area. More than 400 gold miners worked the area until the early 1930s. 

Side learning the history, the views were amazing!  Here is a view of Eagle Nest lake and the valley near Angel Fire. 

Here is one of The larger abandon mines that we drove by. 

We stopped and ate lunch near the Rose Hotel which was about halfway down the mountain. It was awesome to consider when this hotel was active and people coming in and out the area.  I was fascinated to learn that the second story balcony was actually an alternative way to leave the hotel when it was snowing. The snow could get as high as 15 feet and block the first level of the hotel.

Collin had so many questions about what Cowboy was talking about, the lingo Cowboy used and what certain terms meant when he was describing the gold mining procedures.  I think Collin had a good time especially because he was riding in the back with his mom and Mimi.