My trip to New Mexico!

My sister and I got back from New Mexico yesterday and went to dinner with our mom. We had savory custards, big glasses of wine, chocolate-y desserts, and glasses of champagne. And then the storms came, and we had to hide under the staircase at my mom's house. After all the devastation in Joplin, we didn't want to take any chances. I curled up with Bossypants. Needless to say, I finished Bossypants by noon today. I accomplished nothing else except a trip to the coffee shop for an iced mocha...which is not accomplishing anything, really.

Oh, New Mexico. Right. So last Wednesday my sister, dad and I took a trip to Santa Fe and Taos. The change in altitude hit me when the plane landed. A giant headache developed in my head immediately. I tried to reverse it with Advil...to no avail. The headache bounced around in my brain from Wednesday to Saturday, but that is neither here nor there. Okay, actually, I complained the entire time. When my headache finally began to thin on Saturday, we went hiking in Taos. So instead of being at 7,000+ above sea level, we were 9,000+ above sea level. My head began pounding, I found it hard to breathe, and there were little color spots all over the tops of the trees. Let me tell you - it is not attractive to be a semi in-shape 21 year old female and huffing and puffing on a 4-ish mile hike. And let me complain a teensy bit more: it was only 50 degrees the entire trip; the last day it was - finally - 70. But really, who complains about vacations? Apparently I do. Okay, joking aside - New Mexico was nice. It was unlike any other vacation I've ever been on. And I am incredibly blessed to have gone on so many trips already this year. (Denver, Chicago, and Memphis, if you're just now tuning in. If that's the case, hi!)

The colors in New Mexico were so fantastic. Here are a ridiculous amount of pictures to prove it:










1. Art store in Santa Fe
2. Quirky store with paper flowers in Santa Fe
3. Candles in a cathedral in Santa Fe
4. Cute shop display on Marcy St. in Santa Fe
5. An afternoon drive into the Sangre de Cristo mountains in Santa Fe
6. Naturally flavored honey sticks at the Taos farmer's market (only $0.25 each!)
7. A restaurant in Taos; they made fresh guac at your table.
8. A neighborhood in Taos
9. Pretty wax candles in a store in Taos
10. On the drive back to the airport in Albuquerque, we spotted this little antique gas pump collection

While in New Mexico, we went to the opening day for the Shared Intelligence exhibit at the Georgia O'Keeffe, drove out to the Rio Grande Gorge where a scene in Natural Born Killers was filmed (the drop from the bridge is 650 ft.!), and hiked at Taos Ski Valley. We had lots of good food and many laughs. I wish I hadn't been sick with a cold + major migraine throughout the trip, but at least I have these beautiful pictures (and about 200 more) to savor our experience.

The only thing I regret not doing is taking a hot air balloon around the mountains. But I think my checking account would have regretted it more: it cost $200 per person! I do, however, want to get back to Albuquerque in October - sometime - and see the hot air balloon festival.

Have you ever visited New Mexico? Are you taking any vacations this summer?