We had Wednesday-Sunday to enjoy in New Mexico, and we had a great time! We stayed at a friend's condo in Ruidoso and were greeted by deer each morning and evening out our back patio. We had to travel a good ways out of town to hike, because all of the trails are currently closed down from the summer's fires in the mountains. I am fairly certain that our vehicle was not equipped to traverse the terrain that we did, but all in the name of hiking and a good view, we did it! Our Wednesday hike was a little disappointing, but it was a good first attempt. We tried again on Friday, and it was great! I was so proud of the girls who hiked some pretty rugged terrain that was challenging even for me! Lizzie and Lainie really got to see the fruit of their hard labor as our view was breathtaking from the top! Olivia tolerated the backpack on the way up, but requested to be held on the way down, and I obliged.
Ruidoso is such a cute town, and we enjoyed eating breakfast at the Log Cabin and pizza at Cafe Rio. The weather was perfect, so we were able to leisurely walk the main strip of fun and unique shops.
We realized once we were there that the World Famous Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival would be taking place while we were there, so Justin and I decided to surprise the girls by going on Saturday morning. We put them in the car around 3 a.m. in order to make it in time for the launch. We had prepurchased our festival tickets and park and ride tickets and were so excited to give the girls an experience they would never forget. We got to the park and ride lot, got everyone dressed, and loaded up on the bus, still without telling the girls what we were up to. As we approached the festival, you could see the sun rising over the mountains, and it was gorgeous! However, our bus got slower and slower and eventually was in a dead stop behind at least 30 other buses. After an anxious 30 minutes or so, afraid that we were going to miss the launch, we overheard people talking ahead of us... "the balloons aren't going up because of the high winds." WHAT?! Are you kidding me?! I was heartbroken and angry. All in one breath I told the girls what their surprise was and that they wouldn't get to see it:( We went ahead and walked around the festival, but Justin and I were in such bad moods that we quickly left and got some good brunch at the Rt 66 Diner.
Saturday wasn't all bad though, we finished our day with an evening of Go-carts and Putt Putt.
Sunday we gathered up our things and headed out, planning a stop at Carlsbad Caverns on our way home. I had called and asked what time the cave closed and was told that the natural entrance closed at 2, and any time after that we would have to use the elevators and enter the Big Room. We took our time, stopping for lunch and enjoying our road trip. As we entered Carlsbad National Park at 3:22, there was a sign indicating that the last cave entrance would be at 3:30 and it was 7 miles away. Justin, refusing to have another disappointing misadventure, disregarded the 30mph speed limit and got me to the visitor center at 3:31, where a VERY KIND park ranger told the cashier to go ahead and sell me tickets since she hadn't closed her register yet. The cave was super cool, and the girls loved adding fun words like stalactite and stalagmite to their vocabulary. Because we were so rushed, we didn't have our good camera and had to rely on Justin's phone for pics. We spent about an hour walking through the Big Room, and then upon ascending 754 feet back to ground level, the nice park ranger encouraged us to stay to see the bats. We hadn't really planned on staying, but we decided, "What's another hour," and I am so glad we did! Seeing the 200,000+ bats all exit the cave was fascinating as was all of the information the kind park ranger shared with us as we waited. It was a perfect conclusion to our little getaway.
Justin and I agreed that it was the most fun trip we have taken as a family. Lizzie and Lainie are getting older, and it was a blast teaching them how to play games and watching them explore and experience so many new things. Olivia was a trooper and quite happy despite the drastic decline in sleep that she suffered. Justin and I enjoyed plenty of car time to chat and evenings to relax without the normal pulls of NewCoast, housework, homeschool, ministry,etc. What a gift this getaway was for the Bassett crew!
Now for the photos (the part you really care about, I know:)
My explorers... laughing at Liv who was just hanging out in her swing:)
Pretzel + Swing = bliss
My Lainie Love successfully climbed the slippery slide
Lainie captured this one of us:)
The girls enjoyed their cold milk from some lovely Crown Royal glasses
LOVE
Lainie's babies needed a bed...
Good Morning!
The MAN
Making Friends:)
Such great entertainment!
Lainie again practicing her photography skills.
Lizzie was great to play with Liv and help keep her out of trouble in a not so baby proof place!
BIG
Lainie loved the "tuffet" she found and the mirror where she was able to primp.
Lainie's dandelion...
It took SEVERAL tries to blow all the little seeds off!
My favorite find... a gorgeous blue butterfly
There goes my crew...
Hard work paying off... Stopping to worship and enjoy God's beautiful creation!
Look at that SKY!
WE DID IT!
Us too!
Beauty.
Beauty.
Pretty horses at the Balloon Festival
So, I suppose we can pretend we saw a hot air balloon...
In an attempt to appease everyone, the city of Albuquerque brought in all of their police helicopters.
These wood carved bears are all over Ruidoso. Liv made friends with this guy.
Justin and Lainie left everyone in their dust!
Liv contemplating this new phenomenon.
Lizzie and Justin DEMOLISHED their competition... as in lapped people multiple times!
They braved the chilly night and played all 18 holes:)
They humored me and let me take a timer shot in our cute little condo
Dark Cave + Hiking Backpack = NO THANK YOU! My hip was a much happier place.
A sweet park ranger found and returned Liv's shoe to us and then took a pic for us:)
My girls
Behind us is the "Rock of Ages," the most solid column in the cave. This name for Jesus has come up in our catechism readings, so it was fun to be able to talk about it with the girls!
(An incredibly kind deaf couple took this pic for us after I offered to take one of them.
Man I wish I knew more than baby signs, the alphabet and "Thank You" in ASL!)
Behind the girls is what appeared to be a little entrance to a doll theater:)
Park Ranger Lizzie
Park Ranger Liv
Park Ranger Lainie
We did it! So thankful that we were able to experience the cave!
Texas is out there somewhere...
Two fists full of Lizzie's hair for Olivia, AKA "Grabby Hands"
Our Fearless Leader, so happy to be able to wear his Northface for 6 days straight!
Waiting for the bats... Unfortunately we have no pics of the bats, b/c cameras are prohibited :(
We had so much fun together!
I got lots of snuggle time with this little lady!
These two were good buddies and gave me extra time with my Big Girls!
Thank You Jesus for such a great time together! You gave us so many good gifts on this trip!
3 comments:
I poured over every detail. Laughed at lanie's dandelion. Got teary eyed at Liv and Lizzie's big girl pictures. And resolved to wisk my family away ASAP. Great post. Thankful for your relaxing time away!!
Goodness... incredible retelling of the trip! I loved loved loved the photos! Very happy your family got to enjoy an amazing getaway!!
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